Festival plan

By Bridget Brady
A CRANBOURNE woman wants to make the most of massive crowds at the MRA GP Run, with the introduction of a huge festival at the end of the event.
Chantelle Riordan, 27, came up with the idea of a community festival after she attended the wave-off event in October, one of the biggest events on Cranbourne’s social calendar, for the first time this year.
Ms Riordan said it would be great to capitalise on the huge crowds that lined High Street and extend the event into a parade.
All community and sporting groups in Casey would be invited to participate in the parade, Ms Riordan said.
“It would be an inclusive event that’s about our community,” she said.
“It’s about cross promoting between all of the groups and increasing awareness of these groups being out there.
“There is a crowd of thousands and these people just go home when it’s over. I was there about 11.30am and the street was quieter than a normal Saturday … they just disappeared.”
Ms Riordan said she would like to see the parade extended to the Cranbourne Racecourse, an idea that Cranbourne Turf Club chief executive Neil Bainbridge has supported.
“Based on the early discussions that we’ve had, we certainly support growing the GP Run,” Mr Bainbridge said.
This year the club held a kids carnival at the South Gippsland Highway after the wave-off event.
Mr Bainbridge said it was a good initiative to try and keep the crowds in Cranbourne to celebrate the great things the town had to offer.
Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce president Judy Davis said the chamber supported Ms Riordan’s idea.
Ms Riordan presented her idea before Casey council recently.
The festival would be a council-run event, Ms Riordan said, that should not cost too much more than the GP Run event did.
She said a survey of those who attended the event revealed the majority supported its extension.
“We have asked that Casey run it as part of the GP Run event and organise it.
“They’ve already got everything in place for the GP Run and security and the PA system … so from a cost perspective it should be relatively low.”
Casey’s manager of community strengthening Janette Green said the council would prepare a report on the proposal in February.