G'day Ballarat! How was that first game from the Socceroos, hey? Pretty epic stuff, and hopefully the team keeps it rolling.

This week, we’ve got the Winter Festival getting ready to roll in, a Creswick GP taking the Big Freeze plunge, Ballarat chasing tourism gold, and a few train disruptions worth knowing about before you’re standing on a platform questioning your life choices.

– Luciano Devoto
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Ballarat’s annual chance to pretend we live inside a snow globe is nearly here. The Ballarat Winter Festival kicks off next Saturday, with the pop-up ice rink, Winter Wonderlights at Sovereign Hill, the Hot Choc Showdown, Kryal Castle’s Knights of Fire and a stack of school holiday bits across town. It runs from 27 June to 19 July, which gives us all three weeks to complain about the cold while willingly standing in it, hopefully with a hot chocolate in hand.

Creswick GP Dr Josh Saunders had every reason to be nervous last Monday, becoming the first-ever Big Freeze Community Slider at the MCG. His family has raised more than $100,000 for FightMND through local fundraisers, lemonade stands and plenty of cold-water courage. A very Ballarat-region way to end up on the big stage.

Ballarat is back in the running for the 2026 Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards after picking up bronze in 2024 and silver in 2025. So yes, apparently we are collecting podium finishes now. You can vote for Ballarat before 5pm on Friday 26 June, and give Avoca some love in the Top Tiny Tourism Town category too.

A few Ballarat-region health professionals are getting some well-earned recognition, with finalists named in the 2026 Victorian Rural Health Awards. The awards celebrate the people keeping rural and regional communities cared for, often without the big-city spotlight. Winners will be announced on 25 June, so fingers crossed for some local names getting called.

Creswick is leaning right into winter with a bonfire festival at the Botanical Reserve. There’ll be fairies, pixies, mystical garden creatures, market stalls, face painting, a colouring competition and a sausage sizzle from Creswick Scouts. BYO chair or blanket, then find a spot near the fire and settle in.

Ballarat’s new Regional Animal Facility has taken another step forward, with the construction contract now awarded and works expected to begin later this year. The Mitchell Park facility will include treatment and adoption areas, better infection control and indoor/outdoor spaces. Good news for lost pets, future adopters and the people doing the hard work behind the scenes.

Council is asking locals to help shape the future of Ballarat’s CBD through a new Urban Design Framework. In plain English: how the city centre should look, feel and function as Ballarat keeps growing. If you’ve got strong opinions about the CBD, and let’s be honest, many of us do, this is your moment.

A heads-up if you’re travelling late next week: coaches will replace evening trains on the Ballarat Line from Sunday 21 June to Tuesday 23 June. The changes affect the full journey between Wendouree and Southern Cross during the evening window. Translation: check before you go, and do not cut your timing too fine.

The temporary Ararat Line timetable is still in place, with speed restrictions between Ararat and Wendouree while the tracks bed down after works. Trains to the city are leaving Ararat and Beaufort three minutes earlier, while city departures arrive around three minutes later. Tiny change, classic train trap. Check the timetable before heading out.

Donald and Michelle Mace, owners of Irish Murphy’s Ballarat, have added a second pub to the mix, taking over the iconic Queens Head Hotel in Ballarat East. It is a big old name in Ballarat pub land, so this one is worth watching. Hopefully it means good things for the Humffray Street local and its loyal regulars.

Commonwealth Bank has moved back into Bridge Mall, opening at 38–40 Bridge Mall. The branch is now open Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm, with retail banking and business services under one roof. Handy news if you prefer sorting bank stuff with an actual human, rather than yelling at an app in your car.

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Until next Thursday!

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