The Begonia Festival is like the grand final weekend for the city's garden team - it can take 10 months to get the celebrated flowers ready for the annual display.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said total numbers were still in the pipeline but he was pleased with the crowds he saw across the three day event.
He said the "gardens were absolutely full" on Saturday morning, with people getting out early and beating the heat.
"When the stats are all done, we'll see another great bumper attendance," he said.
What is next for Ballarat tourism?
The Labor Day long weekend marks the end of a series of summer events in the city.
With the 2025 AusCycling Road National Championships in Perth, next summer's event calendar is going to look a little different.
The council will now turn its attention to Heritage and Winter Festivals with a boost coming in 2024 as the city prepares for White Night in June.
Cr Hudson said the city expected between 40 and 50 thousand people to come into Ballarat's CBD for the evenings.
"There's lots of sweet spots as we move through the year, [its great] being able to see people come out and continue to enjoy and celebrate all of the wonderful things Ballarat has to offer," he said.
The city is heading into a typically quite Easter period and waiting on Tourism Midwest Victoria's destination management plan for a clear strategy on how to include the wider region in our tourism offerings.
The conversation about what events are needed, where and for who is ongoing - for now.
Visitors come from from and wide
Cr Hudson said there was even a group from the Wimmera who stopped by the festival on their road trip to Gippsland.
"Visitors have come in strong numbers," Cr Hudson said.
"On Saturday there were five or six different buses from Melbourne that I saw."
Annie Sheerin and her husband from Virginia, in the United States, travelled to Ballarat yesterday.
Their day started with the Begonia Festival Parade.
"It seems to embrace all the diversity, which is really fun and everyone's showing what they are excited about," Mrs Sheerin said.
Mr Sheerin said his favourite was Ballarat East Community Men's Shed as he had "never seen one like that before".
It was a motorcade, which was led by a little girl who drove on her own in a red children's car and ended with a handmade pinto rocking horse.
Gwen Liu
Gwen Liu is a bilingual journalist in English and Chinese with The Courier. For story tips on Ballarat : gwen.liu@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Gwen Liu is a bilingual journalist in English and Chinese with The Courier. For story tips on Ballarat : gwen.liu@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Nieve Walton
Nieve covers federal and state politics for The Courier focusing on Ballarat, Wendouree, Eureka and Ripon electorates. She also covers Hepburn and Pyrenees shires. As a former dancer and art and theater enthusiast she would love to hear about your latest art exhibition or performance. You can send her an email at nieve.walton@thecourier.com.au
Nieve covers federal and state politics for The Courier focusing on Ballarat, Wendouree, Eureka and Ripon electorates. She also covers Hepburn and Pyrenees shires. As a former dancer and art and theater enthusiast she would love to hear about your latest art exhibition or performance. You can send her an email at nieve.walton@thecourier.com.au
