The day titled ‘Bump In’, by Ballarat’s Swap Meet, welcomed its site holders to fill their sites for the two day event, from 2pm yesterday.
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Alfred Rotary Club Board Member, Robyn Upton, is part of the event’s organisation, manned by volunteers from Ballarat’s eight rotary clubs and other local community groups in the area.
“it’s a huge operation… there will be volunteers on site all night”, she said.
Robyn said that there will be 2,718 site holders at the event and a majority of them were already lined up in their cars at the entrance by 12pm.
The event, run for the seventh time by Rotary, has been a work in progress by its clubs for the last six months, with thousands of hours being spent, over the last two weekends alone.
Rotary has experienced huge growth in their Swap Meet since they started organising it. The first Swap Meet ran by the clubs was organised within a period of six weeks.
Due to its size, a number of formal processes are involved in the setup and running of the event. Site holders and volunteers workers are identified by wristbands, and marshals are be given walkie-talkies and hi-vis vests.
“There’s something like ten thousand people coming, so there’s got to be organisation”, say Mrs Upton.
Frank Cotronea, the event’s Logistics and Equipment Manager and Safety Officer, says 80,000 litres of grey water is predicted to be pumped out of the site from showers and toliets.
Mr Cotronea was involved in structural setup of the location on Wednesday, which involved the help of contractors around the area to ensure everything needed was properly placed and checked for safety precautions.
A camp site is available at the the event’s location and, a number of campers and caravans were seen within the line of cars yesterday. The catered event has also been equipped with showers, toilets, watertaps and ATMs for crowds to access.
Volunteers planned to help out at the ‘Bump In’ until 10pm, with many, including Ballarat Swap Meet Chairman, Lindsay Florence, staying for the weekend.
Public parking opens at 6am, and gates open at 7am.