Mayor's Message - Thursday 7 July

From the 3 – 10 July is NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! encouraging all of us to champion institutional, structural, collaborative and cooperative change while celebrating those who have already driven and led change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over generations.  

Here in Ballarat we have a diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population as well as a rich Aboriginal history on Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung lands. 

NAIDOC Week is an important part of both the City of Ballarat’s Reconciliation Action Plan 2022-2024 due for release this October and the Intercultural City Strategic Plan. It is important that we turn our increased awareness and learnings from this week into action that will make a difference.  

The Winter Festival is upon us and this weekend has a massive line up featuring renowned Australian artist Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhales air balloons taking to the sky from the Eastern Oval on Sunday morning. The gates are opening at 6.15am with official proceedings from 7am and then at sunrise to the accompaniment of a 100 strong children’s choir, in what promises to be quite an ethereal and ‘uplifting’ moment these monstrous Skywhales will take to the air.  

On Saturday we will see for the very first time Beyond Dark a wintery and wondrous extension to the first day of the Design Exchange market. This new event celebrates the moody depths of winter with food, mulled wine, fire pits, music and roving performers.  

In closing this week, you may have noticed the recent scaffolding around our beautiful heritage listed Art Gallery. It is undergoing a detailed cleaning that including a heritage wash coat to restore its heritage colour. The process will take about seven weeks and whilst a short-term disruption it is an important part of protecting our most precious assets.