The streets of Maffra came alive over the weekend with the annual Mardi Gras offering up an incredible parade, creative floats and a buzzing atmosphere.
This year’s Mardi Gras was themed “Under the Sea” which was a huge success, celebrating creativity, community spirit and fundraising efforts that make a real difference in local communities.
Wellington Shire Council deputy mayor, Cindy Madeley was on hand to congratulate participants, flanked by the Hon Darren Chester MP and councillor, Carmel Ripper, recognising the dedication of everyone involved in bringing this much-loved tradition to life.
The fundraising champions were honoured, with the Maffra Municipal Band (Julie Steele) coming out on top with $22,653.73, the money to be spent on their new band rooms, and wanting to raise their profile and show the community the wonderful groups they offer people to make music.
In second place was the Maffra Golf Club (Greg Meldrum) with $19,330.07, the club to use the funds for bunker restoration and general course improvement.
The Kath Foley Centre (Heather Eden) finished third with $16,106.36, they will put the cash towards assisting with their relocation, due to the current building being unfit for purpose.
Stratford Primary School (Martin Baldock-Bartilotta) finished fourth with $8438.20, they will use the cash injection to upgrade their stadium, including re-surfacing the floor and introducing basketball rings.
Since 1958, this event has raised more than $4 million for local causes, which is an incredible achievement.
The parade trophies are always highly sought-after, with St Mary’s Primary School Maffra being the biggest beneficiary, winning best school float and best overall float (Liz Shepard trophy) with their spectacular “Kraken Mary” creation.
It was obvious many hours of work had gone into the creation, as was the case with the other entries supported by families, volunteers and businesses.
To cap off a great evening for the Maffra Municipal Band, they took out the Joan Laws Trophy for the best community entry.
The Arthur Watts trophy for the best business entry went to the team from Mac Waste, the time and commitment to get the all the trucks that were displayed in the twilight, a credit to their owners and the man hours they put in.
It was great to see so many people indulging in food from the various outlets and the market stalls were popular as thousands of people filled Johnson Street.
Organisers were keen to honour the enormous commitment of the Rotary Club of Maffra, sponsors, supporters and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this year’s Mardi Gras a huge success.
