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The Ideology behind Riverbeats

How Riverbeats came into being

Parramatta Council's events department undertook a review to ensure complete alignment of its events program with Council's strategic plan and, provide greater clarity on the role events play inachieving key strategic outcomes for the city. Council acknowledges events have an important role to play in the city including changing peoples perceptions about Parramatta; attracting visitors to the city; supporting the local economy; enlivening public spaces and celebrating community identity. There are three important organisational objectives that have been considered in the development of the Riverbeats project.

Council's Twenty25 vision, commitment to environmental sustainability; and Parramatta's Arts and Cultural Plan.

Environmental Vision

Parramatta will be a city with a healthy natural environment, where we can relax and enjoy fresh air, clean water, healthy bushland with a diversity of native plants and animals. Our neighbourhoods and places we work and live are designed and built using sustainable principles. We can be safe in the knowledge that our activities have minimal impact on our local and global environment.

Arts & Cultural Vision

To promote and develop Parramatta as a cultural city of high standing by developing the City's diverse cultural heritage; Building Cultural Capacity and infrastructure; promoting excellence, creativity and risk; building audiences for Arts and Culture; increasing community participation in culture; strengthening the city as an urban place and growing cultural and creative industries.

A New Event

Council had been presenting "Parramatta Spring" since 2000 an established event that underwent a number of incarnations before reaching its final format.

  • 2000 Eat Street, a gourmet food and wine festival
  • 2001/ 2002 Carnivale, with a distinctive multicultural focus
  • 2003 introduced Freedom of the City, Foundation & Loy Krathong (Thai Festival of Water)
  • 2004/ 2005 various festival performances and activities with a return to a more mulitcultural position. Emphasis was added to the recognised popularity of Loy Krathong by the river

In its final form, the event established itself on Parramatta's annual events calendar, attracting approx.12,000 people. Given the history and dynamics of the event, the stability of attendance and the limitations of the components it was recognisedthat there was great potential to grow the event and expand in an entirely new direction. Consequently the consensus was that we take it to the River….

To find out more view the full document The ideology behind Riverbeats