Mayor’s Message - Friday 2 February 2024

This week we launched the action-packed Ballarat Begonia Festival, which will be the 72nd time this incredible festival will run in our great city.  

This year’s program is bound to draw thousands of people to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens across the Labour Day long weekend.  

The festival is a Ballarat institution that just seems to get better and better each year. Since it was first launched in 1953, the Ballarat Begonia Festival has become one of Australia’s oldest and most treasured garden events.  

Begonias have been synonymous with Ballarat since the late 1800s, and to this day we celebrate our signature flower each March with the Ballarat Begonia Festival.  

The bright floral arrangement is the result of 10 months of work by our talented gardeners and it remains the centrepiece of this iconic festival, but with that said, there are so many highlights in 2024 that the whole family will find something on this program to interest them!

The 2024 program has a great mix of activities, entertainment, food and of course flowers.  

Acrobatic entertainment troupe, SWAY is back for a second year, with a brand-new gravity defying show called ‘These Things’.

You can see the whole program at ballaratbegoniafestival.com, but some of my highlights are:

The Fernery, “Fern Fever” display will include fronds inspired by the begonia display.  

More than 500 begonias in the 2024 display, and the never-before-seen begonia cultivar, named after the Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ inaugural curator - Begonia ‘George Longley’.

Main Stage entertainment, including interactive workshops, talks and cooking demonstrations by ABC Gardening and Masterchef personalities.  

The Begonia letters on display in Sturt Steet designed by Wadawurrung Traditional Owner and artist Billy O’Toole. Each letter symbolises a unique aspect of Wadawurrung Country.  

I look forward to seeing you out and about at the Ballarat Begonia Festival.

- Mayor Cr Des Hudson