Winterlude warms Ballarat

The charming and historic city of Ballarat, less than 90 minutes from Melbourne, lights up this winter with a range of fun activities that embrace the cooler weather.

The ‘Winterlude’ celebrations will see the city transformed with dazzling light displays in the cobbled laneways and cellars, art installations and exhibitions, gourmet food carts and musical performances.

Around the region, foodies can go foraging at farms, cook up a storm at cooking classes or feast on slow-cooked winter dishes featuring the best local produce. Or try Spanish Churros or Japanese delicacies at the Ballarat International Food Market (Saturday 1 August).

At Ballarat icon Sovereign Hill, the winter school holidays (27 June – 12 July) will see the Gold Rush-themed outdoor museum transformed into a dazzling winter wonderland.

Victorian-style Christmas trees and colourful decorations will adorn Main Street, carol singers will sing classic tunes, snowflakes will fall from the sky and fun activities such as gingerbread making and Christmas crafts will be on offer.

From dusk, Sovereign Hill’s atmospheric 19^th-century-style buildings will be lit up with large-scale image projections, creating a magical light show.

Also on during the winter school holidays, a pop-up ice skating rink will take centre stage in the middle of Ballarat, with ice-skating and tobogganing available. Sessions at the rink last an hour and should be booked in advance.

The recently opened Amaze’n’Ice synthetic ice-skating rink at nearby Creswick’s The Tangled Maze offers wintry fun all year long, and there’s also mini-golf, laser tag and an enormous botanical maze to explore.

Ballarat’s other great attractions are also perfect for winter breaks, including the fascinating Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka, Ballarat Wildlife Park and medieval adventure park Kryal Castle.

Discounts are available on all these attractions with the Ballarat Pass, available at the Ballarat Visitor Information Centre.