AFTER so many weeks in lockdown, perhaps it was inevitable that the race to end of the yea would be a sprint rather than a leisurely stroll.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As COVID restrictions are eased across the region it seems the pressure is now on to pack as much as we can into what remains of the year before hopefully starting 2022 with a fresh, clean slate.
All students will be back at school by Monday, community sport is getting under way again and Bathurst's pubs, clubs and restaurants are hoping to make up for lost ground - and money - as the party season also swings into gear.
We have to catch up on the events we missed, hold the events we postponed and still get through the regular events that make spring and summer such a great time in this country. At least we should be rested coming into it all.
Perhaps the prime example of this concertinaing of Bathurst's social and community calendar will come on the weekend of December 4-5 when we'll have three big events all landing at once.
The first will be the (twice postponed) Bathurst Regional Council election on Saturday, December 4 - 15 months after it was supposed to be held in September 2020.
The delays have played havoc with the plans of many of the candidates (and a few of their tickets) and success on the day will be as much a tribute to the winning candidates' stamina as their popularity.
Then there's the (twice postponed) Bathurst 1000 on Sunday, December 5 which will be the culmination of a six-day motorsport festival and Mount Panorama.
And now thrown into the mix will be the (twice postponed) Carillon Business Awards presentation dinner.
The gala event had originally been set down for this weekend (Saturday, October 22) before being moved to Friday, November 19 due to ongoing uncertainty over COVID restrictions.
Then came the decision to move it to the packed race/council election weekend, leaving everyone pondering if that was a good move or bad.
There may be some benefit in riding the coat tails of the Bathurst 1000, clearly Bathurst's biggest annual event, but organisers also run the risk of being completely swamped by the attention given the race and the election, possibly costing category winners their rightful place in the spotlight.
Only time will tell.
