The Illumin8 Festival will honour the return of the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace after about nine years of travel.

Approximately 15,000 people are expected to attend the festivities from May 18-19.

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion was yesterday announced as the recipient of $15,000 from the government’s $20 million Regional Events Fund.

A grant of $9625 was last month announced for Illumin8 as part of the Multicultural Festivals and Events Program – one of 897 funding recipients.

Great Stupa chairman Ian Green welcomed the state government’s support.

“Both of these [grants] really indicate the importance the state government sees in the Jade Buddha and the Great Stupa,” he said.

“It’ll be a spectacular event – we’re expecting thousands of people to come from all over.”

Illumin8 will build on the success of the Festival of Light, which Mr Green said had grown ‘progressively bigger and bigger’ over the past five years.

“It’s got progressively to a stage where it couldn’t increase in size unless we changed the whole format,” he said.

“Now, instead of having people seated in a theatre style, we’re having a walk-through event in the peace park.”

The festivities will also be staged over three days instead of one, as the Festival of Light has traditionally been.

The Festival of Light is a multicultural celebration of peace and harmony inspired by Buddha’s birthday, which attracts thousands of people to Myers Flat each year.

The celebration is known for its light and fireworks show, in addition to meditations, music, dance, guided tours and vegetarian cuisine. 

Speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser last month, Mr Green said Illumin8 would consist of a firework show and two public events with light installations leading visitors to light sculptures and performances.

He said animations will be projected onto the surface of the stupa, “a la White Night”.

Bendigo has since been announced as one of three regional Victorian cities to stage a White Night event in 2018.

Mayor Margaret O’Rourke expected 2018 to be a tremendous year for the city, given the events planned.

In addition to White Night, the city will be the state’s Regional Centre for Culture.

An $8000 grant was yesterday announced for Uncorked Week, a celebration of the region’s wine and food.

Up to 1800 people are expected to attend the event from October 12 – 21. 

Bendigo Heritage After Dark and Bendigo Heritage Uncorked bookend the event.

Uncorked Week was also a recipient of funding from the Regional Events Fund.

“It’s events like these that keep our bars, restaurants and hotels busy, and put Bendigo on the map for visitors,” Member for Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan, said.

Member for Bendigo West, Maree Edwards, said the government’s regional events fund was helping to grow the city’s enviable calendar of events.

“And that means more jobs and stronger economies across our regions,” she said.