1.20pm
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A MYRIAD of factors brought the Lost Trades Fair to Bendigo from Kyneton according to organiser Glen Rundell.
City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Councillor Margaret O'Rourke announced on Wednesday morning that the city would host the 2020 fair.
The fair will take place at Silks Events and Functions at the Bendigo Racecourse on the Labour Day weekend in March. It was thought the fair would move to Ballarat, with organisers reportedly in talks with the City of Ballarat in June.
Mr Rundell said the Lost Trades Fair needed a bigger location, with space for people to spread out.
He said organisers had looked at a considerable number of venue across Victoria, and the decision came down to being able to the best fit for the event.
Bendigo was a wonderful city with a rich history and a vibrant arts community, he said.
Organisers capped numbers at 18,000 at the 2019 fair held at the Kyneton Racecourse, after 22,000 people attended the 2018 fair.
Mr Rundell said there may have been as many as 25 artisans who couldn't participate in 2019, because of space constraints.
He said the fair hoped to grow further in its Bendigo location.
"We're very pleased that it's come to the city of Bendigo and we can focus on the job at hand. And the job at hand is to produce and present the best experience of traditional crafts that there are in Australia," Mr Rundell said.
"The Bendigo jockey club or racetrack will enable us to spread out a little more and allow more people to see more of the artisans and have a better experience."
City of Greater Bendigo Manager Tourism and Major Events Terry Karamaloudis said he didn't know whether it was between Bendigo and Ballarat to host the Lost Trades Fair, but it was the city's responsibility to put a case to the event's organisers.
He said the city would offer support around marketing, logistics and accommodation bookings.
"We're in the business of attracting and retaining events, that's what we do," Mr Karamaloudis said.
"As a result of that you'd appreciate that we keep a keen ear to the ground, we hear of things, we learn things and we go hunting and gathering every day for new things for the city.
"We were aware of this one and we had a meeting with Lisa only a matter of weeks ago and we thought okay well this is a live opportunity."
Mayor O'Rourke said the council was thrilled the event would remain in the Loddon Mallee corridor, and continue to benefit the Macedon Ranges communities where it had grown.
She said incentives to bring events to Bendigo included working with them around marketing activities, and linking them with other businesses.
The council was a "well-oiled machine" in terms of being able to market big events that happen in the Bendigo community, Mayor O'Rourke said.
Mr Rundell said the fair hoped to offer more in-depth, interactive experiences in the future, including courses and classes where people could take part and learn the trades which the artists were practicing.
He said organisers hoped to attract artisans from across Australia, and even worldwide.
Mr Rundell said Bendigo's first Lost Trades Fair would be a visual spectacular, encompassing all sorts of things they it could not offer in Kyneton.
"The reason we founded the fair, was to give a platform to those artisans who work in isolation in their little workshops and sheds," Mr Rundell said.
"Quite often they're not known by the general public and they do have to work second jobs to make ends meet. But they're so passionate about what they practise that they continue on
"This Lost Trades Fair gives them a platform to be a star for a weekend and to let the general public know that they are out there and they are producing items of sheer beauty and quality."
10.30am
It's confirmed: The Lost Trades Fair will be in Bendigo in 2020.
City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Margaret O'Rourke confirmed the fair would move from Kyneton to Bendigo on Wednesday morning.
The city will host the event on the Labour Day long weekend in March.
Cr O'Rourke said the council had worked with fair organisers Lisa and Glen Rundell and their committee to bring the event to the city.
She said it had grown over the years and the committee had looked into a number of locations to see where it might be best suited for the future.
More to come
Earlier
The City of Greater Bendigo could today make an announcement about a major event to be held in the city for the next three years.
Kyneton's Lost Trades Fair was planning to move to Ballarat, but the Bendigo Advertiser understands it will take place in Bendigo from next year.
Organisers stated in June that they were looking to move away from Kyneton after the fair's popularity outgrew the venue size.
Read more:
The Lost Trades Fair began five years ago with around 30 artisans.
It now has more than three times the amount of exhibitors and has attracted up to 22,000 people over a weekend at its event at Kyneton.
The fair has since exhibited in Toowoomba in Queensland as well as the Hawkesbury Showgrounds in New South Wales.
The event features artisans who are experts in an ancient trades, including jobs such as armourers, bell makers and shoemakers.
News of the potential move away from Kyneton emerged in June. While organisers confirmed a move was likely, they said that dates and venues were yet to be confirmed.
The City of Greater Bendigo is expected to announce on Wednesday that Bendigo would begin hosting a major event in early 2020.
Read more:
The City of Ballarat is understood to have been in talks with the organisers about hosting the event.
But Ballarat's council confirmed on Tuesday it would not host the Lost Trades Fair in 2020, but the fair would remain in regional Victoria.
Organisers of the Lost Trades Fair had confirmed that Ballarat would not be the location of the fair in 2020, the city stated.
Australian Community Media asked several artisans that have been connected to the event, who have confirmed that the event will be moving from Kyneton where it has been held since 2014.
One artisan said that while they though Ballarat had a lot to offer, they didn't think Ballarat could quite match what organisers were asking for. Traffic in particular was cited as a potential issue.
Australian Community Media understands that the event is likely to be held on the Labour Day holiday in March next year, but was unable to confirm the venue.
City of Greater Bendigo has been approached for comment.
The organisers of the show Lisa and Glen Rundell declined to comment.
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