The Men of Queanbeyan calendar will finally be launched on Saturday night at the Respite Care for QBN's 1920s ball at the Queanbeyan Showground.
After a two-year delay caused by COVID, the long-awaited calendar, featuring more than 150 Queanbeyan blokes, is finally printed and ready to be put on to walls around the region.
The calendar is a fundraising effort for the Respite Care for QBN and stars some of Queanbeyan's finest - from Peter "Butcher" Lindbeck to now Queanbeyang-Palerang mayor Kenrick Winchester.
Former Raiders captain Terry Campese, current Raider Jordan Rapana and he Brumbies' Nic White also get their kit off, as do a fair few Queanbeyan Tigers former and current players.
Bums were bared at locations from Seiffert Oval and the Queanbeyan Showground to the old Captain's Flat mine, some as the devastating bushfires of 2019-20 were raging in the region.
The calendar is an 18-month one, from July 2022 to December 2023.
While a lot of fun, the venture has a serious cause - raising funds and awareness for Respite Care for QBN.
The organisation was launched in 2018 to raise funds to build and administer a purpose-built, six-bedroom respite care facility for people aged 18 to 60 suffering from a chronic or terminal illness.
To date, Respite Care for QBN has a block of land thanks to Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and $1.5 million in funding from the Commonwealth and NSW governments to build the facility. A development application is due to be lodged within days.
Spokesman Paul Walshe said despite that progress, Respite Care for QBN was "still no closer to getting support from governments on ongoing funding to run the facility".
"This funding is critical and without it we will not be able to open our doors," he said.
- Tickets for the Men of Queanbeyan Calendar launch at the Respite Care for QBN roaring '20s ball can be purchased here.
