Ballarat Begonia Festival is a carnival and community cultural festival held annually in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Run since 1953, it is a major tourist attraction of the city.[2] Themed around the begonia flower which blooms in the temperate Ballarat climate, traditional features of the festival programme include floral displays and plantings on the main city streets, a centrepiece parade down Sturt Street including floats constructed by local community groups including sporting clubs, businesses, educational institutions, musicians and special interest groups and military tattoo.
Originsedit
The festival was inspired by the success of the Edinburgh Festival, with the first plans for a similar festival in Australia and Ballarat put forward by then Ballarat Mayor William Ernest Roff and Greater Ballarat Association president Edgar Bartrop in June 1952 with an aim of setting up a festival before the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics.[3] The concept quickly gained favour with the community and in late 1952, an organising committee was formed and the decision was made to fast-track the festival for the following year. A begonia theme was selected to promote the city's reputation for begonia gardens.
Historyedit
The first festival was held on 12 March 1953. Run by the Greater Ballarat Association and facilitated by the Department of Education, it was known as the Ballaarat Begonia Festival. A parade of 6,000 students witnessed by 20,000 was held in the city, including the Begonia Dance and other folkdances[4] and crowning of the "Queen of the Begonias", trade displays[5] and songs from the Ballarat choir. 100,000 begonia plants were placed in planter boxes along the city's main streets and the civic centre at Alfred Hall on Grenville Street was used as an exhibition space for the first flower show.[6]
The second Begonia Festival featured a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. With Alfred Hall having been damaged by fire, the floral displays moved from the city centre to the Botanic Gardens.
During the 1990s, the event began to wane in popularity and in the face of dwindling attendance organisers struggled to finance its coordination.
The City of Ballarat took over the running of the festival in 1996 providing additional funding[7] however attendances continued to decline until organisers more than once threatened to end the festival. A partial revival in attendances was marred by poor weather in 2010.[8] However the publicity generated by the threat of its cancelation rallied the community behind the event and new attendance records were set in 2011 and 2012 due in part through increased promotion by newly created Ballarat Regional Tourism.
^Egeberg, Ron. Ballarat Begonia Festival celebrates city's spirit. The Courier. March 11, 2012
^"Begonia Festival revival hits weather snag". The Courier. 30 Jul 2010
^Santos, Chynna (6 March 2021). "Ballarat Begonia Festival". Broadsheet. Broadsheet Media. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
January 01, 1970
ballarat, begonia, festival, 5470, 8217, 5470, 8217, genrecarnival, flower, showdate, labour, long, weekend, marchfrequencyannuallocation, ballarat, lake, wendouree, ballarat, botanical, gardensyears, active71inaugurated1953attendance28, 2012, organised, bycit. 37 32 49 S 143 49 18 E 37 5470 S 143 8217 E 37 5470 143 8217 Ballarat Begonia FestivalGenreCarnival Flower ShowDate s Labour Day long weekend MarchFrequencyannualLocation s Ballarat Lake Wendouree Ballarat Botanical GardensYears active71Inaugurated1953Attendance28 000 2012 1 Organised byCity of BallaratWebsitehttp www ballaratbegoniafestival com Ballarat Begonia Festival is a carnival and community cultural festival held annually in Ballarat Victoria Australia Run since 1953 it is a major tourist attraction of the city 2 Themed around the begonia flower which blooms in the temperate Ballarat climate traditional features of the festival programme include floral displays and plantings on the main city streets a centrepiece parade down Sturt Street including floats constructed by local community groups including sporting clubs businesses educational institutions musicians and special interest groups and military tattoo Origins editThe festival was inspired by the success of the Edinburgh Festival with the first plans for a similar festival in Australia and Ballarat put forward by then Ballarat Mayor William Ernest Roff and Greater Ballarat Association president Edgar Bartrop in June 1952 with an aim of setting up a festival before the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics 3 The concept quickly gained favour with the community and in late 1952 an organising committee was formed and the decision was made to fast track the festival for the following year A begonia theme was selected to promote the city s reputation for begonia gardens History editThe first festival was held on 12 March 1953 Run by the Greater Ballarat Association and facilitated by the Department of Education it was known as the Ballaarat Begonia Festival A parade of 6 000 students witnessed by 20 000 was held in the city including the Begonia Dance and other folkdances 4 and crowning of the Queen of the Begonias trade displays 5 and songs from the Ballarat choir 100 000 begonia plants were placed in planter boxes along the city s main streets and the civic centre at Alfred Hall on Grenville Street was used as an exhibition space for the first flower show 6 The second Begonia Festival featured a visit from Queen Elizabeth II With Alfred Hall having been damaged by fire the floral displays moved from the city centre to the Botanic Gardens During the 1990s the event began to wane in popularity and in the face of dwindling attendance organisers struggled to finance its coordination The City of Ballarat took over the running of the festival in 1996 providing additional funding 7 however attendances continued to decline until organisers more than once threatened to end the festival A partial revival in attendances was marred by poor weather in 2010 8 However the publicity generated by the threat of its cancelation rallied the community behind the event and new attendance records were set in 2011 and 2012 due in part through increased promotion by newly created Ballarat Regional Tourism Attendance 1 2008 16 000 2009 15 500 2010 13 998 2011 23 500 2012 28 500 The 2021 Festival was scheduled for 6 28 March 9 References edit a b pg 12 MyBallarat August 2012 edition City of Ballarat Begonia Festival Enters New Era With Bracks Government Support Archived April 3 2011 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Tourism 15 October 2003 Ballarat is in Favour of Festival pg 5 The Argus Monday 23 June 1952 pg 5 The Argus Friday 13 March 1953 pg 10 Border Watch Thursday 26 February 1953 pg5 The Argus Friday 17 October 1952 Egeberg Ron Ballarat Begonia Festival celebrates city s spirit The Courier March 11 2012 Begonia Festival revival hits weather snag The Courier 30 Jul 2010 Santos Chynna 6 March 2021 Ballarat Begonia Festival Broadsheet Broadsheet Media Retrieved 26 June 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ballarat Begonia Festival amp oldid 1212228957, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
