Community Support has put us on World Events Stage (Latest GM Column 6 October 2018)

This week we learnt that the city of Coffs Harbour had won the globally-acclaimed International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) World Festival and Event City Award for the fourth year in a row.

I wanted to use this opportunity to make clear that this award is not just Council’s – it is recognition for the whole community and everyone’s role in creating an environment in which events and festivals can flourish.

It’s also worth pointing out that the whole community gains from the direct economic benefits that increasing numbers of visitors bring to our region.

The entire basis of the IFEA awards is that they are all about highlighting communities that work together to create successful festivals and events. This is why this accolade is very definitely for the whole Coffs Harbour community – the local groups, organisations and individuals who get together to develop and run events, the business sector that supports them through sponsorship and the different levels of government that provide funding and assistance.

Working in partnership as a community has now secured us this status as a world-leader in staging and growing events for the past four years.

Council’s role in the promotion and growth of events is captured in the Coffs Harbour Events Strategy 2020.

The Events Strategy 2020 guides Council on the ways to attract, grow and retain events in Coffs Harbour – and by doing so, generate economic, social and community benefits for the Coffs Harbour region. It also helps outline how we can provide expertise and support for others to run successful events in the area.

A focus of the Strategy is to ensure that the region creates a well-balanced calendar of events throughout the year to maximise the gains to the community.

Last year, we also launched the coffscoastevents.com.au website which includes an Event Guide, designed to help people plan and deliver successful events, detailed information on planning and delivering an event and free event document templates to make the process as easy as possible.

In addition, the site provides assistance on the range of grant funding available to new and growing events from Council and the state and federal governments.

If you have an idea for a local festival or event, take a look at coffscoastevents.com.au to see how we can help. A hard copy of the Event Guide is also available from Council.