The 2015 Crestwood Fair celebrated its 25th year and the Fair Committee, in consultation with Council, have agreed to incorporate elements of the event into the 2016 Orange Blossom Festival (OBF).
Hills Shire Mayor Dr Michelle Byrne and Crestwood Fair Committee Chair John Ebbott agreed that the time was right for the Fair to move on.
“After 25 years, I think the time is right for a change and I’m just glad that we had such a great run at Crestwood Reserve,” Mr Ebbott said.
“The Fair was a council initiative 25 years ago to incorporate the then-new Crestwood area into the wider Hills community.”
“Over the years, hundreds of thousands of residents have attended the event and thousands have been involved either as stall holders or performers. This has made the fair one of the biggest local volunteer-run community events.”
“The Hills Shire has changed and it is now time for the Orange Blossom Festival to grow in the way that it celebrates our past, present and future. The two-day event at the Castle Hill Showground will bring all members of the community together in a single venue for OBF.”
“With this in mind, the Crestwood Fair Volunteer Organising Committee have decided that the Crestwood Fair should be incorporated into the annual Orange Blossom Festival. All the stakeholders of the Fair will be invited and encouraged to join.”
Mayor Byrne said she knew that community members would be sad to hear that the Crestwood Fair would not continue in its previous form, but she was happy that it was being incorporated into a bigger and better OBF.
“As someone who lives a few metres away from Crestwood Reserve, I know what a much-loved event the Fair was. But the fact is that all parties have agreed that the time is right to incorporate the fair into OBF and I think we’re responding to what our community expects from local events.”
“OBF has been celebrated for close to 50 years and we want it to continue for generations to come. The Castle Hill Showground is one of our most well-loved public spaces and it makes sense for OBF to become synonymous with the venue yet again.”
“This year’s OBF will feature our new Locals for Locals Awards, a fabulous display of services in our Community Grove, the Active Zest zone and the Local Blooms community stage which will now also host the amalgamated version of the Crestwood Idol with a local talent competition. Not to mention the most popular part of the night, the fireworks.”
“We’re also looking at reuniting previous participants and concepts from OBF and the Crestwood Fair and I can’t wait to reveal exactly what this exciting component of the festival will entail.”
“On behalf of The Hills Shire Council, I want to thank Mr Ebbott and the Crestwood Fair Committee for their years of dedication. They did it for the love of Crestwood and the wider Hills region.”
