For Immediate Release
Planning Begins for Hat Town Tour...
Lee Kernaghan Visits Omeo Primary School
Wednesday 15 July, 1998: Country music star Lee Kernaghan kicked off planning for his 'Pass the Hat Around Australia’ tour in earnest last week, visiting the East Gippsland area to finalise venue arrangements for his Omeo concert. The tour, planned for September, is Kernaghan’s contribution to a massive community initiative currently mobilising in rural areas to tackle the recent hardships head-on.
Scheduled for Friday 25 September, the concert will take place at the Omeo Sports Ground just down the road from the Omeo Primary School, whose students were the driving force behind the town’s choice as a concert venue.
The school attracted the attention of Kernaghan with a letter they submitted to an Australia-wide competition to tell Lee about their town and why it should be considered as a concert stop over. Their entry was picked from thousands of others, vying for inclusion in the tour.
During an hour-long visit to the school, Kernaghan personally thanked them for their letter, answered questions and sang songs with the children, who had made a special trip to the school to see him on their school holidays.
“You are all legends,” said Kernaghan, as he talked to the kids about their entry and his plans for the up-coming tour. While there, the Omeo school children showed him some blackboard drawings of a mural they are making about living in the high country and Kernaghan’s visit to the area. The singer agreed that it would make a great backdrop for his Omeo concert.
After confirming the date and location for his Omeo performance - to a rousing response by the children - Kernaghan invited local artists to submit tapes for consideration as his support act for the night.
“We are also inviting local talent to make an appearance as well because we want to encourage local, up-and-coming artists in the music industry to get up on our stage and participate,” he said.
Tickets for the Omeo concert will be available through the local Toyota dealer and the Shire office in Omeo.
For further information please contact: Michelle Martin
For Immediate Release
First Stop - the Grain Train
Lee Kernaghan Visits East Gippsland
Wednesday, 15 July 1998: Country music star Lee Kernaghan visited the grain train last week in the first stop on his trip to the East Gippsland region. In town to decide on a site for the Omeo leg of his ‘Pass the Hat Around Australia' tour planned for September, Kernaghan visited Sale Railway Station to get an up-date on the fodder drive.
Since its inception in a month ago, the fodder drive has brought in some 2,500 tonnes of fodder. A further 1,500 tonnes are expected in the coming weeks for the farmers of the East Gippsland region, who have been battling drought for the last four years.
While there, Kernaghan’s major sponsor Toyota presented a cheque for $5,000 to the local Red Cross. The cheque was accepted by Nurse Brenda Murray, former mayor and present councillor for the shire of East Gippsland, who said that the money and the proceeds of Kernaghan’s ‘Pass the Hat' concerts will be a great boost for the region.
“We are really touched by the response that we’ve received from everybody ... and thank you Lee for all your efforts on our behalf, we are just so excited about your involvement - it’s been wonderful!” she said.
Kernaghan also met with Sid Cramer from the Victorian Farmers Federation, who is supervising the grain delivery. Cramer gave special thanks to those who have given their time for free to ensure that the deliveries get to those who most need them, especially Merv Hotker and David and James Manners, who he said have been down at the station assisting the unload since it began.
The Pass the Hat Around Australia tour is Kernaghan’s contribution to community initiatives being mounted by rural towns in all states, aimed at tackling the particular challenges faced by country Australia. Each town on the touring calendar will contribute infrastructure and community services support to stage the concert. Kernaghan and his band will take no fee for the tour and all proceeds raised at each venue will be put back into the town to assist organisations and services that are particular to that region.
“It’s an absolute honour to be involved with all these hard working men and women down here ... this is just the beginning,” he said.
Announced later in the day during his visit to the local Omeo Primary School, Kernaghan’s East Gippsland concert will be held at the Omeo Sports ground on Friday 25 September. Tickets for the Omeo concert will be available through the local Toyota dealer and the Shire office in Omeo.
For further information, please contact: Michelle Martin