WHAT an incredible weekend it was for all of us across the Bathurst region.
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Apart from the perfect autumn weather that had everyone heading outdoors, once outside there was something on to suit all tastes.
The big-ticket events were Soar, Ride and Shine at Bathurst Airport and Newton’s Nation on Mount Panorama – and both drew good crowds.
Soar, Ride and Shine remains the event that should not be needed but one the region is embracing more and more.
It is a major fundraiser for Lifeline Central West that offers a fantastic family day out for fans of both land and air speed machines.
But the incredible amount of work that goes into organising such an event naturally takes Lifeline staff and volunteers away from their essential core business – that is, saving lives of people at their lowest ebb.
This newspaper has long argued that both state and federal governments have a responsibility to divert more funding to Lifeline to ensure the phone lines remain open.
When budget decisions are made each year it is hard to believe there can be many greater priorities than saving lives, yet every year Lifeline is forced to find new fundraising avenues just to keep its operations going.
It’s a disgrace, but the support shown to Soar, Ride and Shine is just another way for the community to show its support for Lifeline. If only they didn’t have to.
Also hitting top speed were the skateboarders on Mount Panorama.
The gravity-fuelled event was a more sedate affair and appealed to quite a different audience but it adds something to the fabric of life in our region.
Newton’s Nation has had a chequered past in Bathurst but, done right, there is a very bright future.
Skateboarding will become an Olympic event in 2020 and the hope is that downhill events will be included in 2024.
If that happens, what is currently something of a niche event on the Mount will take on far greater significance.
Away from the speed shows we had a live performance from Jimmy Barnes, the 150th Royal Bathurst Show Ball, Autumnfest at Mayfield Garden, history tours of the old Bathurst Agricultural Research Station and the return of senior winter sport.
If you couldn’t find something to do you simply weren’t trying.
What a fantastic place to live.