'WOW' was my first impression when I walked through the doors to Eats and Beats 2018. The layout, the lights, the furniture -I knew it was going to be a special evening to celebrate the new year.

So how do you create an event supported by 792 people that's family friendly, has great vibe and ambience and brings a fresh new approach to fundraising?

Volunteers and the Carlton United Football club who backed Amy Torrisi and Fiona Minotto.

Inspired by the Eat Street precinct in Brisbane, rockabilly music and the desire to have a family friendly New Year's Eve function the whole community could enjoy, Eats and Beats came to life.

I caught up with Amy and Fiona this week to find out how they accomplished such a successful event.

"It takes hours of research and planning, a vibrant vision, a dedicated group of volunteers giving up hours of their time away from home and business and a wonderful local community of businesses and individuals contributing their resources and skills for little or no remuneration.”

"There were many late nights, in the nine months Eats and Beats was being created, some worrying moments as December 31 got closer and the tickets sales were slow. Our first 100 sales came from outside the region! In the last week, we spent a lot of our time at the showgrounds, making furniture and setting up for the event.”

With so much going on during the evening, there was something for everyone.

A dedicated Kids play zone, and chill out zones for families to relax, great music, a bar and food outlets working all night, and indoor fireworks at 9.30pm and midnight it would be easy to miss the hero moment of the night.

"The hero moment; the community who came to play and support us, and the many positive responses we received on social media.”

A very successful social media campaign netted a huge catchment.

There were visitors from the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Tenterfield, even Mt Isa and Darwin, delighted with the evening, and when asked why they chose Eats and Beats, it was either, looking for something different to do or they were followers of the performers.

Will we see Eats and Beats happen again on December 31, 2019?

There are already ideas being tossed around and I for one will be looking forward to what this group of volunteers come up with.

Glenda Riley