Rates & spending · Central Coast Council
Wyong Golf Club fireworks, festivals share in Central Coast Council’s $200,000 events fund
The minutes record approved funding for 19 community events and place-activation projects, including $13,288 for Wyong Golf Club’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display and $20,000 for the Liberte Laneway Project.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
Central Coast Council has allocated $200,000 to 19 community events and place-activation projects for 2026 - 27, according to its 27 October meeting minutes. Projects include Wyong Golf Club’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display and festivals in Ettalong Beach, Davistown and other parts of the region.
The largest grant is $20,000 for the Liberte Laneway Project, followed by $19,500 for the Davistown Putt-Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival and $14,590 for the Terrigal Trotters’ 2027 Bay to Bay Running Festival. Wyong Golf Club was allocated $13,288 for its fireworks display.
Other recipients include the STARS Festival at Ettalong Beach, the Central Coast Film Festival, Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2027, the Central Coast Rugby Festival of Rugby Weekend, the Central Coast Food Resilience Lab and projects from Wyong Race Club and Gwandalan Bowling Club. Words on the Waves was allocated $6,050.
The funding resolution records allocations to the named applicants. It does not establish that the events have taken place or that the grants have been paid, and the minutes do not provide a complete delivery schedule or specify payment conditions.
Council also declined other applications under the same program. Reasons recorded in the minutes include ineligibility, insufficient information and limited broader community benefit. The Skill Engineer’s Yirang Sessions and Central Coast Conservatorium of Music’s Community Keys were reassigned for assessment under the Community Development Grant Program.
The minutes say councillors Jane Smith and Kyla Daniels did not take part in the events-grant item because of disclosed interests. They declare the motion carried with no votes against, but list Smith and Daniels both as voting for it and as absent for the item. That inconsistency prevents verification of the actual tally from the supplied record.
What deserves a closer look
Recounting allocations a–s gives 19 funded projects, not 20.
The 19 listed allocations sum to $200,000, matching the amount stated in the motion.
The minutes record grant allocations, but do not establish that the events have occurred or that the grants have been paid.
Questions for follow-up reporting
What payment, acquittal or cancellation conditions apply to each funded project?
What is the delivery schedule for the funded events and projects?
Will Council publish grant agreements or completion reports for the funded projects?
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
Motion C-26/1187 proposed allocating $200,000, inclusive of GST where applicable, from the 2026–27 grants budget to the Community Events and Place Activation Grant program.
A MOTION was MOVED by Deputy Mayor Stanton and SECONDED by Cr Eaton OAM: C-26/1187 That Council: 1. Allocates $200,000.00 (inclusive of GST where applicable) from the 2026-27 grants budget to the Community Events and Place Activation Grant program as outlined below and in Attachment 1: a.
Item 7.13, motion C-26/1187
Open original minutes ↗The first 12 listed allocations include $13,288 for Wyong Golf Club Limited's New Years Eve Fireworks Display, $20,000 for Liberte Groove Society's Liberte Laneway Project, $19,500 for the Davistown Putt–Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival 2027, and $6,050 for Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2027.
$13,288.00 - Wyong Golf Club Limited - New Years Eve Fireworks Display. b. $20,000.00 - Liberte Groove Society - Liberte Laneway Project. c. $12,750.00 - Lead By Story Proprietary Limited - Big Beach Breathwork: a free community wellbeing gathering. d. $14,500.00 - Curtain Bounce Incorporated - No Small Parts. e. $11,900.00 - Carmen Lee Perrin - STARS Festival - Ettalong Beach. f. $11,800.00 - Central Coast Rugby Union Club - Central Coast Rugby Festival of Rugby Weekend. g. $6,500.00 - Central Coast Film Festival Incorporated - Central Coast Film Festival. h. $6,050.00 - Words on the Waves - Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2027. i. $14,590.00 - Terrigal Trotters Incorporated – 2027 Bay to Bay Running Festival. j. $11,204.00 - Narara Eco Living Network Incorporated - Central Coast Food Resilience Lab. k. $7,317.83 - Meredith Rosa Sherbon Bell - Little Explorers Adventure Festival. l. $19,500.00 - Davistown Putt–Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival Incorporated - Putt–Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival 2027.
Item 7.13, allocation list a–l
Open original minutes ↗The listed allocations include $5,000 for Wyong Race Club Limited's Wyong Spring Fair and $6,200 for Gwandalan Bowling Club Limited's Welcome to Summer Music Festival.
m. $5,000.00 - Wyong Race Club Limited - Wyong Spring Fair. n. $5,700.00 - Central Coast Outrigger Canoe Club Incorporated - NSW State Marathon Outrigger Canoe Championships. o. $6,050.00 - AJ Events Proprietary Limited - Women Only Adventure Race. p. $8,551.00 - Patrol Holdings Proprietary Limited - Central Coast Cup. Central Coast Council - Ordinary Council Meeting Minutes 27 October 2026 Page 41 OFFICIAL q. $6,200.00 - Gwandalan Bowling Club Limited - Welcome to Summer Music Festival. r. $7,729.17 - Central Coast Kids Day Out Incorporated - Safety is a priority and is essential for our children. s. $11,370.00 - Mirring Aboriginal Corporation - Durrungan Gathering 2026.
Item 7.13, allocation list m–s
Open original minutes ↗The allocation list includes STARS Festival – Ettalong Beach, the Central Coast Rugby Festival of Rugby Weekend, the Central Coast Film Festival, Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2027 and $14,590 for the 2027 Bay to Bay Running Festival.
d. $14,500.00 - Curtain Bounce Incorporated - No Small Parts. e. $11,900.00 - Carmen Lee Perrin - STARS Festival - Ettalong Beach. f. $11,800.00 - Central Coast Rugby Union Club - Central Coast Rugby Festival of Rugby Weekend. g. $6,500.00 - Central Coast Film Festival Incorporated - Central Coast Film Festival. h. $6,050.00 - Words on the Waves - Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2027. i. $14,590.00 - Terrigal Trotters Incorporated – 2027 Bay to Bay Running Festival.
Item 7.13, allocation list d–i
Open original minutes ↗The allocation list includes Narara Eco Living Network Incorporated's Central Coast Food Resilience Lab.
j. $11,204.00 - Narara Eco Living Network Incorporated - Central Coast Food Resilience Lab. k. $7,317.83 - Meredith Rosa Sherbon Bell - Little Explorers Adventure Festival. l. $19,500.00 - Davistown Putt–Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival Incorporated - Putt–Putt Regatta and Wooden Boat Festival 2027.
Item 7.13, allocation j
Open original minutes ↗The declined-application list gives reasons including ineligibility, insufficient information and limited broader community benefit.
2. Declines the following applications, for the reasons indicated in Attachment 1: a. Matthew Charles Grimwood - The Creative Exchange - application is ineligible. b. Gee Recovery Proprietary Limited - Central Coast Recovery & Wellness Hub - applicant is ineligible. c. Vegan NSW - Alive Festival - applicant is ineligible. d. Gosford Race Club Limited - Christmas at the Races 2026 Race Day - application is ineligible. e. Orioz Incorporated - Orioz Sammilani - limited broader community benefit is demonstrated. f. Toukley RSL Sub-Branch - Toukley ANZAC Day Dawn and Morning Commemorative Services 2027 - application is ineligible. g. The Skill Engineer Limited - The Yirang Sessions - application has been re- assigned for assessment in the Community Development Grant Program. h. Central Coast Unit, Didibahini Women's Network Australia (DWNA) - Didibahini Women's Network Australia - applicant is ineligible. i. Russian Community Group Incorporated - Russian-speaking music bands and CALD Music Festival - insufficient information provided to make an accurate assessment.
Item 7.13, declined applications a–i
Open original minutes ↗The Skill Engineer's Yirang Sessions application was listed as reassigned for assessment in the Community Development Grant Program.
f. Toukley RSL Sub-Branch - Toukley ANZAC Day Dawn and Morning Commemorative Services 2027 - application is ineligible. g. The Skill Engineer Limited - The Yirang Sessions - application has been re- assigned for assessment in the Community Development Grant Program.
Item 7.13, application g
Open original minutes ↗Central Coast Conservatorium of Music's Community Keys application was listed as reassigned for assessment in the Community Development Grant Program.
u. Central Coast Conservatorium of Music - Community Keys - the application has been re-assigned for assessment in the Community Development Grant Program. v. Andrew McGregor Nichols - Curious Eco-Creatures: Summer Public Art & Nature Trail - insufficient information provided to make an accurate assessment.
Item 7.13, application u
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the minutes of the Central Coast Council Ordinary Council Meeting held on 27 October 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The minutes record an allocation of $200,000 from the 2026 - 27 grants budget to the Community Events and Place Activation Grant program.
- Wyong Golf Club was allocated $13,288 for a New Year’s Eve fireworks display.
- The Liberte Laneway Project was allocated $20,000.
- Words on the Waves was allocated $6,050 for the Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2027.
- The resolution lists 19 funded projects, whose allocations sum to $200,000, and records other applications as declined or reassigned.
- The minutes say councillors Jane Smith and Kyla Daniels did not take part because of disclosed interests, but also include them in the voting-for list.
Why it matters
- The grants provide approved funding, as recorded in the minutes, for named event organisers and community projects during 2026 - 27. The allocation may affect the availability of local cultural, sporting and community activities, but the minutes do not confirm when projects will be delivered or how grants will be paid.