Regular Friday evening social gatherings at the Bukkulla Recreation Ground have been a staple for many locals throughout the years.

The social evenings fell by the wayside this year until last month when the committee decided it was time to organise another.

"We started the social nights to get all our farming folk together in a communal place so we could start a conversation about drought. We hadn't had any since December last year which was our annual Christmas party.

"We decided with the current drought and state of affairs we needed to reinstate Friday night social nights," committee member Kirsty Wall said.

A date was set, the last Friday of the month, and a message was sent to community members. Within four days 30 people RSVP'd to the event.

The day of the gathering, Graman CWA president Christine Donaldson, who lives in Bukkulla, called Kirsty to share some exciting news.

"She said, 'I'm in Coles at the moment and they're donating the meat for tonight. I've organised it for 35 people.' We were a little overwhelmed to hear that."

A message went out to all telling them to bring a dessert or salad to share.

Arriving later to the communal gathering at Bukkulla's Recreation Grounds, Kirsty received another surprise to see double the expected number turn up.

Farming families got behind the gathering and decided it was a chance for them to unwind, catch up and enjoy some delicious food with friends.

"Then, the manager of Bunnings, Anthony Rushby, arrived with balls and blow-up hammers for the kids. He also told us Bunnings had donated a smoker for the community.

"I really want to acknowledge the generosity of Coles and Bunnings for providing these things; it really means a lot to our rural community. Thank you," she said.

After the positive response, the committee have decided to continue the Friday evening social nights to promote fellowship and positive discussions.

Kirsty said many attendees on the night were excited for the annual Christmas Party gathering where a huge feast is shared together.

"We are all experiencing some form of stress, we all have different stress, but we have identified that getting together is what's needed.

"At times people think they're alone, but these gatherings show after speaking to someone you realise you're never really on your own. A collective discussion is better than individual thoughts," she said.

The gathering was also the talk of the local school bus with kids excited to see their current friends, form new friendships and play together.

With a few new families having moved to the district, the regular Friday evenings will act as an easy opportunity to meet each other.

After discussions with the man in red, a date has been set for this year's Christmas Party gathering- December 6.