Billy Cart Derby added to Mountain Fair activities

Sean and Adam Peruch finishing their billy cart

The inaugural Mountain Mayhem Billy Cart Derby will be held at the Mangrove Mountain and Districts Country Fair on Saturday, October 17.

Derby organisers said it will be wild, wacky and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. If you have the need for speed, then the Mountain Mayhem Billy Cart races are guaranteed to be fun to watch, for both children and adults.

The Australian National Street Machine association, in conjunction with the Mangrove Mountain Country Fair thought that holding old-fashioned billy cart races would be in keeping with the Country Fair’s traditions of showing younger generations how older generations lived, worked and played. Part of the fun is building your own billy cart.

Fair organisers are hoping people will design and build their own Billy Cart, then decorate it, enter it and race it. There will be prizes for winners of the various races. Billy Carts will be placed in one of two categories, traditional or ‘other’.

Traditional means wooden construction (often an old box worked as the basic frame), rope steering tied to the front axle, four wheels (of some sort), and, if you were lucky, a seat. Brakes are also considered essential. The home-made billy carts in the ‘others’ category have to be sturdy, constructed of any light weight material, have rear brakes, and some sort of mechanical steering, opening up a world of creativity and invention.

To enter, go to the Mangrove Mountain and Districts Country Fair website. This year’s Fair has a great line-up including Dark Age sword-fi ghting re-enactors, Switcharoo Circus, Benny the Donkey and Monty the Agility Dog. There will be three stages of live music and entertainment as well as flowers, produce, plants, jams, scones, craft and delicious food on offer.

Other attractions include snakes and tractors, furry and feathered baby farm animals to cuddle and feed, loads of farm and native animals, pony rides, minijeeps, jumping castle for the littlies and lots of displays, talks and stalls for the adults.

Media release, Oct 2, 2015 Shane Eastman, Mangrove Mountain Country Fair