Country music songstress Sara Storer literally sang up a storm on Sunday evening at a rustic fundraiser concert to support the region’s cancer centre.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 280 guests set out chairs and picnic rugs in a picturesque paddock at Bradley and Kerryn Hayden’s property at Bowna and settled in for an enchanting musical experience.
Multi-award winning Storer was joined on stage by popular Yackandandah entertainer Pete Denahy and her brother, Greg Storer, who made a special trip from his drought-stricken farm at Warren in NSW to perform.
And the two-hour concert certainly didn’t disappoint as the trio sang of life, love and Australia’s distinctive landscapes set against a fitting backdrop of gum trees and the Mullengandra Creek.
There was a surprise performance by Murray Conservatorium youth choir members who added their sweet tones to three songs with the band.
Amidst the hay bales, harmonies and humour, a serious cause had brought those gathered together.
Albury-Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust Fund Inc’s Kristy McMahon said community fundraisers were vital sources of support for the facility.
She explained such events helped make up the shortfall in government funding at the centre that now sees 250 patients a day and 1200 new patients a year.
“We know outcomes are not as good for regional cancer patients as they are for those living in metropolitan areas,” Ms McMahon said.
“The Albury-Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre aims to bridge that gap and improve outcomes for country patients.”
The decision to host the fundraiser was an easy one for the Haydens, who moved to their ‘Glandore’ property 11 years ago and who have both since battled cancer.
In an address to the crowd, Mr Hayden said the evening was “looking and feeling just like we imagined it”.
He was particularly moved to have the property’s former owner, Norma McBrien, among the guests and thanked her for planting the majestic elm tree all those years ago and around which so many family memories had been created.
And he said Kerryn had spent hours in the garden expanding on Mrs McBrien’s original labour of love.
Mr Hayden announced the event had raised $10,000 for the trust fund; a figure that swelled to $15,000 by the conclusion of the concert thanks to a generous donation from a person closely connected to the Glandore property.
And as the Storers sang of hope and healing rain, the storm clouds gathered overhead and the thunder rolled – a fitting finale to a true-blue charity event.