Announced by Destination Central West NSW. 7 July 2026.
Congratulations to all successful Central West event organisers who have secured funding through Destination NSW’s Regional Event Fund 2026/27.
Over $200,000 in funding will come to events in the NSW Central West.
The NSW Government says:
“The NSW Government is putting money where it matters, delivering more than $1.3 million to support 56 grassroots events across regional NSW through the 2026/27 Regional Event Fund.”
The tourism data
“New Tourism Research Australia data confirms regional NSW is Australia’s number one regional visitor destination, ahead of Victoria, ahead of Queensland, and pulling further ahead every year. In the year ended March 2026, more than 64 million international and domestic visitors came to regional NSW and spent more than $27 billion in local communities.”
“Regional NSW led the nation on total visits and total nights stayed and is well on the way to reaching the ambitious target set by the NSW Government of $44 billion in regional expenditure by 2035.”
Delivered across three funding streams (Incubator, Flagship and Event Development), the Regional Event Fund supports events at every stage of their lifecycle, helping to drive visitation, strengthen local visitor economies and showcase the unique experiences of regional NSW. We look forward to seeing these events continue to grow and deliver lasting benefits for our region. Our successful recipients for the 2026/27 Regional Event Fund are:
Incubator Stream:
New events in their first or second years can receive up to $20,000 of seed funding to support activities that are likely to establish an event as a driver of visitation.
The Gig (Orange)
Twilight Market (Bathurst)
BX l Bathurst Experience – Harvest After Dark (Bathurst)
Seven Valleys Wild Food Festival (Lithgow)
Flagship Stream:
Emerging events running for over two years can receive grants of $20,000 to increase their profile and encourage visitation. Events that have already received the maximum of three annual grants will be eligible for grants of $30,000 over three years.
Cementa26 (Kandos)
The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts (triennial) (Grenfell)
Sculptures in the Garden (triennial) (Mudgee)
Beatlesfest (Bathurst)
Grazing Down the Lachlan (Forbes)
Orange Chamber Music Festival 2027 (Orange)
Pictured: Sculptures in the Gardens, Mudgee