BINGARA Children's Cancer Appeal committee is that much closer to its target of $150,000 after a successful night on Friday.
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The beautifully restored Roxy Theatre was the venue for a concert starring Felicity Urquhart, Adam Harvey and Ben Hazell.
With about 200 people in attendance, it was very much like an intimate evening in someone's loungeroom.
Ben opened the show with a set of half a dozen songs and won the hearts of the audience with his talents and his fancy guitar
picking.
Then came the girl who feels "very connected" to Bingara, Felicity Urquhart, and what a show this delightful entertainer put on.
The audience warmed to Fliss immediately with her friendly and genuine patter as she spoke of how her grandparents, Anne and Ernie Walmsley, owned Bingara's Imperial Hotel in the late 50s and how her mother, Trish, grew up in Bingara.
Trish's flowergirl, Robyn Northey (nee King), was in the audience as were many others Trish had grown up with, so it was somewhat of a Walmsley-Urquhart family reunion.
Felicity's new songs were road-tested on the audience and now everyone there is counting down the days until she records her new album, which will be produced by American hitmaker, Randy Scruggs.
Felicity's dad, Rex Urquhart, features in one of the newies, called The Rocker – and it has nothing to do with rock'n'roll. It's a heartfelt tribute to her dad.
Both Ben and Felicity accompanied themselves on guitar and Fliss even threw in the odd fiddle solo, which she hummed in the absence of her band.
After a short interval, the big-voiced baritone, Adam Harvey, accompanied by guitarist Rod Motbey, took to the stage.
It was a case of settle back, have a laugh and let's have a party as Adam cracked joke after joke, some courtesy of his old mate Terry Gordon, and most directed at poor Rod, who is now more than used to being the target for Harvey's wicked sense of humour.
At the end of the concert, leukaemia patient Andy Rampling presented the entertainers with a bottle of commemorative port to thank them for their contribution to the cause.
People travelled from Tamworth, Manilla, Werris Creek, Warialda and Inverell for the
concert.
With tickets priced at $25 per person, the committee would have raised more than $5000 and people were snapping up raffle tickets and merchandise to boost
the appeal.
The final function for Bingara Children's Cancer Appeal is Bingara's Longest Lunch, on Sunday, May 30, from noon.
It will be staged in Maitland St, with Bingara Anglers' Club members presenting delicious campoven cuisine.
That should be a big weekend in the small town, as the day before the Longest Lunch, NSW Premier Bob Carr will officially open the Roxy Theatre.
The opening is at 3pm on Saturday, May 29, and the concert featuring a wealth of local and regional talent, begins at 8pm.
The fabulous success of this appeal, devised to assist four Bingara families with children affected by cancer and leukaemia, just shows what a little town with a big heart can achieve.