What should the Australian Celtic Festival look like over the next five years?

For more than 30 years, the Australian Celtic Festival has brought our community together and welcomed visitors to Glen Innes to celebrate Celtic music, culture, heritage and traditions.

Now, Council is inviting the community to have a say on the Draft Australian Celtic Festival Strategic Plan 2026–2030.

The draft plan sets out a five-year direction for the Festival. It aims to build on what people already value, while creating new opportunities for our community, local businesses, volunteers, performers and visitors.

In 2026, the Festival generated an estimated $1.23 million in direct visitor expenditure and $1.79 million in total economic output for the Glen Innes Severn economy. The new plan looks at how the Festival can continue to grow these benefits while remaining authentic, welcoming and connected to the community.

What is proposed?

The draft plan focuses on six key areas:

• Growing tourism and the local economy by attracting more visitors, encouraging longer stays and spreading the benefits across Glen Innes, surrounding villages and the wider Local Government Area.
• Creating an even better Festival experience through authentic Celtic programming, family activities, workshops, ceremonies, storytelling, food, music and complementary events.
• Strengthening the Festival’s profile by promoting Glen Innes Severn as Australia’s Celtic destination and reaching new audiences.
• Increasing community involvement by creating more opportunities for residents, volunteers, schools, community groups, businesses, young people and local creatives to participate.
• Supporting the Festival’s long-term future through stronger partnerships, sponsorship, merchandise, stallholder participation, grant opportunities and good governance.
• Improving accessibility and infrastructure, including amenities, wayfinding, transport, accommodation partnerships, visitor movement and Festival operations.

Beyond the Stones

A key direction in the plan is “Beyond the Stones”.

This is about encouraging Festival visitors to experience more of Glen Innes and the wider Highlands, including our local businesses, hospitality, heritage, villages, food and produce, GeoRegion, nature, wellness and touring experiences.

The aim is to create more reasons for visitors to stay longer, explore further and spend locally, so the benefits of the Festival reach beyond the Australian Standing Stones and the main Festival weekend. The plan also considers more activity in the Glen Innes CBD and locally led experiences in surrounding villages where there is interest and capacity.

Looking back before moving forward

Council has also completed a close-out review of the previous Australian Celtic Festival Strategic Plan 2021–2025.

All 48 actions in the previous plan were reviewed:

• 28 actions, or 58.3 per cent, were completed or completed and carried forward
• six actions, or 12.5 per cent, were partially completed and carried forward
• 14 actions, or 29.2 per cent, were not completed
• of the 20 actions not fully completed, 19 have been carried forward, refined or strengthened in the new draft plan.

Read the draft strategy and close-out report, then complete the comment form below to share your feedback.

How to Have Your Say

You can provide feedback in any of the following ways:

Online
Submit a public comment form via the Have Your Say portal.

Email
Send your written submission to:council@gisc.nsw.gov.au

In Person
Hard copies of the draft document and public comment forms are available at the following locations:

• Council’s Town Hall Customer Service Office 265 Grey Street, Glen Innes
• Glen Innes Severn Public & TAFE Library 71 Grey Street, Glen Innes
• The village post offices at: Emmaville and Deepwater

Submissions are open until: 28 September 2026.