Society plea:‘have a heart’
Wimmera people can enjoy a soup lunch at Horsham Showground while learning how they can support a project to ensure the longevity of the venue’s former cattle shed.
Horsham Agricultural Society leaders have called on the community to ‘have a heart’ and save The Cattle Shed by voting for the organisation’s Pick My Project submission.
Pick My Project is a $30-million community-led State Government funding program.
People can vote online by September 17 for projects they would like the government to fund in their region.
Horsham Agricultural Society secretary Andrea Cross has implored people to pick The Cattle Shed project.
“Our organisation has been running for 142 years, the longestrunning association in Horsham,” she said.
“Winning the funding for this project will help the society to continue our way forward in terms of improvements to The Cattle Shed, the area surrounding it and our goal to activate the river precinct.”
Mrs Cross said 13 people attended a ‘how to vote’ lunch last week.
“It went very nicely and we will be running them for the next four Wednesdays,” she said.
“We normally provide soup for lunch on Wednesdays for our volunteers who do working bees, so we decided to host ‘how to vote’ lunches. The lunches provide members of the community with an opportunity to have a look at The Cattle Shed. They can have a look at what our budget is and what our hopes and dreams are.
“They can have a look around The Cattle Shed and get a feel for what we’re trying to achieve.”
Mrs Cross said The Cattle Shed would house the craft and home industries exhibition at this year’s Horsham Show.
She said it would need re-purposing to house handicrafts and produce from hundreds of competitors.
“Because the handcrafts and home produce pavilion is not as safe as it once was, a decision was made to close it. A solution is to re-purpose ‘The Cattle Shed’ rather than hire a marquee or remove the competitions from the Horsham ag show schedule,” she said.
Mrs Cross said the project had wider-reaching benefits than this year’s show.
“It will have the capacity to host weddings, special events, arts, cultural and music festivals, expos, markets and school holiday activities for the broader community,” she said.
“The Cattle Shed is being repurposed to cater for wedding receptions and special events and will be used as a second venue for the upcoming Horsham German Fest.”
Mrs Cross said the shed hub also provided projects for Work for the Dole participants and jobs for three people through Axis Employment’s Disability Employment Scheme.
St Brigid’s College students also carry out projects at the venue.
People can visit www.pickmyproject.vic.gov.au for more information about the project or to vote or attend a ‘how to vote’ lunch at the venue today, August 29, September 5 or September 12 at noon.