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Giddy up for Australia Day this weekend across Mitchell Shire

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The North Central Review
The North Central Reviewhttps://ncreview.com.au/
The North Central Review is an independently owned newspaper publishing company based in Kilmore that is responsible for publishing two community newspapers each week, covering communities within the Mitchell Shire

Along with the formalities of the highly anticipated Mitchell Shire Community Awards and Citizenship Ceremony, there is lots to do and see at the Broadford Australia Day Festival.

Once again, the Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell is organising a free, fun-filled day for all the family, thanks to the generous support of Bendigo Bank.

Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell President Rose King was excited to see the community come together and enjoy the event.

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“We’ll celebrate all things Australia with a focus on respect. We’ll reflect and celebrate, as we are all part of the story,” she said.

“The Bendigo Community Bank for Wallan, Kilmore, and Broadford essentially help make this [event] possible, and we are also assisted by the Australian Government National Australia Day Council.”

Formalities

To signal the start of the Community Awards presentations, the Broadford First Scouts group will perform a flag raising ceremony at 10.45am.

The awards honour the shire’s dedicated volunteers for all their behind-the-scenes contributions to the community in 2024.

There are seven categories this year, including Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Community Event of the Year, Community Group of the Year, Access and Inclusion, Sports Person of the Year, and Arts Person of the Year.

The awards will be followed by a public citizenship ceremony.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive at 10am to secure a seat.

Free fun for kids

Once again, Blu Sky ponies will be saddled up and ready to horse around from 9am–2pm.

Offering many children their first experience with an equine friend, alongside the free petting zoo, it’s also the perfect opportunity for the snap-happy parent to score some shots that will be cherished for many years to come.

Parents and carers may also like to bring a picnic rug and set up within viewing distance of their children while they take in the Mr Marvel Magic Show at 9.40am.

In between, children can enjoy the reptile display, free face-painting and free cartoon drawings, with the latter activity courtesy of Mr Cardytoons.

Both art stations will be open from 10am–2pm.

Meanwhile, children and adults will marvel at Ron the Magician’s performance at 1.20pm, who will expertly display his mesmerising skills in card and money magic.

Things to do and see

Once again, the Broadford and District Historical Society will open their historical precinct to the community.

With the museum within easy walking distance, and their famous Devonshire tea awaiting, who can pass up this spectacular opportunity?

Memorabilia dating back to the proclamation of the Shire of Broadford is featured this year, and entry is free.

But the nostalgia doesn’t end there, with a classic cars display promising to astound younger generations with their simple dashboards and manual window winders.

The Kilmore SES and CFA volunteers will also be attending the event to share important information to assist the community to prepare for natural disasters, and of course, host their much-loved Tug-O-War challenge.

Registrations for the challenge are welcome both in the lead up to and on the day.

PS: everyone who competes will receive a free ice cream! The fun starts at 12.30pm.

The Mitchell Shire Rangers, the shire’s free and only soccer club, will host a social soccer pitch on the day, and invite all to have a go at kicking a goal.

Market stalls will also be available to browse throughout the day.

Entertainment

Rock on to live music from local cover band Den-Yt, consisting of vocalist Hillary Ogden and guitarist Ken White, who will be intermittently playing music from the 50s to today.

Mr White said performing back-to-back at the festival was an honour.

“People were so impressed [last year] that we were asked to come back for this year,” he said.

“Our range of tunes and a great sound is what makes us so good.

“We even have our own sound engineer with us, Greg Chapman.”

Food and refreshments

Hungry? The Broadford Lions Club will cook and serve a BBQ breakfast from 7am–9am and afterwards, tasty alternatives including ice creams and hot chips can be purchased at one of the many food trucks around the reserve.

Icy cold beverages are also available at the Rotary bar between 9am–2pm, while aromatic teas and coffees will be supplied by local coffee vendors.

The Glenaroua Land Management Landcare group will have reasonably priced pies and sausage rolls for sale, with proceeds from sales to help fund future landcare projects.

To get involved in protecting the local environment, have a chat to one of their friendly volunteers for more information.

The Broadford Australia Day Festival will be held on Sunday, January 26, from 7am–2pm at the Island Reserve, High Street, Broadford. Don’t miss it!

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