Active Outdoors Expo to inspire activity in the outdoors

The Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation (QORF) has announced that its Active Outdoors Expo will be one of its key events during its upcoming month long celebration of the outdoors, known as 'Outdoor-tober'.

The Expo, to be held at Bayside Park, Manly, Brisbane from 9am to 3pm on Sunday 6th October, aims to showcase the wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities available in South East Queensland.

Expressive Bikes will show off their fantastic mountain biking stunts and the SES will be conducting demonstrations for staying safe in the storm season. Other activity demonstrations and free come and try activities including parkour, kick biking, orienteering and campcraft will be available for people of all ages and abilities to encourage everyone to enjoy the Queensland outdoors.

This year Vertec Adventure will be providing a climbing wall where children and adults can test out their climbing abilities while there will be lots of water-based activities including canoeing.

QORF aims to provide a variety of opportunities for families and groups of friends at the Expo to try new activities or revisit favourites from years gone by.

QORF Chief Executive Donna Little explains "the come and try activities such as tent building competitions and rock climbing will keep the child in all of us entertained.

"Visitors can also check out the variety of new outdoor equipment and services on offer from some of Queensland's leading outdoor providers".

The Active Outdoors Expo is a central part of QORF's mission to encourage more people to get involved in outdoor recreation more often with Outdoor-tober marking a month long celebration of the outdoors, focused on encouraging increased participation in outdoor activities.

Outdoor-tober will be formally launched this Thursday 27th September at Kangaroo Point Cliffs, Brisbane with Queensland the Minister for National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, Steve Dickson joining by a group of outdoor recreators including local Outdoor-tober Ambassador, John Cantor who recently completed an epic solo journey through the Alaskan wilderness.

Little highlights that the Outdoor-tober launch "provides a great opportunity to get ideas on how to be involved in the month of October. It's a real reminder to each of us to get outdoors and reconnect whenever we can."

Minister Dickson said he was thrilled to be launching the inaugural Outdoor-tober event, which was a great reminder of the wonderful range of outdoor activities on offer for Queensland communities, stating "(the Queensland) Government is committed to getting more Queenslanders into active and healthy lifestyles, both through our grassroots focus on sport and recreation and the LNP's election promise to open up our National Parks for everyone to enjoy.

"I'm very pleased to support the Outdoor-tober initiative, and would urge all Queenslanders to give something new a go with family and friends this month."

The launch will involve people abseiling, rockclimbing, kayaking, mountain biking, skateboarding, stand up paddling, rollerblading and more. Local recreation clubs and outdoor providers will be part of the morning with representatives from the Australian Climbing Association (Queensland), Canoeing Queensland, Riverlife, Federated Mountain Rescue, Girl Guides Queensland, Scouts Queensland, Pinnacle Sports, Padua college, PCYC, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service all joining in the mornings activities.

Little concludes "outdoor activities offer a great way to have fun, be challenged and also look after your personal health and wellbeing.

More details on outdoor events throughout the state can be found at the Outdoor-tober website.

For further information contact QORF office on 07 3369 9455, E: ceo@qorf.org.au, www.activeoutdoorsexpo.com