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But for the second year in a row the Ekka grounds are empty, with the recent COVID lockdown forcing the Show to be cancelled with only three days notice.
It was a massive blow to the RNA (the show organisers), exhibitors and those travelling from around Queensland to the event, but for The Common Good, the last minute cancellation wreaked havoc into their annual fundraising campaign.
The Common Good is an initiative of the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation, and each year they raise much needed funds for medical research through the sale of their Strawberry Sundaes at the Ekka.
Michael Hornby is the CEO of The Common Good and told 96five’s Ken & Nicky that all the moving parts were in place for this year’s event.
“Last year we had three months notice (for the cancellation), but this year we had already setup at the Ekka, we had twenty two tonnes of ice cream in freezers ready to be sold, and all the product ready to go.”
Needing to pivot fast, The Common Good have partnered with Chef Collective and Door Dash to enable the fundraising efforts to still go ahead.
“They’ve come together to help us deliver the strawberry sundaes in a do-it-yourself pack. The pack includes all the ingredients to do twenty strawberry sundaes and it costs $110 – the same price you’d normally pay at the Ekka.”
“That includes two litres of the unique, once a year, strawberry ice cream that’s hand made in Brisbane, we have litre of vanilla ice cream, we have a kilo of strawberries, there’s canned whipped cream and the cones. Most importantly we have the secret recipe of how you construct one the Ekka way.”
Michael said that funds raised from this year’s sundae deliveries will go towards critical medical research.
“We’re backing areas of heart and lung disease, dementia and mental health programs; many of those are on the cusp of breakthroughs, so we cannot afford to not make this a success.
“We need to make sure our researchers can discover the cures we desperately need.”
Click here to order your DIY Strawberry Sundae Pack.
Listen to the full interview with Michael in the audio player above.
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