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Stage one of the Grey St upgrade will be officially opened on Saturday and there will be plenty on offer to celebrate the occasion.
In line with the Celtic theme which is now prominent in the town square there will be a number of Celtic-themed performances, starting at 9am with the combined Caledonian Society choir singing.
“The local Seventh Day Adventist Church and Councillor Graeme Quinn will also be organising activities for the children and there will also be a performance by lone piper Paul Hanson,” said Glen Innes Severn Council general manager Hein Basson, who will MC the event.
The official opening ceremony begins at 10am and will be followed by entertainment from the Glenmore dancers.
“Then there will be something a little different, a daytime fireworks display,” Mr Basson said.
After that member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall will take part in the pollie ice bucket challenge. The local MP volunteered for the challenge to help raise money for Can Assist Glen Innes at the Glen Innes Examiner Business Awards back in September, and Howard Eastwood of Photo Create came through with the winning bid of $750.
A performance by the Bain sisters Jody and Naomi will finish off the morning.
The Rotary Club’s ongoing Saturday barbecue brunch will be operating to feed hungry stomachs and Saturday will also see the first winner of the Spend in Glen campaign drawn.
The winner will win a $400 Celtic Cash Card to be used in participating businesses. There is also an added incentive for those who have entered the draw to be present at the upgrade launch, with an extra $100 to top up the card if the winner is present. The draw is scheduled to take place at 11am in town square.
Refreshments will also be on offer by the Leos Club who will have its van on site.
Spend in Glen’s Jim Ritchie encouraged local residents and businesses to get behind the day’s activities and support local business in the lead up to Christmas and beyond.
“We are hoping to get more businesses involved as we go towards Christmas as there are a lot of benefits of being involved with the Celtic Cash Cards and it doesn’t cost businesses anything to be involved,” he said.
Spend in Glen’s Moira Munro said there has been a strong response from businesses to the Spend in Glen campaign, which is still open to businesses to be a part of.
“There had been a great response with a rush initially and now we have a few more dribbling in,” she said.
“We have about 60 businesses involved so it’s been a good but not overwhelming response.”
The opening is the culmination of many months work on the first stage of the CBD upgrade project, an undertaking which Glen Innes Severn Council has delivered on time and under budget in a win for ratepayers.