Orange City Council will transform the centre of Orange into the ultimate street party on Saturday 2 November, with Zest Fest 2024 in Robertson Park.
Surrounding streets will be closed for the major music festival, tipped to be the largest cultural event ever assembled by Orange City Council.
Headlined by ARIA-award winning, alternative rock band The Rubens, the music, food and ferments festival will be held on Saturday 2 November.
Orange City Council has received $150,000 from the NSW Government's Open Streets Program, to temporarily close the streets surrounding Robertson Park to traffic for the day, and open them for food, drink and market stalls.
The one-day Zest Fest event has been hailed by Orange Mayor Jason Hamling as a new way to bring contemporary music to the region, while exploring the use of streets for community events.
"We love it when major promoters bring touring festivals to regional areas, but they often have to play it safe by sticking to 'Legacy' bands that will work for an older demographic," Cr Hamling said.
"It's time to kick-start a new festival with the vibrancy that comes with cutting edge contemporary Australian music, that will attract a younger demographic."
"We've had festivals that showcase our beautiful countryside, and everybody's been to a festival in a paddock, but what about sitting under trees, listening to bands in a beautiful historic park and streets right in the centre of town? Zest Fest is going to be something special."
"As well as a boost for our local music scene, Zest Fest is all about breathing new life into our inner city. Orange is already well known for our suite of festivals and Zest Fest will be happening in Spring on the final weekend of the Wine Festival to build on that success."
The Rubens' Sam Magrin is looking forward to coming back to Orange after playing a gig in the Orange Civic Theatre in 2022.
"The Rubens have always been about reaching our fans no matter where they're based. We have a strong focus on touring regional Australia and connecting with the people and their communities. It's really great to see Orange bringing contemporary music to their region.
"We have our new album out in September and can't wait to play it for everyone. It's going to be a great day with some quality bands. See you in November."
Zest Fest is a free-entry all-age event, that will be held on Saturday, 2 November 2024 from 3pm-10pm. It will showcase the region's best food and beverages, packaging it up in the centre of town at the historic Robertson Park.
"Now that the official launch has happened, we'll be working hard to finalise the line-up of four other bands to play on the day. We've also been talking with the business community about sponsorship opportunities with being involved in Zest Fest and I'm pleased to have Brett Robinson from our Platinum Sponsor the Hotel Canobolas here today for the launch," Cr Hamling said.
Minister for Roads, Arts, Music and the Night-Time Economy, Jobs and Tourism John Graham said:
"We're excited to support this event in Orange."
"Too often our main streets are something we drive through, rather than drive to. Our streets are a critical part of our public and social infrastructure. Great streets make great towns and centres and reflect the local community and culture."
"The Open Streets program is about temporarily transforming our main streets into vibrant and welcoming public event spaces."
"The colour and diversity of these 130 events celebrates the unique personality of each town or suburb. This is what our vibrancy agenda is all about, backing locals to create events and entertainment that works for their local community."
Partner of the Hotel Canobolas, Brett Robinson says he is incredibly proud to support Orange City Council in delivering a premium event like Zest Fest, in which the entire community can participate.
"Live music is a fantastic way to unite people, and we are thrilled to be a part of such a remarkable initiative for Orange and the Central West," Mr Robinson said.
Start-up funding for the festival has come from:
– Transport for NSW through the Open Streets Program ($150,000)
– Orange City Council (in kind support - administration, event coordination etc.)
– Orange360 (marketing and promotion)
