Easter ‘smorgasboard’ for region

The Wimmera, southern Mallee, Grampians and Western District are set to provide a smorgasbord of holiday attractions during a hectic Easter long weekend.

By chance or design, organisers across the region have scheduled special events ranging from traditional community festivals or carnivals to sporting spectaculars.

Underpinning the weekend at one end of the region will be the 136th running of the Stawell Gift at Central Park, while at the other, Warracknabeal’s annual Y-fest will attract visitors to the northern Wimmera.

Punctuating the long-weekend activities will be an inaugural Wimmera football and netball Good Friday football clash between arch rivals Stawell and Ararat at Stawell’s North Park.

Good Friday is also the date for Great Western Rodeo, while the heart of the Wimmera, Horsham, is set to explode into life on Easter Sunday with a performance by international daredevil act Nitro Circus.

All major events are expected to attract crowds into the thousands and pump millions of dollars into regional communities.

There are also many other events at various localities where communities are making the most of holiday weekend opportunities.

These include an annual Willaura family fish and chip lunch and a Jeparit Easter fishing competition. Horse-race meetings are also part of the event line-up.

Wimmera Development Association executive director Ralph Kenyon said the weekend events represented significant marketing and economic opportunities and ‘a lot of fun’.

Promotion

He said relatively large numbers of people gathering in regional centres was good for business and great for overall promotion.

“What we have over Easter is a suite of events and activities that will bring people to all parts of the region,” he said. “In terms of economic development, all these people will want to enjoy the hospitality and to spend money.

“The message to anyone who runs a retail or hospitality business is to remember to smile and welcome people to the area – and to be open for business for as long as you can afford to be.

“It’s about socialising, about friendships and enjoyment and about activity – all the things that make the Wimmera a great place. It’s also about encouraging people to return.”

The wealth of events also prompted Wimmera police Superintendent Paul Margetts to stress a need for people to consider the safety of themselves and others. He said police would also be out in force during the weekend.

“There is a lot of activity throughout the Wimmera during the Easter period and locally police have been carefully planning resource deployment to focus on road safety, public order and liquor licensing at public events,” he said.

“Perhaps the key safety message, because of the extended holiday break, is for people to think about fatigue when it comes to driving.

“They must ensure they have adequate rest and be aware of the effects of alcohol on driving and to leave the daredevil stuff to the professionals at the rodeo or Nitro Circus.”

Mr Margetts also encouraged people holidaying in state and national parks to be prepared for changing circumstances, such as weather.