{"id":125790,"date":"2026-01-16T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=125790"},"modified":"2026-01-15T12:01:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T01:01:24","slug":"an-eventful-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/an-eventful-time\/","title":{"rendered":"An eventful time"},"content":{"rendered":"

IT WAS the perfect way to end 2025, and a great indication of what’s to come in the new year along our stunning waterfront and across our region.<\/p>\n

The Geelong Major Events calendar is jam-packed for 2026, particularly over the summer when we welcome some of the world’s best golfers and cyclists to our shores for the Vic Open and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.<\/p>\n

The Vic Open teed off yesterday at the picturesque 13th Beach Golf Links and continues over this weekend.<\/p>\n

The 72-hole tournament is free and features live music, mini golf and plenty of other family-friendly fun for the kids while you watch the next generation of golfing stars battle it out on the fairway.<\/p>\n

A fortnight later locals will vie for the best vantage points as the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race peloton wind its way through Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast.<\/p>\n

This five-day celebration of cycling features elite level races that pass through the most scenic locations in our region while some lucky residents, including in my ward of Hamlyn Heights, will be able to watch the action from their own front yard.<\/p>\n

Regular punters can put their mettle to the pedals too, with the People’s Ride 63km and 124km courses and the 2km Family Ride at the waterfront for all riders aged three and above.<\/p>\n

If you’re more nautically inclined, you can catch the Festival of Sails, Australia’s largest keelboat regatta, next weekend.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the festival is the Melbourne to Geelong Passage Race, which has brought hundreds of sailors and thousands of spectators to Corio Bay since 1844.<\/p>\n

But it’s not just the boats. Visitors can enjoy multiple live music stages, artisan markets, gourmet food and roving performers, while a fly-over by the Air Force Roulettes and fireworks later at night will have them watching the skies.<\/p>\n

As Council’s Arts & Culture, Hospitality & Live Entertainment portfolio chair, I’m proud of our sponsorship of these and other major events, which draw thousands of people to our region and generate millions of dollars for our local economy.<\/p>\n

I’m equally proud of smaller initiatives to support our local artists, such as our recent partnership with Live Music Locator.<\/p>\n

This free service, supported by the City, helps users discovers discover Geelong’s hidden gems and emerging stars in live music gigs across our region.<\/p>\n

There are so many fantastic unsung musicians and venues in Geelong and the Live Music Locator brings them all together in one place.<\/p>\n

So head out, discover something new and support local artists and venue operators. There’s just so much on this summer!<\/p>\n

Head to geelongaustralia.com.au\/events<\/a> to see what’s on and geelong.lml.live<\/a> for the Live Music Locator.<\/p>\n

As always, I am happy to speak to anyone on Council-related matters – phone 0455 532 006 or email ekontelj@geelongcity.vic.gov.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IT WAS the perfect way to end 2025, and a great indication of what’s to come in the new year along our stunning waterfront and across our region. The Geelong Major Events calendar is jam-packed for 2026, particularly over the summer when we welcome some of the world’s best golfers and cyclists to our shores […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":125956,"comment_status":"open","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-125790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn eventful time - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Geelong Major Events light up summer 2026 with the Vic Open, Cadel Evans Race and Festival of Sails along our waterfront.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/an-eventful-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An eventful time - 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