Organisers of one of Ballarat's favourite events SpringFest have announced they will return after three years of cancellations.
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The market, run by the Rotary Club of Ballarat, will take place on Sunday, November 26, in the "Gardens Precinct" of Lake Wendouree stretching from Carlton Street to St Aidans Drive past the Ballarat Tramway Museum, adventure playground, botanic gardens and Pipers.
"This year SpringFest Ballarat is bigger, better and more blooming beautiful than ever," organisers wrote in a social media post.
It will mark a return of the much-loved market to the lake following three years of turmoil and cancellations.
When SpringFest was was last held in 2019, it attracted 35,000 people to Lake Wendouree.
COVID restrictions forced the market to be called off in 2020 and 2021, with last year's event ultimately falling victim to above-average rainfall saturating the ground following months of uncertainty over a heritage protection order on the Lake Wendouree foreshore that had been lodged in the long-running fight over lake lighting.
Organisers were granted a last-minute exemption from the protection order which would have allowed the market to go on around the North Gardens end of the lake, but with the ground too sodden the decision was made to cancel the market.
The 2022 event, which had 530 stalls and 300 vehicles booked for display, was cancelled three weeks before its scheduled date.
The loss of the markets for three years has hit local community groups and Rotary hard, with SpringFest one of the major fundraisers for the year.
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Smaller SpringFest markets have been held in conjunction with Ballarat's Carols by Candlelight in December 2021 and 2022.
During the launch of the 2022 SpringFest market, organisers revealed they had changed the route to make it more accessible along a new 2.5 kilometre loop around the North Gardens and encompassing the Ballarat Tramway Museum.
In the past, stalls and vehicles have been set up around the lake making a 6.5km loop.
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