We’ve now got just one sleep left until the 2026 Bendigo Easter Festival gets underway.
As well as the usual activities of parades and fun fairs, this iteration of the event also serves as the 100th anniversary of the Bendigo Easter Fair Society.
According to president Simon Mulqueen, the Society was founded specifically to organise the annual shindig.
“The Festival itself was established in 1971, but for the first 55 years they used to create a committee every year,” he explained on the Wake Up Call.
“And they got a bit jack of that after a few years and [the organisers] said, ‘Oh, we’ve got to do this better,’ so in 1926 they said ‘We’re going to constitute… an ongoing committee called the Easter Fair Society’…”
As part of their centennial celebration, the Society is providing some additional attractions, one of which is Violet (pictured above).
The six-metre-high fibreglass Kewpie doll was originally built for the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, before being purchased by the Society at an auction.
“She hasn’t been out every year, but… we thought it was appropriate in this 100th year to bring her out,” Mr Mulqueen said.
“She’s not going to be actually in the [Gala] Parade, because she’s too big nowadays for the Parade… so we’re going to display her in the Piazza opposite the [Alexandra] Fountain where the big Bendigo sign is.
“So she’ll be there for people if they want to come up and take a photo…”
Gold Central Victoria can also be seen and heard throughout the festival, appearing in Rosalind Park on Good Friday, and providing live commentary of Saturday night’s Torchlight Procession and Sunday’s Gala Parade.
There will be no local news airing on Gold until April 13th, but you can still send us your tips and stories to BendigoNews@ARN.com.au
