Last night we wrapped up our final Awesome Newcastle of the year in The Criterion’s beer garden.

September blew past us like a lovely spring breeze, and here we are in October, with another Awesome Newcastle bringing in generous members, dreamers and doers together!

Loud laughter and robust conversation echoed through The Criterion Hotel last night, as Awesome Newcastle made history yet again.

The Criterion hosted another admirable Awesome Newcastle last night, adding a little Wednesday-evening-excitement to Carrington.

Another month, another no-strings-attached cash giveaway! Awesome Newcastle was lit last night at the Cri… literally, and you’ll see why momentarily.

Last night we enjoyed our second Awesome Newcastle at The Criterion in Carrington.

Last night’s Awesome Newcastle was open to the public and, wow, what a great crowd!

Slowly and steadily Awesome Newcastle has been making its way around different dynamic venues in town.

It feels like we’ve barely recovered from Awesome February, but here we are charging into March!

Last night we had our first Awesome Newcastle of 2019! Morale was up as we gathered downstairs in the Flying Tiger‘s lively and leafy courtyard. The sun set, and we settled in for a night of learning about the brightest and best ideas of our city.

We like to finish off Awesome Newcastle for the year by making it open to the public; it’s always been a really beautiful way to wrap things up before December. Last night was no exception.

Last night at the Flying Tiger, another Awesome Newcastle commenced! We were on a mission of time efficiency while still having a special evening as per usual. The drinks were served, the salty delicious chips were off the chain and everyone was looking attentive and attractive!

The Flying Tiger was once again abuzz with ideas people and generous donors for our September Awesome Newcastle.

Can you believe another month has passed already? Last night’s Awesome Newcastle for August was another doozy. Held again upstairs at The Flying Tiger, our board was filled with a lot of returning guests.

Another Awesome Newcastle has come and gone, and we are thrilled to be introduced to some amazing community members doing important things. Last night was held at The Flying Tiger in their grand upstairs room.

After a series of rainy days, yesterday’s warm(ish) weather couldn’t have been more welcomed. Last night we gathered at The Edwards Front Bar as we’ve done many times before and prepared ourselves for another night of learning about and celebrating the talented creative people in this region.

Last night we returned to The Edwards’ front bar for a special evening of merrymaking. We were excited to learn what the next batch of innovative Novocastrians had to offer.

Perpetually keeping things interesting, Awesome Newcastle went off last night at the Happy Wombat. A gregarious group gathered in their funky side room with the violet hues. We all enjoyed bevvies and got to know April’s Awesome crew.

March’s Awesome Newcastle coincidentally fell on the first day of autumn, and what a lovely breezy afternoon it was. Before kickoff, the Awesome Newcastle crew enjoyed the weather on the deck of the front bar . It was a great evening for making new acquaintances, which worked out well because last night we had five guest board members joining us!

The first Awesome Newcastle of 2018 went off without a hitch and with three great pitches! The Edwards Front Bar again welcomed four new guest board members who munched on some legendary bar grub and listened as three locals share their ideas

We shook up things for November’s Awesome Newcastle by holding it at The Village of Useful and, GASP, making it open to the public! Winners Just Like You Dolls took home the $1000 cash for the second month in a row, and the other two finalists, Banshee and Bean Cycled also received some sweet cash from the public.

Even a big storm with unexpected hail couldn’t keep spirits down for October’s Awesome Newcastle! The huge claps of thunder were no match to the huge claps of applause for our latest round of finalists at The Edwards front bar on Thursday night.

Between a group of ukulele players and team Awesome Newcastle, the crowd at The Edwards last night were quite the vivacious bunch. We were accommodated fantastically, as per usual.

Last night the funky Barbara Brown HQ hosted us in Wickham. It was a special place and a special evening, as it is our board member Grant Thomas‘ final stint at Awesome Newcastle.

Awesomely, the accidental theme at last night’s Awesome Newcastle was family. Held in The Edwards cushy and comfortable front bar, July’s Awesome Newcastle was all about looking after yourself and your loved ones.

Well, we certainly weren’t reserved at the Reserve bar last night for June’s Awesome Newcastle. Candidates and finalists cosied up on cushions and couches and caught up on the freshest and finest ideas around town.

It was cold, but everyone left feeling warm and fuzzy after last night’s Awesome Newcastle. The finalists bravely stood in front of a crowd of strangers at The Edwards Beer garden and discussed challenging but important issues. We listened to ideas addressing homelessness, emotional health for children and inclusiveness in the arts.

Last night’s Awesome Newcastle clearly demonstrated that the Awesome bar just gets higher and higher. Speaking of bars, the Edwards beer garden yet again served as the perfect location for us all to drink and delve into the newest Novocastrian initiatives.

Awesome Newcastle has been going strong since 2015, and during our regular board meeting this month we shook things up. Usually an intimate crowd gathers to enjoy bevvies and select the best finalist to take home a thousand bucks. This time we opened it up to to the public and allowed guests to contribute as much money as they wanted to the finalist of their choice.

Lucky for us, The Edwards again accommodated our gregarious gang for February’s Awesome Newcastle. This month we found ourselves in their spacious and delicious beer garden out back. We’ve now also had 45 Finalists, 49 guest board members and given away $18,000!

The passionate people in Newcastle are not holding back bright ideas, last night’s Awesome Newcastle demonstrated. Givers and gatherers grouped together at The Edwards swanky new Front Bar, where an eclectic cluster of Novocastrians bustled and buzzed discussing innovative ways to make Newcastle better with the generous monthly grant of $1,000 cold hard cash.

Last Thursday we did it again. We gathered, we ate, we drank, we deliberated and then gave away another awesome $1000 in cash.Candidates and board members met on the 6th floor of Newcastle’s NIB building. Surrounded by funky furniture, drinks, cheese and a stunning view of the harbour, a small crowd nibbled and made merry.

What better way to celebrate our anniversary than giving away $4,000 to a business that will use it to make the world a better place? Last Thursday we did just this! We called on Novocastrians to join us at The Lock Up arts space to recognise awesome business initiatives and give away stacks of cash.Guests and board members wined, dined and donated. They listened to the inspiring stories of four previous Awesome Newcastle Winners, watched Steve Pasvolsky’s Awesome Newcastle Film (see below) all while The Village of Useful darlings Linda, Jorgia and Emma pranced through the crowd with Awesome Newcastle bags wide open, ripe for the cash.

It could be that we did AwesomeNTL a little differently this round, or maybe it was the awesome board members that were excited to give away $1,000, it could be the delicious salsa that was on the table, but really it was the electric and innovative finalists that took it to a whole new level.

Our July Awesome Newcastle took place last Thursday in the alluring Reserve Wine Bar. Nestled together in a booth with wine in hand, our board members once again gathered to hand out a no-strings attached bag of cash to an awesome person.

June’s Awesome Newcastle took place last Thursday behind the big blue doors at The Village of Useful. Finalists and board members gathered once again to choose the next awesome winner for the month.
Choosing finalists is getting increasingly difficult as there are so many great applications and ideas happening in the area. This month’s finalists were Nikki McFarland for Crazy Craft Group, Brett Piva from the Make it/Made it Conference, and Adam Price presenting his Adopt a Singer project.

Our May Awesome Newcastle took place last Thursday night at the heavenly Wine Selectors Headquarters in Honeysuckle. All gathered in the private tasting room with a wine in one hand, nibbles in the other and a keen interest to hear all the great things planned for Newcastle. Our awesome board member Lois Donaldson from Wine Selectors put on a beautiful spread for everyone, and was certainly the hostess with the most-est!

Last night at The Edwards on Parry Street, the Awesome Newcastle crew gathered for the April event. For the first time ever, Awesome Newcastle had all female finalists. The girls were representing!

Awesome Newcastle’s March gathering was last Thursday evening at Casa de Loco, in the east end. Our regular judges, guest judges and nervous but determined finalists headed up the wooden stairs of the Mexican restaurant y tequila bar for for the night’s proceedings.

Last Thursday evening, a small yet excited crowd gathered at The Edwards on Parry Street. Usual faces caught up with each other, new faces introduced themselves and somewhere in the mix, nervous finalists mingled with everyone. It was the night of Awesome Newcastle February, and after an inspirational meeting in January, everyone was ready to see what was in store for our $1,000 cash grant this month.

The first Awesome Newcastle for the new year took place last Thursday at Talulah, The Junction. Our esteemed board congregated alfresco, full of stories of holidays, gifts, food and travel.
As usual, narrowing down three finalists from the ever-growing bunch of passionate, aspirational applicants was a tricky task. Who would be invited to tell us how they would make awesome happen in Newcastle with $1,000 cash, no-strings-attached?

It has been growing more and more difficult to narrow down a top three with an ever-growing pot of awesome applications rolling in through the months. We invited Alissa and Fiona from HUNTERhunter, James from Tantrum Theatre and Sean Bell of The Design Kids along to show us how each would make awesome happen in Newcastle with $1,000 cash, no strings attached.

Kelcie Rausch volunteers for Youth Street Newcastle, and provides young people from 10 years up with a fun, safe place to hang out, make friends and have fun. Young people can head along to Youth Street on Saturday and develop their skills in skating, scooting, surfing, sports, dancing, art and performing arts. Kelcie and her fellow volunteers aim to provide a place where teens can develop their skills and build their confidence.

Driving with Jack and Scott consists of two childhood mates who have been spreading the good vibes ever since, including hosting events, taking part in youth groups and coaching at a local skatepark.
Jack and Scott say they want to be about ‘thankers wanna thank’ (as opposed to ‘haters gonna hate), bringing positivity to their community and themselves.