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Celebrate Lithgow 2011 bike wrap
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Celebrate Lithgow 2011
Contributed by Janelle Johnstone & Sally Taylor
(Celebrate Lithgow co-ordinators)
Wow what a week it has been......
Our festivities began on Sunday November 20th with our inaugural Wallerawang Bowling Club / Celebrate Lithgow Charity Road Cycle Challenge. We had 50 participants ranging in age from 12 through to 78 & they all had a fantastic time. The riders came from the local area as well as Mudgee, Bathurst & the Blue Mountains. The course set off from beautiful Lake Wallace in Wallerawang where music, dancing, food vendors, business displays & a Ute Muster (proudly sponsored by R & K Gas & Workwear & R & A Chainsaws & Mowers) entertained those that attended.
The course was set through picturesque farming lands around Portland, Meadow Flat , Sunny Corner, Dark Corner & onto Kirkconnell. 90 kilometres in total with quite a few of the participants completing the gruelling course in with their own personal best times (even though it was not a race, some of our more serious riders gave it their all) local rider Andrew Poppett coming in with an awesome time of 3 hours & 56 seconds, followed by Charlie Cross 3.05, Gary Dukes & Josh Annells 3:13, Phil Stapleton 3:15, Glen Partridge 3:18, Kevin Bell 3:25, Ian Grant 3:27, John Mitchell 3:28, Peter Davis, Ian Laing & Graham Stait 3:42, Rainer Scheurer 3:50, Mark Windsor & Lurene Pollard 4:25 & Darren McMahon 4:50, an awesome effort & congratulations to all that competed the full course.
Special mention needs to be made to Rebecca Dukes & her 4 sons who rode. Rebecca, Elias, Dylan & Travis all completing the 50k’course, as well as the Stapleton family all entering & doing themselves proud, well done.
It was an honour to have some of the local legends of cycling in our area take part namely Clive Laing, John Posker & Graham Stait, these three men have had cycling running through their veins their whole lives & they are an absolute inspiration to all that rode & watched on.
A huge thank you to our sweep riders that continually rode the course on their motor bikes throughout the event keeping an eye out for any problems namely Adrain Schindler, Neil Lumley, John Noon, Derek Kirkland & Rowland Phillips. To the members of the local VRA thank you for your roadside control point duty & to the course planners Glen & Robyn Partridge & Gary & Bryson Dukes for the hours & hours of work in planning & sign posting of the course it goes without saying we could not have done it without you.
Wallerawang Bowling Club came on board as the major sponsor for this inaugural event & we look forward to working with them again next year as this event gains momentum. A cycling event such as this has the potential to grow to hundreds, if not thousands of participants in the future & the Board of Wallerawang Bowling Club will always be recognised as the sponsor that helped it get off the ground. Special thanks also goes to Delta Electricity, as this is their 15th year as our overall Celebrate Lithgow sponsor & the trust & confidence they place in our endeavours are paramount to the success of our endeavours each year.
Other generous sponsors for the Inaugural Bike Challenge to whom we would like to sincerely thank include; Club Revive, Valley Springs, Tesoreiro Fruit, Wallerawang Village Meats, Lithgow Fitness Centre, CW Print, Radio 2LT, Lithgow City Council, Lithgow Lighting, Valley Bobcat Services, Black Gold Country Cabins & Valley Florist & Gifts.
Monday saw our first ever History Express bus tour.
A wonderful day was had by the 45 people that hopped on board a Jones Brothers Bus company coach with host Thomas Ebersol from Newnes Hotel Cabins. Out past Lake Lyell to Rydal where a history talk was given on the historic St Mathews Catholic Church; then to Union Church (shared by all denominations to this day). A sumptuous morning tea of scones, jam & cream awaited courtesy of Ann Krone at The Mount, after which a stroll through the gardens down to the old railway station & residence, now an accommodation venue. All aboard the Bus to Portland to view the signage & a stroll through the Main street before heading to the park where the LIONS Club served up lunch. The return journey went via the Old Railway Station at Wallerawang where Andrew Wilson gave an informative talk on the history, and their plans for further development. Milkshakes & coffee were enjoyed by all, and a walk down memory lane with the old fashioned lolly bar. St John’s Church at Wallerawang was the last stop off to view the wonderful restoration work that has been done on this fantastic old building. A great day & people already talking about doing it again next year.
Lithgow Public School entertained the crowd at Cook Plaza mid morning, so talented & such happy little faces as they proudly showed off their abilities. Thank you to the teachers, staff & students for their participation at Celebrate Lithgow again this year.
Wednesday = Seniors Day in the Park but not this year, it was moved to the Civic Ballroom due to rain but that didn’t stop everyone having an absolutely fantastic time.
A great free lunch was provided to over 250 guests of sandwiches, fruit salad, coffee & ice cream. Sincerest thanks goes to Lyn Boyd-Skinner of Black Rock Cafe for organising all the food, along with the generosity of sponsors including; Delta Electricity, Lithgow Business Association, Advantage Hearing, Westco, Bills Bakery, Tesoreiro Fruit, Lithgow Valley Springs & Lithgow Council.
Wonderful entertainment was provided by our own Cil & Snow Vandervelden & Jan Preston (Sydney) the Honky Tonk Queen who bases her repertoire on the late great Winifred Attwell.
A new addition to this year’s Seniors day was the age specific expo. Advantage Hearing, Collins Mobility Aids & TEMS Machines were on display for anyone interested. This was a great opportunity to view these items all under the one roof & the senior’s response was favourable.
Thursday another great bus trip is organised for today with a total sell out within 24 hours & a waiting list to boot. This trip is to Newnes & Newnes Hotel Cabins Mr Thomas Ebersol is the host for the day, showing guests around the area & providing a lovely lunch for all.
The Donnybrook Hotel is the place to eat on Thursday Night with a great range of food at Celebrate Lithgow festival prices, get a few together & get on out there.
Friday, come & see the children from Scots school in Cook St Plaza mid to late morning.
Saturday, want somewhere to have a great meal? Check out either Inzitari Road House at Sth Bowenfels or Lithgow Hotel in Main St both have great deals for the eve of the Main Street Fair .
SUNDAY >>>>THE BIG ONE.
Come on up to Lithgow’s Main Street. There is FUN for all & it’s all FREE.
The fun kicks off at 9am with food stalls, shops open with great bargains & wonderful displays & entertainment for all.
There will be jumping castles, a cup & saucer ride, dancing displays from all 5 local dance groups.
The famous Highland band will enthral us again as well as the Lithgow City Band.
Remixes will join us again ion Central Main Street for 6 hours of amazing cover music & the chips will be flying high again as the wood chopping competition takes out the top end of town near the court House Hotel.
You can’t afford to miss this great opportunity to CELEBRATE.
Be there from 9 til 4, bring the kids, bring the mother in law, bring your friends & well, just bring anyone!!!
Celebrate Lithgow proudly bought to you by Delta Electricity, Lithgow Business Association & Lithgow City Council.
All stall registration money from this year’s event will be donated to our local Volunteer Rescue Association
