All the fun and colour of Kurri Curry & Arts Festival will come to Col Brown Rotary Park, Kurri Kurri on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August, with Cessnock City Council successfully applying for a grant from the NSW Government’s Open Streets Program.
The Cessnock City Council were successful in receiving $135,000 for Kurri Kurri to host their inaugural Kurri Curry & Arts Festival which will be a celebration of the local and regional curry making skills, along with live music and entertainment, fire twirling, culinary delights, face painting and kid’s activities, chainsaw carving and interactive art workshops.
Responding to the cost-of-living crisis, Kurri Curry & Arts Festival is FREE entry, bringing locals together for budget busting, family-friendly fun.
The Kurri Curry & Arts Festival is one of 130 regional and metro events funded by the Open Streets Program which aims to activate local streets and public spaces, boost vibrancy and visitor numbers to local communities and businesses. The events include winter festivals, Christmas festivals, food markets, live music, street parades and arts events.
Other events include the Parkes Elvis Festival, Moon Festival in Cabramatta, the 4Elements Hiphop Festival in Blacktown, the Float Your Boat event at Lake Macquarie, the Big Bogan Festival in Nyngan and the Back O’ Bourke Street Fiesta.
Applications for local councils opened earlier this year, with the program so popular that the original funding pool was increased from $4.7 million to $8.7 million. Funding amounts range from $7,000 to $150,000 and have been awarded to 51 regional councils and 22 metropolitan councils.
All 130 events will take place between now and January 2025.
Open Streets Program is part of the NSW Government’s Vibrant Streets Package, now a $19.7 million investment to inject vibrancy into our streets and local spaces.
For more information on the Open Streets program visit www.transport.nsw.gov.au/industry/cities-and-active-transport/cities-revitalisation-and-place/festival-of-place-1-0/open
Member for Cessnock, Mr Clayton Barr said:
“It’s exciting to have a new free entry community event coming to our area.”
“This event combines food and arts, what’s not to love about that. I would like to encourage all community members to get out and support this great event.”
Minister for Roads, Arts, Music and the Night-Time Economy, Jobs and Tourism, John Graham said:
“We’re excited to support the Kurri Curry & Arts Festival.”
“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.”