Ned Kelly Weekend 2011 Program is Here!!

2011 PROGRAM

Please be advised this program is subject to changes

Children are classed as 16 and Under

The Program for the Ned Kelly Weekend 2011 is now available for perusals and bookings.

NOTE: * Ned Kelly Walking Tours, have yet to give official times but we hope to have them up for bookings ASAP.
* For Booking assistance contact 1300 366 321

Indigo Gold Trail Launched

The Indigo Gold Trail is this months leading article for Pieces of Victoria, which is exciting news as it is then distributed travel media and Tourism operators nationally and internationally. Grats to all those involved in making this project possible
Link to Article


Also watch the new add for the Indigo Gold Trail starring one of our local guides Daniel Goonan

A Ghouly Night on the Town

Walk in the footsteps of Beechworth's most notorious murderers as you're guided through the heart of old Beechworth

Rugged up, and with umbrella's on hand the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre Staff and Volunteers met up with Miss Fanny Fox at the Beechworth Post Office to be led through the streets and buildings of Beechworth by only lantern light and listen to her ghouly stories of times gone by.



Everyone had a fantastic night and Miss Fanny Fox (Laura) telling of the stories was excellent had everyone hanging on for the next story.





Some Comments from our Staff and Volunteers

I have a new reason to not want to go to the doctors...
- Ellen

Great Historical accounts, fantastic presentation, Interesting places of access
- Rod

Glad we didn't need an umbrella
-Penny

Thanks Beechworth Ghost Tours for the wonderful night =)

Beechworth, Chiltern, Rutherglen & Yackandandah.m2v

Beechworth gets set for annual Celtic knees-up Celtic Festival returns Friday 5 to Sunday 7 November

One of Beechworth’s biggest annual celebrations returns soon with a packed weekend program of free and ticketed events including traditional and contemporary Celtic music, dance, workshops and fun for all ages.
In its sixteenth year in 2010 the Celtic Festival looks set to repeat the success of 2009 when thousands of visitors enjoyed a sensational line-up of entertainment from around Australia. This year’s program – from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 November - will again showcase a host of bands and artists in a series of concerts and workshops at indoor and outdoor venues around Beechworth.

They include: the acclaimed Australian Welsh Choir, Sibin, Red Cat, Damien Howard & the Ploughboys, Claymore, Full Circle and Humbug bringing edginess to the ever-popular Bantree and the traditional Scottish pipes. The Colonials, Cassidy's Ceili, Ricketty Bridge, Shirley Power and many more show the depth of the program available for serious Celtic music aficionados across the weekend.
The festival kicks off in true Celtic style on Friday evening with a gala dinner dance featuring a fantastic evening of live entertainment and the highlight, a traditional Haggis Ceremony. Bookings are a must for this event, via the festival website or the Beechworth Information Centre.

On Sunday 7 November Beechworth’s Burke Museum is also getting into the spirit of this year’s occasion with a Wake for its namesake, Irishman, Robert O’Hara Burke, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Burke & Wills expedition and the ill-fated explorer’s connections with Beechworth. The Museum will also unveil a next exhibition dedicated to Burke.

Other highlights from this year’s event include:
• The free Ford Street stage showcasing choirs dancers and a host of entertainers throughout the weekend
• On Saturday, the huge Celtic market in the Historic & Cultural Precinct, Ford Street and the Rotary Market in Queen Victoria Park
• Workshops with leading artists
• The ever-popular lunchtime Parade from 1:30pm Saturday and the spine-tingling balcony pipers at 7.30pm heralding the Massed Bands and Parade at 7:45pm

New committee saddles up for 2011 Golden Horseshoes Festival

Beechworth’s huge annual Easter celebration, the Golden Horseshoes Festival, will return bigger than ever in 2011 with a new organising committee led by the Beechworth Football and Netball Club (BFNC) driving the three-day program.

President, Adam Fendyk, said the Club’s new role places the festival, Beechworth’s biggest annual event which annually draws crowds of up to 20,000, on a secure footing for the future.

He confirmed the program would again include elements of both historical and cultural significance to the town as well as some new events to suit all tastes and ages.

“We see this as a great opportunity to not only to celebrate the Golden Horseshoes Festival but to use it as a platform from which we can promote Beechworth and more broadly, the whole of Indigo Shire which offers such a fantastic diversity of festivals and events,” Adam Fendyk said today. “This is a way for the BFNC to give back to the town. The businesses and community of Beechworth have been passionate supporters of the Club over many years and we see this as an event that brings benefits to everyone.”

The 2011 program will include the festival favourites including the Carnival in the Police Paddocks, the huge Grand Parade on Easter Saturday, markets, Fun Run and the Easter Egg Hunt with the Easter Bunny on Sunday. The Committee also has an in-principle agreement from the Chain Gang Bike Club for a new family bike ride event on Easter Sunday. Bands and colourful street performers and more street stalls in the popular Camp Street food court will also be a highlight of the Gold Horseshoes celebrations.

Mr Fendyk said the committee was also investigating hosting Saturday evening family events including a fireworks spectacular in Baarmutha Park on Easter Saturday evening.

“The BFNC are genuinely excited about this event and can’t wait to get the show going. With the increased manpower from the football club, we have been lucky to have some of the past GHF committee come on board to share their skills and experience with us to ensure the smooth running of the celebrations”, he said.

LOCALS HAVE A CHANCE TO BE STARS OF THE SILVER SCREEN!

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is heading to the Indigo Shire from 30 August to 3 September to capture the unique spirit and stories of regional communities in a series of documentary films for the ACMI in the Regions program.

The three communities in Indigo Shire chosen to participate in ACMI in the Regions are Beechworth, Yackandandah and Rutherglen.

Supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria's Major Touring Initiative, ACMI in the Regions, produces short documentaries which are shot on location to celebrate and document the people, character and heritage of regional Victorian townships such as those in the Indigo Shire.

In partnership with the Indigo Shire, ACMI works with community groups developing the concepts for the films. These ideas are distilled into three stories for each town that capture the essence of regional Victoria and the people and places that make up part of the fabric of the modern Australian identity.

ACMI staff are about to travel to Indigo Shire to film the 9 stories on location with the locals. These include one story about the iconic ‘wine bottle’ structure in Rutherglen and its significance to the community, another film about the wealth of craft practitioners in Yackandandah and we will get a chance to see the rarely seen underground tunnels of Beechworth with local expert Dan Goonan.

ACMI will later return for premiere screenings in each town from Indigo Shire. The films also become part of the ACMI Collection, as a state resource, and will be available for all to see through the ACMI website and the Australian Mediatheque. These films are not only an important legacy for the towns, they contribute to our social heritage. Everyone who participates in the films will receive a copy on DVD to keep and share.

ACMI Content Development Manager Kim Montgomery says that ACMI values its engagement with regional Victoria.

“ACMI is proud to be making these films in the regions. The uniqueness of our approach is that it involves the local residents and community groups in regional towns, helping them to document their histories and capture their own stories about why people live, work and play in their towns. The resulting mini-documentaries are moving and fascinating records for the region, all Australians and the world,” she said.

Collectors to find treasure at new Indigo Antique Week

Lovers of antiques and collectables are set to flock to the historic towns of Chiltern, Beechworth, Rutherglen and Yackandandah next week as part of the new Indigo Antique Week in Indigo Shire.

Visiting the many antique and secondhand stores dotted around Shire, the tours depart from Wodonga next Tuesday 24 August and from Wangaratta on 26 August, ahead of the opening of one of Australia’s leading regional antique fairs in Chiltern from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 August.

In its twelfth year in 2010, the Chiltern Antique Fair is organised by Chiltern Tourism Association’s Erika Hansen, and annually attracts dozens of dealers from across Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

A must for serious collectors, bargain hunters and anyone in search of the rare and the unusual, the Chiltern Antique Fair includes specialist stalls featuring furniture, fine china, lace, antique jewellery, glass and much more.

Media are invited to the launch of Indigo Antique Week and the Chiltern Antique Fair at antique store, Chiltiques on Conness St, Chiltern on Friday 20 August at 11am by the Federal Member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella (herself a keen collector) and Indigo Shire Mayor, Cr Bernard Gaffney.

Indigo Antique Week tours are being run by Wodonga-based Chelbec Tour, phone 0423 745 930.

Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2010 People’s Choice Award Winner

This year’s winner was a creation by one of our region’s enthusiastic and talented felters Julie Pfeiffer from Granya. She is a member of North East Yarns which is a group of local spinners, weavers, knitters and felters promoting the use of natural fibres. Her work is entitled “Butterflies in My Garden” and the name becomes self evident when the piece is actually seen.

The winning entry will be on special display at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery at 17 Loch Street Beechworth (Opposite the Burke Museum) from Friday 27th August to Friday 10th September.

Kelly Gang together again - ABC Goulburn Murray - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Kelly Gang together again - ABC Goulburn Murray - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Couple of items for those visiting the Indigo shire. Friday August 27 sees the start of our Chiltern antique fair. Always bigs crowds drawn by the treasures and objects of curiosity on display.
Also, those that love all things natural are desperately needed to volunteer their services at Kangaloola wildlife rescue. People to feed and spend time with the animals are in high demand.
For more information, please visit www.beechworthonline.com.au or www.uniqueyackandandah.com.au .

Beechworth’s famous Ned Kelly Weekend returns from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 August 2010 with a lively program of re-enactments, theatre, music, displays, competitions and talks by leading authorities on the subject of the life and times of Australia’s most notorious bushranger. For only the fourth time all four suits of Kelly gang armour will come togethor on display.

Oh boy...went to Murray Breweries in Beechworth to try their turn of the century cordial recipes, most outstanding. Some of the best were...
Chilli Punch, Lemon Ginger, Cloves Lemon, Lime & Bitters, Spiced Apple, Brewed Ginger, Peppermint, Sarsaparilla, Mint Julep, Lime Juice, Raspberry, Vinegar, Portello, St Clements.

Beechworth set for Ned Kelly Weekend 2010

Beechworth’s famous annual Ned Kelly Weekend returns in just over two weeks, from 6 to 8 August with a lively program of events for the whole family including the return on Saturday 7 August of the acclaimed production, The Jerilderie Letter.

“In Lloyd Jones’ production, Kelly's shaved, white, severed head -- a death mask on a plinth -- does the talking. Peter Finlay is the actor. And what a mighty, controlled, hypnotic recitation he gives!”
Chris Boyd, Herald Sun Theatre Reviewer

Actor, Peter Finlay’s masterful performance of the bushranger’s explosive ‘manifesto’ has mesmerised audiences and critics alike since its debut at Melbourne’s La Mama theatre in 2007. The theatrically staged production sees the actor as Ned Kelly’s death mask, reciting all 8000 words of the iconic Jerilderie Letter with stunning visual images and music accompanying the performance. The production first appeared at the Ned Kelly Weekend in front of a rapt Historic Courthouse audience in 2008.

Beginning with a low, rhythmic murmur slowly bringing the words of the letter to life, Peter Finlay’s performance builds to a crescendo as he summons all the anger, outrage, violence and grief of the bushranger who was very much on borrowed time when he penned the famous document in Jerilderie.

The production is one of many special events of the 2010 Ned Kelly Weekend which this year commemorates the 130th anniversary of the committal hearing of the bushranger at the Beechworth Courthouse in August 1880. Other highlights include:
• The chance to meet the original cast of the classic TV miniseries, The Last Outlaw - including John Jarrett and Sigrid Thornton - at a gala cocktail party at La Trobe at Beechworth on Saturday 7 August from 7:30pm
• An exhibition on loan from the State Library of Victoria and the Victoria Police Museum of all four original suits of armour worn by Ned Kelly and the Gang
• On Sunday 8 August, a packed program of readings, re-enactments, talks, performances as well as a Geoffrey Robertson-style Hypothetical, The Tribulations of Eduardo & his Friends featuring an all-star panel of experts and commentators

Big weekend in Yackandandah. Sunday sees the Lions Market, starting at 9am. Massive crowds expected with treasures galore.
But wait, there's more. After spending the week taking in all the Yackandandah action, you can round it off by visiting our Yackandandah Cinema, Friday 23/7 @ 7pm, to view the new release... 'Marmaduke'.

Melbourne Playground Playground - Lake Sambell, McConville Ave, Beechworth

Melbourne Playground Playground - Lake Sambell, McConville Ave, Beechworth

Another four weeks to what is shaping up to be a big weekend at Beechworth (August 6-8). Which is of course the Ned Kelly 130th Anniversary, including re-enactments, an exhibition of the genuine Kelly Gang Armour and more.
August 27 also sees the start of the three day annual Chiltern antique fair. One of the biggest and most popular antique fairs in Australia.
For more information, visit www.beechworthonline.com.au .

While the rest of the state has been draped in drizzle, Indigo shire has enjoyed a spectacular viewing of multiple rainbows. Don't miss your chance, follow the rainbow to our pot of gold.

The Beechworth big Ned Kelly weekend, August 6 - 8 is drawing closer. Don't miss the chance to see the authentic Kelly Gangs armour come togethor in one place. Also marvel at the re-enactments, exhibitions, food and fashion.

Regent Honeyeater

For all our birdlovers. There have been some recent releases of Regent Honeyeaters into the Chiltern National Park, in an effort to boost numbers. These are a threatened woodland species, with less than 1000 left in Australia, 100 being in Victoria.