The Cake Decorators Association of NSW are hosting the 15th National Seminar at the Citigate Central Hotel, Thomas Street, Sydney.

Special Guest is Lindy Smith.

The Seminar will open officially on Sunday Evening 23rd August and will finish at 3.00 pm Friday 28th August.

The programming information and application form can be seen and downloaded from the Association website: http://www.cakedirectory.com/cdaofnsw/15NatSem.html

Non-members can attend without joining the Association. Costs are higher though than those for members.

Final payment due beginning of June.

EDIT 22/06/09: ‘Day Only Registration Forms” have now been released for those people who cannot attend the whole week just come for a day, remember Lindy Smith is going to be demonstrating! Forms can be downloaded from the website.

EDIT 3/07/09:  Want to know who is demonstrating on what day?

Monday demonstration list:
Lindy Smith – UK
Mary Ann Gonsalves – WA
Stella Abraham
CDA of New South Wales
Victorian Cake Decorating Society
National Executive
See the National Competition entries.
The day will finish with afternoon tea at 3.45pm.

Tuesday demonstration list:
Lindy Smith – UK
Kath Swansbra – NSW
Gail Dorter – WA
Greg Cleary – Qld
South Australian CDA
CDA of New South Wales
The day will finish with afternoon tea at 3.45pm.

Thursday demonstration list:
NSW Cake Decorators Guild
John Quai Hoi – Vic
Queensland CDA
Rita Nicholls – NSW
Western Australia CDA
Tasmanian CDA
The day will finish with afternoon tea at 3.45pm.

Friday demonstration list:
Lindy Smith – UK
Paris Cutler – Planet Cake
Jillean Crouch – Vic
The day will finish with afternoon tea at 3pm

Information also available here

So you if you have any association with the Guild, you may have heard the word Seminar being bandied about. This year the Guild are holding theirs in Merimbula.

13th Seminar for the NSW Guild – 3 day Sugarcraft Extravaganza in Merimbula

15th, 16th & 17th May 2009
Merimbula RSL Club
Main St Merimbula

Cost: $330 inclusive of events, lunches, 2 dinner and a themed ball (accommodation is separate)

I do believe you need to be a Guild member to attend so if you’ve been wanting to join it provides a good excuse. All the Guilds from NSW are involved so contact your nearest Guild for more information OR there are booking officer contact details on the Guilds Website Events page.

If you live nearby there are also Daily rates if you don’t want to attend all days.

There’s a branch display, 2 individual competitions and Exhibits on Parade.

Payment is due however, last year they allowed Challenge Competition entries after the closing date, so if you would like to attend do use the contact information (in the Events page link), they can only say no.

The Association are also having a seminar in Sydney in August, you can read about it here.

If you are interested in joining the Cake Decorators’ Guild of NSW, but aren’t sure what to expect, you can go along to one meeting as a non-member before insurance requirements make it necessary for you to join. You don’t even need to be invited you can just show up, however, it is always nice to go along to one of these and know somebody there! Several of our cake friends go to Guild Meetings at Golden West (Quakers Hill) and Sydney (Concord) Branches, so if you would like to go along to one let me know and I will try to make sure myself or another cake friend is there to greet you hello!

Once joined you are not beholden to that branch, membership entitles you to attend any of the Guild meetings anywhere, particularly handy if you can’t make a meeting one month at one place or if you want to go to meetings more often then once every two months.

Other branches include: Armidale, Parkes / Forbes, West Wyalong, Nareendera / Leeton, Wagga Wagga, Cowra, Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow, Southern Highlands, Goulburn, Cooma, Sapphire Coast, Illawarra & Central Coast.

Despite advice to the contrary you can be a member of both the Guild and the Association, after all it’s about Cake Decorating right , the Association’s charter does state in basic terms that if you are a committee member in one you can’t be a committee member in the other, I imagine the Guild’s Charter might say the same, but I’ve yet to get my hands on one.

If you have a list of meeting dates for 2009 for any of these branches, feel free to leave a comment or use the Contact page and I will add them!

Please also find attached for download a copy of the Sydney Branch Newsletter for February to help you see a little more about the Guild. (Click the word newsletter after this sentence).

[download#1]

Here are some pictures from some of the demonstrations. There hasn’t been a meeting where I haven’t picked up at least one helpful tip.