More than 88,000 people attended the Hills Shire Council Summer Series of Events, which has been heralded as an outstanding success by Hills Shire Mayor Councillor Andrew Jefferies.
In a Mayoral Minute Mayor Jefferies said plans were underway to build upon the great foundation of the Summer Series.
“The Summer Series of Events was a revamp of what was previously known as Sensoria. However the Summer Series wasn’t just a name change, but rather a complete re-think and revamp of the kinds of events we put on this summer.
“These new events combined with some re-energised established events helped to create a buzz around the Shire that hasn’t been seen for years.”
The events included the Sydney Country Music Festival (6500 attendees), the Sydney Hills Christmas Sky Show (12,200 attendees), the New Year’s Eve Sky Show and Live Site (2500 attendees), the Shakespeare in the Park series (2764 attendees), Convict Footprints (354 attendees), the International Sand Sculpting Exhibition (53,048 attendees), Outdoor Cinema (4850 attendees) and Australia Day at Bella Vista Farm (6000 attendees).
Mayor Jefferies said that despite severe thunderstorm and rains, particularly during the first week of the Sydney Hills Christmas Sky Show and Australia Day at Bella Vista Farm Park, the events still managed to attract large numbers beyond what was first predicted.
“The other very encouraging sign is the extremely high satisfaction rates from each event, with all events recording above 90 percent.
“These results are very satisfying and provide a great foundation to really drive the growth of our local visitor economy.
“Growing the visitor economy has a real multiplier effect on a range of industries and creates a large economic and community benefit. It means more jobs for locals and having major events in our Shire gives our residents more leisure options.
“There are big plans underway for the 2015/2016 Summer Series of Events and I’m really looking forward to building on what we’ve created so far.”
