How do you thank a whole town?

These were Bruce Geissmann’s words. He said the people of the town really came together for the third annual Pig Day Out, held in memory of his daughter Kelly.

“Pete from Rainbow Beach Transport and the Surf Club were there for us when Kelly passed away – they did a hell of a lot for us. With the P&C on board it will benefit all the kids – we want all the kids know what melanoma is. Hopefully we’ll find a cure for it.”

There were estimates of over 1500 in the crowd. “At lunchtime you could hardly move! It was amazing the amount of people there. It looked like a sea of people. Showers came through and unfortunately scared a few off.”

But even with the intermittent rain, the 2015 Pig Day Out was a great success, with over $6000 raised for melanoma and the school.

School Principal, Micheal Grogran agreed, “Days like the Pig Day Out really bring out the best in our community.

“Everywhere I looked people seemed to be having a great time, whether it was some lucky mums and dads winning at the Pig Races or the hundreds of children who all seemed to be smiling the whole day.”

It was fantastic to see so many families attend from Wolvi, Gympie East and Kia Ora as a direct result of taking our little mascot piggy to their school assemblies.

As usual the Pig Races were a major hit – thank you to Peak Crossing and Neil Duddy.

The market stalls were a great success and already stall holders have commented they are keen to come again next year.

Local businesses have also reported they benefited from the extra people in town.

Once again the Surf Club also supported the event by holding Karaoke on the Saturday night. Hopefully next year we see a few more locals attend this event as it was thoroughly enjoyed by all who came.

Terri Geissmann summed up the day, “We are very pleased with our first time with Rainbow Beach State School P&C Association. Wow what a huge effort from a small team of dedicated workers! They are awesome people! The event was more than we ever imagined would be!

“We need to say a huge thanks to our little town of Rainbow Beach for their support, generosity and friendship! To all of our supporters from Gympie … thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

“To all our family; friends who travel from far and wide, some as far as Newcastle NSW, just to be here to support us and raise as much money for Australian Melanoma Research Foundation.

“The melanoma awareness that this event has created amongst our school children is awesome, if nothing else is gained from this event that awareness alone is priceless!”

For a full list of those who contributed and the Channel 7 coverage please visit www.facebook.com/KellysPIGDAYOUT