Seven Events Worth Travelling to Bendigo for This Spring
Venture beyond Melbourne and discover everything this vibrant city has to offer.
Seven Events Worth Travelling to Bendigo for This Spring
in partnership with
Venture beyond Melbourne and discover everything this vibrant city has to offer.
Spring has most definitely sprung. It's time to start thinking about how you're going to get the most out of this year's blooming daffodils, fluffy lambs and balmy evenings. One city that's gearing up for a fresh, fun season is Bendigo. Come early October and through to November, it'll be hosting an array of spring happenings — from a vegetarian festival at the biggest stupa in the western world to a ten-day food and wine extravaganza.
Situated just under two hours' drive north of Melbourne, Bendigo is an easy-peasy weekender. So, to ensure your weekend is suitably entertaining, we've partnered with Bendigo Tourism and pulled together seven spring-time events to keep you smiling big in Bendigo.
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This is not a single event, but rather a collection. The Regional Centre for Culture is an initiative from Creative Victoria aiming to celebrate the land and culture of which the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung peoples are traditional custodians. Across an entire year, it’s highlighting local events and experiences throughout the region so you can fill almost every day with a cultural adventure.
Rosalind Park is the hub for many of Bendigo’s program highlights including Yapenya, a free ceremonial song and dance event on Saturday, November 17 and Poppet, an interactive performance on Rosalind Park’s poppet head, using light projection, shadow puppetry and aerial dancing on Saturday, October 20. Demolish, a theatrical performance exploring the intangible connection between landscape, life and the future, will take place at Bendigo Showgrounds from December 11–15. But these are very much the tip of the iceberg. The Regional Centre of Culture invites you to meander through its many, many happenings. You can plan ahead using one of the pre-designed itineraries.
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If you love animals — and animals love you — this is where your spring festival adventures should begin. Every year, vegetarians, vegans and their friends (both furry and not) gather at The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion to feast on vegetarian dishes at Vegecareian. Sip and sample your way through a throng of eclectic stalls peddling all kinds of meat-free delights. When you’re not nibbling, you can sharpen up your culinary skills at a cooking demo or share your love of furred, feathered and finned creatures at an animal blessing.
Vegecareian isn’t just about kindness to animals — it’s also about promoting good health, so you’ll be invited to relax and rebalance at yoga sessions, too. Once you’re sufficiently zen, check out the informative guest speakers. If you’re a meat eater, no judgement, head along anyway to find out more about the lifestyle. Vegecareian is a free and inclusive event that embraces all. The best part, pets are 100 percent welcome — get ready for lots of puppy pats.
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Too many wines, not enough time. That’s why food and wine festivals exist — they take the legwork out of it to bring us the best of the best to sample. On the first weekend in October, more than 40 of the highest-achieving local wineries will gather at the Heathcote Showground for a vino-palooza of mammoth proportions. This iconic event has been attracting serious winos for more than 15 years — around 4000-plus people from across Victoria and interstate attend annually, so you’ll be rubbing shoulders with hardcore sippers, swirlers and some newbies. Gear up to try a bunch of new releases as well as the area’s signature drops.
Should you and your palate need a break from all that quaffable wine, visit one of the food stalls slinging the best local produce and artisanal goods. If you’re travelling from Melbourne or Bendigo, leave the car at home — jump aboard one of the festival-bound buses and enjoy yourself without worrying about the drive back.
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Even if you know Bendigo inside out, you’ll experience it in a whole new light during Bendigo Uncorked Week. For ten delicious days, the town’s historical buildings will host an array of creative events dedicated to foodies and winos looking to try something new. Get started at Bendigo Heritage After Dark on Friday, October 12. This intimate experience will see you head into the Fortuna Villa’s Gold Crushing Room to try 40 wines from the Bendigo region to the sweet sounds of live music. The following day, you can spend a few hours wandering through seven heritage buildings in central Bendigo, where several local vineyards will be serving boutique drops alongside a selection of tasty bites.
Other escapades planned across the festival include a food and wine tour of the old school master’s residence, an evening of traditional north Italian fare and a night at the movies hosted by Sandhurst Ridge Wines. Check out the full program here.
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Architecture aficionados and self-confessed sticky-beaks, listen up. Bendigo will throw open the doors on some of its top buildings for one weekend. Across October 27–28, locals and visitors will get the chance to see inside spaces that are generally closed to the public. Visitors are welcome to explore the iconic designs of the city, from private homes and heritage buildings to commercial and civic developments. More than 20 buildings will be on display — highlights include the $630 million Bendigo Hospital and the historic Beehive Building. Alongside the program will be a series of talks and public workshops.
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Every year, runners from all over Victoria limber up for the Bendigo Bank Fun Run, a fundraiser for Bendigo Hospital. The event is split into a five-kilometre walk or run, or a ten-kilometre, 15-kilometre or half-marathon run. So, whether you’re a pro who barely breaks a sweat or you can’t stand running and would prefer to stroll at a leisurely pace, there’s an event for you. There will also be dedicated colour stations positioned along the track to add a little more excitement to the festivities. All you have to do is register online — as either an individual or team — and then start training. All entrants who make it across the finish line will score a medallion and a free brekkie loaded with healthy goodness courtesy of The Spotless.
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On the first weekend in November, more than 150 music acts are set to take over Bendigo, pouring into town for the annual Blues & Roots Music Festival. Whether your thing is getting amongst it at a huge, outdoor concert or kicking back to mellow tunes in a small bar, there’ll be something on the program to make your ears prick up.
At the festival’s heart is a free, all-day, all-ages shindig in Rosalind Park featuring more than a dozen acts. Outside of that, you’ll have more than 50 venues to choose from — including a moving one, the Bendigo Blues Tram. This engaging experience sees some of the festival’s cracking blues artists take over a historic city tram, filling it with music as it rolls through the city. The majority of the festival is free, but you can also pick up an Easy Rider Pass for $99 that’ll guarantee you stellar seats at some of the more popular events.
Discover more exciting Bendigo events and start planning your trip here.
