Fundraising - Corvette Nationals 2026 - Day 3 - Gala Dinner

The 2026 Corvette Nationals Gala Dinner was to be a fitting end to a very successful event.  These custom centrepieces would be sold via silent auction later in the evening.

Red, white and blue, of course!

This huge banner was the penultimate item for the live auction later in the evening.

There was also a smaller, signed banner that sold for a pretty penny!

Lots of auction items...

The room was set...

More signage!

Trophies to hand out.

Damian was dressed and ready to perform MC duties...

But first, a selfie with Tricia and Damian's car!  (That's Damian's D-max in the background!)

Another selfie...

The MC duties have commenced!

Damian blurbing on...

And more...

Brad and Sandy who put the hard yards in to making the 2026 Corvette Nationals a success, along with Dave (the current president of the Qld Corvette Club).

Damian collecting a novelty cheque for $1000 made out to Camp Quality!

MC duties finished, it was time to dance the rest of the night away!

The novelty cheque...  The actual donation will be made online (isn't everything these days)!

Thanks to the members and guests at the Gala Dinner, an additional $179.30 was collected in the donation tin!

Thanks also to the Queensland Corvette Club for their ongoing support, and their fabulous donation to Camp Quality!

Fundraising - Corvette Nationals 2026 - Day 3 - Big Kart Track

Sunday morning at the Corvette Nationals and attendees had the choice of a cruise to Kenilworth, or hitting the Big Kart Track for some high octane fun!  Damian and Tricia went to the Big Kart Track!

Damian doesn't quite fit in the karts as well as other people do...

The weather was a little inclement, but the thrills (and a couple of spills) were there to be had!

A great time was had despite the rain - the karts are still pretty solid even on a very wet track... of course, the drivers were all as wet as the track (and covered in grit) at the end of their drives!

After that, it was back to Peppers at Noosa for a relaxing afternoon before the gala dinner.

Fundraising - Corvette Nationals 2026 - Day 2 - Dinner

Dinner on Saturday night was at Australia Zoo...  CRIKEY! 

A short walk through the rain...

With some animals on display, including this chonky Olive Python.

This cockatoo was apparently 50 years old!

A shingleback lizard... regular blog viewers will remember "shingleback alley" from esCarpade last year!  Apparently these mate for life, and sadly if one is run over, the other will stand with it trying to protect it, ultimately getting run over also.

Someone here is a secret owl.  WHO?

Dinner was lovely, but Tricia was lovelier!

A successful fundraising day capped off with a great dinner at the Corvette Nationals 2026.

Fundraising - Corvette Nationals 2026 - Day 2 - Car Show

Waking up bright and early, having a quick breakfast and heading down to the Banana Bender Pub ready for the Corvette Nationals Show and Shine (Car Show), Damian and Tricia's first job was to get some Camp Quality signage set up.

Queensland Corvette Club are hosting this year's Corvette Nationals...  they are long-time supporters of Camp Quality (and Damian's fundraising).

Strategically placed signage, along with a cheeky QR Code to securely donate to Camp Quality!

More signage, and more Corvettes!

Damian was clearly proud of the signage...

Bluey made several special guest appearances, and was a big hit with kids young and old!

Queensland Corvette Club loves Bluey!

A full on race-spec C8 Corvette...

Bluey posing for photos...

Tricia with her favourite Corvette - Nick's hot pink 1973 C3!

Corvettes came from far and wide...

Old ones and new ones...

Banana Bender Pub...

Bluey having a quick dance amongst the Corvettes...

Dancing!!

Damian discovered that taking a video while playing Bluey's music results in no music playing on the video, but here it is anyway!

Damian and Tricia... somehow Tricia never managed to catch Bluey's visits...

Quite the crowd across the day, along with some ominous storm clouds...  There were a few showers, but nothing too serious!

The Hot Wheels Corvette was a popular choice for photos...

Bluey is a bit young to be served at the bar!

The PlumbDogs were playing at the Banana Bender... they were very keen to meet Bluey!

Thanks to all the Corvette owners who attended, and the members of the general public... Today in the donation tin Damian received $288.15, plus an additional $106.12 from a QR Code donation!

Tonight, it's off to Australia Zoo for dinner!

Fundraising - Corvette Nationals 2026 - Day 1

It was time for Damian and Tricia to head off to the Sunshine Coast for the Corvette Nationals... Bluey was washed and looking a treat! 

Action shot!

About 45 mins up the road, Damian noticed that the temperature gauge was swinging from normal to full noise as he watched...   Carefully changing across 4 lanes to take the exit he was about to pass, he stopped at a servo and popped the bonnet...

The serpentine belt had shredded... and worse still, it had busted the water pump pulley.

Damian removed the belt while he waited for a tow truck to arrive.

The tow truck wait was "up to 3 hours", however it actually arrived within about 15 minutes.

Tricia took some pics of Damian supervising...

Onto the tow truck Bluey went...

The photo Damian took...

Tricia's photo of Damian taking said photo!

Ready to head home...

Bluey was safely delivered home, where after unloading, Damian transferred all the stuff from Bluey to his Dmax.

The tow truck driver gave a $50 donation - LEGEND!

Heading up to Noosa to the Peppers Resort, Damian and Tricia's room has water glimpses!

Fancy room!

Some goodies from the Corvettes goodie bag...

Hottie ready for the Hawaiian themed opening night... and Damian!

Selfie on the way to dinner...

Lots of Corvette people from around the country...

Tricia got to experience first hand the kind of adventure that is usually reserved for esCarpade... Rolling with the punches, Bluey (the character) will still make an appearance at the Banana Bender pub on Saturday... however Bluey (the car) will not.