Visitors to this year’s Ballarat Begonia Festival are being encouraged to be a “super sorter” and put their waste in the right place.

A dedicated Sustainable Environment Ballarat stall at the festival, run by the City of Ballarat, will feature a fun, educational and interactive game that challenges participants to correctly sort their waste into the four waste streams – general waste, recycling, garden organics and glass.

Placing items into the correct bin prevents contamination including general recyclables, garden organics and glass. Contamination contributes to more waste going to landfill.

At last year’s Begonia Festival, 2.1 tonnes of general waste and 5.3 tonnes of recyclables were collected, highlighting the importance of effective waste management.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson (pictured above) tested out the new interactive game with local children recently.

Cr Hudson said the game, set to be featured at the Sustainable Environment Ballarat stall, is a fun way for both kids and adults to test their super sorting skills to win prizes and be a champion for the environment.

“I encourage everyone to come along, test out their sorting powers and be a super sorter who is working to help save the environment,” he said.

“The better we sort our waste, the more we can recycle and that means less waste that goes into landfill – and more waste being reused and repurposed.

“It’s never been more important to reduce and reuse our waste and this game is one out of a range of fantastic sustainability initiatives taking place at this year’s Begonia Festival.”

Sustainability initiatives at the Begonia Festival include:

• Six waste stations located across the festival site with staff available to help guide patrons to dispose of their waste into the correct bin – including general waste, recycling, garden organics and glass.
• All packaging sold from food vendors and stallholders will be recyclable or compostable.
• Local company ‘GroundUp Coffee Recyclers’ will collect the used coffee grounds from the coffee vendors, which will then be delivered to regenerative and small-scale farmers in the Ballarat region.

Excitement is building ahead of the 72nd annual Ballarat Begonia Festival, which is set to draw thousands of people to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens across the upcoming Labour Day long weekend (9-11 March).

The full program of activities, entertainment, food, flowers and fun has been unveiled in recent days in the lead-up to the long-running annual attraction.

Headlining the action-packed program is the world premiere of a new show called ‘These Things’ by performing artists SWAY (pictured above).

Festival-goers will be invited to immerse themselves in a sensory experience where music, dance and circus acts transport viewers to a world where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are blurred.

The company’s new production will see the performers swing, spin and bend atop tall poles adorned with begonias, entertaining audiences on the main lawn.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson described the festival as a Ballarat institution that “just seems to get better and better each year”.

The Ballarat Begonia Festival’s full program is now available online.

Now is the time to register your community group or business to participate in Ballarat’s popular Begonia Parade, with entries closing on Sunday 4 February.  

The iconic community event will be held on Labour Day, Monday March 11 from 11am-12pm as part of the Ballarat Begonia Festival.

Held at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, the parade will span the route from the South Gardens to the North Gardens precinct at a leisurely pace.  

While there is no set theme for the parade, participants are encouraged to showcase their group or business in creative, vibrant and colourful ways. Previous years have seen custom-built floats, embellished vehicles, large groups marching in unison and even whimsical floating creations.  

This year, awards will be presented in the following categories:  

• Mayor’s Choice Award  
• Best School Entry
• Best Community Entry  
• Best Business Entry  
• Best Musical Entry  

Parade participants must complete an application form, nominate a primary contact on behalf of the group or business, attend a pre-parade briefing session, and maintain public liability insurance.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the popular community event represented the heart and soul of Ballarat.

“Every year it’s fantastic to see the creativity of our city on display through the vibrant floats, costumes and vehicles,” he said.  

“I’d encourage as many community groups and businesses to get involved as possible — the parade is a wonderful opportunity to gather together and commemorate the people, groups and business that make our community a great place to live.”  

More information about the Ballarat Begonia Festival is available through the event’s dedicated website.