Last week, organisers of the third annual Bush Summit, which is set to take place in Griffith, announced the event would be pushed back from August to Friday October 15 due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

The delay means the event will now take place at the same time as the Griffith Spring Fest, meaning national leaders like Scott Morrison and Gladys Berejiklian could be in town to check out the festivities.

Councillor Rina Mercuri, the chairwoman of the Griffith Spring Fest working group, said "it would be great" if the politicians found the time to attend the event.

"This is a great opportunity for Griffith Spring Fest to be recognised as one of the region's major events and to showcase our unique festival to as many people as we can," Cr Mercuri said.

"The town will be buzzing, as always, and I hope they can also get out to experience our great hospitality at some of our local restaurants, cafes, boutiques or cellar doors."

The discussions and forums at the Bush Summit are expected to receive national media coverage and Cr Mercuri said having the Spring Fest as the backdrop for this coverage was an exciting prospect.

"The Spring Fest is one of the best times of year to be in Griffith and to be recognised by a national audience at that time is a great opportunity for our city," she said.

"Hopefully this will help showcase our events to those who have never been to Griffith, or maybe to those who have never even heard of Griffith, to come and experience some unique and exciting events in the future."

READ MORE

Newgate Communications managing partner Brian Tyson said the decision to push back the summit "made sense" due to the current COVID-19 situation.

He said the overlap with the Spring Fest was a happy coincidence.

"As it turns out the date we chose coincides with the middle weekend of the Spring Fest which is wonderful and will provide a very colourful and creative backdrop to the Summit meeting," Mr Tyson said.

"We would hope that the profile for this important local annual event will also benefit from having so many media and key decision makers in the region at that time."

It was announced in April that Griffith would be the host of the 2021 Bush Summit, with Griffith City Council committing $50,000 to the event costs.

The summit will see political, business, and community leaders travel to the MIA to discuss the future of regional NSW, with topics such as the regional housing crisis set to be at the forefront of discussions.

The event was previously held in Dubbo and Cooma.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: