Winter market embraces diversity

CELEBRATE the cold winter months at Barkly Square with the annual Winter Wonderland market.

The event, organised by centre operator BGT Jobs and Training, will be held on June 21 from 3.30pm until 7.30pm.

There will be two floors of stallholders, live entertainment, food trucks and outdoor fires.

“The winter wonderland market is funnily the biggest of all four markets we have despite it being the coldest,” BGT business services co-ordinator Brooke Fiddaman said.

“The bonus is that all of our stalls other than food trucks are indoors.

“At the same time, what I love is that we try and embrace the European winter market vibe.”

Children’s entertainment will also be on offer including facepainting and plaster decorating.

“We’ve got a couple of stalls that will be really fun for the kids with light up and glow in the dark stalls and fairy floss,” Ms Fiddaman said.

“All the activities we put on for the kids are always free.”

The market aims to celebrate Ballarat’s diverse community and the organisations which operate from Barkly Square.

“We end up with a really good diverse range of visitors like families, multicultural groups and newly arrived families,” Ms Fiddaman said.

“It gives them a good chance while they’re here to see what other services Barkly Square has to offer.

“It’s not just that they can come and get a sausage or buy some homemade produce, they can also interact with their community.”