Carols to help heritage hangings

CHRISTMAS is coming early at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute with a Carols in Winter fundraising event set for Monday, 25 July.

As part of the event, The Ballarat Singers and The Little Brass Band will be encouraging attendees to join in the festive singalong.

BMI’s cultural development manager Mark Potter said the event will give attendees a fun night while also assisting the venue with a key maintenance goal.

“It’s a nice opportunity for people to share stories and song in the middle of winter, and it’ll also help us raise funds for ongoing maintenance at the BMI,” he said.

“This event in particular will help us with installing some of our pictorials in our library and Hugh Williamson foyer.

“It’s giving us the opportunity to display our Max Harris collection which we already have digitally stored, and to hang them up for everyone to see.”

Mr Potter said he hopes to display 15 to 20 of Harris’ photos, which were donated to the BMI in 2016 by David and Jenny Haymes from Haymes Paint.

They’ll be a raffle on the night and attendees can sing along via lyric sheet to carolling classics like Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night and Deck the Hall.

The event is capped at 80 people, and Mr Potter said their hanging plans will serve a larger goal in highlighting what they have to offer.

“We get so many people that come in and just walk around not knowing that we have these works available,” he said.

“It’s about making our collection much more widely accessible than it currently is.”

Other upcoming BMI fundraising events include a screening of comedy film, The Phantom of the Open at The Regent on Thursday, 14 July.

Carols in Winter will start at 5pm in the BMI’s Humffray Room.

Tickets are $10 and can be booked at ballaratmi.org.au.