A MENAGERIE of different suits and dresses were donned for The Crossing’s first Sea to Snow Ball on Friday night.
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Around 130 people attended the op shop-themed event, held at the Quaama School of Arts Hall.
“Back in 2008 when we ran the first journey, it was always my idea that we would eventually have a ball,” The Crossing’s project director Dean Turner said.
He said the idea was to get the youths who had already completed The Crossing’s Sea to Snow Journey, a nine-day trek from Bermagui to the Snowy Mountains, to help organise the ball as a way of giving back to the community.
Mr Turner said the stars of the ball were the talented youth from the Bega Valley, such as the band Gypsy and the Albert Folk who performed “sensationally well”.
Other local performers were the Bega Valley Chamber Orchestra, the Sapphire Coast String Quartet, Grace O’Connor and CABEC.
After Wollongong band The Franco-Prussians pulled out they were replaced by Capital Coast, also from Wollongong.
By the end of the night, $1500 had been raised to go into sponsorships for youths who wanted to go on the Sea to Snow Journey, but did not have the funds to afford it.
For next year’s event, Mr Turner hoped to raise twice as much so he could offer a larger number of sponsorships.
Mr Turner said the next Sea to Snow Journey is currently half-full, with applications to join still open.
He said the journey is one of the few such treks in the world that goes from the sea to a mountain summit; there was one in France that went from the mountains down, but none he knew of go in the other direction.
One of Mr Turner’s favourite aspects of the journey is traversing a range of altitudes because they pass through many different types of environments.
The next Sea to Snow Ball will be held on the last Friday of Term 2 next year.
To apply for the Sea to Snow Journey, visit The Crossing's website for more information.
Training for the journey starts in late August and the journey itself starts in late September, which is a littler earlier than normal, but hopefully it will mean trekkers see more snow on the mountains.
Mr Turner said The Crossing was also seeking new board members to help support youths in the region.