COASTAL TWIST CELEBRATES 40% GROWTH AS CENTRAL COAST TURNS OUT FOR RADICAL RADIANCE
Coastal Twist LGBTQIA+ Arts & Culture Festival has recorded 40% growth in participation in 2026, bringing thousands of people together across seven days and 14 events under the theme Radical Radiance.
The festival celebrated creativity, visibility, belonging and community through arts, performance, music, family activities and community gatherings across the Central Coast.
The growth comes as community festivals across NSW face rising delivery and compliance costs, reduced funding and increasing barriers to public promotion.
Festival Director Glitta Supernova said the community response demonstrated why Coastal Twist continues to matter. “Radical Radiance was about showing up, standing together and creating space for everyone to be seen and celebrated. This year the Central Coast community did exactly that. With our smallest budget on record since kicking off in 2018 and greater reliance on volunteers than ever before, participation still grew by 40%. That belongs to every volunteer, artist, performer, local sponsor, supporter and audience member who made this festival possible.”
The festival finale on Sunday brought people from four states and territories together for a free, all-ages celebration of community, culture and pride.
“Real impact isn’t measured by inflated numbers and buzz words. It’s people showing up, participating and feeling they belong,” Supernova said. “Across NSW we’re seeing festivals cancelled, postponed or scaled back because of increasing financial pressures. This year we weren’t just delivering a festival, we were testing our relevance and our ability to keep going. The community answered that question for us, and the message doesn’t get much stronger than visible participation.”
Coastal Twist was delivered with almost 80 volunteers, alongside FunHaus Factory staff, artists, performers, businesses and community organisations including Ettalong Diggers, voco Gosford by IHG and ACON Hunter.
Visitors travelled from across the Central Coast, Sydney, regional NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, supporting accommodation, hospitality, retail and market stallholders, with some stallholders selling out and returning to restock.
“Our community refuses exclusion,” said Supernova. “The magic of Coastal Twist is bringing together families, friends, young people, allies, local businesses and visitors to celebrate who we are and what we contribute. That’s what creates belonging.”