Lynne Mowbray This year’s Clarence Valley Australia Day Awards dinner was held at the Angourie Rainforest Resort last Thursday evening. Around 160 people attended the evening’s event, which was sold out prior to the night. Organisers said that this year’s event was the biggest Australia Day event so far. Nominations for this year also broke all records; with the number of nominations received, doubling. The evening did not go without incident though, with a blackout occurring during the announcement of this year’s winners. The short pause in proceedings only added to light hearted tone of the evening’s program. Towards the end of the evening, Clarence Valley Council [CVC] general manager Ashley Lindsay gave his thank you speech, which concluded with an invitation from the evenings MC Cr Greg Clancy, for Mr Lindsay to join him in a song. The friendly banter between the two saw Mr Lindsay graciously decline the invitation, leaving Cr Clancy to sing his solo rendition of ‘The house of the Rising Sun’. The evening was enjoyed by all who attended and we congratulate all the nominees and winners of this year’s awards.