We’re on this ride together
Community gets behind Trout event to keep staff in work
FAMILIES can saddle up and experience two different types of horsepower at a special day aimed at helping a local business, in a shining example of what the Keep It In Cairns campaign is all about. Real estate agent Nathan Shingles wants to help Blazing Saddles owner Michael Trout (second from right) and his staff (from left) Daisuke Saito, Taisho Sato, Lily Russell and Misa Yorimitsu ride out the tough times.
TOURISM identity Michael Trout had a tear in his eye when he realised the lengths the Cairns community would go to help out a mate when the chips were down.
The sprawling fields at Blazing Saddles in Yorkeys Knob will be host to Big Day Out with the Trout this Sunday, a special family event to keep the economy moving during the coronavirus shutdown.
FNQ Hot Property principal Nathan Shingles has pledged to donate food for an event that will keep some of Mr Trout’s employees in work – if only for a few hours.
“We’re not going to solve the world’s problems in one afternoon,” Mr Shingles said.
“But we just need to nail down the idea about locals spending a few dollars outside their normal spending – because we have to keep these guys afloat.”
Sunday afternoon’s Big Day Out will have a special halfprice reduction of $100 for a family, with a sausage sizzle and BYO drinks out in the field.
Every kid will be able to get a ride on the horses and quad bikes – and Mr Shingles stressed the property was large enough to keep revellers at a safe distance during the current COVID-19 scare.
“We’ve got 30 families guaranteed and I’m expecting some more this week,” he said. “We’re not trying to get heaps of people in a small space.
“It’s a big open acreage.” Mr Trout’s family employed about 60 people through Mungalli Falls Outdoor Education Centre, Blazing Saddles, Sunshine Daycare and Kalinga Station, but everything has come to dead stop.
He now has two of his staff living with him because they cannot afford to pay rent.
“They know, they can see the numbers each day and they know there’s no work,” he said.
“Some have car loans, everyone’s got rent or a mortgage. This is the reality now, how are they going to survive in the short-term?”
Mr Trout said he had goosebumps thinking about what Mr Shingles had organised, and hoped Sunday’s family day could be the first domino in a succession of Keep it in Cairns events to help struggling tourism businesses.
“It’s very humbling that people out there do care about a business that’s been around for a long time,” he said.