The highly-anticipated Pink Street Dinner Party took place on Saturday, October 23, with 300 guests in attendance.
The team behind the event – including Pink Up Namoi organiser Karen Kirkby, Rotary Club of Narrabri, Narrabri and District Chamber of Commerce and a number of other volunteers – are thanking the local area for their dedication to the McGrath Foundation fundraiser.
“It was just fabulous to see such a great amount of support for Pink Up Namoi,” Dr Kirkby said.
“And seeing the whole street pink was lovely, it looked really pretty on the night.”
Dr Kirkby said one of her personal highlights from the evening was the charity auction.
“The auction was especially impressive, with wonderful levels of enthusiasm and support from everyone involved,” she said.
“We even had last minute prize donations, which we were so grateful for.
“I’d like to thank Rob Gilbert for auctioneering on Saturday.”
Rotary Club of Narrabri president, Darrell Tiemens, also had fun at the auction.
“Me wearing a pink shirt was an auction item, and we actually had a generous bidder pay $400 for it – never thought I’d have to change shirts in the main street but it’s all for a good cause,” he said.
“We also had additional prizes, like handmade earrings, donated to the auction.
“Mayor Ron Campbell also donated a signed rugby union football from the Reds, as well as a signed Waratahs jersey from earlier this year, both of which we were extremely pleased to offer to bidders.”
One of the major auction items on the night was a signed Wallabies jersey from the entire 2020 team, graciously supplied by Santos and bought conjointly for $1000 by Ron Campbell and Ron Campey.
Mr Tiemens said Rotary is proud to have been involved with the fundraiser.
“We were very, very happy to be involved in Pink Up Namoi,” he said.
“We were really impressed by the level of generosity seen over the past month, and especially at the Pink Street Dinner Party.
“Everyone there paid either $50 or $200 just for entry, which is essentially a donation to the cause, and then also spent more on the night.
“We’d like to extend our thanks to some of the many people and organisations that helped out with the event, including the Namoi Women’s Shed who did a great job with their auction items, Jazz Junction and all of the local musicians for donating their time to entertain attendees, Jo Hayne and North West Events for helping put on a wonderful evening, Annie Miguel and her catering team, all of our sponsors and the Tourist Hotel.
“Guests were kept safe on the night by the local police and inspector Robert Dunn, as well as the SES, Dubbo Traffic Control and the security guards.
“We’re also very grateful that Narrabri Shire Council lifted the dry zone suspension – it isn’t always easy to get those permits but we thank council for its support, and it definitely added to the evening.
“These events don’t just happen without dedicated people putting in hours and days of hard work.”
Jazz Junction provided the music for the Pink Up fundraiser on Saturday night. From left, Jack Campbell, Steve Bailey, Aaron Johnson, Rosemary Smith, Peter Carrett, James Vella and Rob Ritchie.
Mr Tiemens said the community spirit remained, even after the event closed for the night.
“We had members from Rotary, the Namoi Women’s Shed, the Chamber and more stay behind to help pack up, so everything was completely finished by midnight,” he said.
“Which meant we could open the main street back up, on time.”
Mr Tiemens also extended a message of gratitude to the local lives that have been touched by breast cancer.
“I want to acknowledge the friends and family of those who have suffered from breast cancer,” he said.
“This event may have brought up some difficult emotions, so we want to pass on a big hug from Rotary and let you know that you should have a great sense of pride to see the local area support this cause the way it has.”
But it wasn’t just local people backing Pink Up Namoi, a number of businesses also showed their support by dressing up their shop windows.
The shopfront dressing competition was run by the Chamber of Commerce, with president Russell Stewart expressing his amazement at the dedication from local business owners.
“I was absolutely delighted to be able to walk down the main street and see so many local shops dressed up in pink,” he said.
“A huge number of businesses got involved, across the entire shire, and I acknowledge that these things take extra time and effort.
“But the commitment was well worth it to look down the main street and see bright pink displays everywhere.”
The winners of the competition were Hip Pocket Workwear & Safety (Narrabri), Innovate Ag (Wee Waa) and Boggy Book Exchange & Giftware (Boggabri).
The runners up were Watson’s Kitchen (Narrabri), Mahaffy’s (Wee Waa) and Boggabri Home and Community Care (Boggabri).
Click here to see more photos from the event.
See more Pink Up news here:
- Narrabri High bands together to support Pink Up | PHOTOS
- Pink Up campaign to reach its peak with street dinner party
- Strong support for Pink Up bra contest | PHOTOS
