The Borough is officially back with thriving crowds enjoying the return of the iconic Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival in its first year back since COVID cancellations.
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The weekend marked another significant milestone as the 50th year of the festival which has drawn attention to what was once the town and is now the suburb of Eaglehawk for decades.
Festival convenor Reece Hendy said the weekend had been "awesome" with thousands lining the street for the Eaglehawk UFS gala parade on Saturday, while countless others enjoyed an array of activities.
"The launch party on Friday night had some amazing performance and music and it was just really great to see everyone so enthusiastic to be back," Mr Hendy said.
"On Saturday, it was incredible to see the sheer number of people who rocked up to watch the street parade. I think the standout part of the entire weekend was all the different organisations and groups who put on their own sort of mini event to coincide with the festival so having so many things to go and check out to see and do around the Borough is a pretty unique experience and awesome weekend for the community."
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There were hundreds marching in the parade with thousands more watching on with friends and family, with Mr Hendy saying nearly the entire Eaglehawk community had turned up.
After a Welcome to Country by Troy Firebrace, some of Eaglehawk's great and good marched down High Street including members of the various brass bands, SES volunteers, primary school students, belly dancers and some of the region's famous dragons.
Eaglehawk Citizens of the Year Mitchell Graham and Laurie and Mary Preston also featured in the festivities.
Despite the uncharacteristically scorching March weather and the cancellation of street cooking, Mr Hendy said the rest of the planned activities including music and entertainment went off without a hitch.
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Mr Hendy had previously said the festival and its enthusiastic volunteers were building on the long past of this defining event while "breathing new life for a sustainable future".
"We can't thank our previous festival committee members enough for their dedication and enormous efforts in planning and producing this iconic festival," he said.
"But now it's up to the next generations to learn from the previous magnificent work and invest their time and ideas to keep the festival relevant and enjoyable for decades."
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Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
