Welcome to the regional list of arts and cultural events happening in the NSW Central West gathered from artists, event producers, great local venues and groups across the region.
FESTIVALS | ON STAGE | WORKSHOPS | EXHIBITIONS | HERITAGE | KIDS | WRITING | ON SCREEN | REGULAR
The day celebrates the best of rural and country life, with an exciting program featuring the Australian Champion Fleece, Champion Rider, NSW Yard Dog Trials, draught horse events, the Quick Shear Competition, Dog High Jump and the Farmers Team Challenge.
Sculptures in the Garden is an exciting event that combines garden design, large-scale Australian sculpture and traditional art mediums in beautiful rural surroundings within a private garden and vineyard in Mudgee.
The festival will take place at the CSU Gym, bringing the community together for a special celebration of Wiradjuri culture and 50 years of NAIDOC Week.
Pop down to Three Tails for music, special Oktoberfest souvenir steins, giant pretzels & German-themed food for an entire week-long festival!
Picture this: the finest local food, bars, and wineries, all in one place, basking in the spring sunshine. Grab your picnic rugs, camp chairs and the whole family for a day of dancing, celebrating, and peeling off the winter blues at Zest Fest.
Bathurst Gardeners’ Club Spring Spectacular will include 8 gardens in and around Bathurst.
There will be live music in the gardens as well as stalls & pop-up catering.
Lithgow's iconic Halloween celebration returns in 2026 for its 13th year, bringing the community together once again for a weekend of spooky fun.
2026 Lithgow Arts Trail will be on the first weekend in November!
The 2026 trail features artists, showcasing creators with skills in painting, sketching, illustration, sculpting, textiles, metalwork, and pottery.
Beautiful open gardens on historic properties including the repeat visitation of Bunnamagoo
Local and invited artists with work in glass, ceramics, bronze, textiles, jewellery, and photography as well as the more traditional paintings in oil and watercolour
Live music and entertainment, activities including educational cultural workshops, local food vendors, market stalls, and community group displays
Join the Peel community for the annual fundraiser for the Peel Recreation Reserve at the 15th Peel Jam — a relaxed afternoon set in the grounds of the historic old school hall. Enjoy live music, talented local artists with artworks available for purchase, artisan stallholders, local wines and craft beer, delicious food vendors, and the Peel RFS serving up their much-loved catering once again in 2026.
A weekend of chamber music in the beautiful town of Oberon. This year we have six concerts, with an all-star lineup of musicians joining us.
Chamber music is about listening... to the musicians around you, to the space you’re in, and to what is happening in the moment. That close connection between performers and audience is what makes chamber music so special, and it’s at the heart of this festival. The concerts take place across three gorgeous Oberon venues and each space brings something different to the music, and together they make for a very special weekend.
The weekend overtures with Mozart and Dvořák in the magnificent setting of the Malachi Gilmore Hall.
Kick off the festive season with a weekend of country Christmas charm in the heart of Cowra. Held annually, the Cowra Christmas Festival brings the community together to celebrate everything we love about Christmas in the country—festive lights, local shopping, great food, live entertainment and plenty of family fun.
Free, local, live music festival held annually since 2013 at the O’Connell Hotel.
The Parkes Elvis Festival will be back in 2027 with a jam-packed lineup of rockin’ n’ rollin’ fun. The King-sized program features hundreds of Elvis events.
Orange’s Rainbow Festival doesn’t finish when the sun goes down.
Join the Central West Colour Community for Rainbow After Dark 2027, a huge night of entertainment, colour, music and community at the Orange Showground.
Secret Valley Festival is a multi-day immersive cultural experience held in regional New South Wales, bringing together music, art, wellness, and community in a nature-based setting.
The Capertee Valley Bird Festival will be on again in 2027.
Mark your diary and save the date for our second biennial bird festival in the remarkable Capertee Valley in NSW.
Where: The What’s On calendar covers arts and heritage events happening across the NSW Central West in the local government areas of Bathurst Region, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Forbes, Lachlan, Lithgow, Mid-Western Region, Oberon, Orange, Parkes and Weddin.
What: Content is managed by Arts OutWest. Event listings are sourced or supplied from local venues and arts organisations. Many events listed here have been originally shared by the organisers on social media. Whilst all care is taken – and accuracy is our priority – we can take no responsibility for date changes or the content of contributed information. Contact the event organisers listed for more details or to book tickets.
It’s free to submit your local events.
The best way to include your event is to use our Submit an Event form.
‘Featured events’ are those submitted directly online by presenters.
Terms of use for presenters:
1. Event listings must be for the local government areas of Bathurst Region, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Forbes, Lachlan, Lithgow, Mid-Western Region, Oberon, Orange, Parkes, Weddin
2. Events must be directly arts, creative or heritage related.
3. Images submitted are owned by the organisers or the organisers have express permission to use these images. Please include artist and artwork credits (if relevant) and photographer credit. see our fact sheet USING IMAGES FOR PROMOTING EVENTS.
3. All submissions will go to Arts OutWest for approval before publishing and may be edited. Please allow a couple of days for listings to be published. If you have submitted an event and want to make changes – or if you are having difficulty with the form – just email us at artsoutwest@csu.edu.au
4. Organisers must let Arts OutWest know of any event changes or cancellations. Email artsoutwest@csu.edu.au
