Laneways light up for Begonia Festival

A stunning new addition to the 2022 Ballarat Begonia Festival is the Begonia Byway – three laneways which will come alive with begonia and nature-inspired installations co-created by artists Hattie Molloy and Esther Olsson.

McKenzie Street, Hop Lane and Police Lane will be transformed with immersive floral, light and art installations embracing Ballarat’s historical connections to begonias and which draw upon Esther’s nostalgic memories of visiting the festival as a child.

The playful and textural displays include pixelated begonias on glittering shimmer boards, a flower netting-inspired chequerboard floor, tussock grasses, neon begonias, and hay bales wrapped in floral designs.

Other CBD based events over the next 10 days include:

• The popular Ballarat Boom Box in Alfred Deakin Place
• Food Truck Friday, also tonight in Alfred Deakin Place
• The iconic BEGONIA letters which will light up Sturt Street

Other festival events to sample include:

• The Power FM Begonia Parade
• The Central Highlands Water Smart, Safe and Sustainable display
• The Ballarat Begonia Classic to raise funds for the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute
• Integra Tiny Town for the kids
• A wide range of workshops, including beekeeping, candle making, and propagation
• Weed foraging walks
• A Smart Building and Living Expo
• Sovereign Hill garden tours and Begonia Drops
• Kilderkin Begonia Festival gin

City of Ballarat Councillor Ben Taylor said the three laneways were a stunning way to showcase begonias in another Ballarat setting.

“Our CBD laneways are the perfect location to highlight all kinds of amazing local art, including these stunning begonia and nature-inspired installations,” Cr Taylor said.

“It’s a really fabulous way of bringing our 70^th Begonia Festival to life in other areas of Ballarat as well and I commend our two amazing artists, Hattie and Esther for their fantastic creations.

“The Ballarat Begonia Festival is a unique and authentic part of the Ballarat story. It plays a significant role in attracting visitors to Ballarat and promoting our city as a vibrant, active, and nature-based destination, as well as strengthening community pride. 

“Up until 2020, the Begonia Festival attracted over 60,000 visitors to Ballarat over the March long weekend and it has an estimated economic impact of $3,445,321.00.

“The City of Ballarat is excited to deliver this event for our community, immersing locals in a uniquely Ballarat experience.”   

History of Ballarat Begonia Festival   

1953: The first Begonia Festival opens   

1954: Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II visits the festival   

1953-1993: Ballarat Begonia Festival hosts ‘Queen of Begonias’. A judging panel would select one woman to become the annual Queen of Begonias. Her role was to promote the festival and appear in the parade.   

1960: The 'new' begonia glasshouse in the Botanical Gardens was opened and floral clock was installed. It was the largest electrically motorised floral clock in the world at the time.  

1964: The floral carpet was the first large-scale, live-flower floral carpet, measuring 30 feet by 21 feet and featuring over 700,000 specially grown blooms.  

1972: Festival introduces Princesses of Begonias (runners up)   

1973: Annual parade moves to Lake Wendouree   

1993: The festival crowns its last Queen of Begonias   

1995: The newly opened Robert Clark Conservatory became a festival focal point   

1999: The festival celebrated 100 years of begonias being present in Ballarat.                                                    

2012: 60^th year celebrations.  

2015:  The world's largest outdoor LEGO flower, made by The Brickman, Ryan McNaught, was launched at the festival.                                                     

2022: 70th year celebrations