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Running from 17 June to 10 July – and coinciding with the Winter Solstice and Victorian school holidays – the East Gippsland Winter Festival includes a feature-packed schedule of regional art displays and performances, live music, dining experiences, light shows, multimedia events and much more.
The full program of events for this year’s East Gippsland Winter Festival features more than 100+ spectacular events happening right across the East Gippsland region, the Festival Program is available now at www.egwinterfest.com.au
Bookings for ticketed events can also be made via the website, and Festival-goers are being urged to book early, as many of these events have limited capacity, and expected to sell out quickly.
Highlights of this year’s 24-day Festival include:
17-26 June: The F/LAMP Exhibition at Iceworks Studio, Lakes Entrance – where local craftspeople and artists exhibit their wonderfully-inspired lamp creations for a chance to win a $1,000 art prize
18 June: Beers, BBQ & Beats in Laneway3875, Bairnsdale – a family-friendly laneway celebration of art, music, good food and craft beer, featuring DJs, hip-hop artists, live music performances, regional chef-prepared bbq cuisine, spectacular lighting projections, a pop-up bar, art exhibitions, workshops and more
22 June-10 July: Three weeks of Winter Wellness experiences at Metung Hot Springs – including a celebration of World Bathing Day & Kombucha Classes
22 June – 3 July The Ocean Grange x Sardine degustation lunch series is back
2 July: Steph Strings LIVE – singer songwriter performs on the shores of Lake Tyers at Ninety Mile Beach
2 July: Mediaeval Bonfire Night, Bruthen – featuring sword fights, costumes and feasting
3 July: Walk With Me Winter Festival, Cann River – featuring live music from local artists, as well as open mic performances, a twilight food, community and artisan market, massive fairy-light display, an indigenous NAIDOC Week parade, ceremony and mural unveiling
8 & 9 July: Tinamba Hotel Fine Dining Experience at La Riva, Eagle Point – includes bubbles and canapes in the venue’s manicured art gardens, before a fine-dining lunch or dinner with sommelier-matched wines
8 July-10 July: Sailors Grave Brewing ‘Deep in the Weeds’ Long Weekend, Orbost three days of weird and wonderful craft beers, live music and delicious food including Melbourne’s Meatsmith
East Gippsland Winter Festival founder and director, Adam Bloem,  said this year’s Winter Festival will also see the return of the colourful after-dark lantern parades, lighting displays and art installations that helped make last year’s Festival “so special”.
“Our inaugural Winter Festival last year really was a bright and colourful affair, with local children, adults, families and businesses all working together to create some fantastic displays that made winter so much brighter for everyone in East Gippsland,” Adam said.
Celebrating resilience
Originally created as a response to the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires, Adam says the Winter Festival has now taken on “a life of its own”.
“It was initially established to celebrate the wonderful spirit and resilience of the people of East Gippsland, and to provide an economic boost by attracting visitors back to the region after a couple of really tough years,” Adam said.
“It proved to be such a success that it has now become an annual event, which we expect to attract tens of thousands of people each year, during a period that was previously viewed as the ‘off-peak’ season.”
Community spirit
Adam explained that the Winter Festival is only made possible thanks to extensive collaborations between hundreds of local people and organisations. “From artists, community groups, business and tourism associations, right through to Indigenous bodies, schools, venues and local businesses”.
“The festival really brings the community together. The joyful spirit of locals working together to organise spectacular events and displays for their own towns really is quite amazing, it creates something quite magical really” he said.
Other activities at this year’s Winter Festival will include free lantern-making workshops, cultural ceremonies and experiences led by traditional Indigenous owners, long lunches showcasing local produce, wine, craft beer, chefs and restaurants, and nature/wellness activities; including bush walks, yoga, meditation, eco tours and more.
According to Adam, last year’s East Gippsland Winter Festival attracted close to 20,000 visitors, directly involved more than 75 local businesses, sole traders and organisations, and engaged more than 100 local volunteers.
“This year’s Festival promises to be even bigger, brighter and better, giving everyone in East Gippsland a fantastic reason to look forward to winter!” he said.
The 2022 East Gippsland Winter Festival will run from 17 June – 10 July. For more information, including ongoing program updates, visit www.egwinterfest.com.au