Ben Kennedy is out of his seat as he pilots four-year-old mare Indigo Blue first past the winning post in the 2021 Rockingham Beach Cup
As the Rotary Club of Palm Beach gears up for the 2022 Channel 7 Rockingham Beach Cup and Community Festival, it has just heard its signature event is a finalist in the 2022 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards.
Tourism Council WA CEO Leslee Ireland told the club on Thursday that it was a finalist in the festivals and events category, recognising the event’s effort to successfully attract people to “Rediscover Rockingham” as a tourist destination.
The other three finalists in the festival/events category are the Busselton Jetty Swim, the City of Perth's City of Light 60th Anniversary Celebration, and the Margaret River Region Open Studios
All WA tourism award winners will be announced on November 5 — just a week before this year's Beach Cup
Rotarian, Donna McDonald, who chairs the Rockingham Beach Cup committee, said she was thrilled to get into the finals
She noted major sponsor, Rockingham City Council, was also a finalist in two categories — for excellence in the local government award for tourism and tourism marketing and campaigns. The Cup was prominent in marketing as the city’s annual iconic event., she said.
The free Community Festival will open on Saturday, November 12, at 4 pm with family entertainment, children’s activities, an outdoor cinema, and food trucks before the social beach horse races from noon on Sunday, November 13.
This year's Channel 7 Rockingham Beach Cup will be markedly different in some areas. There will be a much larger licensed area, giving Palm Beach Oasis patrons access to the beach to view and interact with the horses. “They will be able to get their toes in the sand for Australia’s only social beach horse race,” she said.
This year’s event has a new look and feel, with a large open-sided shaded area on the beach for ticket holders.
“There will be just one corporate tent, totally run by Racing And Wagering WA, for the racing industry and guests.”
For the first time there will be a stage in the ticketed area with live entertainment and Fashions on the Foreshore she added.
Six weeks out from the biggest event on the Rockingham calendar, 30 percent of the tickets have already been sold.