CHRISSY COOKOUT BIGGER AND BETTER

It was hard to pick the best type of entertainment at last year's Chrissy Cookout. There was something for everyone, so it really depended on what sort of thing you enjoy most.

There was the Big Voice Choir, the adorable community group who personified the motto "the show must go on" when their leader went down with Covid on the day and they still performed regardless, lighting up the courtyard with a beautiful collection of uplifting tunes.

There was the village of food stalls, bringing goodies from around the globe, transforming Easy Street into a mini festival of colour, light, aromas and flavours.

For those who'd left their Christmas shopping to the last minute, there was lots of great deals on offer in stores like Arcaa and Mud, along with treats that put Santa to shame like free gift wrapping and bonus gifts with purchase.

Possibly most enjoyable of all though was watching the handful of adults who were brave enough to step up and ride the mechanical reindeer, where it was $5 a pop and all the money went directly to supporting Fletcher Street Cottage.

While the ride was mobbed by kids the entire time, seeing the "big kids" get bucked off time and again was an unexpected kind of joy. Even better, we raised over $2,000 for those who need it most in Byron. Yee-haw!

Cheers to the pros at Barrio and Vagabond for keeping everyone in the courtyard happy. Big love to the Habitat businesses who contributed prizes for the charity fundraiser. And a massive thanks to everyone in the local community for coming out. It'd be nothing with you guys and we're already excited about doing it all again at the end of this year.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

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Photos by Phil Gallagher.