Mayors Message Thursday 10 February 2022

10 February 2022 10:12am

Mayor’s Message

It really is fantastic to see the vibrancy in Ballarat this summer. From last Saturday’s Ballarat Highlanders 7-a-side Charity Rugby Union tournament supporting Men’s Mental Health, to the rowing regatta on Lake Wendouree over the weekend, every event contributes to our local economy as well as our social welfare.

Recognition of Ballarat’s outstanding events came last week with the Ballarat Heritage Festival taking out the gold award for the Festival and Events category at the Victorian Tourism Awards. The City of Ballarat was also further recognised as a finalist in the Tourism, Marketing and Campaigns category for BALLARAT, Made of: Ballarat and We Are Ballarat campaigns. It is a credit to our community and industry and all the hard work by the City of Ballarat team, particularly during such challenging times.

This week sees the official launch of the 70^th Ballarat Begonia Festival at the Botanical Garden’s Robert Clark Conservatory. The Festival will run from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 March 2022. This year promises to be something special with 10 days of spectacular blooms, showcasing over 700 rare begonias at the Conservatory as well as throughout the Botanical Gardens and the CBD.

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 February sees the coveted Ballarat Gift at the Ballarat City Oval and if anyone is feeling the need for speed, I would suggest getting along to see some of Australia’s best sprinters in action amongst a wonderful carnival atmosphere.

Ballarat’s popularity is growing and with that growth we are seeing some big changes to our road network. I would encourage everyone to visit our website and follow the link to see the major upgrades and projects currently underway on Ballarat’s roads not only by the City of Ballarat but also by Regional Roads Victoria.

With so much going on it would be remiss of me not to thank all those that have enabled our essential services to continue across our community. They have given us incredible support often at their own personal sacrifice. Thank you.

Mayor Cr Daniel Moloney