Greater Shepparton's premier festival which is held annually in March is the Shepparton Festival has been successfully staged every year since 1997 and is regarded as a major calendar event within regional Victoria.
It demonstrates that the region can successfully and enthusiastically support an event of this nature, as well as project itself into the broader context of other regional festivals. The diverse program achieves a balance between the innovative and the mainstream in a way that was calculated to appeal to a wide audience.
There is an emphasis on mixing community created arts with professionally produced and performed work. In particular, the Shepparton Festival has been successful in bringing professional artists to work with community groups in the development of new work, and this has ensured some durability of the Shepparton Festival outcomes.