General News
22 July, 2020
Car rally dream set to come alive
IT all started with a dream for a Ravenshoe mum. A dream to promote local tourism while raising awareness for the rare Moyamoya disease. The dream has now been made a reality through the all new Smokey Blue Rally.
IT all started with a dream for a Ravenshoe mum. A dream to promote local tourism while raising awareness for the rare Moyamoya disease. The dream has now been made a reality through the all new Smokey Blue Rally.
Towns across the region are set to benefit from the new event which will take place over the October long weekend. The event will raise awareness for Moyamoya disease and give people the opportunity to visit towns and inject some money back into the local communities.
The Smokey Blue Rally is an event that has been organised by Moyamoya Australia and will be a ‘write your own adventure’ rally where participants must visit a minimum of five towns across the Tablelands and collect ‘treasure’.
After finding all of the treasure the participants will make their way out to Undara where there will be prizes, trophy’s, food and a live band.
MoyaMoya disease is a rare blood vessel disorder which reduces blood fl ow to the brain which can cause headaches, seizures and diffi culty speaking.
Founder of Moyamoya Australia and Ravenshoe local Nicola Baker’s 16 year old son, Jed, suffers from Moyamoya disease and his 17th birthday falls on the long weekend in October, “every birthday we have with him is a blessing,” she said.
Mrs Baker decided to organise the Smokey Blue Rally after she “had a dream” about the event and decided to make it a reality.
“I had a dream and I woke up and thought that sounds like a really great idea so I made some phone calls and by 9.30 that morning I had a number of people on the committee, I had Undara signed up and it started to snowball from there,” she said.
“As people are hearing about it more they are coming forward and asking what can I do to help.
“If your car is roadworthy than you are eligible to participate, but we do want everyone to try to wear blue to promote Moyamoya awareness.”
Mrs Baker has been in contact with many of the councils and relevant chambers across the Tablelands asking for their support and her idea has been well received.
Prizes and trophies will be awarded to the winners of the Rally at Undara on the night of October 3, followed by live music and the party.
The music will continue onto October 4 while people recover from the rally and the celebrations. People will also have the chance to revisit some of the towns or explore the Undara caves and lava tubes.
For more information and to register visit the Moyamoya Australia Facebook page.
