Hosted by McKean McGregor, the inaugural Bendigo Community Gala Ball has been more than 12 months in the making.

It is set to go ahead at Bendigo Stadium on February 12.

McKean McGregor sales and marketing manager and event committee member Brock Pinner said the concept was to allow the community to enjoy itself while raising money for the Gobbé Wellness Centre that is home to Bendigo Health's cancer wellness program.

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"After the last two years, the broader idea is to bring the community together," he said. "We want people to get together, reconnect, have a fun night and raise money for a good cause.

"The Gobbé Wellness Centre runs cancer support programs such as remedial massage, reflexology, mindfulness, yoga and music sessions

"But because it is a support service to cancer patients, and not treatment, it doesn't receive government funding. It is reliant on gifts, donations and fundraising."

Bendigo Health cancer wellness coordinator Jenna Sing said the cancer wellness program had been running for eight months.

"They are services available to any cancer patients in the (Loddon Mallee) region," she said. "These wellness services are not new but regional Victoria doesn't have as many as Melbourne. There are programs in Ballarat, and Albury and now Bendigo.

"Being a new program, it is great to have the exposure of a gala event to raise funds and awareness."

Mr Pinner said the decision to support the Gobbe centre was due to cancer being an illness that too many people have experienced either directly or indirectly.

"A lot of people have been touched by cancer through family and friends who have experienced it," he said. "(Our business) has participated in Dry July and working with Jenna and the team, we identified the ongoing need for fundraising."

Ms Sing said about 150 people access cancer services, treatments or doctors appointments in Bendigo each day.

"(The cancer wellness program) is open to anyone and available to a wide range of patients from Mildura down to Gisborne," she said.

"We try to work complementary therapies into treatment regimes to help with side effects that are not only physical but also social and emotional. We are looking at patients holistically.

"We are very thankful for support that the gala will provide because the fact is, these services are only available through community support."

The ball had previously had dates pencilled in to go ahead on before the pandemic restricted social gatherings.

"We started around this time last year and had a couple dates tentatively booked at the end of June and another in October," Mr Pinner said. "It has been 12 months in the planning and we have just started to become confident the event could proceed. We're lifting the lid on it now because we are confident it can run."

Mr Pinner said so far more than 50 tables have been booked with organisers hopeful of hosting more than 800 people at the February ball.

"We think the timing for this event is perfect to bring the Bendigo community back together after the impacts of COVID-19," he said. "We would love to have over 800 people in the room and are really confident that it can be achieved," he said.

"We have some fantastic entertainment lined up, with Absolutely 80's as the feature act which includes iconic 80's performers Brian Mannix, Scott Carne and Dale Ryder. There are also major auction items and silent auction items on the night, we are hopeful of raising a significant amount to support the cancer wellness program."

The McKean McGregor Bendigo Community Gala Ball is on February 12 at Bendigo Stadium. For more information or to book a table visit https://bit.ly/BendigoGalaBall2022 or call Brock Pinner on 0428 710 007.

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