Ballarat Heritage Festival’s spectacular program revealed

Prepare to be amazed and captivated in Ballarat during May, with preparations now in full swing for the 2024 Ballarat Heritage Festival.

Community faces brilliantly projected onto Sturt Street trees, night-time heritage tours, interactive exhibits, hands-on workshops and a vintage car show, are just some of the incredible events on offer as part of the festival this year.

And of course, what would a Ballarat Heritage Festival be without Old Gaol Tours, Craft Lab, the Ballarat Antiques Fair and Heritage Harvest weekend at Sovereign Hill.

The 10-day festival will be held from 17-26 May 2024, celebrating Ballarat’s rich heritage, unique stories and vibrant creative community.

With less than two months until the 2024 festival kicks off, you can now check out the full program online and begin creating your festival itinerary.  

More than 25,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival, which is likely to contribute $2 million to the Ballarat economy.

Attending the program reveal for the Heritage Festival, City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the festival had become a staple on the city’s events calendar since it was first held in 2006.

“Every year we see the Ballarat Heritage Festival celebrate the historic city’s rich cultural history and this year it is going to be particularly spectacular,” he said.

“The program looks as scintillating as ever and I can’t wait to showcase this event that is truly unique to Ballarat.

“With a large range of quality events on offer, there is almost certain to be something that interests everybody.”

View the full event program and start planning your heritage escape to Ballarat at https://ballaratheritagefestival.com.au/.

Ballarat Heritage Festival 2024 highlights

‘Monuments’ by Craig Walsh | every night during the festival, Sturt Street, free

Craig Walsh's Monuments is a site-responsive, outdoor video installation that has been displayed across Australia and internationally. Since the first tree projection in 1993, the Monuments installation has continued to evolve and captivate new audiences as they occupy new landscapes and engage with different communities. The Ballarat installation will feature new projections and Ballarat personalities.

Parrwang Lifts The Sky | Friday 24 May and Saturday 25 May Civic Hall, ticketed event

Among the highlights of this year’s program is the vibrant performance of Parrwang Lifts the Sky, making its debut on Wadawurrung Country.  

Based on an original Wadawurrung creation story, this all-ages opera tells the story of how Parrwang the magpie helped lift the blanket of darkness on the land to create the first dawn.  

For Yorta Yorta woman and acclaimed soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, there is no more fulfilling experience than to have her work performed on Wadawurrung Country as previously told to many generations of children.  

Sung in English and Wadawurrung, the opera features costume and set designs created in partnership with Wadawurrung artists Deanne Gilson and Billy O'Toole.

Craft Lab 24 | 18-19 May and 25-26 May, Ballarat Mining Exchange, free

Returning to the Ballarat Mining Exchange over two weekends, Craft Lab 24 marks traditional artisanal skills matched with contemporary treatment. Brought to you in partnership with Craft Victoria and the Rare Trades Centre, Craft Lab explores the moment where function and form meet – examining skill, design, and reinterpretation.

The practitioners are hugely varied – from ceramicists, jewellers, upholsterers to spinners, shoemakers to metalworkers, wild weavers to eco-dyers. All practitioners are chosen for their depth of knowledge and commitment to applying traditional techniques to contemporary practice. Craft Lab is seeking to maintain old skills but also exploring how these can be applied in new ways.

Throughout Craft Lab 24, the Rare Trades Centre at Sovereign Hill is also offering hands-on workshops and artisan presentations, many featuring Craft Lab alumni. Book early and book often to secure your place in this exciting experience.

The Great Takeaway | Thursday 23 May, Ballarat Mining Exchange, ticketed event

The Great Takeaway provides guests with the opportunity to dine amongst some of the finest materials, textiles, glassware and ceramics produced in the Ballarat region – and then be able to take their handcrafted dinner setting home with them.

A ticketed event, the Great Takeaway is an exclusively tailored dinner that sees guests seated amongst the exhibition display of Craft Lab 24 in the heritage venue of the Ballarat Mining Exchange.

Upon arrival, visitors will have the chance to meet the commissioned artists who have crafted their outstanding table settings, before enjoying a sumptuous three-course meal with drinks and entertainment.

Ballarat’s Jewish heritage: John Safran in conversation with Dr Sue Silberberg | Thursday 23 May, Eureka Centre, free event but bookings required

Join us for a conversation between John Safran and historian Dr Sue Silberberg. Drawing on Sue’s deep family ties to Ballarat, they will explore the Jewish influence on our city’s social, political, and religious landscape in the nineteenth century.

During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, many Jewish migrants settled in Ballarat, establishing what is now the oldest surviving synagogue in mainland Australia.  

Many rose to positions of influence, serving as Mayors and Members of Parliament, and founding key public institutions. Jewish activists were also involved in the events surrounding the Eureka Stockade.