LOOKING AT LANDCARE

The Homegrown Parkes Committee are pleased to release the dates for our 2026 events.

As mentioned previously, our Spring event will be celebrating cultural diversity and we are pleased to be holding Homegrown Parkes on Saturday, 21 March 2026, which is also Harmony Day!

Harmony Day celebrates cultural diversity and encourages a sense of belonging for everyone. It coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and promotes respect for all cultures.

Many of you would know that the colour orange is the official colour that connects with Harmony Day, symbolising social cohesion, meaningful conversations, and mutual respect.

Wearing orange is a common way to show support for the day’s message, so start your thinking now.

Of course, we are also holding a Spring event and we are pleased to claim the date on Saturday, 12 September 2026.

So please put these dates in your calendar now.

Thank you to those of you who have already provided feedback through our survey. Keep it going.

Initial feedback has been fantastic and it has been great to have feedback from people wanting to know how they can contribute to future events. Thank you.

Our stallholder survey has also been distributed. Both of the surveys close on Friday, 31 October 2025 at 5pm.

We have some lovely Homegrown Parkes gifts for several lucky people drawn from community survey respondents.

Coffee, keep-it cups, lucerne hay, a beautiful work from Glenn Sloane and a gift pack from Tumbling Downs Olives.

Just a reminder that our Homegrown Parkes events are about promoting local and regional people creating cool stuff.

It isn’t about having more stalls. It is important that we maintain a focus on promoting local and regional businesses, not for profits etc….and, of course, local talent.

We try to factor in your suggestions moving forward, particularly around demonstrations, workshops, educational opportunities and stallholder suggestions.

If you have thought about having a stall at Homegrown Parkes and are just starting out, you will need $20 million insurance (which might be easier to get than you expect, so don’t let that put you off).

Food vendors also require their Food Safety Supervisor certification and there may be other requirements specific to food vendors that we request when EOI are submitted.

For further information on this article, please go to www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, Facebook or Instagram @cwllandcare or contact Marg Applebee on 0418 611 053.