Words by Della Vreeland Images supplied
Ice sculpting, music, markets, sword fights, feasting and fire shows – these are just some of the highlights set to grace the program of this year’s enthralling East Gippsland Winter Festival (EGWF).
Held between June 9 and July 9, the month-long festival will feature an array of more than 100 events scattered across the East Gippsland region.
One of the most diverse winter festival programs in the country, the third annual festival has been extended this year with a program of events that will kick off on the King’s Birthday long weekend. Expect a kaleidoscope of art, food, culture, nature, entertainment, and the very best that this neck of the woods has to offer.
Originally created as a response to the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires, festival founder Adam Bloem says the Winter Festival has now taken on ‘a life of its own’.
‘It was initially established to celebrate the wonderful spirit and resilience of the people of East Gippsland, and to provide an economic boost by attracting visitors back to the region after a couple of really tough years,’ he says.
The 2023 program will include a special performance by C.W. Stoneking and his Primitive Horn Orchestra as they take to the stage by the banks of the Snowy River. Guests will have the chance to warm up to the blues sounds of this quintet as well as the fine fare that accompanies the event.
The band is headlining the Deep in the Weeds festival – their gig held at Sailors Grave Brewing – providing the perfect chance for punters to also check out other Deep in the Weeds festival events around Orbost and Marlo during their visit.
Other EGWF highlights include the Fire & Ice live ice sculpting and fire show on the Metung Village Green, the Bruthen Medieval Winter Fire Festival featuring sword fights, bonfires, music, roving performers and feasting, the Lakes Lights community lantern parade across the Lakes Entrance Footbridge, as well as the Winter in Laneway party with projection art, live music, and street food bringing the heart of Bairnsdale to life.
A whole range of other free activities and family-friendly events are yet to be announced, such as long lunches, wellness experiences, elusive music performances, and hands-on workshops, rounding off a festival that is set to truly ignite the magic of wintertime and the beauty of the East Gippsland region.
THE DETAILS:
WHAT: East Gippsland Winter Festival
WHEN: June 9 to July 9, 2023
FIND OUT MORE: East Gippsland Winter Festival
We wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
