Golden Stave dinner announces performers

The NSW music industry’s charity Golden Stave Foundation – which has raised $14 million for over 50 children’s charities in NSW – is holding its 2015 Annual Fundraising Dinner on Friday June 19, 2015 from 7.30 pm.

Performing at the event, at the Hordern Pavilion (its 15th year there), are Dragon, Shannon Noll, Amber Lawrence and comedian Effie who’s doing the Eff-Bomb routine which she says, “It’s gonna be murder on the dance floors.”

All net monies raised from the day go to children’s charities in NSW. The funds help handicapped, sick and under privileged children through a range of services and equipment including music therapy, kids support camps, clown Doctors, musical instruments, medical education and computer equipment.

The first Golden Stave luncheon (as it was then) was formed 37 years ago by Chris Gilbey OAM (then Managing Director of ATV/Northern Songs), Peter Hebbes AM (then Managing Director of Festival Music Publishing), Ross Barlow OAM (then Managing Director of PolyGram Records) and the late Jack Argent (then Managing Director of Leeds Music). 187 of the music biz met at Sydney's Sebel Townhouse on Friday March 18, 1979. Keynote speaker was John Singleton, and the lengthy lunch raised $12,000.

By 1986 it was drawing 622 guests and raised $120,000. From 1998, attendance was between 1,000 to 1,200, when it was making about $700,000 a year. In 2004 it hit a record $900,000.

Among the charities benefitting have been Ferguson Lodge (two 22-seater buses and a music room), Can-Teen to send children with terminal cancer to holidaycamps, The Berala Project for wheelchair-bound patients, Golden Stave/Shepherd Centre which provides education for hearing impaired children as well as donations of fuel pods for the Child Flight helicopter, equipping a hearing booth and building the Adolescent Orthopedic Ward for the new Children's Hospital, new wheelchairs and equipment for Sylvanvale School, the Golden Stave Scholarship for the ParaQuad Association and ongoing assistance to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.

However, the luncheon had been facing declining numbers and revenues in recent years, partly because some of the original and ardent supporters left the music industry, and partly because the changing culture of the music industry drifted from long luncheons.

Last year, it was decided to shift from the lunch format to a dinner.

Celebrity Ambassadors for the Foundation are Glenn A Baker, Jono Coleman, Bianca Dye and Guy Sebastian.