Mayoral Column 24 November 2014
Published on 24 November 2014
A golden Council competition
In Loddon, we pride ourselves on attracting tourists to the region and providing opportunities for the local community to get involved in all Council-wide promotions.
During the summer months, the Shire will run a competition for the second year in the row, which gives people the chance to get their hands on a gold nugget.
We will have boxes in local businesses around the Shire, where people can simply fill out a voucher and place the entry form in the box to win a gold nugget.
The idea behind the promotion is to capture information about where tourists are travelling from and how they are travelling through our region. We also capture information on whether they are in Loddon to visit friends, family or just touring the area.
This information is invaluable as it allows us to spend our marketing budget to attract tourists to the region in a calculated manner.
Last year’s promotion was an absolute success, and the winning entry was Pam Sandells of Vermont.
I encourage all locals and tourists alike to enter the Council competition.
Boxes will be located in: Wedderburn, Tarnagulla, Serpentine, Pyramid Hill, Mitiamo, Bridgewater, Boort, Inglewood and Dingee, from the start of December.
Boort’s community working bee
The Boort community will spruce up the town with Loddon Shire Council support in anticipation for its Christmas festival and busy tourist season.
The working bee, organised by the Boort Business and Tourism Council, will see the installation of Christmas decorations, cleaning the business strip, garden replanting and weeding and painting in Godfrey Street.
This is the second year the community has organised the working bee.
Many residents have already visited the Boort Emporium to register to help on the day.
Last year more than 60 people assisted during the working bee weekend.
The Boort Business and Tourism Council has consulted with local businesses and residents in the lead up to the working bee to prioritise works.
On the day, the tourism council will be able to efficiently send helpers to each of the activities to spruce-up the town.
This is a wonderful community initiative to ensure Boort is an inviting place for residents and tourists alike.
The Shire is always happy to work with each of Loddon’s communities to ensure they are able to present their towns in a neat and tidy manner.
I praise the community of Boort for being proactive in its town’s presentation.
The working bee will take place this Saturday, 29 November and Sunday, 30 November from 8am.
Residents do not need to pre-register to help on the day.
Christmas festivals to light the region
As the Christmas season fast approaches, so do our wonderful community festivals.
With many volunteers putting together these amazing and vibrant events for our communities, I encourage everyone to attend their local festivities across the municipality.
The first festival to kick off in Loddon is the Wedderburn Community Christmas Festival.
In Loddon, we are lucky to have organisers like the Wedderburn Patchwork Group to host events which bring our vibrant community together.
The Wedderburn festival will be held on Friday 28 November at 10am-7.30pm and Saturday, 29 November at 10am-1pm, and always has a large following.
The organisers are still looking for people to enter in the array of craft and art competitions, with entries closing Wednesday, 26 November.
The festival will feature the wonderful voices from the Inglewood district Goldfields Choir, and will, as always, support a charity.
This year organisers have decided to support Street Swags. The patchwork group hope to raise $1000 to purchase swags for the homeless in Bendigo.
The Wedderburn event will be closely followed with the Tarnagulla community hosting a Jazz in the Park afternoon.
The event will feature Geelong’s Take Five band and well-known drummer Kevin Simmonds.
The community will take a step back in time with the Maryborough District Historic Vehicle Club displaying their vintage vehicles at the Tarnagulla afternoon.
The funds raised from the Jazz in the Park afternoon will go to the Tarnagulla Primary School.
The BYO alcohol and chair event will be held on Sunday, 30 November between midday and 4pm.
A sausage sizzle will be on offer and the Tarnagulla Community Café will be open.
I encourage everyone from across Loddon to support these two wonderful events.
Pyramid Hill hosts a pool party
Residents at Pyramid Hill had the chance to get together by the water, with Loddon’s first pool party last Friday.
A barbecue dinner was provided and the Shire had plenty of inflatables for use.
Community pool parties are the perfect opportunity for residents to socialise and take advantage of Council pools.
The Shire will organise similar parties at each of its five pools in the coming months.
Council teams have been working around the clock in the last few months to have the pools in perfect order before the opening season.
The pool parties are a great chance to see the recent upgrades at each pool.
Along with the pool party in Pyramid Hill, Inglewood will start to host its seniors swim sessions on Monday and Tuesdays from December 1, between 1.30pm and 2.30pm.
For more information about the swim lessons contact Heather at Inglewood Swimming Pool on 5438 3215.