Oct 31, 20214 min read

We're baaack!

Updated: Oct 31, 2021

On Saturday we hosted our first face-to-face gathering since the 4th of June.

We had a fantastic turnout at Wollundry Park in Pennant Hills on Saturday, followed by a second picnic on Sunday at Cremorne Point.

Everyone was super happy to finally catch up and hang out after so long.

Check out the Gig Buddies Sydney photo gallery to see some happy snaps from the weekend.

We still have places remaining for picnics over the next few weekends. So, head to our online store to register for a picnic in your part of town. Next up are picnics in Centennial Park on Saturday the 6th of November and Ashfield on Sunday the 7th of November.

If you’ve never been to a Gig Buddies event before, this is a great opportunity to meet some new people and have a chat some fellow gig buddies in your neighbourhood. The Gig Buddies Sydney team will be there to make sure you have an awesome time!

Save the date... tickets coming soon

To make up for lost time, we’re going to squeeze in even more live events before the end of the year. Following the success of last year’s Festive Feasts, we’re going to host 8 parties in regions all over Sydney in November and December.

While we are still finalising the table bookings, we wanted to give you a heads-up, so you can add one of these dates in your diary now rather than later.

We will post about this again soon, when the tickets are available.

One hit... Wonderful!!

Do you ever ask yourself, "what ever happened to Vanilla Ice?" or "what was Aqua's follow-up single after Barbie Girl?". Well, the answer is, "they were both One-Hit-Wonders with a capital O."

They are in good company though. Some of the most iconic songs of the last 50 years have been from bands never to be heard from again. Imagine life without The Macarena or Gangnam Style? OK, bad example, but you get my point.

Join us online via Zoom on Wednesday night as we dive into the wonderful world of one hit wonders, where we will blast out tunes from A-Ha, Wheetus, Soft Cell, The Buggles and Chumbawumba. And don't worry if you've never heard of these bands before... you're not alone. click here to sign up

Things might get silly.

And if you just feel like a chat with your fellow gig buddies, we'll be on Zoom at 4pm today (1st November).

Casual chat link is at the bottom of the online store webpage.

Lockdown Schmockdown

As mentioned earlier, due to lockdown, Gig Buddies was forced to go online for most of July, August, September and October. 148 days between Gig Buddies face-to-face gigs to be precise!

For many, Lockdown 2.0 v.2021, aka. The Delta Days, was even tougher than the first, so the Gig Buddies team have been working tirelessly to do their bit to relieve the boredom and give buddies something fun to look forward to every week.

During this lockdown, we hosted 55 online socials, 40 casual Zoom chats and ran 3 online competitions. And, knowing that one day we would all be able to catch up and go to events once again, we trained 24 volunteers and paired up 22 gig buddies.

From the Gig Buddies team, we'd like to say a huge thanks to all the participants and volunteers for sticking with us, helping with suggestions, co-hosting events, playing music, laughing, quizzing, karaoke-ing and just being awesome. The Gig Buddies community keeps getting stronger, more inclusive and more wonderful every day, and it's an honour to be a part of it.

Art-ober is over

Thanks to everyone who sent in photos of their artwork for Art-ober. There's so much talent in the Gig Buddies community! Our next step is to pick three winners out of a hat, and then create the Gig Buddies 2022 calendar with the artwork.

To check out the talent, or send us a picture to be included in the calendar (we will take late entries for the calendar), go to www.gigbuddiessydney.org/fun.

A word from the pros

While New South Wales continues to enjoy greater freedoms, we’re going to continue with our push for those who may be struggling.

Mental Health First Aid Australia have issued the following guidelines on assisting someone distressed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and they’re also providing mental health first aid in the time of ‘social distancing. Additionally, the team from ideas.org.au have shared their ‘look after your mental health in the COVID-19 crisis’ list of ideas.

reachout.com have also released their 10 ways to take care of yourself during coronavirus guide, while for those of you now working from home, Black Dog Institute have put together the following checklist to support your mental health.

We’re here to chat

From our perspective, while we’re not trained professionals, we are available for a chat.

For anyone experiencing increased social isolation, send a text or call us at 0422 061 990 (Gig Buddies Sydney) or 0402 708 814 (Gig Buddies Central Coast).

Alternatively, feel free to get in touch via Facebook Messenger or connect courtesy of email: info@gigbuddiessydney.org or info@gigbuddiescentralcoast.org