Event return to light the night

A BIT of community warmth is set to be brought back for the second year in a row thanks to members of the Dereel and Surrounding Communities Men’s Shed.

The group’s community bonfire which was first sparked last year will return on Friday next week near Dereel’s recreation reserve.

Men’s shed president Gordon Smith said the event is about connecting the community.

“As part of community planning run with Golden Plains Shire, we identified a need to put on one public event each year to get the community together,” he said.

“Dereel’s a funny location in that nearly everyone’s on five-acre blocks. The majority work in Ballarat then come home and don’t have time for community events.

“We demonstrated last year with this that we’ve got a lot of people that turned up and enjoyed themselves.”

As well as the main bonfire, the evening will be bolstered with a food truck offering, sparklers, and glow-in-the-dark bags. The event will be alcohol-free.

The initiative is being supported with $10,000 in grant funding through the Berrybank Wind Farm for the next three years.

Mr Smith said the upcoming event is looking to be bigger than the inaugural one.

“Last year we had it there was about 100 people and now we’ve sold 146 tickets out of 150,” he said.

“After the first event, there were quite a few people that heard it was a good night out who I think were interested to attend this year.

“I think having gotten rid of 140-plus tickets in less than two weeks, it shows the community’s looking forward to these sorts of events.”

Call Mr Smith on 0448 843 426 to enquire about ticket availability.