Look out Macarthur, celebrity rush heading this way

You may or may not know it, but there’s some big names heading our way in the next few weeks.

Celebrity chefs to big sport stars, current and former, will grace our schools, business chamber meetings or the openings of sports facilities in the next few weeks.

But let’s take them one at a time because they each deserve a little extra focus.

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♦ First cab off the rank is great Aussie chef Luke Mangan, who will be a Camden High School on Wednesday, March 14.

It’s all part of a program to inspire and cultivate careers in hospitality and includes Mangan working with HSC students to create a three course meal served at a “long lunch’’.

The program was developed by wonderful local organisation MWLP in conjunction with The Inspired Series by Luke Mangan, Benchmarque and HTN.

Disclosure: The South West Voice has been invited to this year’s long lunch and we are really looking forward to sampling the culinary creations of our future chefs with a little help from Luke Mangan.

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♦ Who can forget that iconic State of Origin scene in the 1990s when a young giant from Penrith, Mark Geyer, had the temerity to lock horns with rugby league royalty, the king himself, Wally Lewis.

Geyer also played for Australia and was of course a member of Penrith’s premiership win in 1991.

The South West Voice was fortunate enough to share a ringside table with Geyer in a boxing night at Panthers a year or two after his retirement from footy.

We discovered that he was very different from the firebrand on the field – the Geyer we met was a well mannered and thoughtful man – a good bloke as we say in this country.

That’s the Mark Geyer that members and guests of the Greater Narellan Town Centre will hear when he is their guest speaker at their March 14 breakfast meeting at Harrington Grove Country Club.

Geyer will share the highs and lows of his life growing up in Western Sydney as well as those during his post footy career on TV and radio.

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♦ A couple of days later, on Friday, March 16, players from the Sydney Kings NBL basketball team, including their captain Kevin Lisch, will be in Campbelltown.

They will be here to help us celebrate the opening of a new multi sport centre at Cleopatra Drive Rosemeadow.

Also at the official opening celebrations will be the Sydney Street Football Crew, who will be handing out “amazing futsal tricks’’.

The fun starts from 6pm when DJ, producer, singer and dancer, DJ Jazzy does his thing with a mix of dance, dance-pop, dub and hip hop.

Anyone who turns up will also have the opportunity to try out the new basketball and futsal courts and test their skills on the inflatable obstacle course.

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♦ The Wests Tigers are here for Saturday’s NRL trial match against the Cronulla Sharks at Campbelltown Sports Stadium from 7pm.

There was also a media opportunity provided today, but unfortunately for local journos and fans it was held at Concord Oval.

There was a time when media and fan days were held where the game was scheduled to be played, but this was abandoned last year, for reasons best known to the club.

We’re not sure how this ties in with the Wests Tigers saying they are ramping up their community engagement in Macarthur, but time will tell.

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♦ Staying with the sport theme for a moment, the Voice nominates South West Sydney Sport Academy executive director Gerry Knights as one of the hardest persons to pin down for a chat.

Honestly, the man must be busier than the Prime Minister.

After our last request for a sit down a week later, Gerry sent us this explanation in an email of why he had to decline:

“I will be in Newcastle playing in a three day hockey carnival, then a quick rush back to Sydney airport to meet (offsider) James late Sunday, and catch a plane to Byron Bay for an Academy dinner and conference Monday and Tuesday.’’

But Knights does also have a healthy sense of humour – he ended his message with: “It’s tough at the top.’’

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♦ Did you know that there was a rare sighting of a platypus in the Nepean River in the Camden area recently?

It was even captured on film by a Camden Council employee who spotted the native animal.

The platypus is part of Camden Council’s crest or logo.