White extravaganza Karen McInley
We live here ‘cos we love it!
Photo: Matthew Newton
I OWN a PR company, so one of my main clients is Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and It’s a Bloke Thing.
I think Toowoomba is a beautiful city. It’s my home away from home. So all of my work is here. I actually live on the Gold Coast but I spend half my time here.
It’s just gorgeous – it’s got a strong sense of community and I think it’s got a really burgeoning city in terms of events, culture, food, activities.
I used to be a journalist – so I started my career at the Gold Coast Bulletin. So I worked in the newsroom and then I was a lifestyle, fashion and social reporter... and have been in PR for a long time now, probably about 25 years.
There’re more people coming to Toowoomba now, more visitors, and a strong tourism focus.
Le Dîner en Blanc is one aspect of that. I think Toowoomba is ready for something like this. There’s a very social community here. Everyone likes going to events. When something’s on, you do get big numbers so I’m confident we’re going to have 1000 people at least.
Lauren Hope
I OWN Round Square Marketing. I’m a born and bred local, raising a family here.
I’ve got two young children. I’m really passionate about Toowoomba and its growth, and the offerings that we have in Toowoomba with our education, parks, gardens, medical facilities, are first class.
We’re putting this event on to showcase what we can deliver and the people we do have in our region that have the skills to bring an event to Toowoomba, I guess.
Even through school I was always interested in advertising and promotion. Then I went and studied and I got a job with a local law firm, Murdoch Lawyers, as a marketing assistant.
From there I moved into construction, which is obviously a big change working for FKG, and progressed to marketing manager for them.
However when I had a family I needed a bit more flexibility and thought I would start my own firm.
What do I love about Toowoomba? The people. I love the community spirit.
Annie Glover
SO I have an event styling company here in Toowoomba. I have lived here for 10 years now and am originally from northern New South Wales.
I live here with my husband and my son.
So Karen, Lauren and I have worked together on previous events before and we decided there was a need for another big tourism attraction event in Toowoomba.
We wanted to do something really fun and beautiful and we thought Le Dîner en Blanc would be a perfect addition.
Le Dîner en Blanc was started 30 years ago in Paris and it’s hosted in over 80 cities and 30 countries across the world.
So Toowoomba will be the 10th city in Australia to host the event, the first inland one that isn’t a capital city.
The community feel of the event really resonates here in Toowoomba.
What do I love about Toowoomba? Everything’s here. And it still has that familyfriendly feel so for us it’s the perfect place to be.