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G’day Ballarat! This is kind of an exciting edition, at least for me. I've been sitting on an idea for a while now to bring the community together and build new friendships. This week I'm finally putting it out there. Keen to hear your thoughts and see if you're as pumped as I am about it.

– Luciano Devoto

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We live in one of the largest regional cities in Victoria with loads of interesting people, but most of us find it hard to meet like-minded folks. So here's an idea...

Introducing the Ballarat Life Dinner Club!

Once a month on a weekday, I'll organise dinners at local Ballarat restaurants for small groups of people who haven't met yet.

All you need to do is fill in a short survey and share a bit about who you are and what you care about. From there, groups of six are put together based on personality, interests, and age, so you're not just sitting down with random strangers. You're sitting down with people you're likely to actually click with.

Each person pays for their own food and drinks on the night. There's a small booking fee of $14.95 to cover the logistics and don't worry, you can cancel and get your money back if your plans change.

So if you're keen on meeting new and interesting people, let me know by voting in the poll below.

Mars Stadium is hosting three AFL pre-season games this weekend. Melbourne v Richmond kicks things off Friday at 4:10pm, St Kilda v Essendon follows Saturday at 3:10pm, and North Melbourne v Collingwood wraps it up Sunday at 3:10pm.

Reserved seating is $30 for adults, $10 for kids. General admission is $20 for adults and free for kids 14 and under with a paying adult.

Saturday and Sunday are already sold out, so if you're keen on the Friday game, grab your tickets through Ticketmaster before they're gone too.

On Thursday 5 March, the Ballarat Foundation will honour six women who have shaped the heart of our community. Larelle Kuczer, Sherley Hart, Jill Oliver, Rebecca Jakobi, Cathy Oddie and Wendy Sturgess are the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat honourees, recognised for their leadership, compassion, cultural connection and innovation.

The celebration takes place at the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute from 5pm to 7:30pm.

If you've ever held your breath merging onto the Western Freeway at Brewery Tap Road, you're not alone. The Warrenheip crossroads is getting a long overdue upgrade and Big Build Vic want to hear from locals before Sunday 8 March.

If you use that stretch of road regularly, now's the time to share your experience.

If you're jumping on an evening train to the city between Sunday 1 and Tuesday 3 March, V/Line maintenance works mean coaches are replacing trains from 8:00pm out of Ballarat, and from 7:30pm on the way back Sunday (7:00pm Monday and Tuesday).

Chuck an extra 40 minutes onto your travel time and leave the dog and the takeaway coffee at home, no pets or hot food on the coaches.

The City of Ballarat is now assessing the newly approved Infrastructure Growth Alignment Framework, a state backed high level blueprint that will guide how Ballarat grows over the coming decades.

This is not just a housing document. It is about where growth happens, in what order, and whether infrastructure keeps up. It is an attempt to make sure we grow deliberately rather than reactively. You can find the IGAF document here.

Two of Ballarat's public toilet blocks are in line for major refurbishments this year, with Council tipping $450,000 into upgrades at Victoria Park and the Albert Street facility near Parent Place.

The Victoria Park block will be completely redesigned into 13 individual exterior-access cubicles, two of which will be fully accessible. The Albert Street toilets get a full internal and external renovation..

Same corner, very different century. The top shot shows Bridge Street as it looked in the 1800s with drapers, watchmakers, horse-drawn carts, and that beautiful (gas?) lamp. The bottom is that same stretch today. I reckon it still was pretty windy even back then.

Thank you: Past & Present Photography

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Now, before you get outraged by the lack of options, please hear me out. There are plenty of pubs in town that make great burgers, but this poll is not about them. It's about the spots that specialise in crafting delicious gourmet-style burgers. The burger bars.

The ones that offer crispy chunky chips (or my personal favourite, sweet potato chips!), perfectly cooked thick patties, and buttery buns. It's not about the size, it's about the taste.

So whether you're into double decker beef burgers, or charcoal buns, cast your vote and let us know your favourite burger bar in Ballarat.

Discover all the events, activities, and live music around Ballarat each week inside our events calendar. Check it out!

Big thanks for subscribing to Ballarat Life! If you’d like to support this free community newsletter and keep local stories brewing each week, you can shout me a coffee. ☕

Until next Thursday!

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