Everyone knows we live in a playground here.  There are things to do at every turn and we really seem to be spoiled for choice, but I pondered on what I’d do if I had just one chance every month.

The result is clearly not going to suit everyone, in fact there was some discussion at Hacienda del Dave, but if you got to everything on the list, it could seem like a good year when you reviewed it at the end.

I tried to go with things that had a little bit of history... having done this for a few years doesn’t prove you’ll keep coming back but it does prove you’ve got the expertise to put on a show, and it helps you get exhibitors, performers, and sponsors on board.  I thought to myself that I’d try for the best in a type of event, but after all is said and done, it’s my choice and I really decided that at one event per month, this is how I’d have fun.

So this is how the list looks:

January – The Marron and Wine Festival, Pemberton.  It’s pretty warm in January and this is a chance to get to the cool, deep forests and celebrate fine wine and a delicacy from the region.  There is a developing base of attractions in the area, and this is an absolutely sterling start to the year.  Set some time aside to follow up on some fine woodcraft while you’re there and you won’t regret that either.

February - Bunbury International Jazz Festival.  Didn’t take long to break one of my own rules, this festival ran for the first time in 2007.  The resources of the city of Bunbury are behind it though, and the festival director is  a winner, so I’m betting it’s safe.  Jazz is a style of music I don’t get to listen to often enough and the festival had a stellar lineup of both free and ticketed concerts, with everything from internationals acts to up and comers from WA.  Truly worth a piece of your February.

March - Bunbury Cup / The Carnivale.  This is an event that keeps on growing and seems to spread over an entire week.  The horse racing is a little lost on me, but like most things the best in any sport is worth a look.  The Turf club puts on a massive party, and the simple size of it is great to watch.  People watching is certainly the order of the day, with both men and women getting into fashions that range from elegant and stunning, through crass, to just plain silly.  Any place that genuinely has tens of thousands of people gathering for the purpose of having a good time (and maybe seeing a horse race), is a place worth being.  I’m a convert, but I’ll refrain from putting the housekeeping in the bookies’ hands.

April – Small Farm Field Day, Balingup.  The South West has developed rapidly over the past decades and there are significant numbers of people with little farming experience making a go of taking an income from the land.  Many of them are doing so on smaller holdings and the community of Balingup saw a niche and developed a day for getting expertise to the small farmer.  With only a million things to learn I have wandered around the field day lapping up knowledge and not even got half of it in.  Both enjoyable and worthwhile.

May - Margaret River Wine Region Festival.  This may be the biggest and best run festival in the region.  It covers a big slab of the area around Margaret River, and obviously has a focus on wine and gourmet food.  There are also art, theatre, music, trade shows, and tiny obscure things al worked into a magical festival.  Note the shift from November to May (harvest time), get your program early, and decide which of the myriad ways to get the most out of a glorious area.

June – Whale watching.  This is an event not organized by a committee.  These creatures on their annual migration are not easily accessible to most mere humans, but they pass along our coast in June and July, quite close in at times.  Find a tour or a charter boat and give yourself the best chance of viewing some mind boggling creatures.  Basically we’re not allowed to make contact with the whales, but a good tour operator will put you in the best place for the whales to make contact with you.  Not many people come back from this experience without a grin a mile wide.

July – Live Steam Day, Yarloop.  Yarloop is a town not ready to lie down, and in July they’ll show you through the historic workshops and let you get some access to how different life was a very short while ago.  This is fascinating, and it’s not as far in the past as we imagine.

August – Medieval Fayre, Balingup.  What a hoot.  This is a town that knows how to get involved.  As far as I could tell everyone in Balingup was in a costume, including the pets.  Sword fighting, jesters, anything I could have imagined was on display, including a trebuchet (look it up), and a dachshund turned dragon.  Not sure where the camels fit in, but there they were.  Seriously plan to get to this one, and make the most of it, dress up.

September – Forest Fishing Festival, Pemberton.  Last year 8000 tagged trout were released into waterways around Pemberton, for the enjoyment of the people who would attempt to pull them from the water using hooks, lines, and treachery.  Some of the aforementioned fish were smarter than the fishermen, and I guess that’s the way it should be.  All 8000 of them were smarter than me.  Contact the Pemberton Visitor centre about how to get involved.  9776 1133.

October – Harvey Dickson’s Rodeo, Boyup Brook.  The Rodeo is another world, but I have made it part of my year for a while now, and I never regret it.  Great sport, great atmosphere, people watching to be done.  Harvey loves his country music and if you’re still around as the sun goes down there’s a big fire and bands on the massive outdoor stage.  It’s a fair way from a lot of places, camping is cheap and I think that if you were ready for it, the party would go well into the night.

November – Blues at Bridgetown.  This festival is well into it’s second decade and the organisers intend to make their town the Australian centre for the blues.  I like people taking on big visions and as the festival gets stronger and stronger, it seems they’re probably achieving their aim.  The entire town becomes part of this and there are street performers, acts in pubs and cafés, and of course the main show in the evening.  People come a long way to be part of this, I’d recommend you book early and make the most of it.

December – Busselton Ironman.  People showing no sense of enough being enough.  The ironman contest is a spectacle of mind numbing proportions.  There are competitors doing things that shouldn’t be possible and the sense of what is going on is all around.  This is a weekend of seeing things that truly are awesome.  I’d recommend it as a thing to see, but there are those reading who could seriously consider getting into training to compete.  Recently I realised I was talking to someone who had completed the 2006 event and the phrase “I’m not worthy” slipped from my mouth, go on, think about becoming legendary.

There you have it, Dave’s list.  I could give you my second twelve and I’d want to get to every one of them, too.  You’re invited to let me know what should have made the list and didn’t, but given that I took the uncomfortable step of disciplining myself and sticking to one per month, please don’t be to harsh.