The Easter long weekend has not yet finished but organisers of the Bendigo Easter Festival are already looking ahead to the 2020 event, which is slated to be another significant occasion because it marks 150 years of the festival.
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Reflecting on the festival just gone, Bendigo Easter Fair Society president Simon Mulqueen said the event was a success.
"The crowds were up, I think in all senses, particularly the parade... With the weather the way it was, it was all positive," Mr Mulqueen said.
FULL COVERAGE: How Easter 2019 unfolded in Bendigo
Mr Mulqueen said organisers were taking time to breathe in the immediate wake of the 2019 festival, but were jumping almost immediately back into planning for the 150th anniversary event.
Organisation for the big event began four years ago, he said, but preparation would now go full speed ahead with the 2019 festival over.
Overall, the 2020 festival will be larger, with a full four-day schedule and extra activities and events.
The last four-day festival was held in 2010.
New attractions would feature on the program, Mr Mulqueen said, but some old favourites would also make a return.
Read more: Countdown on to 150th festival
The teddy bears' picnic is among those that might occur, as is the Way of the Cross, a re-enactment of Jesus' journey to his site of crucifixion.
The festival might also include some special celebratory elements, including a 1920s-themed ball, a nighttime projection onto buildings outlining the history of the festival, a history-based exhibition at the Post Office Gallery, and reunions.
Mr Mulqueen said the committee wanted to get the community involved, with plans to hold a competition to create an Easter Fair collector's poster.
The last souvenir poster was released in about 2003, he said.
Next year's festival would also carry the new Easter Fair Society logo, Mr Mulqueen said, which featured the Alexandra Fountain, to represent Bendigo; a dragon, for the Chinese dragons' involvement; and streamers, for the joy and fun people had at Easter in Bendigo.
The first Bendigo Easter Fair was held in 1871, as a fundraiser for the Bendigo hospital and the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum.
In 2017 terms, it raised about $350,000, which was split evenly between the beneficiaries.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
