Hundreds of Aussie staff working at Big White Ski Resort will be thinking fondly of their friends and families back home while they celebrate Australia Day thousands of miles away from their fire-ravaged home country.
Currently, Australia is being hit by one of the worst wildfires seen in decades, with large parts of the country in ruins since the fires began in late July.
According to a BBC news’ article, as of Jan. 21, 30 people, including four firefighters, have lost their lives as a result of the fires. Ten million hectares of land has also burned.
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In an effort to help combat the fires, Big White is hosting a series of fundraisers over the weekend.
On Friday night, staff at two of the mountain’s popular restaurants, Globe Tapas and the Blarney Stone Irish Tavern, took the lead in organizing a fundraiser last week which saw almost $6,000 raised in a few hours. All the funds will be donated to four Australian charities doing disaster recovery work in their home communities.
The money raised then received a further boost by Kelowna businessman Justin Bullock of OK Tire in Rutland who heard about the Blarney Stone fundraiser and decided he wanted to help.
“We thought Jason wanted to maybe top up the $2,900 we’d raised to $3,000 which would’ve been amazing anyway,” said Jude Brunt, co-owner of The Blarney Stone.
“We were blown away when he said he wanted to fully match it and donate another $2,900 on top.”
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Another fundraiser on the go is called the Sausage Sizzle, a barbeque taking place at every one of the restaurants on the mountain. $5 from every sausage sold is going to the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in Victoria. On Saturday, Big White raised $4,560 from their Big White toque sale, which also went to the CFA.
Ski with an Aussie happens Sunday at 2 p.m. at the top of the ski bar.
With 64 per cent of the Big White Staff being Australian, the mountain is sure to be one big party Sunday night with Snow Shoe Sams hosting an event of music and beverages to round out the day.
Big White Ski Resort is also hosting some of the world’s best at the first-ever Barrels & Berms FIS SBX World Cup this weekend.
The event started Jan. 24 and brings in the top talent in SBX (snowboard cross) from Canada and from around the globe. This World Cup is the only chance for the Canadian National Team to compete at the top international level on home snowgrounds this year.
