Destination Country and Outback Visitor Economy Summit held at Dubbo's Lazy River

The Destination Country and Outback Visitor Economy Summit took place at Lazy River in Dubbo on Wednesday, March 8 and two local businesses took part.

Speaking on a panel about 'The Good Stuff (who's doing things well and why)' was Tenelle Bond, the owner of The Establishment, a speakeasy bar in Dubbo's CBD.

Ms Bond has seen her business go from strength to strength and was delighted when she received the call to speak at the event.

"It's good to do things at a grassroots level and be local because sometimes these forums bring in people from the city and the problem with that is we can't relate to it," she said.

"They don't have the same challenges we have."

As someone who always speaks her mind, Ms Bond touched upon the challenges regional businesses go through.

"It isn't easy in the country and doing this gives us a chance to connect with people because sometimes people see you on social media or think you're unapproachable," she said.

With more than 15 guest speakers, Ms Bond said she found listening to the other panelists "inspiring".

"They reignite your passion because you're hearing people's stories, especially after COVID and the challenges we all faced, you didn't know where to go and were just constantly hitting road blocks," she said.

With her own business, she is proud to say they are still here after everything and continuing to move forward.

"We had to be adaptable and evolve with our market," she said.

"We have a distilling company and are in the process of finding a venue for that, we wanted to evolve and continue to be sustainable."

Speaking in the same panel was the brainchild of Narromine's Dolly Parton Festival, Susie Rae.

Ms Rae delighted attendees by speaking about how her love for the American singer-songwriter started 40 years ago when she was on an outback trip with her boyfriend, now husband, and they had to listen to cassette tapes because the radio stations ran out.

"We had one Prince and the other was Dolly Parton and we just played that tape again and again until it got chewed up and she has stayed with me since," she said.

When Ms Rae was invited to speak at the summit, she knew she had to step out of her comfort zone and participate.

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"I'm so glad I have done it because this has allowed me to network and I've had offers from people and businesses that want to help us out on a volunteer basis for this years event," she said.

With people weary because of COVID-19, the Dolly Parton Festival has struggled to keep a committee together.

"We lost our volunteers big time and they are what helps us on the night," she said.

The first Dolly Parton Festival was held in 2022 and was a raging success.

"It was unbelievable, I was emotional, as was the whole committee because we needed some happiness after what the region had been through," she said.

With an expected 200 to attend, Ms Rae was ecstatic when close to 3000 people made their way to Narromine to celebrate the country singer.

This has allowed Ms Rae to dream big, but she is still on the look out for major sponsors or some form of government funding.

Acts for the 2023 festival have already been booked and deposits need to be paid but as Ms Rae explained, the committee doesn't see any profits from the event until after the festival.

"We get our funding from ticket sales so we are working with Narromine Shire Council who have been really supportive and can see my vision," she said.

"It's great for Narromine and it's great for the whole region, it's bringing people. I want to make Narromine a destination and not a place you pass through."

Tickets for the festival are set to be released at the end of April and people who wish to camp will also be able to book a spot.

"I planted a seed and it's just grown and it's really great," she said.