WHAT started as a "think piece" in the Western Advocate almost 12 months ago is now set to become a major new event on our city's social calendar each year.
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The Festival of Bells from May 7-9 will bring together local and visiting musicians for a three-day carnival in Kings Parade.
But what's really attractive about this new festival, and what makes it uniquely Bathurst's, is the fact it will celebrate all facets of the wonderful War Memorial Carillon.
The first evening each year will recognise the carillon's place as Bathurst's primary war memorial and will include a dedicated Last Post Ceremony, similar to the ceremony held each night at the War Memorial in Canberra.
That alone is a tremendous honour for our city and has ensured the enthusiastic support of the festival by the RSL.
What will follow the sombre commemoration on the Friday evening will be two full days of music featuring carillonists from across the state alongside local performers from the Mitchell Conservatorium and Bathurst schools.
The festival will also showcase local food and wine, and that's a part of the festival that will only continue to grow in years to come.
There is so much to like about this concept and there is plenty to suggest it's going to be a success.
The Bathurst Winter Festival has only been around since 2015 and just goes from strength to strength. And even if the winter festival targets a much younger demographic than we would expect to see at the Festival of Bells, it has shown that people will happily come out to enjoy a major community event.
It's all part of a very deliberate strategy to broaden Bathurst's tourist economy.
Mount Panorama remains the jewel in the crown and Bathurst's standing as the motorsport capital of Australia will continue to serve us well into the future.
But there are many more weekends of the year that the Mount is not hosting a major event than weekends it is and so there are plenty of opportunities for other events to fill those gaps.
Our carillon is one of only three fully-operational carillons in the country and the only one in regional Australia, so Bathurst is the only town in a position to host the Festival of Bells.
It's an opportunity too good to miss and Stuart Pearson deserves great credit for making it happen. It will be exciting to see where it goes from here.
