Spring Fling Festival celebrates the arts in Parkes and kicks-off on October 8

That's because it's the Spring Fling Festival and the Parkes Community Arts Incorporated has started decorating in high anticipation for the event.

The group's mission is to support, encourage and promote the arts and artists in the Parkes Shire and for the last three years has hosted an arts festival, that began with the Arts Revival Festival in 2020.

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"We've been using a different name each year," said Margot Jolly, who is co-chair of the group with Deb Jones.

"We're very excited [for the Spring Fling Festival], we spent Saturday morning promoting the event and hanging up posters."

The festival has been made possible through a $17,000 Reconnecting Regional NSW government grant and from Saturday, October 8, for the next 15 days, there will be enough activities to treat and entertain everyone's styles and tastes.

That's everything from an art exhibition, a variety of workshops, theatre and music performances to a film screening and an open gardens event. All of it culminating in a Community Fun Day in Cooke Park on October 22.

And Margot says the fun day is the first time they've held such an event.

"It's completely free, from 10am to 2pm there will be markets in the Cooke Park Pavilion, workshops and live music," she said.

"It's going to be nice and busy, and bright and colourful.

"Hopefully the weather is on the warmer side and the rain stays away."

The Community Art Exhibition 'Best in Show' will be the first official event to kick-off the festival, with its opening on Saturday at 10am in the Coventry Room at the Parkes Shire Library and Cultural Centre.

And what a response organisers have had from the Parkes Shire community.

They've received more than 400 entries across a range of mediums and from artists of all ages, all focusing on the theme animals and pets.

"I would say it would have to be our biggest exhibition ever," a thrilled Margot said.

"It's amazing, we have entries from well known artists to a lot of entries from schools."

The exhibition, which is funded by a $3000 donation from Northparkes Mines, is free and will run until October 22.

For those who'd like to attend the opening, which is also free, please register your intentions for catering purposes at https://events.humanitix.com/spring-fling-festival-best-in-show-opening.

"We've been doing workshops in the lead-up to the festival to prepare and we've also been working with other groups to help promote their events that are on during the Spring Fling Festival," Margot said.

These include the Bogan Gate 125 year anniversary celebrations, Parkes Que Club's Gardens 'n' Galleries and Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society's theatre performances, all taking place this weekend.

There is also a Lindsay Morehouse Concert on the last day of the festival, Sunday, October 23 at the Parkes Services Club.

It's an event hosted by the Parkes Shire Concert Band, featuring local ensembles, in memory of the Parkes conductor and music teacher, and someone who they say "was a real pioneer of music in the town". Lindsay passed away in January at 92 years old.

On Friday, October 14, there will be a screening of the latest, 2022, Elvis movie by Baz Luhrmann in the Cooke Park Pavilion.

People can dress up and have the opportunity to win prizes, such as tickets to a Parkes Elvis Festival event.

There is limited seating so this is another event that requires bookings through Humanitix.

The Community Fun Day will feature live music from Parkes' Gracey Denham-Jones and Georgia Sideris, Parkes East Public School's Marimba Troupe and drummers from Middleton Public School.

A real highlight of the day, Margot says, will be the 44 gallon steel drums the group has managed to obtain from the River Arts Festival, with a teacher and performer coming from Bathurst.

"They're fantastic, you can't miss them," she said.

Among markets, face painting, arts and crafts, a barbecue and coffee, there will also be the Quentin Park Alpacas from Tomingley in the park that day.

"It should be great, we're really looking forward to it," Margot said.

Parkes Community Arts is looking for more members and volunteers should anyone be interested. The best way to contact them is on their Facebook page.

"We'd like to build a sustainable community organisation so we can run events like this and give people opportunities to learn something, do something they otherwise weren't able to do before," Margot said.