Mayor's Message - Thursday 31 March

It has been a fantastic time for our events team recently. On the back of a successful Begonia Festival, the iconic Ballarat Heritage Festival has been awarded top honours in the Australian Tourism Awards in a ceremony held on the Sunshine Coast last week. 

It is amazing achievement putting our city and the Ballarat Heritage Festival at the forefront of the national tourism stage. 

With this amazing honour and the overall success of the 2021 event, it excites me even more for the upcoming festival in May. 

The Heritage Festival further shows Ballarat’s unique character and drives visitation to the region and the dedicated members of our events team who bring this festival to life are so deserving of this award.  

Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility and we are very proud to uplift the voices of our gender diverse community. 

We will be recognising today with a flag raising ceremony at the community flagpole and community discussion panel of local speakers at the Ballarat Library.  

The City of Ballarat supports International Transgender Day of Visibility as a celebration and acknowledgement of transgender and gender diverse identities and achievements, and the valuable contributions of transgender and gender diverse people in our community. 

Every single person who lives, works, and thrives in our city deserves to have their identities validated, respected, and seen. 

Transgender Day of Visibility is about more than just recognising and seeing the trans and gender diverse members of our community. It's about really listening to their perspectives and amplifying their stories. 

Lastly, I have to say it is fabulous to be able to again host the National Polocrosse Championships here in Ballarat. The last time was in 2010 and we can proudly boast Ballarat is home to the oldest registered Polocrosse club in Victoria, established in 1948.  

I encourage our residents to head out to Mitchell Park this weekend and support this unique sport.