The busy time for events in Richmond Valley is May–August. Mark these events in your calendar because you won’t want to miss them.
The events are:
Casino Country Music Muster on April 29–Saturday, May 3
Primex Field Days on May 15–17
Beef Week Festival on May 24–June 1
Evans Head Fishing Classic on July 4–July 11
Australian Cattle Dog Championships on July 17– July 20
Casino Truck Show on Saturday, August 2
Richmond Valley Council contributes to these events through financial sponsorship and in-kind support. Cash sponsorship for the events listed above comes to $73,000, with in-kind support, such as the waiving of fees and charges and staff costs, coming to $80,000.
Casino Country Music Muster
Although still in its infancy, the Casino Country Music Muster last year showed signs it could become a popular addition to the country music circuit.
In need of professional management and financial support, the CCMM volunteer organising committee approached the council after last year’s event with the purpose of the council taking on the role as event manager for future musters.
The arrangement will have the organising committee playing a significant role through artist engagement, coordination of equipment and services, seeking sponsorship, as well as assisting with the setting up and packing down of event spaces.
The council will do promotions. The council also created a new logo and brand identity for CCMM, as well as a new website. About $10,500 is being spent on promoting the event.
For this year’s event, showground hire fees were waived as part of the council’s sponsorship bringing the council’s total financial to $27,670.
ARIA and multiple Golden Guitar award winner Sara Storer is the headline act and The Voice Australia contestant Danny Phegan, along with 14 other artists will round out an excellent five days of entertainment.
Primex Field Days
Primex Field Days are held at the Richmond Valley Event Centre in the Cassino Drive industrial estate. The council is again sponsoring this event by providing a cash contribution of $25,000, as well as about $5500 in-kind support.
Now in its 41st year, the three-day Primex Field Days event is important to the Richmond Valley’s economy. Figures show the event attracted 433 exhibitors, 23,000 visitors, 1200 companies and 1850 industry group representatives.
While most attendees (79%) were from the Northern Rivers, 11% travelled from interstate and 10% were from other rural NSW areas. 49% of visitors were primary producers, 28% lifestyle/hobby farmers and 23% residential. Latest data suggests total economic contribution from visitors was $2.58 million.
This year’s event theme is Our Future In Farming.
Beef Week Festival
Casino Beef Week will run from Saturday, May 24 to Sunday, June 1 with a theme of Secrets of the Museum.
The council is again supporting this annual event by providing a cash contribution of $30,000, as well as about $3500 of in-kind support, such as assisting with road closures, venue access, waste management, offering logistical support like traffic control plans, risk assessments, crowd control and public safety.
Beef Week is one of the largest and longest-running community beef events in Australia. The nine- day festival will be packed with many activities including the Cattle Spectacular in Casino’s CBD, Breakfast with the Butchers, Beef Week Saturday and other events to celebrate the local cattle and food industry.
The festival attracts about 30,000 people, with Beef Week Saturday being the main drawcard (15,000), followed by Breakfast with the Butchers (6000). 85% of attendees are from Northern Rivers communities.
Evans Head Fishing Classic
Run by Australian Fishing Tournaments, the annual Evans Head Fishing Classic is Australia’s longest running fishing tournament which attracts anglers from all around the country.
The council is again supporting this event by providing a cash contribution of $2500, as well as $1000 of in-kind support.
The Classic has been going for 30 years; first run by volunteers with Australian Fishing Tournaments taking over its management 17 years ago. This event is always conducted during the July school holidays, which is the low tourism season. It attracts more than 750 competitors, many with their families, with more than 85% of attendees staying for seven days or more.
The past few years has seen an expansion of add on events, such as an Eat Street hub and sponsors’ displays. It has attracted big name sponsors in recent years like Anaconda, Australia’s largest camping and adventure superstore, and Frogleys Offshore, distributor of some of the most reputable brand names in the fishing industry worldwide.
Special interest tourists are fishing enthusiasts who come from anywhere across the country. In past events they have come from states such as Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria and this builds the reputation of Evans Head as a fishing and holiday location.
Australian Cattle Dog Championships
The Casino Dog Trial group was formed in 2020 to host working cattle dog trials.
With the council’s support – $5000 cash and $2000 in-kind support – the organisation was last year successful in securing the NSW Working Stock Dog Championship, held in the undercover arena at the Casino Showground.
This led to the Australian Working Stock Dog Championships being held in Casino this year.
The Australian Working Stock Dog Championship is the pinnacle event of the year and attracts the best dog handlers and dogs from across NSW and Queensland, who battle for the title of Australian Champion in three categories – Open, Novice and Maiden. This year’s event will also host a State of Origin Championship between the top five dogs.
The council is supporting Australian Working Stock Dog Championship with $5000 cash and $2000 in-kind support.
Casino Truck Show
The 2024 Casino Truck Show saw a significant increase in attendance, with more than 30,000 attendees, surpassing previous records. It generated an estimated $3.9 million, giving a much-needed boost to local businesses.
The ongoing success of the Casino Truck Show is reliant on external sponsorship, with Richmond Valley Council contributing significant resources to overall event management. The council’s in-kind support equates to more than $40,000.
For the first time, two new three-year deals were signed off this year with North Coast Petroleum as the principal Naming Rights Sponsor and Dawson’s Haulage as the parade sponsor.
This information was provided by Richmond Valley Council.
