A summer of fun Sovereign Hill style

FAMILIES are invited to participate in a refreshing range of holiday activities at Sovereign Hill until the end of January.

The slapstick humour of new Summer Series live pantomime, Blackbeard the Pirate, is set entertain Victoria Theatre-goers each day, as Captain Really Brave strives to save his love.

Sovereign Hill CEO Sara Quon said the show’s script, set and costumes have all been respectively written, designed, and created by staff at the outdoor museum, who “pride themselves” on the production of quality, original and memorable performing arts pieces.

As always, diggers will welcome beginner gold-panners to the river to strive to find some gold, offering tips, assistance, and stories, alongside other iconic and classic pastimes the Hill is known for.

The gold pour and wheelwrights’ demonstrations, Main Street red-coat marches, and candle-making are all running as normal.

After closures due to the pandemic, the underground Red Hill Mine and Quartz Mine tours are also operational again.

Available for pre-order are Peter Rowland Group picnic hampers, full of savoury and sweet treats which can be enjoyed by the lake and playground.

At the end of December, Making It Australia winner and Ballarat local George Buchanan led a Victorian-inspired arts and crafts workshop as part of the Summer Series of activities.

Head to summer.sovereignhill.com.au for more information and to book tickets.

TEA lovers young and old will be able to take a step back and delve into the history of tea at an intimate workshop at Sovereign Hill on Saturday, 22 January.

A workshop will be led by Geelong-based Australian Tea Masters, a specialist business in tea training and tea education operating across Australasia.

Topics covered are set to include how Australia’s tastes in tea have changed over time, different types of tea, and how it is produced in Australia.

Participants will also be given the opportunity to taste various native tea blends as well as be supplied with a take-home tea bundle for their future enjoyment.

Erin Santamaria, head of rare trades and programming at Sovereign Hill, said it’s going to be “fantastic” to be able to continue to welcome people back to the historic gold rush era town over the remainder of the summer.

“Sovereign Hill is all about engaging with visitors to provide meaningful experiences, to help them learn from the past to adapt to a better future for everyone,” she said.

“The tea tasting is a part of our new seasonal program direction. While we’ll always have the school holiday program, Sovereign Hill has so much more to offer.”

“Our framework is really about having events and using our spaces, and unpacking the narrative and story and history in different ways that make it relevant for different people.”

Limited tickets for the workshop, which runs from 2pm to 3.30pm, can be purchased via bit.ly/3m69I4X.