Mayor's Message Thursday 22 April

This week we launched our 2021 Ballarat Heritage Festival which celebrates our spectacular past with over 80 event offerings.
But this year the festival will look slightly different with an extended 24-day program across four weekends.
Enjoy a wide range of offerings from heritage beer school and instagrammable public art installations to craft demonstrations and progressive lunches between May 7 to 30.
There will also be artisan crafts and the annual big beards and staches competition.
The six must-see events include:

•    The Ballarat Tweed Ride, Saturday 8 May, where bicycle riders dress in vintage outfits and ride through Ballarat’s streets
•    The Beard and Stache Competition, Saturday 29 May, which celebrates all facial hair forms
•    Craft Lab and Design Expo, all four weekends, which showcases up to 18 different traditional trades, makers and crafters
•    Ballarat Nostalgia, every day, where Sugar Republic, which is an art-based interactive exhibition, invites visitors to relive the joy of childhood through pop-up locations
•    Self-guided digital heritage tours, every day, experience 10 historical locations through an augmented reality program
•    Steam train shuttles, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 May, from the Ballarat Railway Station
For more information, go to ballaratheritagefestival.com.au
I would also like to thank everyone who has volunteered to be part of our Ballarat: Our Future deliberative engagement process.
This will help us inform our Community Vision, Council Plan and financial plans for the next four to 10 years and it’s really important we understand exactly what the community wants from us, especially with a budget of $200 million to allocate.