SpringFest market cancelled

ROTARY Club of Ballarat’s SpringFest management committee has cancelled the community market day for the third year in a row.

Set for Sunday, 27 November, 10am to 4pm, SpringFest would have been held throughout Lake Wendouree’s Botanical Gardens precinct, but due to heavy rainfall in the last month, co-director Robert Glass said the proposed site layout was saturated and no longer viable for setting up stalls and displays.

Mr Glass said a heritage overlay on Lake Wendouree’s foreshore, which includes environmental impact restrictions, also means stalls and stallholders’ vehicles could not be set up, or parked, on the grass.

“We are extremely disappointed that we have lost the opportunity to raise much needed funds for the community, along with supporting the 500-plus stallholders that rely on SpringFest leading into Christmas,” he said.

“Despite this set-back the committee believe SpringFest is very much an iconic event in Ballarat and every effort will be made to bring it back bigger and better in 2023, with a wider range of activities.”

A statement from the management committee said the group is already planning for 2023 and will hold the event in a new location, where no environmental restrictions apply.

All funds raised at SpringFest go back to various community partners, including primary schools and clubs. More than 500 market stalls were booked in for a spot throughout the gardens precinct for 2022, alongside events and activities.

The SpringFest Market at Ballarat Carols by Candlelight is still planned for December, and the Online Raffle is back for another year. Ballarat SpringFest has been a local institution since 1994.