State Government Boost for Regional Events

1 November 2009

The State Government has increased its support for regional events by doubling the value of grants as part of its Tasmanian Regional Event Development program.
The Minister for Tourism and the Arts, Michelle O’Byrne, today congratulated the 17 regional event organisers who will share in $45,431 in development grants for events being held in 2010.

“These grants are for local, grass-root events and represent part of the State Government’s investment in long-term solutions for events in Tasmania.

“We’re supporting both strategic and practical event projects in 2010 which have demonstrated an ability to increase capacity, engage the local region and attract visitors – from cooperative marketing campaigns, purchasing new sound systems and the publication of regional food and wine maps to training volunteers.

The TRED program is an initiative of Events Tasmania and the State’s three Regional Tourism Associations, Cradle Coast Authority, Northern Tasmania Development and Totally South Tourism.

“The TRED program is about giving our regional events the boost they need to grow and deliver long-term benefits to their region,” Ms O’Byrne said.

Each RTA has contributed $5,000 towards the program, which is matched with $10,000 per region by Events Tasmania.

Ms O’Byrne said the TRED program is a redevelopment of Events Tasmania’s successful Regional Event Assistance Program grants, which have been supporting regional event development in the State for the last five years.

TRED generally provides grants of up to $5,000 to regional festivals and events that can demonstrate the ability to attract interstate and intrastate visitors as well as deliver regional tourism benefits.

“Under this new program, we have doubled our financial support and continued our partnership with Tasmania’s three Regional Tourism Associations to deliver important funding to regional events,” she said.

There were 30 applications to the 2010 program across the State, with panels in each region impressed by the quality and number of applications. Festivals and events that incorporate volunteer organisations, registered businesses, or government organisations were eligible to apply.

The 2010 TRED grant recipients by region are:

Northern Tasmania

Meander Valley 8 Fun, Run & Walk ($1900)
Junction 2010 ($5000)
Batman Bridge Festival ($1500)
Ross Marathons ($3030)
Streets Alive Youth Arts festival ($2000)
Tasmanian Trout Expo ($2000)

Southern Tasmania

A Taste of the Huon ($2000)
Targa Wrest Point ($4500)
Koonya Acoustic Roots Festival ($2500)
Cygnet Folk Festival ($1500)
Soundscape Festival 2010 ($4500)

North-West

4th Devonport Motor Show ($2000)
Taste of the North West ($1500)
Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival ($2412)
Devonport Jazz ($2589)
TAS Cook Comp – Whirlpool Challenge ($3200)
Henley-on-Mersey ($3300)

Further information: Sue Bailey 0417 550 279