AN event to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of mental illness will be held Saturday 7 November, at Southern Peninsula Arts Centre. Blue Dog Night will kick off with a barbecue at 6pm and show at 7pm. Tickets are $20 at the door with those under 16 free.
Artists and photographers will display work in the foyer for a silent auction. Entertainment will be by bands The Warrains, Ling Marra and SugaTree, and Melbourne band Lasseter’s Reef, and Isla Ka from Tasmania. Organiser Erin Watkins will play original tunes.
The event drew inspiration from a night of live music, food, prizes, and sharing of stories among friends at Trim’s Restaurant, McCrae, last year. Proceeds from that event went to beyondblue.
This year, with help from Chris Swayn, Kelly World, Yanni Dellaportas, and Ms Watkins’s parents, Blue Dog Night will have the same aim of reducing stigma, raising awareness and encouraging people not to suffer in silence.
Funds raised will go to beyondblue and The Black Dog Institute.
To donate art for the silent auction or to make a donation email Erin Watkins: ezzwatkins@hotmail.com
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 20 October 2015
