General News
8 October, 2024
Laane Gold Bash to return
This weekend, the Laanecoorie Lakeside Park will once again host a golden schedule of events that is sure to enthuse new, experienced and hardcore prospectors at the 12th Laanecoorie Gold Bash.
The annual event is a celebration of everything prospecting, with a stacked program kicked off by a traditional barbeque Friday night followed by gold panning, tours, lectures, auctions and much more.
Event coordinator Mandy Downing said she is excited for prospecting enthusiasts to enjoy the event’s traditional and new activities.
“I’m pretty sure the caravan park is fully booked and last year it wasn’t so I think that’s a good indicator that we should have 500 [people] this year,” she said.
“We usually have partners and friends just walking around and [prospecting] is not an interest to them, so we thought this year we would add a market day with some crafts, candles and soaps to make it more interesting for everybody.
“This year we are also doing a kids-only token hunt which should be more enjoyable for them.
“We are also doing a raffle for a gold nugget which was donated and is worth $1300.”
To commemorate one of the event’s founders, Jim Stewart, who passed away from cancer in 2013, money raised for the bash goes towards cancer research, with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre being the major beneficiary.
This year will also see proceeds from the sale of gold ribbons across the weekend go towards The Kids Cancer Project.
Ms Downing said she is grateful for the continued support from attendees and businesses towards a vital cause.
“The generosity epitomises what the bash is all about, prospecting is quite a close community for an activity you do by yourself,” she said.
“There are so many people that just give so much — last year it was $34,000 that we raised in a weekend, the year before was around $40,000.
“The ribbons started with the idea of doing a gold-coloured event to do something different each year. I thought we could pick a cancer ribbon and the gold ribbon is the Kids Cancer Project.
“If this goes well we would like to do a new ribbon each year — next year we would like to do the brown ribbon which is [for] head and throat cancers.”
The Laanecoorie Gold Bash commences this Friday, October 11 until Sunday, October 13 at the Laanecoorie Lakeside Park.
For more information on the event, search for the Laanecoorie Gold Bash Facebook page.