A vibrant celebration of African culture, cuisine and community spirit is heading to Cowra, with Kenya officially announced as the guest nation for the 2027 Festival of International Understanding. The announcement was made at River Park on Thursday, 5 November, marking the beginning of preparations for one of Cowra's most significant cultural events, with a refreshed program set to bring Kenyan traditions, flavours and entertainment to the community. From an African market and Kenyan food stalls to a revamped riverside long lunch and a multicultural excursion to Canberra, next year's festival promises a range of opportunities for residents to experience the culture of the East African nation. Cowra Mayor Paul Smith said the festival would continue its longstanding tradition of bringing international cultures to the town, while introducing several changes designed to encourage greater community participation. "Today we're launching the 2027 Festival of International Understanding, and the guest nation this year is Kenya," Mayor Smith said. "As most people know, we have a festival every year where we explore the culture, the diversity, and the geography as much as anything else of our guest nation." The festival's traditional street parade and carnival will return, alongside an African market, Kenyan food stalls and cultural entertainment showcasing both Australian and Kenyan traditions. A formal dinner on the Friday evening will also feature Kenyan cuisine, prepared by principal sponsor Club Cowra. However, one of the biggest changes will be the relocation of the festival's popular Sunday long lunch to River Park, where organisers are planning a more relaxed, picnic-style celebration. "Sunday we're rejigging the long lunch. This year it'll be a barbecue down here at River Park, and it'll be catered for by Club Cowra," Mayor Smith said. "There'll be prepaid meals available, but the long lunch format will still be the same, but we'll have it down here at River Park, so people can enjoy it and probably easier to mix." The mayor said the outdoor setting would provide a more welcoming environment for families and community members to gather, enjoy food and experience the festival together. "We think it's more suitable for people to come down to River Park, where they can spread out, mix amongst themselves, have a picnic, whatever they want to do," he said. Another addition to the 2027 program will see Cowra residents offered the opportunity to travel to Canberra for a multicultural event showcasing African and other international cultures. The community bus trip is expected to depart Cowra at approximately 7am on a Saturday, returning around 5pm. Mayor Smith said the excursion would provide an opportunity to experience a broader range of cultural traditions beyond those featured at the festival itself. "This year we're sending a bus down to Canberra for a multicultural event down there, so that people will experience not just Kenya but all African and other country cultures," he said. "That's open to the whole community." The initiative represents a change from previous festival activities involving visits to international embassies, with organisers instead choosing an event that could accommodate a larger group of local residents. While the main festival celebrations will remain a highlight, cultural activities are also planned throughout March, involving local schools, community organisations and sporting groups. Students will have opportunities to learn about Kenya through educational programs and presentations from Kenyan representatives, while the wider community can look forward to sporting activities and a photography exhibition showcasing the country's landscapes. "For the whole month of March, we have activities," Mayor Smith said. "We involve our school children, the community themselves, and it's an educational thing as much as anything." He said the festival's educational component remained one of its most important features, giving young people an opportunity to learn about countries and cultures they might otherwise have limited exposure to. "All the schools get involved in the culture of Kenya, and we have Kenyans come and talk to the school children," he said. The selection of Kenya followed an expressions of interest process, with representatives from the country showing considerable enthusiasm after observing the festival in a previous year. "Kenya, we sought expressions of interest, and Kenya was shortlisted," Mayor Smith said. "We approached them, and they were very enthusiastic coming. "They came down last year and observed." He said Kenya's involvement would provide an opportunity for Cowra to establish connections with a nation outside its more familiar international relationships. Cowra's longstanding connections with Japan, Italy and Indonesia have played an important role in shaping the town's identity, particularly through its history of wartime reconciliation and international friendship. Mayor Smith said the festival provided an opportunity to build upon those relationships by learning about different cultures and welcoming new international connections. "We have a lot of events that relate to other countries, whether it's the Japanese, the Italians, the Indonesians," he said. "But this is where we really focus on one nation, and it's not someone that we've traditionally had relationships with." The Festival of International Understanding has been a fixture of Cowra's community calendar since its origins as the Festival of the Lachlan Valley in 1965. Originally established to commemorate the history of European exploration in the Lachlan Valley, the event evolved into an annual celebration of international friendship, with Japan becoming its first guest nation. The festival adopted its current name in 1992, the same year Cowra received international recognition as the home of Australia's World Peace Bell. Mayor Smith said the event remained an important part of the town's identity and its commitment to promoting understanding between nations. "It's become part of Cowra's culture," he said. "We see it as our almost our duty to look after other countries, learn from them, let them see what we do, how we live, and learn from their culture, their geography, their economy." The 2027 celebrations will also see Club Cowra take on a significant role beyond its financial sponsorship, with the organisation preparing to introduce Kenyan flavours to local dining experiences. Club Cowra general manager Sharlene McLeish said supporting the festival was a natural fit for the organisation's commitment to bringing people together. "Club Cowra loves to support cultural diversity and an opportunity which the festival truly represents," Ms McLeish said. "Our business model is about coming together of people and our community. "So our relationship with the festival makes perfect sense." She said the club was looking forward to learning more about Kenya and helping share its culture with the wider Cowra community. "We can't wait to learn about Kenya and its beautiful people," she said. In preparation for the festival, Club Cowra head chef Bobby Ellis is planning a culinary exchange with a Kenyan chef, allowing both to learn about each other's traditional cooking styles. "Bobby is actually going to go down to Canberra to learn some Kenyan cooking, and the Kenyan chef is going to come to Cowra to learn a little bit about Australian cuisine," Ms McLeish said. The exchange will help shape the menu for the festival's formal dinner and Sunday long lunch, both of which will be catered by Club Cowra. "We cater the formal dinner on the Friday night, so Bobby's busily looking up some great Kenyan recipes to serve on the night, and we're also catering the long lunch as well," she said. "We're going to do some Kenyan offerings there, as well as some Australian cuisine to cross reference both parties together." Ms McLeish said the opportunity to explore Kenyan cooking had already sparked considerable interest in the club's kitchen, with preparations underway to incorporate traditional flavours into the festival's dining experiences. She also highlighted the importance of the festival in bringing together Cowra's schools, cultural groups and wider community. "It's just a way of bringing the community together," she said. "Gives us something to look forward to on the calendar year. "Involves the schools as well as all of the cultural groups in town." Mayor Smith also acknowledged the volunteers and organisers responsible for delivering the festival each year, describing their contribution as essential to its continued success. "It doesn't just happen," he said. "A lot of people do a lot of work. "A lot of volunteers take place. "A lot of organising gets done." He encouraged residents to embrace the opportunity to participate in the 2027 celebrations, whether through the parade, carnival, cultural activities, formal dinner or riverside long lunch. "There's something for everybody," he said. "It's all part of just enriching yourself as much as partaking. "You learn so much from these people."
