Free new residents event in Viaduct Park set for October

After May's free event at the Town Hall attracted a sizeable turnout, Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) committed to making the events a regular feature on the city's calendar.

The next new residents event on Sunday, October 15, will feature some of Tamworth's summer sporting clubs, and where better to celebrate the great outdoors than the recently upgraded skate park near the CBD.

"We've decided to showcase some of the areas within Tamworth, so this one is being held in Viaduct Park. We're utilising the skate park and the new playground and encouraging people to come and spend the afternoon," council events officer Natasha Little said.

The October 15 date puts the new residents event just after the kick-off of the week-long Fiesta la Peel festival, and while the events are separate, both will shine a spotlight on Tamworth's growing multicultural community.

Ms Little said community and connection will be the central pillars of the next event, with the aim of fostering friendships and social connections.

"Residents really valued the information they received from businesses and community representatives at the last event, but they also enjoyed chatting and getting to know other people that were there too," she said.

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To build on the last event's success while encouraging casual conversation, TRC has enlisted the help of 27 community organisations, sporting clubs, and local businesses to showcase the best the Tamworth region has to offer, including live music, food trucks, and a free lunchtime barbecue.

The events officer said that while the event is marketed to new residents, all are welcome, whether you've lived in Tamworth for 50 days or 50 years.

"It's basically a day to come down, bring the family, spend the afternoon, and make some new friends," Ms Little said.

Tamworth's mayor Russell Webb said the events are "vital" to ensuring skilled workers not only come to Tamworth, but stay in Tamworth.

"We need so many skilled people, professionals and blue-collar workers, and when they come we have to retain them, and the only way to retain new residents is by engaging with them and connecting them with the rest of the community," Cr Webb said.

"We need more doctors, more health professionals, more ambulance drivers, more firemen, more police, more blue collar workers, and if we're going to encourage people to come here then we need to show them we're an inviting and friendly community."

Council is planning to host similar events in summer and autumn, and is currently working with the Tamworth Business Chamber on an idea to put on a more professional-themed networking event for new residents.

For now, however, Cr Webb said the focus is on getting new residents to feel welcome and at home, putting down roots and making social connections.

"It's very tough to make new friends when you relocate, you usually make them through your schoolchildren or work, but by running these events on a regular basis new residents, whether they're from overseas or just tree-changers, they get to see what the city has to offer, and Tamworth has a lot to offer," the mayor said.

More information on the new residents event can be found on the Destination Tamworth website.

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