THE Leeton Art Deco Festival could be set to make a return on a bigger and better basis.
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The festival was first held in 2011 and again in 2013, but the 2015 event was cancelled.
Leeton Shire Council has now decided to investigate the possibility of starting it up again, but only on the proviso that it be done a certain way.
With this in mind, council will be sending its event co-ordinator to Napier in New Zealand next month to take in their art deco festival.
The aim will be to take in all the festival has to offer, how it operates and what could be transferred over to Leeton’s event to make it a “showcase event”.
Council’s general manager Jackie Kruger said if the festival was going to start up again, it needed to be done in a way that would make it long-lasting.
“We have so many opportunities with our many fabulous art deco buildings to capitalise and attract people to town,” she said.
“In our recent consultation with the community for the community strategic plan a lot of people were saying they would like to see it brought back.”
The event was being held in the off-year from the Leeton SunRice Festival.
Should it take place once more, council would like to see it earn a name for itself just like the event in Napier, which attracts more than 40,000 visitors each year.
Mayor Paul Maytom said creating a vision that would attract a high level of sponsorship and readying the Leeton community for a destination event would take time.
“The Leeton Art Deco Festival has the potential to become an iconic destination event for (the) shire,” he said.
“You only have to look at events such as the Parkes Elvis Festival and the significant benefits this event now provides to the local visitor economy.
“We can achieve the same status if there is sufficient vision and drive from our community to make the Leeton Art Deco Festival a very special event.”
Council plans to hold the next festival in 2019 once a business plan has been developed and the event organised.