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G’day Ballarat! School holidays are in full swing and the kids have officially hit that “what are we doing next?” phase. The cooler weather’s starting to creep in too, which I’m not entirely ready for just yet.

Plenty happening this week, with a couple of strong stories from local athletes doing us proud. Grab a cuppa and settle in.

– Luciano Devoto
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The 2026 Dancing with Our Stars lineup is locked in, with ten familiar Ballarat faces now deep into rehearsals ahead of the big night.

From café owners and business leaders to a surgeon and a disability advocate, this year’s group is a real cross-section of the city, each paired with a professional dancer and learning routines from scratch.

The goal is raising around $20,000 each before the gala performance. With 72 days to go, they’ve already raised over $63k. Very impressive!

You can support the stars by donating here.

On Easter Monday, Ballarat teen Grace Crowe ran her way into the women’s Stawell Gift final, earning her spot after a strong semi-final against a stacked field.

Unfortunately for Grace, a false start disrupted her run, but she still finished the day lining up in one of the country’s biggest sprint races.

The race was won by world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, which gives a fair sense of the level Crowe was up against. Good on you Grace!

A group of recent Ballarat grads took on a 100km run around Lake Wendouree on Saturday, 28 March, looping 6.7km every hour for 15 hours as part of Run for our Mates.

They set out to raise $2,000 for men’s mental health and have already reached nearly $7,500, with funds supporting The Shaka Project.

About 120 people dropped in throughout the day to cheer them on, with the runners pushing through the tougher later laps and finishing together.

The Outdoor Living & Caravan Expo is back in Ballarat from Friday 10 April to Sunday 12 April, taking over the showgrounds with caravans, campers, and outdoor gear from some of the country’s biggest brands.

It runs daily from 9am to 4pm, and it’s one of those events where you can actually walk through setups, compare options, and get a feel for what suits before committing to anything. Worth checking out.

Ballarat Grammar has come back from the national rowing championships with something pretty special.

Their senior boys crew took out gold at Lake Barrington in Tasmania, making them the fastest school crew in the country at that level.

It’s also a first for the school, with both the senior boys and girls crews making A finals at the same championships. Not a bad way to finish a season, especially for a group that’s been building toward this for a few years.

If you’ve been half thinking about a trip lately, this might be worth knowing. The Greatest Travel Show is coming to Ballarat on Saturday, 11 April, taking over The Goods Shed from 9am to 4pm with a full day of travel ideas, deals and planning help.

It’s run by Inspiring Vacations, and the setup is pretty simple. You can chat directly with travel experts, explore different destinations, and get a feel for what’s actually possible before locking anything in.

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Ballarat Life is 100% free, independently owned and operated. We research and curate interesting local stories and list over 100 events in our calendar every week to keep you connected to what's happening in your city. Your contributions go toward keeping it going so we can have more fun and build more community. I appreciate any and all support, my friends! - Luciano

Wildseed in Delacombe has quietly launched a new evening concept called Lantern, turning the space into a Pan-Asian restaurant once the coffee machine switches off.

It runs Wednesday to Sunday nights, with a menu that pulls flavours from across Asia, from Thai and Vietnamese through to Japanese and Malaysian-inspired dishes.

It’s a bit of a shift from what Ballarat usually sees, especially out in Delacombe, where dinner options can be pretty limited.

Interesting concept. Keen to give it a go.

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

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Until next Thursday!

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