Special Publication
Getting out and about, whether on foot, bicycle, the family car, or a caravan, is the great Aussie pastime.
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With a bit of homework before you leave home, you will be able to work out where you’re going, how long it should take and … not get lost!
The best place to start is with the Bendigo Advertiser Out & About magazine, with its map, information centres, and general stories of some of the terrific places geared up for tourists to visit.
From White Nights to crispy days, the arts to eucy tours, it's all happening this winter. Keep a note in your diary for the many events. You’re sure to have a warm and toasty welcome to all, so check out the Bendigo Out & About magazine here.
Enlighten Projection Festival and White Night Bendigo
Bendigo comes alight with some exciting key events planned to have the city buzzing after dark. This winter brings a new horizon to Bendigo with the Enlighten Projection Festival of projection art, a collaborative outcome of effort by our artists, residents, students, traders and everyone in between. These three nights will leave you feeling connected to the land and people of this area. Expect illuminated building facades, interactivity, and small intimate experiences that reflect the creativity and spirit of Bendigo.
Venture out after dark as Bendigo hosts its first White Night, the internationally renowned late night celebration of culture and creativity known for captivating cities around the world. As one of only three regional cities in Australia, Bendigo will play host to dozens of free events, hours of light installations and projections, exhibitions, music and performances from 7pm to 2am. This will be a sight unlike any seen before.
Enlighten Projection Festival is on August 29 – 31, 2018 and White Night Bendigo will be held on September 1, 2018
The Studios at Bendigo Pottery
Be sure to allow plenty of time to discover the diversity that is the Bendigo Pottery Creative Arts Hub. Bendigo Pottery is a magical place, full of history, texture, galleries, antiques, craft and hands on experiences. This creative hub, with artists’ working studios complementing the pottery at its heart, offers a diversity of mediums and spaces.
Yvonne George’s gallery shows her broad approach to sculpture, from open wire forms to solid botanical pieces that seem quite light as they rotate with the wind. Her love of animals and landscape is evident, particularly in the bronzes of dogs and larger than life leaves.
Working with decimal coins, Emily Crawford whimsically combines copper and silver in her jewellery. In her Habitat Gallery Emily also makes beeswax wraps & candles.
Have you ever wondered how glass beads are made? Watch Leanne use a gas lit flame to layer stories of colour in each bead then fuse and link them to make miniature creatures or elaborate necklaces.
Individual artists run these smaller studios so each day you will find a different mix.
Finding a treasure takes you on an adventure
Programs like the Antiques Road Show and Bargain Hunt have increased interest in antiques and collectables among the public; some say they are their favourite shows to watch.
But the real thing, meandering among second-hand stores, the dealer stands and their items on display serves to reinforce just what an enthralling pastime hunting for your particular treasure can be.
Take the time to start your journey at the Antiques & Collectable Centre at Bendigo Pottery. Open every day, there’s no rush to compete with other collectors anxious to ensure they don't miss anything. There’s so many interesting items to potter amongst, you could spend a day each week and keep discovering something new.
Maybe you’re searching for some antique buttons (most items over a century old are allowed the honour of being called antique), vintage furniture, prints, pottery, jewellery, Asian artefacts, antique weaponry, fine porcelain, sterling silver, vintage clothing, a tractor seat or retro kitchen wares.
There is something for everyone, whether intent on a leisurely browse, or a serious potter, you can enjoy the sentimental journey amongst treasures from the past.
The Enlighten Projection Festival has many interesting and HUGE events coming to entertain you.
Get the gen on the good oil
Inglewood’s iconic Blue Eucy Museum is open for visitors. You can see, taste and smell eucalyptus oil in its many and varied forms. This is a town asset unlike any other in the world.
The site has long been the home of the old distillery, while the story of eucalyptus oil really is unique to the Inglewood area.
Committee secretary Murray Baud said the site also hosted a plantation of blue mallee and selection of native wildflowers.
“In the grounds, we have an old roller, hay rake and tractor that were once in use and we’re looking to build up our stock of historic machinery,” Mr Baud said.
“Inglewood offers some rich visitor experiences, with its collectables stores, beautiful heritage buildings, and ‘blue plaque’ trail walk, Melville Caves, proximity to the Loddon River and the complete story of the eucalyptus industry.
“Then there’s the Blue Eucy Museum, where people can see, touch and smell that industry in a way nowhere else can match.”
The Blue Mallee (Eucalyptus Polybractea) is native to the Inglewood-Wedderburn region and it simply does not grow well anywhere else, apart from around West Wyalong in southern New South Wales. These trees yield some of the best medicinal oil that can be produced in the world.
The museum tells the stories of the eucalyptus oil industry through historic artefacts, videos, static displays and a working model distillery.
Heathcote on Show
On the June long weekend, if you fancy a tipple, a small sampling of some of the regions finest reds and whites, then come on down to Heathcote On Show. Of cpurse, there is more!
Heathcote on Show is the annual showcase of the wine, food and fun that Heathcote has to offer. There are more than 30 locations and over 20 cellar doors open just waiting for you.
Textiles exhibitions stitch up Castlemaine!
If you thought embroidery was still a matter of cross stitch, daisy chain and stem stitch, then you’re in for an amazing experience at this textiles exhibition.
Since its inception, the Buda Contemporary Textiles Exhibition has developed into a biennial event of national importance.
It’s on the calendar of keen embroiderers and fabric artists, making Castlemaine a centre for the display of excellence and innovation in contemporary textiles.
Supporting the work of established and emerging textile artists from across Australia and New Zealand, this year the cash prize pool totals $3300.
This year’s exhibition commemorates the Leviny daughters, and their love of the Arts and Crafts Movement, with a special award for an Arts & Crafts inspired piece.
Other awards are for contemporary textiles, and also a student encouragement award. Artists work is jury chosen for entry, and judged by an esteemed panel from the textile industry, including practicing artists.
In recent years contemporary artists in Australia have embraced embroidery for its capacity for poignant and reflective narrative.
The re-emergence of embroidery is part of a broader questioning of the hierarchy of materials that has gained momentum since the 1990s. Embroidered objects have often been read literally and relegated within a domestic framework. These new contemporary works break down preconceptions by exploring what embroidery can become once it transcends the regularity of pattern and decoration. Historically, embroidery like the Bayeux Tapestry, was used as a tool for personal or political narratives.
Keep your weekends free from Sunday July 28 to August 11 because you just might need to go to the Buda Historic Home & Garden textiles exhibition more than once.
Bendigo Writers Festival
What an adventure awaits you in August. The mornings may be crispy, but the venues, hosts and authors are warm and welcoming for the Bendigo Writers Festival on the weekend of August 10 – 12
All set up in the heart of the View Street arts precinct, it’s a wonder to behold as visitors pour in from all over Australia at this special time.
You won’t want to miss a minute of any of the events.