MEDIA RELEASE July 2018

 

Seymour in Spring is a Go!

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Seymour Business and Tourism are ecstatic as they are the successful recipients of funding from Regional Development Victoria (RDV) with support from the member from Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes. The funding will help promote Seymour in all its glory this Spring. SB&T President Stuart Locke says “Our members all know how wonderful Seymour is to live and work in and there’s no better time in our glorious town than during Spring. It’s not just because the weather here is amazing there’s also so much to see and do at this time of year. During Spring our community comes out from winter hibernation and puts on so many great events and shows that it just felt right to properly showcase all we have to offer to visitors and communities in our region. Most people are aware of the success of our bigger events such as the Great Seymour Show Off, Art Beyond the Divide and Tastes of the Goulburn but it has blown me away when I list how many other businesses, groups and clubs put on other wonderful events during Spring. We should really celebrate all of these activities and help share the opportunities they bring to our town. This grant will allow us to showcase whatever happens between September through to November in an inclusive way.”

 

The grant funding allocated is $50,000 from the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, Stronger Regional Communities Plan with a portion of the funding going towards the Tastes of the Goulburn and the Seymour Historical Society’s 175 Anniversary celebrations. The funding will be used to create a tourism booklet titled “Seymour in Spring - a festival of events” which will showcase without discrimination all community based and commercial events and provide information about the Seymour region. Free promotion of events and activities throughout Spring in Seymour and surrounds is what is on offer. The intention is to celebrate everything Seymour has to offer and the liveability of the town. Funds will also be put towards a dedicated website, event marketing, branding, banners, photography and social media training. Seymour has always had a strong association with it’s neighbouring towns of Avenel, Glenaroua, Hilldene, Highlands, Mangalore, Puckapunyal, Traawool, Tallarook, Tooborac and Whiteheads Creek most of which were previously part of the Rural City of Seymour and so activities from these towns will be included in the Seymour in Spring Festival.

 

Mr Locke notes “Our locality, proximity to Melbourne, wide open spaces and community volunteer strengths has attributed to the success of the grant. We can offer public transport options to visitors for our key events, we can offer a range of over night stay options and great dining out choices and importantly our events are very affordable, sometimes free and often family orientated. The arts plays a big part of events in Spring along with outdoor activities, sports, gardens and our overall natural environment beauty.”

 

The project will be managed on behalf of Seymour Business and Tourism by passionate locals Cynthia Lim and Nick Bray of the Seymour based community group the food eXchange who pitched the idea to us and have been advocates for increasing recognition of Seymour as a tourist destination for many years. Ms Lim says “this is really exciting for Seymour, however time is definitely of the essence as Spring is 6 weeks away. We really need to buckle down now and get our idea into fruition.  Our first step will be to make contact with any community groups and event organisers who would like to be included in the festival. We have confidence we can make Seymour sparkle this

Pictured: Stuart Locke, Cynthia Lim, Jaclyn Symes, Nick Bray Spring.”                                                                         

 

 

All businesses, groups and clubs are invited to make contact with Seymour Business & Tourism via Cynthia as soon as possible and give her your event details. No event is too small and no group less important than any another. Ms Lim says “As we dig deeper into our great community we continue to uncover wonderful stories and opportunities that we believe are really worth sharing. So please tell us about your events and get noticed. Don’t worry about being inundated or fearing your event will be over-run, treat this as a wonderful chance to promote your event for free and introduce new hobbies or opportunities for our community to possibly participate in, in the future.”