The National AusMumpreneur Awards, which recognise Australia's leading mums in business, saw over 300 nominees, with five who call Canberra home.

Amy Luttrell of Mama Chic, Kristine Evans of Two Creek Kids, Lisa Grech of Urban Charms, Victoria Sylvester of Little Bairn and Michelle Bosua of Bubbles & Bibs were all nominated, and are all still in the running for the People's Choice Awards.

Both Amy and Victoria have also been chosen in the top 100 by the judges, and are now competing to take out Emerging AusMumpreneur of the Year.

The five Canberra business mums have eight children between them, aged between 10 months and six years.

Kristine started her business of handmade children's products Two Creek Kids just over a year ago, having previously worked in private recruitment.

"The crunch came when I basically lost my job and needed to have a think about my career direction and what I wanted for my family," she said.

"It was about getting time for my family and building what I envisioned to be a long-term business."

Kristine, who is pregnant with her second child, said while it's challenging, she loves the opportunity it has created for her to do what she loves while being at home for her family.

Victoria (pictured with her children Oliver and Rose) also started her business after having her first child, previously working as a public servant in Sydney.

"I had my son Oliver in September 2011, and I've been on maternity leave since then," said Victoria.

"I had a plan – I was going to have a baby and go back to my job when he was six months. But my husband and I were after more of a family environment, so we moved to Canberra."

Victoria started researching skin care products to use on Oliver, and started making some herself.

"I've always been mindful of what I put on my skin, but I certainly wasn't making my own products. Once Oliver was born, he became the real catalyst," she said.

"I did a lot of research into safe ingredients for babies and those that have the best benefits for babies' skin and I made some for him and the results spoke for themselves."

She now runs her skincare company Little Bairn from home, and has products stocked all over Australia.

Victoria, who has two children, admits being a mumpreneur is difficult but it's worth it.

"I get a real sense of satisfaction from running and growing my business, but I am especially thankful for the ability to have these special years at home with my children. I love that I am my own boss, and have the flexibility to be there for my kids as they grow up," she said.

The first round of voting for the People's Choice Awards closes at midnight on August 30, with the second round kicking off on September 1. All of the winners will be announced at a dinner in Melbourne on October 11. To vote head to ausmumpreneur.com.

It's the biggest disease killer of children and has very low survival rates, but brain cancer remains one of the least-funded diseases, with equally limited awareness.

Like most people, Adelaide Jones knew very little about the deadly disease until her father Trevor Jones was diagnosed last October.

"He basically saw a few signs that were out of character – he would start to forget names of things and names of objects, and he had a few vision problems so went to the doctor and they did a few tests," she said.

Her father was diagnosed with a Grade 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumour. A week later he had surgery, followed by radiotherapy, and is now in his seventh month of chemotherapy.

"He's OK. He's had a few issues with his lungs. It's a fine line with chemo because your immune system needs to be strong enough to handle the chemo but if you can't go ahead with the chemo the cancer is going to spread quite quickly, especially if it's as aggressive as his is.

"And it does have a cumulative effect on his energy levels. He gets tired very easily."

In a situation where she feels like she can do very little, musician Adelaide has teamed up with her family friend Peta Gammie to hold a brain cancer fundraiser concert.

"Our fathers have been great friends since they were very young, in their 20s, so we thought together this thing has devastated both of our families so much we wanted to do our bit to help out and get some money for research and get the issues out there," she said.

The duo will perform at Smith's Alternative Bookshop on Saturday, September 27 from 3-5pm. Tickets are $15, with all proceeds going to Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.

"It feels good to be doing something – anything – and as little or as much as we can raise is better than nothing," she said.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at trybooking.com/99957 and bookings are essential.

You can also make a donation at curebraincancer.org.au/my-fundraising/1154/rig-the-gig.

Perhaps Freddie Mercury put it best - "there can be only one". Or can there? As stadium legends Queen tour Australia with glam pop star Adam Lambert fronting in place of the unmatchable Mercury, spare a thought for It's a Kinda Magic - a show that replicates the Queen experience and is also heading Down Under shortly.

While the real Queen alongside Lambert, It's a Kinda Magic will do a more grassroots tour, heading to Canberra on September 14.

However, this show has the blessing of Freddie Mercury's longtime personal assistant Peter Freestone, who spent more than a decade running Mercury's life.

Mr Freestone isn't quite sold on Adam Lambert - the flamboyant former American Idol contestant taking Freddie's place. "I think he's doing a good job because just from reading social media, the people who are going to the show are very happy. He must be doing something right. Perhaps for me I'm not overkeen on his type of voice, he sings very, very well but that sort of voice has never appealed to me. But good on him, if he's getting Bryan and Roger out on the stage then I'm all for it."

In It's a Kinda Magic, Mercury's role is played by Giles Taylor, a man whom Mr Freestone regards highly. "[He] gives the audience to see what the shows were like with Freddie. For people of my generation who actually did see Queen, if they come away actually thinking, 'I remember when Freddie did that' and 'Ah yes, that reminded me...' And for the new generation, the people who never got the chance to see Freddie performing it gives them the chance to see what we oldies keep going on about."

Mr Freestone spent years with Mercury, often regarded as the greatest frontman in rock history, and says there were two distinct Freddies.

"There was the Freddie that the world knew, the immaculate performer, the person who could control the world. And the person who was very quiet, very shy and he couldn't walk into a room with strangers on his own," he says.

Mr Freestone says he organised Mercury's life, answering phonecalls, scheduling in events and meetings, and keeping up with the rock star's business and personal affairs.

He also cooked for him - Mercury apparently loved home cooking, "things like cottage pie, steak and kidney pie, beef wellington". In a twist worthy of MasterChef, Mr Freestone occasionally had to try and recreate a dish from scratch as Mercury described favourite meals that his mother had cooked.

After Mercury's death of AIDS in 1991, Mr Freestone "sort of ran away for a couple of years" to cope with the grief but returned and has now devoted his life to the memory of his former employer.

"Even now I get a strange feeling when people want to shake my hand because I've touched Freddie Mercury - I have washed since then," he says.

The show must go on.

It's A Kinda Magic is on at Canberra Theatre Centre on September 14 at 7.30pm. Tickets from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

If you struggle to get a good photo of yourself, let a professional handle it for you. As part of his artistic residency, photographer Sean Davey will be taking portraits for free at the Currong Theatre in Gorman Arts Centre over the coming weeks.

Sean is collecting the photos as part of his artistic residency, and all portrait subjects get sent a digital copy of their photo for free. All welcome, from families, to friends or individuals and no bookings are required. Head along this Saturday from 10am-3pm, or at the same time on September 6 and 27.

The Local Fashion Trail is back on September 18 at Lucky's for its spring edition. The event will showcase local fashion designers and businesses Braddon Tailors, Soho Designs, Wildwood and Designer Op Shop. Have a cocktail and check out spring fashion. Free entry, from 6pm, Lucky's at QT Hotel.