New fun to be had at fiesta

ORGANISERS of the Smythesdale Community Arts and Music Fiesta have set an autumn date for the 2024 edition of the event.

The fest planned for Sunday 3 March from 10am to 3pm is an annual celebration and promotion of all things creative in the northern Golden Plains Shire and broader Ballarat regions.

Coordinator and ceramicist Barry Wemyss, said the fiesta is set to look a little bit different this year in order to keep it fresh.

“I proposed to a couple of artists that they could create a three-dimensional piece that members of the community can paint and decorate on the day,” he said.

“Kate Wise and Rosie Grundell are going to make 3D house shaped items and people can decorate them.”

The 2024 fiesta is also set to offer more art workshops, with about seven planned including some on printmaking, drawing, and mosaics with Jo Koenen.

“People can walk up to the workshops without cost; it is a totally free event,” Wemyss said. “People may have seen Jo’s mosaics on the Smythesdale green and along the rail trail.

“If you head to the Smythesdale Community Arts and Music Fiesta Facebook page, you can see images of these mosaic works there.”

Wemyss has asked many local artists to host a stall at the festival, and encourages others to express interest in becoming stallholders too.

Instrumentalist Amie Brûlée is booking a line-up of live musicians, while other performing artists are already locked in, including Ballarat’s AboutFace Productions, who are puppeteers.

“Annie and Tim will be wandering through the fiesta with their presentation, and also put on a 40-minute performance including finger puppets for kids,” Wemyss said.

Creator of musical sculptures, Zlatko Balazic, is also set to unveil a unique steampunk-style work.

Send a message to the Smythesdale Arts and Music Fiesta Facebook page to get involved.