Boggabri Drovers’ Campfire has hit the big time, winning a silver award in the Festival and Events category at Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.
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The gala event was held at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre last Friday night, with winners announced in 26 categories.
Drovers’ Campfire founder Geoff Eather, his wife Elaine, their son-in-law Richard Gillham, and friends Ron and May Boxsell, Craig Devine and Rod Kerr attended the awards.
The Campfire was up against events such as Sounds by the River and The Falls Music and Arts Festival, Marion Bay.
Taking out the top honour was Fun4Kids Festival, which encompassed 80 live performances and 15 activity zones which ran over a week-long period in Victoria in 2015.
“There were eight in our category and to get silver was unbelievable, so we’re over the moon,” Mr Eather said.
“I never thought anything like this would happen to us.”
About 800 people attended the awards night, with guests treated to live performances by musicical acts, including Australian singer Kate Cebrano.
“[It was] rather spectacular. They put on a good show actually,” Mr Eather said.
“We had a good contingent and we had a good night.”
The team will be back into the swing of things this week, with the Campfire event coming up on April 22-24.
“We’re full-on now,” Mr Eather said.
Mr Eather said the event took a full year to plan.
“We no sooner get one over, and we analyse it and start planning the next one,” he said.
“It’s ongoing from year to year.”
The Drovers’ weekend is a major event in Boggabri’s calendar and has been for 10 years.
“We rely heavily on our local community and of course the local community gets the direct benefit from what we do,” Mr Eather said.
“We keep as much income from it as possible to go back into our community.”
For more information on Boggabri Drover’s Campfire, visit the Facebook page or www.boggabri.com.au