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This article was published on Tuesday, 1 April, 2025. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

The Visitor Economy Luncheon unveils a year of exciting events and tourism growth

Posted on Tuesday 1st of April, 2025,

Greater Shepparton City Council presented its 2025 Tourism and Major Events Calendar to industry, locals and tourism providers at the Visitor Economy Luncheon on Monday 31 March 2025.

In Summary

  • Council presented the 2025 Tourism and Major Events Calendar at the Visitor Economy Luncheon on 31 March 2025, highlighting exciting festivals, exhibitions, and sporting events for the year ahead.
  • Exclusive updates were shared from the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), the Shepparton Festival, and Goulburn Region Tourism, showcasing local creative achievements and upcoming initiatives.
  • The event introduced the ‘Conference and Event Planning Guide’, positioning Shepparton and Goulburn Valley as top locations for business events and conferences.
  • Greater Shepparton’s 2025 event calendar is expected to bring millions into the local economy by boosting visitation and supporting local businesses.

Hosted at the Peppermill Inn, the gathering showcased an impressive lineup of festivals and events taking place in Shepparton & Goulburn Valley in 2025. It also highlighted the region's vibrant tourism opportunities while offering a valuable networking platform for industry providers, event organisers and community members.

Attendees were treated to an exclusive update from Artistic Director of the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), Danny Lacy, who shared insights into upcoming exhibitions and activities at the museum. He also highlighted impressive figures from SAM’s 2023/24 Annual Report, which showcased a total of 101,660 visitors, 26 exhibitions, and 370 artists featured throughout the year.

In addition, Danny unveiled exciting news, with SAM Curator Belinda Briggs being invited to curate a First Peoples Melbourne Art Tram. This tram, decorated with artwork from SAM’s collection, will be clicking along the tracks of Melbourne as part of the prestigious RISING Festival.

Director Shepparton Festival, Kristen Retallick, gave an inside view to the festival on its 29th edition, with this year’s program offering over 40 free or low-cost events across music, theatre, visual arts, and comedy. She took a moment to invite the audience to participate in some of the fascinating events taking place across the festival.

Starting with “Saturate” an underwater sonic artwork experience that will reimagine Aquamoves as a space for sensory exploration, “A Sound like Thunder” a hilarious and experimental show about meteors, UFOs, and buried gold by Dopplegangster, written specifically for Shepparton Festival 2025, and the Shepparton Festival Closing Art Bus Tour to Dookie, a special trip offering a unique opportunity to explore the vibrant creative scene in this characterful regional town.

The luncheon also highlighted some of the current tourism campaigns, such as Home for the Holidays, which offers local businesses marketing and promotion opportunities during the school holiday period, encouraging locals and their visitors to enjoy the fabulous experiences on offer right here in Shepp & GV.

Ingrid Thomas, Team Leader Visitor Economy, shared an update regarding the Goulburn Region Tourism (GRT) organisation created to unite and grow the visitor economy across Greater Shepparton, Mitchell Shire and Strathbogie Shire, currently planning the development of a ‘Brand piece’. She encouraged industry to join the GRT distribution list to receive information and updates directly from Goulburn Region Tourism and stay up-to date with the latest details as this ‘bold, regional brand’ takes shape.

Council’s Economic Development team presented the 2025 Major Events Calendar, featuring a jam-packed event year for Greater Shepparton, featuring the 2025 Shepparton Festival, Converge on the Goulburn, Melbourne to MOVE Rally, and Round 1 of the 2025 AusCycling BMX Racing National Series as some of the upcoming key events in April along with much more in the year ahead.

Council’s Economic Development team also unveiled the ‘Conference and Event Planning Guide’, a useful tool containing everything you need to know about services and venues across the region, positioning Shepparton and Goulburn Valley as a top location to host your business event.

Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali, said the launch of the Major Events Calendar is a wonderful opportunity to plan ahead and get on board with these business opportunities.

“The 2025 calendar is packed with exciting festivals, major sporting events and wonderful exhibitions. Greater Shepparton truly excels at hosting events, and the 2025 calendar showcases how rich and diverse our event landscape is,” he said.

“We are really looking forward to seeing our local industry benefitting from these exciting opportunities and leveraging these key events. In 2024 our Greater Shepparton events program contributed over $62 million into our economy. These events definitely continue to improve the local economy, injecting millions into the municipality through the significantly increased visitation.”

To view the full 2025 Major Events Calendar, visit the Shepp & GV website here.

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