Mavis Blowers
On Wednesday 17 December, the annual Moora Burnout Bed Race was held in conjunction with the Street Festival, with funds raised by the bed race going towards the provision of a very necessary generator for the Moora Frail Aged Lodge.
Ironically, this need for a generator proved to be critical in light of the unusually long power outage experienced in Moora and a large surrounding area following the bushfires caused by the storm on Sunday 14 November.
It was touch and go whether the event would be held as planned because of the power outage, which thankfully ended in Moora earlier than expected. Sadly, most surrounding areas were not quite so lucky.
Ten senior teams raced this year, and three junior teams. The decorating theme was “Power”, and the teams were all extremely creative in their interpretation and decorating, with the public vote going to Little Micks Electrics. The Moora Resource Centre sponsored the prize.
The Little Micks team were also quick on their feet to win the Senior Fastest Team race for the night, being presented with a shield and medals donated by Westpac Bank. That was after two heats and a challenging final race.
The Westpac trophy and medals for Fastest Junior Team went to the High School Students Team 2 (Back to the Future), while Speed of Light was runner-up, receiving gift vouchers donated by Moora Pharmacy.
Senior Team runner-up was Allied Health (Super Star), also receiving Moora Pharmacy vouchers.
The Frail Aged Lodge team (Old Sparks) raised the most money for the night. For this, they received gift vouchers from IGA. This was very well deserved. Their sponsorship for the event totalled $53,425. That is a lot of money. It was lovely to see so many from the Lodge joining the parade held before the racing and enjoying watching the events.
With money still coming in, $90,000 has now been raised for this great cause. That is a very generous amount that has come freely and generously from Moora and surrounding communities. This will go a long way towards the generator project for the Moora Frail Aged Lodge and Hospital.
Thank you so very much to all the kind and generous donors.
Enormous thanks must go to the Shire of Moora for their outstanding support of the evening. Street closures and Street Festival entertainment are largely supported by the generosity of the Shire, and they must be commended and offered due thanks for their generous and unwavering support of the Moora Bed Race & Street Festival.
As an added show of support, the Shire of Moora staff put in their own bed, showing fabulous support for such a worthy cause.
Thanks also to Julie Walsh, who organised so much, but also to all the kind people who helped in all sorts of ways to make this a fun and successful night.
