- Minister for Regional Development
The Andrews Labor Government has delivered its first funding grant today under the special Regional Events Fund Bushfire Recovery Round, supporting The Rise from The Ashes concert next weekend in Cudgewa.
Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes today announced the first grant from the dedicated Bushfire Round which help bring visitors back to Cudgewa and the Upper Murray region from 29 February to 1 March.
The Cudgewa community was severely impacted by the recent fires with the loss of numerous homes, large numbers of cattle and damage to farmland and the Cudgewa Football Recreation Reserve, which is where the concert will be held.
Australian artists James Blundell and Sara Stoner will headline the concert, with a wide variety of talented local artists still to be announced.
A shuttle bus will connect with the concert and accommodation options in surrounding towns, which will make things easier for festival goers and help spread the economic benefit around the region.
With the concert program starting at 11:00am each day, visitors will be encouraged to explore local shops and cafes before heading to the concert.
The Bushfire Recovery Round of the Regional Events Fund is kickstarting the recovery of regions affected by the summer's devastating bushfires and will deliver up to $300,000 to events that bring visitors to regional Victoria.
The Round is open until 27 March 2020 with grants of up to $20,000 available for events in following local government areas; Ararat, Alpine, Ballarat, East Gippsland, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Greater Bendigo, Indigo, Mansfield, Moyne, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Southern Grampians, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta, Wellington and Wodonga and the Alpine Resorts of Mount Buller, Mount Hotham, Mount Stirling and Falls Creek.
For information on Regional Events Fund applications, go to corporate.visitvictoria.com/events/regional-events.
The Rise from the Ashes Concert Weekend will run from Saturday 29 - Sunday 1 March 2020. For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://cooweeride.org.au/rfta.
As noted by Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes
"This special round of our Regional Events Fund is all about reactivating our bushfire affected regions and getting visitors back to the communities that need our support now more than ever."
"The Regional Event Fund Bushfire Recovery Round is helping our regional towns get back on their feet and The Rise from The Ashes Concert will show people the Upper Murray is resilient and very much open for business."
