October 5, 2020 - SIRI COMES TO CASSOWARY COAST: KAREN JACOBSEN LIVE STREAMED TO AGED CARE HOMES

The Cassowary Coast put a face to the voice of iPhone’s Siri when Karen Jacobsen brought her brand new show to town last week.

‘Mackay to Manhattan – a Musical Memoir’ is the story of Karen’s humble beginnings in North Queensland to the bright lights of New York where she became the voice of a billion GPS devices, and the original Australian voice of iPhone’s Siri.

Delivered in the town’s first post-COVID theatre performance at Innisfail Shire Hall, Council live streamed the event to aged care homes throughout the region to ensure community members who are in isolation could be included in the occasion.

Cassowary Coast Regional Councillor for Community and Culture, Trudy Tschui said this is a critical step toward bringing the community together as the region works toward a post-COVID normality.

“Our elderly community would usually form a major part of Council’s Morning Melody audiences and, now more than ever, we couldn’t let the show go ahead without including them in this event,” said Cr Tschui.

“We knew there were a lot of people who wanted to see Karen’s show but couldn’t come to the hall, so we were thrilled when she gave us permission to live stream her performance from our YouTube channel. 

“Thankfully our Council has embraced digital innovations throughout the pandemic, building capability to stream our meetings.

“This is a prime example of how we’ll continue to push through COVID-19 to bring community together in any way we can,” said Cr Tschui.

An accomplished musician, singer and performer who has reached international audiences through her entertainment career, Karen Jacobsen created ‘Mackay to Manhattan – a Musical Memoir’ to tell her life’s story through music.

“Like everyone, I’ve been through highs and lows and I wanted to inspire people to become their very own GPS.

“It’s never too late to recalculate,” said Karen who recently returned to North Queensland with her family from the United States.

“We love the Cassowary Coast and were thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the show here, and I thank the Council for having the foresight to broadcast it to those who weren’t able to attend.”

The Cassowary Coast was privileged to be among the first to see ‘Mackay to Manhattan – a Musical Memoir’ as Karen plans to tour the show throughout Australia as COVID-19 restrictions start to ease.

Cassowary Coast Regional Council will present its next Morning Melody event in November.

Ends.