Make a day of it: coolum with Alison mooney
here’s a few extra things you can do when you visit coolum for Horizon festival.
Coolum is home to a few events this year. There’s The Playlist, Collage with The Butiner, and our most celebrated and loved event, Dawn Awakening. It’s also a beautiful town to visit. So, rather than just coming for the event, why not make a day of it. Grab a coffee, explore the natural surroundings, or have a drink at the pub.
We asked Coolum local — and really, really, really great artist — Alison Mooney to show us around her neck of the woods. (We also made a pit stop at Alison’s studio. So below is a guide to that, too.)
Here’s how you should spend the day in Coolum.
alison’s guide to coolum
german bakehouse (coolum industrial)
Start the morning here with a sugar pretzel and coffee.
Ping pong at the library
Outside the library there’s a colourful ping pong table that the public can play. It’s a nice way to kill some time and I will accept all challengers on the table.
Boardwalk + check out the public art around town
There’s heaps of public art around town for you to check out. Walk along the boardwalk and you’ll be met with nice views of the ocean and Kim Guthrie’s mirror work.
Charcoal Chicken
Go and get the worlds’ best chips and try to find the guy with an injured hand in their awesome, old school, print on the wall as you wait.
Cool Art Picture Framing + Gallery
Cool Art is located in the Industrial Estate. The team are lovely. You can get your works framed or check out the gallery space upstairs (and view of water skiers out the window). They also make a great coffee.
Coolum surf club
Finish off with a drink at the surf club. The view is amazing and you can pretend you’re in Summer Bay — just a young grommet hanging at the local after school.
Check out Alison’s work on Instagram or her website.