HALLS GAP - The outpouring of appreciation and thanks by the community for emergency services personnel and volunteers during the region's bushfires will be stepped up a notch tomorrow.
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The Halls Gap community, in conjunction with Channel 7, will hold a special celebration day to launch Red Balloon Week in the Grampians region with a pool party.
Special guests, Samantha Armytage and Cameron Byrnes will be on hand to participate in the festivities and also to help raise funds for local CFA units - Halls Gap, Pomonal, Dadswells Bridge and Wartook.
The day was originally intended to start with the Halls Gap Primary School organising a huge red balloon thank you sign, which would have been made up of hundreds of people and balloons.
However, due to the forecast hot weather, it has been decided to hold a pool party at the Halls Gap Outdoor Pool. People can still make a monetary donation.
Channel 7 will be filming the event which has been organised to thank every single person that assisted the communities through the fires, no matter how small or large their contribution.
People have been encouraged to display balloons around their own homes in support of Red Balloon Week in the Grampians Region.
From 11am Channel 7 will take over proceedings. Sam and Cam have a number of fun activities planned including a huge tug of war.
Channel 7 will then provide a free barbecue lunch for everyone.
Local musicians have also donated their time to the event, before the Cricket Club takes over with an exhibition game on the oval at 1pm.
Everyone is welcome to stay and support the local cricketers and the barbecue will continue throughout the afternoon.
The community is also planning to have a Monster Red Raffle which will consist of red items and special red vouchers for many of the accommodation providers in the region.
The raffle will culminate at the Jazz Festival and will be drawn at the Halls Gap Primary School Market at 1pm on Sunday, February 9.