Musicians, singer-songwriters, artists, makers and growers who call Moorabool home are being encouraged to apply to take part in council’s award-winning Hide + Seek Festival.
The inaugural festival was held over four weekends across June and July, 2022, with the towns of Blackwood, Gordon, Bacchus Marsh and Ballan each hosting a leg of the festival.
This year’s event will run from Saturday, November 2 to Sunday, November 10, with activities planned throughout the shire.
Born as a council project, in partnership with the state government’s Live Music Office, the festival provided performance opportunities to more than 60 established and emerging musicians from the regions in 2022.
Live acts performing folk, bluegrass, pop, blues and rockabilly music played across 20 venues throughout the shire, including unique settings like an antique shop, a chapel and a caravan-stage.
The festival was designed to boost tourism, as well as working towards cultivating a sustainable regional music industry with a local focus.
Council won a National Award for Local Government Creativity and Culture for the inaugural event.
Mayor Ally Munari said the 2024 festival enable people to discover the hidden gems of the shire.
“Hide + Seek will provide exposure to Moorabool shire’s landscape, growers, artists, makers, spaces, and places – it was a great success in 2022 and we’re looking forward to it being even bigger and better this year,” she said.
A full program will be announced soon. In the meantime, expressions of interest from food producers, artists and businesses to get involved with the festival are open and close on June 2.
Drop-in sessions are being held to help people decide how they can take part in the festival. The first session will be held at Grey Matter Cafe, 136 Main Street, Bacchus Marsh, on Tuesday, May 7, ay 9am. Sessions will also be held at Ballan Neighbourhood House, 143 Inglis Street, Ballan, on Thursday, May 9 at 3pm; Gordon Public Hall, 68 Main Street, Gordon, on Monday, May 13 at 11am; and online on Tuesday, May 16, at 6pm via Microsoft Teams.
To attend a drop-in session, email: arts@moorabool.vic.gov.au
Festival details: moorabool.vic.gov.au/hideandseek24
