It is so fantastic to have our wonderful visitors in town for the Parkes Elvis Festival again!

Planning is in full swing for our Homegrown Parkes events on Saturday, 21 March and Saturday, 12 September 2026.

The March Homegrown Parkes event ties in with Harmony Day, which is acknowledged on 21 March each year. Harmony Week runs between Monday, 16 March and Sunday, 22 March to celebrate cultural diversity and inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging.

We have been thrilled with the responses from the community, stallholders and food vendors for our October 2025 Homegrown Parkes event. Thank you for your feedback!

Homegrown Parkes is an opportunity for local and regional businesses who are processing, repurposing, sewing, propagating or producing fabulous local products to share their skill and products with the community.

Applications are reviewed by our Homegrown Parkes Committee to ensure that they fit with the ethos of the Homegrown Parkes event.

All stallholders and food vendors are required to provide $20 million insurance Certificate of Currency and food vendors need to supply their Food Safety Certificate.

We want to keep the event as accessible as possible, particularly for small stallholders. The stallholder fees have increased in 2026. These fees assist with covering the costs to sustain the event in the longer term.

Demonstrations will again be one of the highlights of the next event on Saturday, 21 March 2026, highlighting processes for using locally produced food and products with the aim of encouraging locals to have a go and grow in their own backyard.

We have a new local business who have agreed to share some of their knowledge on a particular type of fermentation. I am looking forward to sharing details of that workshop in the month ahead.

Crop Swap is still a regular inclusion, so if you haven’t already started planting, potting and processing in preparation, now is the time to get started.

The Homegrown Parkes Committee, is made up of members of Central West Lachlan Landcare, Parkes Community Arts and Parkes Shire Council, are looking forward to delivering two fabulous, encouraging and inspirational events in 2026.

If you are visiting Parkes for the Elvis Festival, consider working in a follow up visit to the Central West region over the weekend of 21 March or 12 September and factor in Homegrown Parkes in your schedule.

For further information on this article, please go to www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, twitter, facebook or Instagram @cwllandcare