Tamworth's rescue ball fundraiser for Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service cancelled for two years running, slated for 2022

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service's annual fundraiser has been rescheduled to March 2022, after organisers decided it would be too difficult to run while the pandemic lingers.

"It was about the safety of patrons and supporters and ... being a front line health service we have to be leading the way in terms of COVID-19 safety," Tamworth-based community liaison officer Daniel Gillett said.

The event was scheduled for March 2020, but was pushed back when the pandemic struck and has now been pushed back again, to March 2022.

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"Our medical staff all love to participate in the evening and we would be putting them in a very difficult position if they weren't 100 per cent sure of the safety of that event," Mr Gillett said.

The rescue ball is a key date in Tamworth's social calendar and is a night of glitz and glam, but it also means a lot more than that.

"It's a real celebration of the support for the service in the community and it's an opportunity to get together once a year and share the fantastic stories of survivors, and it's a big fundraiser for us," Mr Gillett said.

The theme was set to be "The Greatest Show" and was going to be held at the Oxley Lookout. The plan now is for a March date to be locked in and for the event to still run at the lookout, with theme pending.

Mr Gillett said despite a couple of years without the ball, he was confident the community would get behind it when it returns.

"We still have a lot of people holding over tickets from last time ... so I have no doubt that Tamworth will come out and support us in March next year," he said.

"We will be back and there will be great food and dancing and fantastic auction items, so it will be the ball we really want to have."

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