There was a whirlwind of excitement in Forbes on Friday when The Voice grand finalist Celia Pavey and her coach Delta Goodrem came to town.
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Hundreds turned out at Celia’s former secondary school, Red Bend Catholic College, for a special meet and greet with the duo.
There were students from all schools in Forbes in attendance as well as community members.
During the visit, Celia and Delta were welcomed by Red Bend Catholic College Deputy Principal Stephen Dwyer and Forbes Mayor Ron Penny.
They both spoke about how wonderful Celia was and wished her all the best for the grand final on Monday night. Cr Penny said Celia was an absolute credit to Forbes.
“Welcoming you and Delta here is the most pleasant job I have done since becoming mayor,” he said.
Cr Penny presented Celia with a ‘key to the town’ and encouraged the crowd to keep voting for her.
Celia then sang her original song Candle in the Night and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.
After lots of screaming and cheering from the crowd, Delta and Celia then performed a duet of Delta’s hit Sitting on Top of The World. It may have been a quick visit, but our town certainly made an impression on Delta, telling the crowd before leaving that “Forbes will be forever in my heart”. “
It is wonderful being able to bring Celia back here and to see the support of her hometown,” Delta said.
“I know just how much the community is behind her due to all the posters around town – they look amazing.” While addressing the crowd, Delta said she was proud to have Celia as her finalist.
“I can safely say Celia is the easiest person I have had to coach on the show and I am so happy she is in the grand final.
“Celia is a genuine, kind person with a wonderful spirit.
“She has grace, humility and is just lovely.
“This is just beginning of our friendship and I am very honoured that she picked me to be her coach.”
Celia said she was feeling all sorts of emotions and was extremely happy to have been able to come back to Forbes before the grand final tonight.
“The whole experience has been incredible and I can’t thank you all enough for the support you have shown me,” she said.
“It was an incredible moment [being back on stage at Red Bend] and I will never forget this moment. Celia also shared some encouraging words with the students.
“Anything is possible in life; never ever give up on whatever you want to do,” she said.
After the visit at Red Bend, Celia, Delta and the crew enjoyed a lunch with all of Celia’s family members at the Forbes Inn.
Votes for Celia can be made by phoning 1902 55 95 02 or texting ‘Celia’ to 199 55 999 or downloading ‘Candle in the night’ or ‘Xanadu’ from iTunes
