Sent from my iPhone

http://handsforlove.posterous.com/dreamtopia

Sent from my iPhone

Bookings sit at 53 with more trickling in daily and I am happy with the outcome so far although I would love a full house...

At the moment we are preparing our speeches and our final massage tehniques to be able to put in a show that will move people to take part in our quest to improve touch as a vital part of our being in society... Sometimes I think we are lonely crusaders... :)

Sent from my iPhone

Dreamtopia.com.au was setup this week by our awesome web developer Tony Barry, owner of www.pricecompare.com.au.  He has done a fabulous job in creating a content management system that allows me to update the site at a moment's notice and with ease.  Well Done and a BIG thank you to Tony.

Our story also went into Style magazine this week...i h I have yet to source a final copy of the article but I know that it will hit a readership of around 252 954 people.. so that is a big one ... thanks to Clare Ponsford who put us onto the editor of Style Magazine..(this image you see is a copy of the July 2010 issue.. Be on the look out and if you find a copy please keep it for me... Cheers, Nikki

Hi All,

A quick update... Douglas, Dragan, Jarrad and I went to view the La Boite venue on Thursday this week, meet with the tech team to work out some of the finer details, like lighting, audio etc..

It was exhilerating standing in that space of so much possibility... wow! It feels so real now... Alex has provided me with the first hands massage clip and I have to say.. he has done one awesome job.. he even made my voice sound soft and gentle!.. Time is ticking down now to the event, we are still recruiting people to assist.. Please contact me if you think you can help in any small way as we are so short of hands.. we need hair dressers, ushers, bodies to massage, Maori actors, hairdressers, someone to do costume and makeup...and a graphics designer would be a useful addition.. (to design the Dreamtopia logo) and just a whole bunch of assistance in any direction would be so useful right now.

Advertising and media is under way with press releases being prepared. We have our first A3 poster ready for putting up in the Natural Therapies colleges and hospitals and working very busily at getting everything just so along with preparing the Dreamtopia website to sell our fundraiser DVD... it is just manic!!!  but oh! so exciting..

Please just buzz me on 0417 435 029 if you see anything you can do within what we need..

Have a great day!

Hi all you lovely people!

The birth of Dreamtopia the non-profit organisation, is imminent. We have to get one more permission signature from our first, inaugural Member and the company application is headed for ASIC.

I guess I stand here thinking - OMG I have created a monster!  All the work, accountants, auditors, lawyers and the like that are involved in this kind of setup is like a feeding frenzy. It is a necessary part of business and I accept that but jeez do they have to charge so much?

That said, who I am as a possibility is "unconditional love, creativity, courage, trust and wild experimentation!!!" - with that context in mind, I think, speak and act as my possibility so here goes... ;)

We go to view the La Boite on Thursday,1st June - we meet with the Technical team and try to get the quote for assistance down to a low $500 - right now it is standing at around $1400 - some serious enrolment conversations to be had.. I would like to make a stand for people..so why should it cost the earth?

The event date change had to happen because Shari from La Boite had to juggle their 'bump-in' for their next live performance. I was only too pleased as we were behind shedule anyway :) Yaaay more time...

Alex and I shot the video as I may have said in previous posts. I bought some music that can be used for sale and Alex is busy putting it all together. From what I have seen so far - it looks VERY professional - Well done Alex.

Simon is working on his side of things - creating spiritual drumming rythmns that will be work with the massage demonstration... musically I am not in that area at all so I have left a large part of that up to Douglas who has embraced the event with open arms!! So good to see. We have started looking for two two Maori men to be able to be on stage while we explain the origins of Ka Huna. Douglas' idea.. I think it will work well.

I am now down to business getting the Dreamtopia logo ready for release to Tony Barry our web master who will be under the hammer as soon as Dreamtopia is registered. It has been a long haul getting the constitution drafted, and signed off.. but we are very close now.. everything (press releases, advertising, site development) is just waiting in the wings.  Despite this we went to press with Living Now magazine this week for the 5 week July exposure in their Calendar pages as an upcoming event. www.livingnow.com.au

Here is what was written:

SATURDAY, 21 AUGUST 2010

“Hands for Love” Fundraiser

 Make a difference! Joining us at La Boite Theatre for a lovely evening of live Conga drummers and Ka Huna Massage demonstrations.
Learn to hands massage and buy our fundraiser DVD so we can build a space for Dreamtopia (non-profit organisation to bring communities together to promote healing).
Nikki Ward (phone number) email: h a n d s f o r l o v e @ g m a i l . c o m

So there you have it.. the update so far... ;)

I am now looking to recruit a person who will look after costume..and work closely with Douglas to make sure everyone looks fabulous.. :)

I will post again soon - to keep y'all in the loop so have a great day and see you soon!

Hi everyone,

Well, I am desparate for help now!  The La Boite theatre has kindly given us the date of SATURDAY, 10 July 2010 for the event!!! Yaaaay.. Dates were slippery but a Saturday night is just puuurrrrfect!..

So with the venue in hand on the day and date that we wanted it, the non-profit organisation setup is underway. I need to prove this event is being hosted by a non-profit organisation so that we can get the fee of $2500 waivered. Actually, the money we would have spent on the one night event hire fee is now being channelled into a non-profit organisation with a more long term structure in place. This is where the dream space comes in. What is the dream space I hear you say?

Weeeelll it is a space (and this could take any shape or form) where people can retreat from the outside world. Here they're able to experience the alternate modalities for free or small fee, for example, if say someone who is looking to experience a kahuna massage, then they can sample the massage for free in the comfort of this space.  Alternatively, they could do yoga, or meditation, or painting, or drumming and so on.

I also envision that this space will be a place where we will work with the healing power of story to discover and create new ways of being and hence creating new opportunities in life. I would like it also to be a place that fosters creativity, experimentation, play, and the joy of connection. Yes nirvana, some could say I am looking for nirvana but actually it came from a dream I had a while back.

I spent this dream exploring the nooks and crannies of this wonderful place where all sorts of people were painting, singing, dancing, playing drums, doing craft, laughing, writing, meditating, you name it. I was so inspired that all these creative minds were in one place together, feeding off each other's passion for their art, enjoying the cross-pollination of ideas, philosophies, cultures and religions that I felt, for once in my life that I had found what feeds my soul. .. yes a dream but I woke up with the most wonderful sense of satisfaction, almost a deep peace.  I had indeed experienced a little glimpse of heaven, or at least what I envisage heaven would look like for me =). I decided as I lay there still half conscious, and partly disappointed that I had returned to earth that I would create this dream space on this planet, and share it around. I do believe that divine intervention has something to do with it and as such I am guided by the feeling I have around this.

That said, I am appealing for help from all quarters as shown in the pictures uploaded here. The hands for love event is a fundraiser that will help build the dream space, and as a wise man once said: If you build it they will come :)

If you are a dreamer like me and you can see a opportunity to get exposure to 300 people via this event, and if you are able to assist in any way shape or form, or know of someone who can, please email me on handsforlove at gmail dot com. Signing off now, as it is very late in the evening here in Brizzy, Australia... join me in making a difference and you will be surprised what comes your way..  

   

Firstly, Douglas Jensen has taken on the stage direction of the event and has written the draft story around the event itself. This is a brave undertaking since he doesn't have actors nor can he write anything for people to say. He has fixed on a narration that will play as audio in the background while therapists demonstate the kahuna massage, coombined with massage, music and special effect lighting this should be quite workable and in fact highly effective.

That brings me to the music. Simon from Utah drumming has enrolled his brazilian ensemble he is working with to participate in this event!! Not only will they be playing the congas in the background but Simon is hoping to launch the first ever Australian made hang drum! He tells me the music this is superb for massage - watch out all you therapists - we are in for some serioulsly good sound therapy...

The date of July 10 has been locked on at La Boite - Saturday night!! Awesome finally hit the target.

I am working with a company called Thrifty to set up the non-profit organisation called DreamSpace because my vision comes from a dream I had.

Discussions are underway for the shooting of the Hands for Love DVD that teaches hand massage - we hope to create 300 copies to be sold at the event as part of the find raiser!

Alex our talented. Graphics guy and video producer is helping us with the dreamspace logo too.

I have written the storyboard for this already and we are looking for volunteers to assist with the production of the video.

That's all for now folks but do let me know if u r up for doing a
Kahuna massage on stage as we currently on have two therapists and we need 6!!!

Calling alll kkkkkaaahunas!!!

Speak soon
Nikki

Sent from my iPhone

Great news!! Tess Capelli has joined our team as the accountant for the project! Tess is researching the best possible setup for the non- profit organisation.

I will be posting more information around the vision and mission for the organisation in the very near future.

For now, as soon as we have the non-profit setup, we can apply for the venue (the prestigious La Boite Round House theatre) and then it's all systems go for the hosting of the worlds first hand massage fundraiser event!!

People are coming out of the wood work now and offering assistance and all sorts of things to help with the fundraiser event so I have put their names on the blog as contributors and they can post to the blog at anytime via email. Email me if you want to become a contributor and I will happily add you to the list...

 So here is the update..

 The event is planned for the second half of the year, dates are dependant on our Special Guests’ schedule (there are two of them and I will announce them as soon as I have their confirmation that they will attend the event)… once we have their confirmation, I will lock in the dates.. then the real work begins…

 I will prepare a schedule of jobs for the work that needs to be done and people can pick and choose as it suits them – that way you get to do what you want to do.. there are all sorts of jobs from playing conga’s to creating leaflets, videos, volunteering your hands, massaging on stage, to finding media outlets through which to advertise.. newsletters, newspapers, magazines and the like, logo creation, etc.. this is just a sample of the jobs that need to be done so I will be putting this schedule of work up in the next few weeks so stay posted…

 I will also post a description of the event as it is to take place and then I will also call for feedback on what you think will work and what won’t .. we’ll take it from there. I have a stage director, audio technicians and lighting engineers at our disposal and we will be looking for 4 volunteer Ka Huna massage therapists and 4 volunteer bodies for the tables..

 I am scouting for music by Jewel (Hands) does anyone have her CD we can loan for the event?

 Any ideas for a logo? The one I sent out in the newsletter, sadly I am unable to contact the artist, Tracy Marie.. so that is that.. the image is copyrighted so we have to leave that one well alone!.. J

 That’s all for now, but watch this space for regular updates… J Aloha, Nikki

 Thanks,

Nikki Ward |          

~ Please consider the environment before printing this post ~