Eugowra is celebrating another incredibly successful Most Wanted Murals weekend - the ninth since the event's inception.
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Sixteen mural artists gathered in Eugowra for three days to create two new murals for the growing trail of vibrant works that tell the stories of the community.
This year's brand new works feature the Eugowra Memorial Hospital, and celebrate 100 years of rugby league in the town.
Ray Agustin, chairman of the murals committee, paid tribute to the mural artists and his hard-working committee at an official welcome on Saturday morning.
"Our artists are our extended family, a fantastic bunch of people," he said as locals and visitors browsed the Markets on the Mandagery and watched the artists at work in stunning Autumn sunshine.
"Also, this wouldn't happen without our outstanding committee who run things, who have worked tirelessly for the last nine years."
Mr Agustin thanked Cabonne Shire Council who have supported this year's event with a $10,000 donation.
He said that funding would enable some of the earliest murals to be tidied up, "to brighten things up".
"The town benefits by these murals, with added tourism," he said.
"The people who come through here are fascinated by these murals but also our locals, our locals go for a wander and look at the history of our area and that is phenomenal."
Deputy Mayor Jamie Jones said it had been amazing to see the collection of murals grow, "bringing a unique and vibrant profile to the town".
"Increased tourism in towns like Eugowra is allowing us to showcase our history and landscapes to an ever growing population," he said.
"It's wonderful to see this event going from strength to strength, due to the hard work of and dedication of volunteers in the community.
"A special thank you to Ray Agustin, and his entire murals committee and to Sean and the community at the Eugowra Progress Association
"Without the dedication of people like these, these events would cease to exist."
The community has actually been named a finalist in the inaugural Top Tourism Town Awards from NSW.
Eugowra is one of 42 communities shortlisted for the awards, which are in two population categories with greater and less than 5000.
"The process was highly competitive with inspiring editorial, images and video content accompanied by a compelling 3 - 4 day itinerary essential to be a Top Tourism Town finalist," NSW Tourism Industry Council Executive Manager, Greg Binskin, said.
Business NSW, Regional Manager - Western NSW, Vicki Seccombe, says the awards are a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge and reward our region's work to attract visitors in support of local businesses and economies.
"Now is the time for the Western NSW community to get behind our finalists and vote to have their pick with voting now open until Friday 14 May 2021," she said.
