Ballan Autumn Festival ~ 2014

What a fantastic Autumn Festival the little town of Ballan put on once again!

the weather was kind to us, there were plenty of amazing stall holders, the Fashion Parade was a success, the entertainment was amazing, the fun pet parade, the main street parade was just fantastic ... 

what more could we want?

here are just a few images from the 2014 Festival...

The next Ballan Autumn Festival will be held on

Sunday 22nd March 2015

and the theme will be:


OUR CULTURE, OUR ART

40th Annual Ballan Art & Craft Society Art Show -

[Saturday and Sunday]

Lal Lal Moorabool Photographic Group Photo Exhibition 

PARADE

Pet Show

Wood Chop Vintage Machinery

Historical Society

Model Rail

Street Stalls

Music

Dancing

Displays

Demonstrations

Our Art - Kid's Art Exhibition


Please note & save the Festival website for 2015:

Ballan Autumn Festival ~ 2015

Ballan Autumn Festival is on Twitter & Facebook:

Twitter:

@ballanfest2014

Facebook:

Ballan Autumn Festival Facebook Page

Ballan Autumn Festival Pet Show

The following links take you to three

blog posts from the 

2012 Ballan Autumn Festival:

• Ballan Autumn Festival ~ 2012
• Ballan Autumn Festival Quilt Show ~ 2012
• Ballan Autumn Festival Vintage Cars ~ 2012

Make sure you mark the diary now

Sunday 22nd March 2015 

for another fantastic Ballan Autumn Festival!

Ballan is a rural village in Regional Victoria, just 74 klms west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Population is around 2700 and is on the rail link between Ballarat and the City of Melbourne.

see you on Sunday 22nd March 2015 for another fun packed day in Ballan!!


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antique, classic, vintage or just plain old?

Am sure no one can resist checking out the 'old cars' at any festival or show ..... and checking them over at the Ballan Autumn Festival was of course - no different!

To be honest, a vintage car is commonly defined as a car built between the start of 1919 and the end of 1930 known as the "Vintage era". There is little debate about the start date of the vintage period—the end of World War I is a nicely defined marker there—but the end date is a matter of a little more debate. The British definition is strict about 1930 being the cut-off, and is widely accepted while some American sources prefer 1925 since it is the pre-classic car period as defined by the Classic Car Club of America.

Others see the classic period as overlapping the vintage period, especially since the vintage designation covers all vehicles produced in the period while the official classic definition does not, only including high-end vehicles of the period. Some consider the start of World War II to be the end date of the vintage period.

A true "classic car" is an older car; the exact meaning is variable. The Classic Car Club of America maintains that a car must be between 20 and 40 years old to be a classic.

To the layman, a "Vintage Vehicle" is just a very old style vehicle regardless of its year of make. To the connoisseur of these fine vehicles it would be sacrilege to call all the vehicles at the Ballan Festival, "Vintage"! 

Many of the vehicles we saw were quite 'young' and so the term 'vintage' would certainly not apply. But no matter their age or condition, everyone enjoyed these vehicles that were on display and some of them even took part in The Parade.  The owners take good care of their vehicles and deserve recognition for the care and attention in takes to keep them in tip top condition.

The following images were taken at The Ballan Autumn Festival on March 25 2012:

Previous blog posts on the Ballan Autumn Festival - 2012:

The Ballan Autumn Festival.

The Quilt Show.

The Wood Chopping Event

the final blog post on The Ballan Autumn Festival will be uploaded within the next day or so and will be of THE PARADE.

let the wood chips fly!!

At The Ballan Autumn Festival last weekend [March 25 2012] we had the pleasure of watching the wood chopping event. Something I had not seen for many years!

It has been said that the sport we now know as woodchopping originated as the result of a bet between 2 men in a bar in Ulverstone, Tasmania [Australia] in 1870. Jack Biggs from Warragul, Victoria and Joseph Smith form Ulverstone, had a wager for £25 to see who could fell a tree the fastest.

The World's first woodchopping championship was held in 1891 at Bell's Parade, Latrobe, Tasmania. This event was celebrated and commemorated with the selection of the site to be the home of The Australian Axemen's Hall of Fame and Timberworks.

Woodchop or wood chopping is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years in several cultures. In wood chopping competitions, skilled contestants attempt to be the first to cut or saw through a log or other block of wood. It is often held at country festivals and agricultural shows.

The following images were taken at The Ballan Autumn Festival on March 25 2012:

above: getting ready for the event.

below: and off they go .......

and 23 seconds later he steps away from the block and is finished!!.

If you ever have the opportunity to watch such an event, do so. It really is amazing to watch!

Previous blog post on the Ballan Autumn Festival HERE

Introduction to Wood Chopping - NSW axemen

Wikipedia - wood chopping

Melton Leader article on the Wood Chopping event at Ballan

ShaneWombat's blog post on the Festival

Ballan Autumn Festival website

further blog posts will be on The Parade, The Quilt Show and the Vintage Vehicles ..... stay tuned!

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Ballan Autumn Festival - 2012

Last weekend - March 25 - was the Ballan Autumn Festival ….. it is held each year, but this was the first time we had attended the event.  According to the website there was much on offer, the Quilt Show, a book bazaar, an Art Show, a pet parade, a photo exhibition, a talent quest, wood chopping and of course the main event was the Street Parade.

On the website it has:

As a community, Ballan is proud to showcase our town one hour west of Melbourne, off the Western Freeway, between Bacchus Marsh and Ballarat.

The Ballan Autumn festival has been held annually for over 30 years and this year will be held in the main street of Ballan.

It is a fun day for all the family where Ballan comes alive.

There will be bands performing on the main stage; a parade of community groups and floats; vintage cars and motor cycle riders; the local pet owners will proudly parade their animals around the ring for judging in the pet show. Ballan Art and Craft Society and Ballan Quilt and Craft both put on hugely popular exhibitions.

Photography Competition encourages anyone with a camera to illustrate the Festival theme.  Many stalls of all varieties including food.

Visit Ballan and join in the fun.

Take a walk around the town and enjoy the beautiful autumn weather; stop in at the many events held during the festival.

By 9.30am all the street holders had set up their stalls along the main street (Inglis St) selling their wares. Which was anything from Baked Potatoes to Jewelry, from knitted caps to scented soaps ….. it was there ready for you to purchase.

We went down fairly early hoping to avoid any possible crowds. We arrived just after 10.00am and many people starting to arrive already.

The following images - taken along the Main Street at the start of the day - will give you a glimpse of the Ballan Autumn Festival :

Check back in a few days for further blog posts on the Street Parade, The Vintage Vehicles and of course the Wood Chopping!



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Leone and John Fabre