What’s on in Ballarat this June long weekend

From magic festivals and steam trains to penguins and tigers, get set for a royal good time in Ballarat this King’s Birthday long weekend (10-12 June).

Kick off the three-day break with the Ballarat Farmers Market on Saturday 10 June from 9am-1pm.

Located in Lake Wendouree’s North Gardens Reserve, the popular market features an impressive range of local and seasonal produce and products.

Meanwhile, Steamrail Victoria’s popular steam shuttles are returning to Ballarat for the June long weekend.

Ride the heritage locomotives from the Ballarat Train Station to Lal Lal and return daily from Saturday 10 June until Monday 12 June.

Alternatively, you can travel on a one-way transfer from Newport to Ballarat on Friday 9 June or a one-way transfer from Ballarat to Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station on Monday 12 June.

Head to Kryal Castle for the spellbinding Festival of Magic (10-12 June) filled with potions, magicians and wizards.

Take part in a wand-making workshop, cast spells in the Wizard’s Tower and brew up trouble in a potion-making class.

Food stalls offering delicious treats will also be on offer, as well as entertainment and performances.

This mid-year break is also the perfect chance to meet the Ballarat Wildlife Park‘s newest residents – penguins Bunny and Hop, along with Akasha the Sumatran/Siberian tiger.

Weighing in at over 120kg, Akasha is the younger sister of the tourist attraction’s other tiger, Kai.

Meanwhile, Bunny and Hop found a new home in Ballarat after being rescued from New South Wales’ Sunshine Cove and deemed unsuitable for release back into the wild.

Art lovers will want to pay a visit to the Art Gallery of Ballarat for the international exhibition Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & watercolours.

An Australian exclusive, the exhibition draws from the extraordinary collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford to tell the story of the artists, their lives and loves.

It brings to life the worlds of John Ruskin, William and Jane Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Lizzie Siddal.

Other exhibitions now on show at the historic Lydiard Street gallery include:

• In the Company of Morris
• Del Kathryn Barton – Inside Another Land and Red
• Stephen Davidson – Greatest Fishing Story Never Told
• Looking In
• Lisa Gervasoni: Reimagining our Cultural Landscapes
• Upheaval on the Goldfields

You can also get in touch with your own creative side at one of these hands-on workshops:

• Woodcarving 101 at the Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades (Saturday 10 June at 9am)
• Dry stone walling at the Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades (10-11 June at 9am)
• Hand Paint a Pot or Vase at Ivy&Coco (Saturday 10 June at 1pm)
• From Wax to Wearable Jewellery with Claire McArdle at Windflower (Saturday 10 June at 3pm)
• Relief Carving at the Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades (Sunday 11 June at 9am)
• Gin-inspired candle workshop at Kilderkin Distillery (Sunday 11 June at 2pm)

But wait, there’s more!

Ballarat’s other long weekend offerings include:

• winter truffle hunts and truffle experiences at Wattle Flat’s Black Cat Truffles
• King’s Birthday weekend wine celebration at Windermere’s Michael Unwin Wines (9-12 June)
• twilight rides on the neon tram at the Ballarat Tramway Museum (Saturday and Sunday from 6.25pm)
• the 16th Pyrenees Art Exhibition at the Beaufort Shire Hall (10-12 June)
• Blues, Brews and Barbecue at Hop Temple (Sunday 11 June from midday)
• the Ballarat & District Model Rail Club’s Model Train Show at Woodmans Hill Recreation Centre (Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm and Monday 10am-4pm)

Enjoy!