Harmony Week to celebrate Ballarat’s vibrant cultural diversity

Are you ready to experience a world of culture, music, food and dance?

Ballarat’s most vibrant celebration of cultural diversity, Harmony Fest, is back for another year.

Being celebrated for the 13th year, the theme for the 2023 event is: Our Past. Our Future: celebrating and reflecting on the contributions of Victoria's multicultural communities.

The festival, to be celebrated on 16-26 March, will be headlined by three key activities, with more than 25 events to be held across 11 days.

The highlights of the celebration will include:

Harmony Day Flag Raising Ceremony, Tuesday 21 March, 10.30am

• The annual Harmony Day Flag Raising Ceremony will be held on 21 March, at Queen Victoria Square (in front of the Town Hall).
• A morning tea will then follow and all are welcome to attend.

The Intercultural Recognition Awards, Thursday 23 March, 5.30pm-7.30pm

• Individuals, organisations and businesses who have made a valuable contribution to the City of Ballarat’s Intercultural Community will be recognised at the Intercultural Recognition Awards.
• The invite-only event will be held at Ballarat Town Hall.

Harmony by the Lake, Sunday 26 March, 12pm-3.30pm

• A free community picnic, with music, dance, and activities for families and everyone to be held at Lake Wendouree.
• Bring your own chairs, picnic blankets and enjoy the day, to be held in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, opposite the Lake Wendouree Adventure Playground.
• Food trucks will be on site at own cost.

Harmony Fest wraps around Harmony Day, the United Nation’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is celebrated on Tuesday 21 March. The day encourages Australians to come together to reflect on and celebrate the many cultures that create our great nation.

The festival aligns to the City of Ballarat’s Intercultural City Strategic Plan 2022-26 which promotes responsive service delivery, active citizenship, leadership and advocacy, and maximising and valuing diversity.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said Harmony Week was momentous, especially with Ballarat being accredited the first Intercultural City in Australia.

“We want Ballarat to be a place where diversity is viewed as the norm and we feel we have done a tremendous amount of work to get to that point,” Cr Hudson said.

“Harmony Week is about celebrating all the different cultures that have contributed so much to making Ballarat the place it is today.

“We might have different backgrounds and cultures but we all share the one city together and this week is about celebrating how we can live together in a vibrant, diverse and harmonious community.”

For the full program of Harmony Week events and for more information, visit the Harmony Week page on the City of Ballarat website or the Harmony Fest Facebook page.