REDHEADS R
achael Brooking needs a medal as far as I’m concerned. What started out as her simply trying to raise a few bucks and much awareness for Huntington’s Disease fast became a large event. Many others wouldn’t have been able to cope with such an undertaking but Rachael stayed the course, knowing our community would embrace the World Record attempt at having the most Redheads in one spot. That we didn’t crack the record is almost irrelevant; the event was well supported, money was raised, and through Rachael’s persistence, more people know about Huntington’s. She did very well! For the record, we managed 769 redheads, short of the 1672 current record but still a fantastic effort! Rachael believes at least 2000 people visited on the day – an achievement in itself. Now here’s the thing, I’ve long held that Orange needs SOMETHING to hang our hats on, we are desperate for an event or a cause that people can mark down in their calendars as a ‘must do’ every year. The Parkes Elvis Festival is huge, but it did not start out that way – with a little effort and some forethought, the annual gathering of Redheads to break the world record can easily become our Elvis Festival. Imagine shutting off Lords Place all the way down to Robertson Park, and having food vendors and/or market stall holders lining the street with people drifting between Wade Park and Robertson Park, kids in hand, taking it all in. A full street party atmosphere. It’s doable, isn’t it? The East Orange Village Markets are on in a week or so – they’re quite good, people look forward to them each year and I’m pretty sure, with some efforts, we could combine the two events to make it absolutely worth people’s while to spend the weekend in Orange with their entire family. The possibilities are endless – we just need people with some vision helping people like Rachael Brooking. Just a thought. Now, please enjoy Troy Pearson shots from the day, as you can see, it was well supported and thoroughly enjoyable!
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OCTOBER 5–11, 2017