{"id":119865,"date":"2026-02-23T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=119865"},"modified":"2026-02-18T23:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:23:11","slug":"popular-festival-features-back-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/popular-festival-features-back-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular festival features back for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NEXT month&#8217;s Ballarat Begonia Festival will see the return of two popular attractions for the young, and young at heart.<\/p>\n<p>The popular Sustainable Garden Displays and the Snail Trail will make up just some of the features of this year&#8217;s event.<\/p>\n<p>After a successful debut entry last year, the Sustainable Garden Displays will consist of a mix of locally created garden concepts.<\/p>\n<p>Designers have used reclaimed materials to demonstrate practical, sustainable approaches.<\/p>\n<p>The city&#8217;s mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves said sustainable gardens was a way residents could help the city&#8217;s environment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ballarat&#8217;s biodiversity vision is about protecting, restoring, and reconnecting our natural environment so it can continue to support the city&#8217;s health and resilience,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sustainable gardens are one of the simplest ways residents can play a part in realising that vision, by helping to support the ecosystems that give us clean air, water, healthy soils, and a more liveable Ballarat into the future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She said the Sustainable Garden Displays would offer inspiration festival patrons could take home.<\/p>\n<p>One of the displays will feature a reclaimed firepit repurposed as a wildlife water feature.<\/p>\n<p>Wildflow, a design by Daniel from Althaus Landscape Designs, would offer birds, insects and small creatures a place to stop and drink.<\/p>\n<p>Another display, MK Gardens&#8217; The Gathering Circle, has been designed as a shared space for people and nature.<\/p>\n<p>They will also complement the Community Floral Garden Displays, seven garden beds designed and created by local community groups, schools, and individuals.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, 10 primary schools from Ballarat are set to transform snail sculptures into colourful art as part of a much-loved trail.<\/p>\n<p>The Snail Trail provides an engaging exploration of the festival for all ages.<\/p>\n<p>As a scavenger hunt participants will solve clues leading them to locations across the festival.<\/p>\n<p>Matching all the snails will see participants enter a prize draw.<\/p>\n<p>The school that receives the most votes for their snail will win a $1000 School Art Supplies voucher.<\/p>\n<p>The festival at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens is free to attend and is open from 10am to 5pm from 7 to 9 March. More information at <a href=\"http:\/\/ballaratbegoniafestival.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ballaratbegoniafestival.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEXT month&#8217;s Ballarat Begonia Festival will see the return of two popular attractions for the young, and young at heart. The popular Sustainable Garden Displays and the Snail Trail will make up just some of the features of this year&#8217;s event. After a successful debut entry last year, the Sustainable Garden Displays will consist of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/popular-festival-features-back-for-2026\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":119870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-119865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Popular festival features back for 2026 - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the 2026 Ballarat Begonia Festival! 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