In a special meeting called in November 1957, the then Headmaster of the Grenfell High School, Mr Harold Goodwin, moved that an annual festival be held to commemorate the birth of Henry Lawson at Grenfell. The festival was first held in 1958 and has continued ever since. The Festival is held in the week leading up to and including the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June.
The festival is named “The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts” and it seeks to promote and attain recognition for aspiring Australians in the fields of poetry, writing, composing, painting, and television. School students are encouraged to participate in recitation and drama days. The Grenfell Dramatic Society coordinates these days and the adjudicator offers encouraging and informative advice to the entrants.
Statuettes executed in bronze by Michael Mandelc are a feature of the Festival and are presented each year at the Awards Dinner. The statuettes have gained considerable prestige throughout Australia.