THE hugely successful NarraBRIGHT festival has been widely praised.

At a recent Narrabri Council meeting, Cr Ethan Towns thanked the team who worked on NarraBRIGHT, including those who worked behind the scenes on the event, which drew thousands of visitors to the region.

“To see all of the people come to NarraBRIGHT, I want to say a big thank you. It was truly amazing to see Council put on something so impressive,” Cr Towns said.

Mayor Darrell Tiemens agreed, thanking staff for their hard work, including Council’s small business liaison officer, Gillian Goddard.

“There was a lot of staff involved, and you could tell they were very proud that night. It was just spectacular,” Cr Tiemens said.

Cr Jocellin Jansson made particular mention of Ms Goddard for spearheading the sixth NarraBRIGHT event.

“Ms Goddard just did such a spectacular job, together with the rest of the staff,” Cr Jansson said.

“And to see so many thousands of people enjoying it, and such great community spirit – Ms Goddard was key to making that happen.”

NarraBRIGHT 2026 has been widely acclaimed by visitors and locals (Image: Narrabri Shire Council).

Meanwhile, work being carried out in the Narrabri Shire’s public art space with two new appointments on the Public Art Advisory Committee.

Corporate and community services director Mark Watt said that following an Expression of Interest process, two new community members have joined the advisory committee – Deiann Kennedy and Les Knox.

Cr Jansson said the committee was making strong headway.

“We’ve got funding for two more pieces of public sculpture that will follow the fantastic eagle that’s already been erected outside of the Tourist Information Centre with a goanna shortly to go underneath it,” she said.

“We’re very excited about next stages and identifying a clear plan for that sculpture walk.”

Public art in the Shire is generally funded via donations or private not-for-profit bodies, rather than through Council.

A fresh new look is also on the horizon for towns and villages across the Narrabri Shire with proposed designs for new signage to be placed on public exhibition.

The new signage celebrates the unique identity and character of our communities across the Shire. They were created in conjunction with communities, including meetings in each area throughout 2024 and 2025, where residents voted for their preferred signage design.

General manager Eloise Chaplain said Council wanted to hear from the community regarding any changes to the signs’ image, including if they represent their town.

Feedback will then be collated and changes put to the designer for finalisation of the signs prior to construction.