For the thousands of people who visit Kiss Arts Festival every year, Tamara Campbell is best known as her alter ego, ‘Kiki Bittovabitsch the Hilarious Humanitarian,’ with her quirky style, penchant for pink and love of double entendres.

Off stage, Campbell is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Kiss Arts Festival — and she is not immune to the stress and strain of the events industry.

The Kiss Arts Festival, which has taken place in Kiama every year since 2013, was postponed last year. “We moved it back to April 2026 because of the busyness of the October period,” says Campbell.

And then there’s the small matter of money.

“There are two elements,” she says. “It’s not just [government] funding — it’s also about ticket purchasing. Post-COVID, people do everything last minute and it’s very nerve-wracking and unsettling. That’s reason one why events get cancelled.”

For Kiss Arts Festival 2026, which runs from April 24 to 26, Campbell and co-founder Dave Evans are planning a “compressed but definitely vibrant” comeback.

This year, it will still run over three days, but with reduced hours and locations.

Campbell describes it as a “best of” program.

“You’ll see a really great mixture of old faves and new and different,” she says.

Highlights include laugh-out-loud street entertainment, a lantern-making workshop and the iconic raft race, setting off from Black Beach at midday on Sunday. (Registrations are now open.)

In addition to the adults-only cabaret, there’s a bonus event — an “interactive trivia night” on 27 February from 7 to 11pm.

“I’d like to thank Kiama Surf Club for donating the building and letting us run the bar there,” says Campbell.

“We encourage you to put a team together, book your tickets and make a night of it.”

At the time of our interview, funding from Kiama Council had not yet been confirmed, but Campbell was hopeful.

If any local businesses wish to sponsor events, she says, their donations would be welcomed.

“Please do support this iconic, free community event, because they’re dying off,” says Campbell.

“Personally, you can be a sponsor just by buying a ticket and coming to these events.”

Since the festival began over a decade ago, the demographic of Kiama has changed significantly.

“The original Kiss crowd — their kids have grown up,” she says. “There will be a whole lot of new people in this town who don’t know what Kiss is. If you’ve never been, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

She adds, “Human connection, community spirit and shared joy is what the world needs right now.”

To book tickets, visit kissartsfest.com.au.