Hilltops Council has been successful in securing over $100,000 in grant funding from the NSW Government, via Destination NSW, to assist in the delivery of three of the region's major events in Boorowa, Harden and Young.
The funding has been welcomed by the Mayor of Hilltops, Councillor Brian Ingram who praised Destination NSW for its support of the region's festival program.
"Our events are key tourism drivers in the Hilltops region and this grant funding provides constructive assistance that will help attract more people to the festivals and boost the region's economy," he said.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the NSW Government was proud to be supporting the three festivals for the Hilltops region.
"Our Regional Event Fund has played a crucial role in bringing regional events back to life, particularly over these past 12 months."
"We have provided funding to a range of event owners and industry stakeholders, like Hilltops Council, to support their initiative because we know that staging events in local areas helps to boost community morale, create jobs and inject dollars into the pockets of local businesspeople," Mr Ayres said.
Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said she is pleased funding has been secured for events in the region.
"These three events celebrate the rich history of our region and the bright future of our communities. They bring many people to Young, Harden and Boorowa and are a great boost for our towns, I am so pleased the NSW Government is investing in these iconic events."
Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman said the Irish Woolfest is a uniquely Boorowa experience.
"I am delighted that the state Government can support the Woolfest and ensure we can continue to showcase Boorowa's community spirit, Irish connections and, of course, our fine Merino sheep in all their glory," Ms Tuckerman said.
Within the grant allocations the National Cherry Festival has received a cash grant of $27,500 per festival for the next three years. The triennial grant starts this year when the event will be staged from Friday 3 December to Sunday 5 December 2021.
The grant has been awarded from the Flagship Event stream of the Regional Event Fund which supports marketing activities that have the potential to increase domestic and international visitation to the event, influence a visitor's intention to travel to the event, or extend the length of a visitor's stay in the region to attend the festival.
As part of this grant, Destination NSW will also provide in-kind research services for the National Cherry Festival, up to the value of $2,500 per year in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The in-kind support will help provide insights into visitor demographics and experience at the event.
The Boorowa Irish Woolfest and the Harden Kite Festival, being held in October 2021, were each awarded a grant of $10,000 from the Micro Event stream of Destination NSW's 2020 Regional Event Fund. The Micro Events stream offered support to community-based events in bushfire or drought-affected areas with the aim of harmonising the local community, encouraging domestic and international visitation and stimulating the local economy. The grants were deferred to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
