Local residents are being encouraged to pull out their boots, flannelette shirts and cowboy hats and get into the country spirit for a fun and quirky night of entertainment this Saturday night, while at the same time supporting the local Can Assist branch.

The fundraiser, which has appropriately been named ‘Hoedown in Coota Town’ is being organised by the hardworking and community minded Tracey Watson and Carmel Payne.

Tracey and Carmel work well as a team and have successfully organised a number of fundraisers in town including Blast from the Past in aid of the Nursing Home last year, the Thank God You’re Here variety show for the Oncology Appeal in 2009 and they have also been involved in a number of the variety shows organised by Meg Smith over the years.

The big attraction of this weekend’s event is the performance of The Pigs, a Tasmanian based band that were popular on this year’s season of Australia’s Got Talent.

Although The Pigs look like and sing like a traditional hillbilly band they surprise their audiences by performing some well known hits including Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’, Kanye West’s ‘Gold Digger’ and Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’.

The band has been established for six years, entertaining audiences at festivals and concerts all over Australia and even performing internationally in Germany and Denmark.

The Pigs consists of a five or six piece ensemble featuring the instrumentation of the banjo, acoustic guitar and double bass, percussions played on the stand-up drum kit, making a supercharged hillbilly sound. Sometimes extended family members contribute the fiddle, mandolin and dobro to the mix.

To complement the true theme of the Hoedown in Coota Town, Tracey and Carmel have also recruited professional line dancers from around the region who together form BJ Banditts.

BJ Banditts will dance along with The Pigs and will encourage the audience to get up and have a dance even sharing some of their basic line dancing moves.

Providing the pre-entertainment for the Hoedown in Coota Town is local band Black, Guy, Cooper and Smith featuring Bob Guy, Geoff Black, Marlise Cooper and Luke Smith.

Tracey and Carmel encourage locals to dress in country theme with prizes being awarded for best dressed male and female.

Tickets for the Hoedown in Coota Town, which will be held from 7pm in the auditorium of the Cootamundra Ex-Services Club, are on sale now and can be purchased from Kevin Deep’s Clothing and Footwear in Parker Street.

Some tickets will also be available at the door on the night.

Included in the ticket price is American-style barn food including brownies, punch, muffins and hot dogs.

To coincide with the event, Tracey and Carmel have also organised a guided bus tour of the local horse stud, which will depart from the Cootamundra Post Office at two time slots being 11am and 2pm.

Following the stud tour a Devonshire tea will be offered.

Tickets for the tour are $15 and are also available from Kevin Deep’s Clothing and Footwear. For those interested in doing both the stud tour and Hoedown in Coota Town a special deal of $50 for tickets will be offered.

Limited seats are available for the horse stud tour.