The July festival will build on last year’s Winterlude, keeping Sovereign Hill’s Christmas in July: Winter Wonderlights display and the CBD ice-skating rink. 

The festival will also feature a giant inflatable slide, igloo haven and frozen forest and Ballarat’s first ever Potato Festival, the Ballarat Brew Festival and The Red Series Wine Festival.

Ballarat Wildlife Park’s penguin enclosure will also open on July 1. 

“This year’s festival program is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet and will once again put all of Ballarat’s best assets under the spotlight,” Visit Ballarat chief executive Noel Dempsey said. 

City of Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh said the festival is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors to Ballarat. 

“The Ballarat Winter Festival will celebrate the beauty and charm of our city, bringing our historic streetscapes and iconic attractions to life and providing locals and visitors with the chance to see Ballarat in a completely new and exciting light.”