Blogging The Ride WA Screening Tour

The Ride SA Screening Tour: COMPLETE

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:58:10 GMT

The Ride SA Screening Tour is now complete, and what a fantastic journey it has been!

Here is the full list of towns we visited, and the map (click the icon at each location for photos).

We’ve travelled for just under four weeks around SA, visiting 22 communities - to a combined audience of over 1,500 people.

Our final screening took place on Sunday in Adelaide with Robbi Williams from the Julia Farr Group speaking prior to the film. BINSA also organised drinks and nibbles after the screening to celebrate the end of the tour.

From here we’ll be looking for opportunities to tour either the rest of SA or other parts of Australia, to continue sharing ‘The Ride’ with as many people as possible. Hopefully we’ll secure the same level of support that we had last year in WA, and this year, here in SA, from our major sponsor, the Julia Farr MS McLeod Benevolent Fund and the SA community in general – without your support this simply wouldn’t have been possible.

We hope that you’ll continue to follow our journey, and ‘Thank You’ once again for coming along for The Ride!

We are over halfway through the tour!

Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:17:50 GMT

It’s gone quickly and we are halfway through our tour! So far we have screened the film in Murray Bridge, Victor, Goolwa, Strath, Tailem Bend, Kingston, Robe, Penola, Mt Gambier, Millicent, Naracoorte and Bordertown. In each town we receive incredibly warm receptions from the audience – we love it! Plus the country hospitality offered to us makes us smile!! So many people have supported the tour and us. It’s dangerous to single people out for fear we may miss someone, but we’ll give it a go!

Firstly, thanks to the passionate people who work for Disability SA – Brad (Murray Bridge), Carol (Victor) and Nikki (the South East). If I were disabled I imagine I’d feel great comfort knowing I had people like these in my corner… The SES and the RSL in Victor, who are completely community minded people… The fiery ladies at the Tailem Bend Community Centre who get things done and are so active within their town…. Thanks to Scott and Craig in Kingston, a community that has recently been affected by a spinal injury, for taking a ball and running with it. Plus the gift of THE BIGGEST CRAYFISH you have ever seen!!!! Then there are the ladies who work with the council in Penola (Emily and Kat) and Mt Gambier (Alison) who looked after us like we were rock stars and welcomed us into their lives… In Millicent, Dawn and Di and the Wattle Range Road Safety Group, people who I’ve met before through my last project – Journey Beyond Road Trauma, welcomed us with a beautiful and cosy screening. After the screening we went to see the memorial they had created for people affected by road trauma. It was late at night and raining but the memorial, lit up by our car headlights, was so special to see. Plus, a huge thanks to the councils at Naracoorte and Bordertown for putting in a lot of effort to getting great audiences (100+).

Aside from eating crayfish and meeting amazing people, the tour aims to spread awareness and break down barriers between disabled and able-bodied people. We can confidently say we are doing that. Audiences have said;

“There is always a way to live life to the fullest”

“If you overcome the critical period of grieving and make the choice to live, you can live a fulfilling life”

“How vulnerable we can be, but life is for living”

We still have the following screenings to go, please come along and/or spread the word!!!

Keith	Thursday, October 16, 2014
Berri	Friday, October 17, 2014
Renmark	Saturday, October 18, 2014
Barmera	Sunday, October 19, 2014
Loxton	Monday, October 20, 2014
Lameroo	Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Waikerie	Thursday, October 23, 2014
Gawler	Friday, October 24, 2014
Nuriootpa	Saturday, October 25, 2014
Adelaide	Sunday, October 26, 2014

For updated screening info: http://theridemoviescreeningtour.org/venues-times

Once again, thanks to the support from our major sponsor – Julia Farr MS McLeod Benevolent Fund.

Warmest regards,

Sandra

SA Tour starts today!

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 22:32:07 GMT

After months of preparation, today we hit the road!

Jim has arrived safely in Adelaide after completing the Australasian Safari just days before, the gear is checked and we are ready to go!

The Ride SA Screening Tour has commenced!

This afternoon we - Jim and Sandra* will make our way to Murray Bridge for the first screening of the tour, at John Dohler Hall, Swan Port Rd at 7pm.

The SA version of the ABC’s 7:30 Report – 7:30SA will be filming at the screening and air the story tomorrow night (3rd Oct). Make sure you do your hair ladies!!!!

We hope the audience is warm and the questions are free flowing!

We'll be sharing lots of photos and audience feedback throughout the tour on our facebook page. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #TheRideMovie.

We also want to know your thoughts about how to make YOUR community better for people living with a disability. At each screening we will encourage the audience to take a few minutes to fill out this survey: surveymonkey.com/s/The_Ride_Tour_SA_Survey

See you on the road! Thanks for joining THE RIDE…

*Jim Cairns is one of the four men featured in the movie, and Sandra Cook is the movie's Director. Together they will tour SA and host the Q&A sessions after each screening.

What will happen on the tour…

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 05:12:00 GMT

At each of the 22 towns visited, we will screen the full-length documentary that runs for 55 minutes.

After each screening, we encourage you to stick around for a Q&A session with Jim Cairns and Sandra Cook.

Audience members are invited to ask questions, whether they want to know more about the movie itself, or perhaps ask Jim about his inspiring can-do attitude and how he came to terms with swapping his beloved motorbike for a wheelchair.

We also want to know your thoughts about how to make YOUR community better for people living with a disability. At each screening we will encourage people to take a few minutes to fill out this survey.

So if you haven't already, check out the trailer for The Ride to see what it's all about!

We look forward to visiting your town and sharing our story with you.

For screening information or to reserve a ticket or advise of accessibility requirements please visit: http://www.theridemoviescreeningtour.org/venues-times

A massive 'thank you' to all of our supporters

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 01:43:42 GMT

In just over two weeks time we'll be hitting the road on The Ride SA Screening Tour, and we'd like to say a big 'thank you' to all of our supporters for helping to make this happen.

The purpose of the tour is to help the SA community to better understand the impact of living with a disability, as well as promoting road safety. Along the way, we also want to hear YOUR thoughts about how to make YOUR community better for those living with a disability.

Unfortunately there is still a stigma around disability, and more often than not, this results from an individual's misconceptions that are usually through no fault of their own.

By screening The Ride, we want to show people first hand just how much can be achieved by those living with a disability, as well as inspiring others to rise up over life’s obstacles.

With your support we are making this happen!

So whether you've provided much needed funding, offered to hold a screening in your community, or promoted the screening to your network, we are extremely grateful for your assistance in helping us.

Thank you!

22 towns confirmed for The Ride SA Screening Tour!

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 08:49:48 GMT

It's official!!!! Thanks to funding from the Julia Farr M S McLeod Benevolent Fund THE RIDE will be touring regional South Australia in October. We will be screening in Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor, Goolwa, Strathalbyn,Tailem Bend, Kingston, Robe, Millicent, Mt Gambier, Penola, Naracoorte, Bordertown, Keith, Lameroo, Loxton, Berri, Renmark, Barmera, Waikerie, Gawler, Nurioopta, and Adelaide....

Screening venues and times for each town will be posted over the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our Venues & Times page or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for progress updates.

All screenings will be followed by a Q and A with Jim and Sandra.

Jim is one of the four men featured in the film, and one of the Executive Producers who helped to bring it all together.

Sandra is the film's Producer and Director, admitting that she was attracted to the story 'because it had all the key ingredients: tragedy, triumph, and a love story'.

Big thanks to Julia Farr and The Ride community!

The Ride WA Screening Tour: COMPLETE

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 06:49:00 GMT

The Ride WA Screening Tour is now complete, and what a fantastic journey it has been!

Here is the full list of towns we visited, and the map (click the icon at each location for photos).

We’ve travelled approximately 8,000kms around WA, visiting 45 communities and screening 50 times - to a combined audience of about 4,500 people.

Our final screening took place on Friday 6 December at Neil McDougall Park in South Perth; we had a good crowd and the Chairman of one of our key supporters – Disability Services Commission (DSC) – Bruce Langoulant came down to kick-off the event and congratulate us for helping to raise awareness about ‘Count Me In’ and its important messages.

From here we’ll be looking for opportunities to tour other parts of Australia, to continue sharing ‘The Ride’ with as many people as possible. Hopefully we’ll secure the same level of support that we have here in WA, both from our supporters (Fairholme Disability Support Group, Disability Services Commission (DSC) and Lotterywest) and the WA community in general – without your support this simply wouldn’t have been possible.

We hope that you’ll continue to follow our journey, and ‘Thank You’ once again for coming along for The Ride!

The Ride Movie WA Screening Tour was proudly supported by

Interested visitors can check out the WA Tour map here.

The final three!

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 06:30:45 GMT

We're now down to the final three screenings of the WA Tour - and what a fantastic journey this has been.

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been visiting towns across the South West, including:

Mandurah
Bunbury
Capel
Busselton
Dunsborough
Margaret River
Augusta
Nannup
Manjimup
Donnybrook
Harvey

Our remaining screening schedule for the South West Loop includes:

Pinjarra - Tuesday 3 December
Rockingham - Wednesday 4 December
City of South Perth (finale screening) - Friday 6 December

We've also got some exciting news to share with you...

The Ride is screening tonight on Foxtel (Bio channel) at 7:30pm, and Qantas will be showing The Ride on selected domestic and international flights over the next six months.

If you see it, let us know!

Touring the beautiful South West...

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 03:24:18 GMT

We're now three days in to the final loop of our WA Screening Tour - making our way around the beautiful South West corner of WA.

We had a great time screening to audiences in Mandurah, Bunbury and Capel over the weekend, and tonight we're in Busselton, screening at the Busselton Senior Citizen Centre from 7pm.

We've also arranged the encore screening for Albany, as we were unable to accommodate everyone at our original screening. This will take place tomorrow (Tuesday 26 November) at the Church of Living Water from 7pm.

Unfortunately Jim & Sandra will not be able to make the screening, as they'll be in Dunsborough as per the original screening schedule. However, we hope you can still make it along if you missed it first time around!

Our remaining screening schedule for the South West Loop includes:

Busselton - tonight, Monday 25 November
Dunsborough - Tuesday 26 November
Margaret River - Wednesday 27 November
Augusta - Thursday 28 November
Nannup - Friday 29 November
Manjimup - Saturday 30 November
Donnybrook - Sunday 1 December
Harvey - Monday 2 December
Pinjarra - Tuesday 3 December
Rockingham - Wednesday 4 December
City of South Perth (finale screening) - Friday 6 December

Visit our venues & times page for details of your local screening.

Thanks again for all the messages of support and appreciation on our Facebook page. It's great to hear positive feedback from audience members, and to know that this big adventure is having a lasting impact on the WA community.

A fantastic response from the Eastern Loop so far!

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 06:09:00 GMT

The Eastern Loop ends tomorrow, with just two more screenings - tonight (in Merredin) and tomorrow (in Cunderdin).

We've seen some big audiences throughout this leg of the tour, so first of all we'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone for attending and for the hard work of our community advocates who not only help to organise the events but also encourage people to attend - without you the tour simply wouldn't be a success!

While we were delighted with the turn-out in Albany last week, we unfortunately had to turn about 20 people away as there simply wasn't enough space for them. So if you were one of those we had to turn away, or you wanted to come along but weren't able to make it, stay tuned as we'll be announcing an encore screening over the next couple of weeks...

If you're following us on Facebook, you'll have seen that our Esperance screening drew an audience of 180 people, followed closely by Kalgoorlie with 140. And while the audiences weren't quite as big in the smaller towns we visited (as expected), the audiences were fantastic and really got involved in the Q&A sessions.

The sales of merchandise throughout the tour have been impressive, and it's good to know that people are buying the DVD to share with their family and friends. We know that we can't judge the tour's success purely on how many people attend the screenings, as the message (and in some cases the movie) are spread far beyond our immediate audience, whether it's word of mouth between friends, family and colleagues, or through the sharing of our DVD.

So with just 2 more screenings to go on the Eastern Loop, followed by 13 screenings for the South West Loop (after a couple of days' rest!) we're feeling really positive about the tour and the impact The Ride is having on people across the State.

We've even lined up a finale screening back in Perth on Friday 6 December, to celebrate our journey and share our story with the Perth community. This will be held at Neil McDougall Park in Como, and the screening will commence at 7pm.

Making our way around country WA

Thu, 14 Nov 2013 22:31:00 GMT

We're having a great time touring country WA, visiting regional communities as part of the Eastern Loop to share our story and help the WA community to better understand the reality of living with a disability.

So far on the Eastern Loop we've visited York, Brookton, Broomehill, Mt Barker, Denmark, Albany, Esperance and we'll be screening in Kambalda today, then making our way to:
•    Kalgoorlie - Saturday 16 November
•    Coolgardie - Sunday 17 November
•    Merredin - Monday 18 November
•    Cunderdin - Tuesday 19 November

Jim and Sandra will be speaking to Radio West later this week, and the interview will air on Monday's breakfast show, ahead of the Merredin screening later that day. So if you're in the area, be sure to tune in!

While we're on a pretty tight schedule, we have found some time to take in the beautiful sights that the WA has to offer, including a recent visit to the Tree Top Walk near Denmark, which - like the outback - is also wheelchair accessible!

If you have any suggestions on where else we should visit during our 'down time', let us know via our Facebook page!

Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions... we're coming to you!

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 02:17:00 GMT

After three weeks touring northern WA, we've had a short break back in Perth and later today we're getting back on the road and heading to York for the first screening of the tour's Eastern Loop.

The communities we'll be screening in as part of this loop include:

York - Thursday 7 November
Brookton - Friday 8 November
Broomehill - Saturday 9 November
Mt Barker - Sunday 10 November
Denmark - Monday 11 November
Albany - Wednesday 13 November
Esperance - Thursday 14 November
Kambalda West - Friday 15 November
Kalgoorlie - Saturday 16 November
Coolgardie - Sunday 17 November
Merredin - Monday 18 November
Cunderdin - Tuesday 19 November

We received some great feedback from the northern loop audiences, most of which has been shared on our Facebook page.

Here's what some audience members said after attending their local screening...

Totally inspirational you all are amazing to share you're story is so brave and beautiful!!! Dreams come true if we make them!! God bless you men thanks for sharing your story xoxo" - Naomie

Firstly hats off for making the doco it was great to watch, and thank you for bringing it on tour to the small towns. I loved watching it and being able to talk with Jim before and after the screening.

As I am sure many others have said life can get too hard/busy/stressful at times well this is a good kick in the butt. Life for you guys is nothing like you had planned or could imagine but look back now and look at the life you have crafted, maybe not the direction you originally thought but incredible at what you have achieved even for an abled bodied person. Sandra did an awesome job at piecing it all together. - Mark

Had a great night, really enjoyed the movie. Inspirational.... - Brad

Just come back home after seeing your film - inspirational! If there is something you want to do in life, this film inspires you to find a way to do it! Fantastic and thank you!" - Heather

Help us to spread the word by telling your friends and family about their local screening of The Ride. We'd love to meet them!

Thank you northern WA - we hope you enjoyed The Ride!

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 00:24:19 GMT

The Northern Loop of the tour is complete, here's a quick reminder of the communities we've visited...

Coorow
Three Springs
Dongara
Geraldton
Northampton
Kalbarri
Carnarvon
Exmouth
Onslow
Wickham
Port Hedland
Marble Bar
Nullagine
Tom Price
Paraburdoo
Newman
Mt Magnet

Thank you to everybody who came along to a screening, and to the wonderful supporters and organisers who helped to make it all possible!

Jim and Sandra are taking a much-needed break before starting the Eastern Loop on Thursday 7 November with a screening in York.

They'll be visiting 11 communities on the Eastern Loop, and 13 as part of the South West Loop.

If we haven't visited your community yet - we look forward to meeting you and sharing our story!

Remember you can track our progress through our interactive tracking map, and you can browse our photos and feedback through The Ride Facebook page.

Two weeks down, one left to go for the Northern Loop of the tour...

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 22:15:55 GMT

This week we'll be screening in the final four communities as part of the tour's Northern Loop - Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Newman and Mt Magnet.

We're having a great time and meeting some fantastic people along the way, but last week things got a little tricky when the transmission failed in Jim's car...

We're now in a hire car, and a very kind Phil Gardiner (Perth-based engineer) had a hand-control sent up to us overnight as Jim needs this to control the pedals (due to his paraplegia).

So 'thank you' Phil, you saved the day!

Also last week, we visited ABC North West's studio in Karratha to speak with the lovely Cristy-Lee McQueen about the movie, the tour, and our screenings in the area. Here we are in the studio - let us know if you heard the interview!

We're also enjoying the audience feedback on our Facebook page, so please keep it coming!

Our first week on the road for The Ride WA Screening Tour

Mon, 21 Oct 2013 07:27:00 GMT

We've had a good start to the screening tour, but we need your support to help make this a success!

Our screenings last week included Coorow, Three Springs, Dongara, Geraldton, Northampton, Kalbarri and Carnarvon - and our next stop is Exmouth.

We've met some fantastic people at the screening events to date, all of who seem to have enjoyed the screening and Q&A sessions, but we need the help of local communities to encourage more people to attend the screenings to help us promote the principles of 'Count Me In' and the importance of road safety here in WA.

Support on Facebook has been great; we've had 80 new page likes since starting the tour, and we do recognise that this too contributes towards sharing our message and making people aware of what we are doing.

We'd like to thank everybody so far who has attended or helped to organised a screening in the first 7 towns we've visited, and we hope you will tell your friends, family, and work colleagues about The Ride to help improve their understanding of life with a disability.

We'd also love to hear your feedback so we can post this on our Facebook page to encourage others to attend when we hold a screening in their town.

You can send your comments to feedback@theridemoviescreeningtour.org, or go directly to our Facebook page and post on there, using the hashtag #TheRideMovie.

Another way to help is by encouraging friends in our upcoming communities to attend their local screening.

A recommendation from a trusted friend is by far the best form of advertising!

So thank you again for the support to date, and we look forward to starting the second week of the tour in Exmouth tonight.

Today is the day... we are on our way WA!

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 09:48:00 GMT

After months of preparation, the day has finally arrived.

The Ride WA Screening Tour has commenced!

Jim and Sandra are making their way to Coorow for the first screening of the tour's Northern Loop, which will take place at 7pm tonight at Coorow Town Hall.

We hope they receive a warm welcome and we're sure the audience will have a fantastic time!

Our interactive tracking map will now follow the tour's progress, so you can keep up with Jim and Sandra* as they travel the State to promote road safety in the spirit of 'Count Me In'.

We'll be sharing lots of photos and audience feedback throughout the tour too, and you can share your own messages of support by sending your comments to feedback@theridemoviescreeningtour.org.

If you have photos to share after attending your local screening, please upload them to our dedicated Flickr account - www.flickr.com/groups/theridemovie.

You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #TheRideMovie.

*Jim Cairns is one of the four men featured in the movie, and Sandra Cook is the movie's Director. Together they will tour WA and host the Q&A sessions after each screening.

What to expect from your local screening of The Ride

Fri, 04 Oct 2013 05:18:02 GMT

(other than tears, laughter, and admiration!)

The screening of the full-length documentary runs for 55 minutes, and we recommend arriving early to get a good seat!

We also encourage you to stick around after the screening for a Q&A session with Jim Cairns and Sandra Cook.

Jim is one of the four men featured in the film, and one of the Executive Producers who helped to bring it all together.

Sandra is the film's Producer and Director, admitting that she was attracted to the story 'because it had all the key ingredients: tragedy, triumph, and a love story'.

Audience members are invited to ask questions after the screening, whether they want to know more about the movie itself, or perhaps ask Jim about his inspiring can-do attitude and how he came to terms with swapping his beloved motorbike for a wheelchair.

The Q&A session generally goes on for one hour, however this varies depending on audience size and willingness to participate.

There will also be an opportunity to browse the merchandise stall where you can purchase The Ride DVD or pick up one of The Ride t-shirts (available in black, yellow or white) for $20.

So if you haven't already, check out the trailer for The Ride to see what it's all about!

We look forward to visiting your town and sharing our story with you.

A huge heartfelt 'thank you' to all of our supporters

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 03:35:00 GMT

In just over two weeks time we'll be hitting the road on The Ride WA Screening Tour, and we'd like to say a big 'thank you' to all of our supporters for helping to make this happen.

The purpose of the tour is to promote road safety and help the WA community to better understand the impact of living with a disability, in the spirit of the State Government's 'Count Me In: Disability Future Directions' initiative.

At the heart of the initiative lies the vision of a 'Western Australia where all people live in welcoming communities that actively promote citizenship, friendship, mutual support and a fair go for everyone.'

This is an incredibly important vision that we feel we can help to achieve through the story of The Ride, which shows that having a disability doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t live a fulfilling life (and have a few laughs along the way!)

Unfortunately there is still a stigma around disability, and more often than not, this results from an individual's misconceptions that are usually through no fault of their own. They may have had limited exposure to disabilities and so base their understanding on their own experiences, so we saw a further need to provide people with a better understanding to help change perceptions for the benefit of those living with a disability, their families and carers.

We decided one of the best ways to do this was to get out there and show people first hand just how much can be achieved by those living with a disability, and help them (in this case) to see the person, not the wheelchair.

With your support we are making this happen!

So whether you've provided much needed funding or offered to hold a screening in your community, we are extremely grateful for your assistance in helping us to reach out to the WA community.

Thank you!

45 towns confirmed for The Ride WA Screening Tour!

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 00:17:00 GMT

The tour has been split into three legs as detailed in the following tables.

Screening venues and times for each town will be posted over the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our Venues & Times page or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for progress updates.

We hope you will join us at your nearest screening and help us to promote road safety and the principles of 'Count Me In' within your community.

NORTHERN LOOP

Update: The latest screening info is on our Venues & Times page.

Coorow	Monday 14 October
Three Springs	Tuesday 15 October
Dongara	Tuesday 15 October
Geraldton	Wednesday 16 October
Northampton	Thursday 17 October
Kalbarri	Friday 18 October
Carnarvon	Saturday 19 October
Exmouth	Monday 21 October
Onslow	Tuesday 22 October
Wickham	Wednesday 23 October
Port Hedland	Thursday 24 October
Marble Bar	Saturday 26 October
Nullagine	Sunday 27 October
Tom Price	Monday 28 October
Paraburdoo	Tuesday 29 October
Newman	Wednesday 30 October
Meekatharra	Thursday 31 October
Mt Magnet	Friday 1 November

EASTERN LOOP

Update: The latest screening info is on our Venues & Times page.

York	Thursday 7 November
Brookton	Friday 8 November
Broomehill	Saturday 9 November
Mt Barker	Sunday 10 November
Denmark	Monday 11 November
Albany	Tues 12/Weds 13 November
Esperance	Thursday 14 November
Kambalda West	Friday 15 November
Kalgoorlie	Saturday 16 November
Merredin	Sunday 17 November
Cunderdin	Monday 18 November

SOUTH WEST LOOP

Update: The latest screening info is on our Venues & Times page.

Mandurah	Friday 22 November
Bunbury	Saturday 23 November
Capel	Sunday 24 November
Busselton	Monday 25 November
Dunsborough	Tuesday 26 November
Margaret River	Wednesday 27 November
Augusta	Thursday 28 November
Nannup	Friday 29 November
Manjimup	Saturday 30 November
Donnybrook	Sunday 1 December
Harvey	Monday 2 December
Pinjarra	Tuesday 3 December
Rockingham	Wednesday 4 December