The fundraiser for the Bega Valley Sanctuary exceeded everyone’s expectations last night. The night kicked off with John Dixon, local aboriginal elder, welcoming all to what he believed was ‘a good cause’ and was followed up by Local Council member Liz Secold who gave a warm and brief speech in support of the cause as well.

Damon Davies then took to the stage and livened up the early arrivers with his highly entertaining style of  performing followed by a Congolese speaker from Sydney who gave the audience a presentation on some of the issues facing refugees from the Congo and a fair bit of Congolese history and culture.

One of the major highlights of the evening were the fantastic belly dancers and community drummers led by Dave Hewitt who turned up with many djembes and dun duns for people to jam on. A frenzy of dancing took place in the pavillion for a good half hour while the drummers got into the groove.

Arati George and the Sound scape choir were also a wonderful addition to the evening as they sang songs from all over the globe,  bringing a strong message of unity and celebration to the night.

Other highlights included an exciting Sudanese song from Mary Momour, James bringing the Reggae tunes and Andrea Kirwin and Claire Synnott closing the night with some gentle yet funky accoustic numbers.

Many thanks goes to all the members of the Bega Valley Sanctuary who volunteered to make the night such a success. Over 200 people passed through the doors and all were treated to amazing music, food and culture til late in the evening. Hopefully it will become a yearly event to look forward to for many people in the Bega Valley community.