Bright ideas get food for thought

Arts Narrogin held its much-anticipated second Pitch n Plate event last Wednesday, following the success of the first event earlier this year. At the sold-out live crowdfunding event three community groups pitched an idea to the audience, who then voted with $5 tokens on which idea they thought was deserving of their ticket money. There were three pitches, the first from Patricia Moulton and Coral Mahony, who proposed to install distinct, reflective addresses on the kerbs of homes in Narrogin, allowing emergency services to find the correct house much faster, especially at night. The idea was well received, and generated more than $1000 of crowd funding, with an additional generous donation from Peter Taylor. Rodney Johnson pitched his idea for a Narrogin’s Got Talent event, in which he appealed for money to get the entire community involved in a talent show, with local artists working with the wider community to perfect their acts. He received $694 dollars in crowd funding, saying the experience was nerve-racking but the support was wonderful. The third pitch was made by Ned Crossley, who appealed for funding and help to get electrical installations from the main source out into the community garden, to illuminate the area for evening functions. His pitch raised $994. Organiser Deborah Hughes-Owen said the event was a great success, although a challenge to organise because of COVID-19 number restrictions and hygiene guidelines. She said it was great to see the follow-up from the first round of pitches earlier in the year. “Hopefully people will be talking about it now, and when we raise it again people will be prepared to pitch,” she said. “It’s a new concept but we really want it to be something think about taking part in.”