Debut fest for autistic community

AN inaugural event is on the way with the aim of offering those with autism a fun day out.

Organised through the Ballarat Autism Network, the Ballarat Autism Fest is scheduled to debut later this month.

The free outing is being spearheaded by the organisation’s social media and events organiser Laurel Petch, who said it’s about providing something unique for the region’s autistic community.

“I’ve noticed out in the community there isn’t much around for autism-friendly things to do,” she said.

“I thought it’d be great to offer something for the autistic community without having to pay money because a lot of people are short of cash right now and everything’s usually NDIS-related.

“It’s to provide an awesome day where people in the community can come and be themselves. It’ll be a safe environment… no one’s going to judge them.

“There’s about 50 per cent of people with autism who experience isolation and avoid going to things because they don’t know what they’re going to get.”

The festival will feature toastie making workshops presented by MasterChef Australia semi-finalist Tim Bone, and martial arts classes through Southern Cross Martial Arts.

Both offerings will be broken up into different age brackets.

Other activities will include henna painting, beadmaking, a sensory space, a Lego corner, and farmyard offerings.

Ms Petch said the event has been well-received.

“It’s been overwhelming,” she said. “We’ve even had people from Melbourne and Horsham reaching out to be involved because it is the first of its kind in the community.

“Aside from the neighbourhood centre, we’ll have headspace running a table for their neuro group meetings, and a youth employer through the centre who can offer contacts to help autistic people find work.

“There’s a lot of local people businesses that are really involved in the community, a lot of whom are autistic themselves. I’ve tried to bring in people who are doing stuff already in that area.”

The Ballarat Autism Fest will run from 10am to 3pm on Sunday 25 August at the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre.

Both the toastie cooking and martial arts offerings are ticketed due to limited space, and can be booked via a QR code found at the website or by contacting [email protected].