Hey folks,

The tickets for the dinner went on sale back in September and I thought it was time for a bit of an update now that a few more things are organised.

Firstly, however, how cute is this quilt? This gorgeous Elizabeth Hartman designed fox quilt was made and donated by Jacqui D and we will be raffling it on the night of the dinner. I know I will be buying some tickets.

There will be a second prize too, but you have to wait til I have a photo of that before I tell you what it is.

There are still tickets available for the dinner and other events over the weekend and they can be purchased here https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=798247&. Please note that if you wish to book for more than one event on the weekend you will need to pay for each event separately. We are not sure why this is the case as we did not set it up that way but we have been advised that to change it now that sales have started could be problematic so please bear with it.

As always, this will be more than just a dinner, we have a whole weekend of activities planned for volunteers to take part in from the afternoon of Friday the 11th to brunch on the 13th.

This year I have been assisted with the organisation for the weekend by a wonderful team of volunteers. Susan, Eden, Pam and Lisa are helping with the main event, the dinner on the Saturday night and Jen is coordinating all the other events over the weekend. Kym is also helping with all events. We are so lucky to have such a great team on board.

Here is an update on all the events. Some events are yet to be confirmed, due to uncertainty caused by COVID but we expect to have details finalised in early January.

· Friday 11 March

Friday afternoon activity for volunteers. This is going to be a tour or either the Royal Military College, Duntroon or the Australian Defence Force Academy. You will be able to choose which venue you would like to tour. There will be no charge for this event.

Volunteers’ gathering will take place 7-10PM on Friday 11 March where volunteers get to hear from some of our recipients and other interesting speakers. There will be a small charge for this function and it is always a fun night with plenty of opportunity to meet other volunteers. There will be tea and coffee served only.

· Saturday 12 March

Newbies brunch with our founder, Jan-Maree Ball will take place on the Saturday morning between 9 and 10 AM. If you are new to Aussie Heroes and want to connect with other new volunteers as well as meet the founder (that would be me) then this is a really good event to attend. I also hope to be accompanied by one or two recipients.

Canberra bus tour. An opportunity to undertake a tour of key sights in Canberra and some quilting shops between 10 AM and 4:30 PM. The itinerary for this tour will be finalised in January but it is almost complete and I think it will be a great day out and another good chance get to know other volunteers. This year the tickets for the bus tour will be subsidised and we have set it at $40. You will buy your own lunch at a cafe along the way.

The 10^th Anniversary Dinner 6:30-10:30PM on Saturday 12^th aims to bring together volunteers, their partners, and the quilt recipients and senior defence members. This event also celebrates the 10 years Aussie Hero Quilts has been supporting our service men and women, and veterans. The Dinner will be held at the Rex Hotel in Canberra. Tickets are selling well for this event so don’t leave it to the last minute to purchase yours.

· Sunday 13 March

To finish the weekend, volunteers are invited to a casual breakfast/brunch at Poppy’s Café at the Australian War Memorial.

As explained in an earlier post the dinner is being held at the Rex Hotel and they are also offering 10% off the room rate with the discount code AUSSIE. The code applies when booking via phone but they tell me that if you want to book online then use the NOTES section to ask them to apply the AUSSIE Code for your discount. The rates will change as we get closer to the date and as demand increases – the discount code will be 10% off the best available rate at the time of booking. 

I know that some people will be nervous booking so far in advance with border closures etc, but their cancellation policy is 24hours notice free of charge – so 2pm the day before the check in date.

There will be more information to follow in January. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jen on AH******************@gm***.comor contact Jan-Maree on Ja*******@au**************.au

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Jen all the best for her wedding this weekend. Here’s hoping they have a lovely day and that Canberra turns on some sparkling weather for them.

Till next time… keep spreading the word and don’t forget to buy your tickets for a great weekend. It will be March before you know it.

Love from Jan-Maree xx