News Alert |

Last week, we launched the program for one of my favourite events of the year, the Ballarat Begonia Festival. 

Held over the long weekend of March (Saturday 7 – Monday 9 March), the 2020 program is as big and bold as the Begonias growing in the nursery. 

This year, each day of the festival will focus on a different theme. On Saturday, the spotlight will be on all things horticulture, gardening, compositing and beekeeping, and we are delighted to welcome back dirtgirl and Costa Georgiadis. These ABC icons will be joined by Sophie Thomson from Gardening Australia. 

On Sunday, the focus will shift from paddock to plate and events will centre around harvesting products from your garden and using them in your kitchen. We are delighted to have guest appearances from MasterChef royalty Poh Ling Yeow, Tim Bone and Anushka Zargaryan.  

On Monday, our city will transform into a kaleidoscope of colour and movement with the Power FM Begonia Parade. Along with the parade, there will also be stacks of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy including meet and greets with ABC Kids' Bluey and Bingo, and magic shows with Barry Govan, Ballarat’s own local magician. 

So whether you’re a green thumb, a foodie, a fan of Bluey, or you just love a parade, there truly is something for everyone at this year’s Begonia Festival and I look forward to seeing everyone there. To see all the full line-up of events, visit www.ballaratbegoniafestival.com 

This month, we have begun rolling out the Smarter Parking plan across the CBD. The City of Ballarat has received positive feedback about how parking is now so much simpler and easier to use. 

In the first week of the new plan, over 7000 motorists had already downloaded the CellOPark app, and close to 16,000 transactions were recorded. From these 16,000 transactions, over 70% of them were free. 

I am pleased that after years of the community asking for more equitable parking solutions in the CBD, we have been able to deliver a plan that balances the needs of our businesses, shoppers, residents and workers.  

It is one the important steps we can take to revitalising our magnificent CBD and making Ballarat a vibrant and safe place to live. It is an exciting time for Ballarat. 

If you need any guidance on how to use Smarter Parking, how to download the CellOPark app, how the new meters work, or to see a map of where the new parking plan applies, just visit www.parkingballarat.com