One of the things that’s come forward is that quite often we don’t have enough readily available for young people to display their talent in an open, friendly, and warm environment. 

Youths who aren’t in town centres often get left behind, and I certainly want that to change. That’s the whole purpose of Light Up the Valley this year, and it would be great to see it carry to the years ahead. 

The reason Light Up the Valley was held in Bowning and Murrumbateman this year was to allow avenues to showcase young talent in our villages as well, not just towns.

Bowning had a close and intimate audience, however, the live stream that was conducted had over 500 views, which is a great result. 

Unfortunately, Murrumbateman had some technical difficulties and we couldn’t get the live streaming kicked off, but we had about 50 people in attendance.

They’ve been really successful events that have gone exceedingly well and showcased the local talent, and people have really gotten behind it, to the point where we’ve sold out the venue for the Yass event already. 

There will be a live stream at the Yass edition of Light Up the Valley, but I am also talking to the committee about how we can extend tickets as well so that people won’t miss out. 

It’s certainly about ensuring that no village gets left behind, as well. There was some indication that maybe Bowning wasn’t an ideal location to showcase this talent, but what we actually saw is that people from Bowning and Binalong actually came together. 

There are very talented youth outside the town centres who feel that they don’t get opportunities like Light Up the Valley, and for it to come forward has been brilliant. 

My biggest disappointment is that we don’t have any more of them planned. This was a pilot year for the program, and the pilot has been successful beyond all expectation.