It has been a good year for the Collector Memorial Hall. Having just celebrated 60 years as the focal point of the local community, the committee was very pleased to receive a cheque for $10,000 from the 2012 Collector Village Pumpkin Festival committee.
The funding is part of the commitment by the Pumpkin Festival committee to raise funds for local projects. “Last year we were able to donate $10,000 to the Collector Oval redevelopment project and it is wonderful that we are able to contribute the same amount to the Collector Memorial Hall this year,” said Pumpkin Festival Coordinator Gary Poile.
President of the Collector Memorial Hall Committee, Kathleen Webster accepted the funds on behalf of the committee. “The funds will be put towards maintenance and renovations,” she said. The Collector Memorial Hall was constructed in 1952 and stands on the site of an earlier community Hall that is believed to have been built in the 1890’s. “During the 1950’s and 60’s the Collector Memorial Hall was famous for holding the best dances in the district,” Kathleen said. “Since then, the building has become the centre of the community and has been used for everything from wedding receptions and birthday parties to preschool and day care services. But the biggest day of the year is definitely the first Sunday in May when we have the Pumpkin Festival”.
The annual Pumpkin Festival was first held at the Collector Memorial Hall in 2003. Since then it has expanded rapidly and now takes up a large part of the village surrounding the Hall and nearby Catholic and Anglican Churches. The festival has created its own kind of magic and a reputation as a perfect event for families with loads of fun, great food, entertainment and rows of colourful market stalls.
The next Collector Village Pumpkin Festival will be on Sunday May 5 2013 and promises to be the biggest event yet as organisers plan to celebrate the festivals ten year anniversary.
Goulburn Pipes and Drums Band lead the parade along Bourke Street to the Collector
Memorial Hall for the opening of the 2012 Collector Village Pumpkin Festival held last May.