A hardy group of locals braved the cool, wet evening at the picturesque Donnybrook Amphitheatre on the banks of the Preston River on Saturday March 24, 2018 for the Shire’s annual ‘Thank-a-Volunteer’ barbecue and free Family Concert.
Shire President Brian Piesse acknowledged the volunteers stating that: “this event has become one of the Shire’s key opportunities to say ‘thank you’ for the amazing contribution the many volunteers make to the vibrancy and well-being of our community.”
“We have approximately 130 registered clubs, groups and service organisations throughout the Shire.
‘They all exist because of the commitment of enthusiastic and generous volunteers such as yourselves. And each group provides a unique and in valuable service to our community.
“Our sincere thanks must go to Lotterywest and the Donnybrook Branch of the Bendigo Community Bank for their financial support for this event.”
“The Donnybrook Lions Club cooked up a storm, and I thank them too for their efforts tonight with the barbecue.”
A bouncy castle entertained the kids at the start of the evening along with free face painting as the barbecue kicked off.
Local band Lighthouse kicked off the entertainment and got the crowd in the mood with some laid back tunes.
As the crowd built, nationally recognised tribute band, The Beggars, took to the stage as the main act.
The Beggars, often billed as the ‘best Australian vocal band since the seekers’ got the crowd of young and not-so-young bopping along to classics including I‘ll Never Find Another You’, ‘The Carnival is Over’, ‘Morningtown Ride’ and, of course, ‘Georgie Girl’.
With a fabulous visual backdrop to the live performance, many in the crowd were transported back to 1968.
The BBC TV breakup special Farewell The Seekers broke TV viewing records.
Judging by the smiles from the crowd, their popularity has not faded with the years.
