Community welcome to be part of Tidy Towns celebrations

Parkes is gearing up to stage the 2025 Tidy Towns Awards next week and co-hosts from Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) NSW want the community and surrounding towns to know they're invited too. The event will be held over the weekend from 10 to 12 October and involves case studies and category presentations, attending Homegrown Parkes and special tours across the shire for the event's attendees. It all culminates with the awards gala dinner on the Saturday night at the Parkes Services Club. KAB CEO Val Southam said they'd love to see community members and businesses come out to attend the dinner. Parkes, which proudly held the title in 2024, was widely recognised for demonstrating its strong heritage and innovative approach to environmental care. The awards dinner highlights successful projects and initiatives across a broad range of categories, with a focus on environmental sustainability, social inclusion and community resilience. Independent judge Doug McDonald, who travels to each finalist town, said the decision is never an easy one. “Each town focuses their attention and resources on issues of particular importance to their community needs, which makes judging a particularly tricky task,” he said. This year organisers noticed a surge in nominations for the Community Spirit and Inclusion category - the most highly entered award - which Ms Southam said reflected the strength and vitality of regional communities. She said the event plays an important role in both celebration and inspiration. “The awards dinner is such a great opportunity to recognise and reward the projects and achievements of all the entrants - and to inspire others to carry on the legacy." The Overall 2025 Winner is also announced on the night and these finalists are Coomba Park, Singleton, Forbes and Orange. Tickets for the gala dinner are $170 and include a three course dinner and drinks. The night's entertainment will feature an appearance from Parkes girl Georgia Sidaris, and Elvis Tribute Artist and a regular to the Parkes Elvis Festival Paul Fenech, who is a three-time winner of the Ultimate Elvis Contest in Australia. Tickets can be purchased up until Friday, 10 October on Humantix.