Carnival to provide boost to Portarlington

The Portarlington Charity Carnival is all systems go for its 61st year in a row after a year of uncertainty.

The carnival has a rich history in the town, with a portion of the proceeds going towards local organisations.

This year will see a familiar line-up with the Portarlington CFA, St Thomas Combined Catholic Churches and the Portarlington Football and Netball Club receiving funds.

The carnival began on December 24 and will run until January 24 on the Portarlington foreshore, next to the bowling club.

Carnival coordinator Karen Woodhart said it was not until earlier in the month she knew the event would be able to go ahead, but she was extremely happy to see it do so given the benefit it has on the community.

“I didn’t think we were going to get there for quite sometime, to be honest,” Ms Woodhart said.

“It’s always had a charity component… it’s a very good fundraiser for those groups.

“We were pretty keen to make it happen, but of course it’s got to be safe, that’s the most important thing.”

Not only do these organisations receive immediate benefit via the funds, the carnival draws plenty of people to Portarlington, helping many businesses, even more so given quite a few

Bellarine events have been cancelled.

“It’s like Portarlington’s answer to the Geelong Show.

“Because there’s not heaps on in Geelong, if we can spread the word far and wide, it’d be great to bring people to Portarlington.”

The carnival runs from 7pm until late. All the traditional carnival rides will be on offer, with each ride having an individual COVIDSafe plan and the event will be capped at 300 people.