New suburb for Sydney

I was driving to Kurrajong today to check out the Scarecrow Festival.  Along the way, on Windsor Road, I passed by Rouse Hill.  Whilst stopping at the lights in Rouse Hill, on the radio, it was announced that the spot where I was waiting for the lights to turn, the State government has approved the rezoning of land to create 2500 new homes.  The area will also be serviced by the north west rail link.  It is definitely great news for the existing residents as the main transportation is by bus.
http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/government-creates-new-2500homes-sydney-suburb-20111022-1mdc7.html

The announcement is a step in the right direction for aspiring home owners and for people who can't afford living too close to the city.  The smallest lots is 250 sq m. but with good planning this lot size would be ample for the growing families.  The houses are anticipated to finish in 2 years ahead of the North West Rail link.  The suburb will be the last stop for the rail link.

The area, Rouse Hill is already poised for this growth.  The Rouse Hill Town Center if huge and is built on an environmentally friendly design.  It is not an "indoor" shopping center but the various blocks are linked by spacious corridors which is undercover providing the fresh air as opposed to merely air conditioning.

The same theme is also found in the market place a.k.a food court.  The food court itself is very spacious and has ample seats and tables.  All goes to cater for the growing population in this area.

The areas and suburbs surrounding Rouse Hill has also been growing steadily and most of the shops are relatively large.  What I mean is that the McDonalds and the KFC are usually larger outlets than you get at other suburbs.

It'll be interesting to see how this suburb evolves over the next couple of years.

Rouse Hill - Food marketplace

Annual Granny Smith Festival 2011

Last weekend was the Granny Smith Festival held annually in Eastwood.  This festival is a celebration of the life and legacy of Maria Ann Smith aka Granny Smith who accidentally grew the first batch of "green" apples which now bore her name.

The Granny Smith festival began in 1985 and has grown bigger and bigger each year turning the main streets in Eastwood into a carnival like celebration with food stalls, home wares, parades and rides with the festival finished off with a fireworks lighting up the sky.

This was the first year I went early enough to catch the parade which showcases some of the local businesses.  The sun was trying to come out but thankfully it came out eventually and it turned out to be a wonderful day.  The festival was very colourful, with lion dances, belly dancing... even the dogs were out for a walk.  There were entertainment, singing and dancing along the mall and the streets.  There were also performances from school children.

Cute dogs - they were all tangled up!

I must say the belly dancers were the highlight of the festival.  They were very colourful and well liked by the crowds.

Colourful costumes - a crowd favourite!

The other festival item that was in demand was an orange shopping bag... hmm... there was a queue outside this stall, people were seen asking where to get this orange bag and the stall had to push people off... hmm... not sure what was so special with this bag.

Very popular bag!