The Band of the South Australia Police will be performing in the heart of Mount Gambier this Friday.

The special event at the Cave Gardens/Thugi will raise funds for the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), a not-for-profit organisation that supports and raises awareness for the Special Olympics and people with intellectual disabilities and their athletic abilities.

Mount Gamber Police manager, crime prevention section Sergeant Jade Hill said the police relied greatly on the community working with them, so she wanted to reward the community with a free concert.

“We had the COVID pandemic and our community and cross-border community were heavily affected by that, being so close to the border with a lot of people commuting to and from,” Sgt Hill said.

“I worked out on the borders quite a bit and saw the brunt of that with community and for the most part community were really cooperative and easy to deal with.

“I wanted to reward our community for their cooperation and support of us through what was a really challenging time for everyone.

“To be able to bring the South Australian Police Band, who are an internationally-renowned performing act, to our community to provide a bit of celebration of our community for their efforts with us and working with us.”

Sgt Hill is the LETR South East Ambassador and said the event would celebrate and showcase local athletes Courtney Brown, Sean Austin, Amechai Bawden and Kristy Weber, who competed in the Special Olympics Australia National Games in Tasmania last year.

“They all won medals, they all have had great achievements,” Sgt Hill said.

“I want to celebrate them in community because they often do not get that opportunity and their achievements deserve to be celebrated and recognised, they all put in great, hard work.

“But we have also got lots of other people with intellectual disabilities who do take part in sport in our community as well and do strive towards that sort of achievement, so I want them to be a part of it as well.”

Sgt Hill said along with raising awareness, the event would fundraise for all Special Olympians who will go to Berlin, Germany, to compete at the World Games in June.

“There needs to be some financial backing for them and their families, so this is a good opportunity for our community to get behind them and support them in their achievements,” she said.

“So it is kind of multi-faceted with the approach, but it is going to be a big community celebration and I hope lots of people come and take part and take us up on that free performance as well from the police band.”

Limestone Coast Officer in Charge Superintendent Campbell Hill said the event was also an opportunity for the Mount Gambier Police to engage with the community.

“It is a really good opportunity for us to have some transparency, some accessibility, it is also no secret that we are recruiting really hard at the moment as well,” Supt Hill said.

“So, for the people in the community who are even remotely interested in a career within the police you can come along and see the diverse group of police officers that are going to be here.”

Proceeds from the evening’s sausage sizzle and soft drink sales will be donated to the LETR and Sgt Hill said the event had received great community support, with local businesses donating ingredients.

Donors include Collins Court Butcher, Compton Street Bakers Delight, Marketplace Woolworths and Seriously Caffeinated will bring their coffee van and donate some of their profits to the cause.

Sgt Hill said the Lakes Rotary Club of Mount Gambier would cook the barbecue, volunteers from the police station will assist, Mount Gambier Council had been a great support and Police Credit Union had been a major sponsor with financials.

“It seems there is a great support from community and local business, local business is huge, everyone is a business and they have had their struggles through COVID as well, so for them to actually get behind this is huge and it very much appreciated,” Sgt Hill said.

“It is a whole community pull-together.”

The event will take place from 5.30pm until 7.30pm and will be opened with a Welcome to Country by Tim Brennan followed by a torch run down the Main Street and lighting of the cauldron.

The entire Limestone Coast is invited to attend and the event will be all-inclusive with disabled toilets, disabled parking and accessible matting laid on the lawn to improve wheelchair access.