Davistown Putt Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival is on this weekend and promises family fun with two main events from Friday to Sunday, October 11-13.
It celebrates Central Coast’s culture, heritage and local character, all while fundraising for Kids With Cancer Foundation.
The charity dinner is being held on Friday at Davistown RSL Club and the Putt Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival will take place along the Davistown waterfront from 9am to 4pm with market stalls and a carnival atmosphere.
Entry to the Sunday event will be a gold coin donation, or card tap, and include centre-stage entertainment, fabulous views of the heritage boats in action on the water, children’s activities, market stalls, plus marine and motor vehicle displays and more.
Davistown Putt Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival has taken place since 1996/1997 and fundraising for Kids with Cancer Foundation since 2019.
Over the course of four events – including postponements and re-coordinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stormy weather – the Putt Putt Regatta has raised $59,476 to support Kids with Cancer and their families from the local area and surrounds.
Last year’s festival attracted 17,000 people and the event raised nearly $23,000.
CEO of Kids With Cancer Foundation Todd Prees said that since the beginning of November 2023 to date, the Foundation had provided more than $26,000 in financial assistance to families of kids with cancer being treated at John Hunter Children’s Hospital, which is the key paediatric oncology hospital for children from the Central Coast and Hunter region.
“Our family financial assistance is paid in the form of rent and mortgage payments, grocery and petrol vouchers, and household bills,” he said.
“These funds were generated by the Davistown Putt Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival and both our team at Kids with Cancer Foundation and the families we support are hugely grateful to the Putt Putt organising committee and Central Coast community for their support.”
As well as providing direct financial support to families, Kids with Cancer Foundation supports oncology wards in children’s hospitals through funding oncology ward positions, ward fitouts, refurbishments, and capital works.
Kids with Cancer Foundation has been working with John Hunter Hospital since 1999 and has provided more than $900,000 to fund oncology ward improvements and clinical staff over this time.