Seek out festival’s return

AN AWARD-WINNING local festival will be back for its second iteration, with expressions of interest now open to get involved.

The Hide + Seek Festival, which first ran in 2022, brought music, art, food, and entertainment together across Moorabool Shire, showing off the hidden gems our regional towns offer.

The inaugural event ran in Blackwood, Gordon, Bacchus Marsh, and Ballan, and won the 2022 Creativity and Culture Award at the National Awards for Local Government.

It featured more than 200 artists performing at 20 venues, and beat 27 other events from across Australia to take out the award.

Moorabool Shire Mayor Cr Ally Munari said it would be exciting to have the festival on once again this year.

“Hide + Seek will provide exposure to Moorabool Shire’s landscape, growers, artists, makers, spaces, and places,” Cr Munari said.

“It was a great success in 2022, and we’re looking forward to it being even bigger and better this year.”

While the inaugural Hide + Seek Festival ran from late June to mid-July, this year it will run from Saturday 2 November to Sunday 10 November.

Council says a full program for the festival will be announced soon, and expressions of interest opened last week for food producers, artists, and businesses who wish to get involved in the festival.

Expressions of interest close on 2 June.

Drop-in sessions were held in Bacchus Marsh on Tuesday, and in Ballan on Thursday, with one more drop-in session and an online session also planned, to help people decide how they can take part in the festival.

At 11am on Monday 13 May, those interested in taking part can attend a drop-in session at the Gordon Public Hall, while an online session will also run on Tuesday 14 May via Microsoft Teams.

To register your attendance at a drop-in session or online session, email [email protected].

For more information and to register for a session or expression of interest, visit the Moorabool Shire Council website and search ‘Hide + Seek’.