After a rainy few days, the weather gods were merciful for the recent One Brighter Day event in Whittlesea, Victoria, with sunshine warming the showgrounds as trucks, utes, cars and bikes rolled in.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people came along to enjoy the vehicle display, live music, kids’ games and more.
Organiser Michelle Dundon proclaimed the event a success, telling Deals on Wheels: “We were extraordinarily lucky that the rain held off on the day, because it rained the two days before and the day after!
“We were happy with the crowd, and it all went really well.”
Dundon is the General Manager of the Brighter Days Foundation, an organisation that provides support to children’s charities.
The foundation runs a three-day family fundraising event called the Brighter Days Festival in Bright each year, with bikes, cars and music.
This year, they decided to organise an extra show, One Brighter Day – adding trucks into the mix.
“We’ve been running the Brighter Days Festival for 13 years, so this was a mini breakout and a way to launch our 2025 raffle, which is our main fundraising stream for the year,” Dundon says.
“We also thought it would be a chance to expose the Brighter Days brand and fundraising efforts to those who can’t make it to Bright on Labour Day weekend, to see what it’s all about.”
Because the Brighter Days festival doesn’t usually feature trucks, and a contact in the trucking industry let them down, they didn’t have the display of big rigs that they were hoping for.
However, they did rustle up a small lineup, including a nice selection of Kenworths and a Ford Bronco tow truck.
Awards were judged by show sponsor Spectrum Towing, who also brought two of their Hinos along on the day.
Truck of the Show went to Tim Shine’s T908, while Drew Mirrielees took out the People’s Choice award.
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Aside from the trucks, there were over 200 cars and approximately 75 bikes on display – as well as plenty of entertainment for all the family.
“We had free kids’ activities, face painting, and outdoor oversized games like Connect Four and Dominos.
“We also had an event called The Amazing Chase, where families break up into teams of four and get sent on a kind of treasure hunt to find the answers to a list of questions, and the best answers go into a draw to win a prize.”
The crowd was also treated to live performances from the Screamin’ Eagles, Reece Mastin, Tristan Ross, Bob ‘Bongo’ Starkie and his Skyhook Show, and former The Voice contestant Shanae Watson.
Dundon says the event was very well supported by the local community, with Scouts picking up cans, the local football/netball club staffing the bar, and the Lions club putting together the barbecue.
Dundon was delighted to sell plenty of tickets for the Brighter Days Foundation’s raffle, which has a selection of amazing prizes up for grabs.
“We have a Ford Ranger with an off-road conversion worth $123,000, it’s pretty flash,” she says.
“Harley Davison has also donated a customised motorbike, so the prizes are really good.”
She says there’s a lot of interest in the One Brighter Day show becoming an annual event – so watch this space.
For more great pics, check out Issue 512 of Deals on Wheels, on shelves November 18th.
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