Gosford comes alive with opening of new Arts Centre

EDITORIAL –

After decades of false starts, stalled plans and slow progress, Gosford CBD may finally be finding its rhythm, and last week’s opening of Fun Haus’s new Arts Hub is perhaps the clearest signal yet.

Housed inside a beautifully refurbished former National Australia Bank building on Mann St, the venue is entirely community and privately funded.

It marks not only a win for the performing arts but a significant vote of confidence in Gosford itself, as a cultural destination, as a safe and welcoming night-time precinct, and as a place where people come together.

The opening night crowd spoke volumes.

Local business and community leaders mingled with artists, residents, and elected officials, including Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch and Mayor Lawrie McKinna.

But even more importantly, it was the palpable energy of the hundreds who turned up, many of them long-time supporters of The Fun Haus Factory crew, that truly marked this as a milestone.

This is a community that has grown from the grassroots, invested in its people, and is passionate about transforming the Central Coast’s urban heart.

The new centre will support a broad range of events and performance styles, from cabaret to comedy, circus to poetry, and it will provide training and space for up-and-coming creatives.

It’s a place where imagination and ambition meet, and it’s timed perfectly to welcome the influx of new residents soon to arrive in Gosford’s growing number of apartments and hotel rooms.

This isn’t just a win for the arts, it’s a sign that good old Gosford might finally be getting its mojo back.

The long-promised vision of a vibrant, lived-in city centre is starting to take shape, not through government decree alone, but through community-led action.

Gosford’s next act is well and truly underway.

David Abrahams – Managing Editor