Cowra Civic Centre Welcomes New Manager

The Cowra Civic Centre has a new Manager, with Jarrad Shiells coming on board to fill the position, with the goal of continuing to grow the facility by adding more events to its schedule.

Mr Shiells began on May 8, replacing former Manager Jonathan Lewellyn, who vacated the position earlier this year to take on a similar role at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.

Mr Shiells has moved to Woodstock to take on the job at the Cowra Civic Centre, having moved from Victoria.

He brings with him a lot of experience in events management, having worked for pubs and clubs in Sydney, Melbourne and Ballarat in managing entertainment and events as an Events manager.

He said the “stars aligned” when he saw the Civic Centre Manager position advertised, citing his desire to move to regional NSW, having family living in Mudgee.

He said he wanted to work in a role where he could give back to the community.

“I was looking for a tree change and this was the perfect opportunity for me to do so,” he said.

“I love putting things together and that’s what I’ve been doing most of my career.” “My plan is to see what events are most suitable for Cowra, and long term, to learn and meet the community’s expectations of what events are the best to bring to Cowra.”

Mr Shiells’ appointment to the position started with a bang, immediately over-seeing the three-week long Cowra Eisteddfod that took place last month and early this month.

With renovations set to begin sometime this year using grant funding that was provided for the facility last year, Mr Shiells said the future of the venue was looking bright.

“I’d like to see the improved seating in the upstairs cinema stop people from going to the movies in Orange and staying in town to see new release movies,” he said.

“The seating in the main auditorium will also be upgraded to feature retractable seating, and this will make the space a big player in the future as well.”

Mr Shiells said he’d like to see more bands coming to Cowra to perform, and was open to taking suggestions from the community on what events they’d like to see at the Civic Centre.

To contact the Civic Centre phone 6340 2130 or email civiccentre@cowra.nsw.gov.au.

To find out what’s on at the Civic Centre go to https://www.cowraciviccentre.com/Whats-On/Whats-On/All-Events.