Biggest Indian festival south of Sydney to head to Kiama, as South Coast proves popular for festival organisers

Mayor Neil Reilly said the council had been trying to enhance their tourism and it seemed to be working, while he hoped all of the new events would return in 2024.

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"All of the groups are wildly enthusiastic .... [Kiama is] a little bit off Broadway but it will make for a very interesting and terrific time for the performers as well [as well as patrons]," the Mayor said.

"It's going to be exciting and diverse in terms of culture, music and entertainment."

Co-organiser of Kiamasala, Cameron McDonald, is working in part with the owners of JJ's Indian restaurant to capitalise on the "pilgrimage" seen each week with their event on November 5.

"There's almost a pilgrimage of Indian people to Kiama on a Sunday," he said.

"They go to the Helensburgh temple and then they come down to Kiama to the blow hole area. It's a beautiful seaside location."

Dom Furber, founder of another new festival Clearly Music and Arts, said growing up in the area there wasn't a lot on offer so he wanted to bring a large-scale event to town.

Meantime, building on the success of an annual vintage car show, the council is behind the inaugural Jamberoo Jam street party in October to try and boost a community that was "hurting"

"We had a call out from the Jamberoo residents to say that they were hurting," said Sally Bursell, Kiama Council's tourism and events manager.

"Jamberoo Mountain Road was closed, several businesses had been struggling since [the pandemic], and that usual traffic wasn't coming through and supporting them."

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Other major events on the cards include the recently announced Changing Tides music festival that will bring the likes of G-Flip, Spacey Jane, Peking Duk and Pnau to Kiama; the family-friendly circus and cabaret festival KISS Arts; and the long-standing Folk By The Sea.

"Destination Kiama has a clear objective to create a thriving, high-quality event destination, and as part of this to grow our identity and appeal as a boutique event destination all year round which in turn assists us in meeting our goal to grow the visitor economy (tourism industry economic benefit) for our region," said Sally Bursell, Kiama Council's tourism and events manager.

"We are confident of another bumper festival season next year. Already locked in we have Red Hot Summer Tour in January, with another exceptional lineup, as well as of course, Kiama Sevens, Beachtag, Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival, SurfLife and a range of sporting and smaller events too."

But Ms Bursell said the township wouldn't become overcrowded with events as they are without a purpose-built event venue, making availability limited.

"Whilst the Kiama Showground is considered the most appropriate venue for festivals and large events, these grounds are sporting grounds first.

"[The] council works closely with the Kiama and District Sports Association to balance sporting fixtures and potential damage to the grounds from festival usage, [but] this does mean that availability is limited."

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