Ballarat’s inaugural Frolic Festival has drawn to a close, with organisers excited about what may come in the future.
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A ball at the Miners Tavern on Saturday night marked the end of the week-long festival to celebrate the LGBTQI community in Ballarat.
Other events, which attracted almost 500 patrons throughout the week of the festival, included an art show, games nights, dance nights, karaoke and a family picnic.
Frolic Festival co-director Tom Hodgson described the event, which attracted many people from other regions around the state, as a huge success.
Mr Hodgson said a key to the festival’s success was its wonderful community atmosphere.
“Offering something different, offering variety, was very important for festival’s success,” he said.
“The festival also produced a connectivity within Ballarat … a commonality of being queer. One of the reasons we started the festival was because there were few existing options for LGBTQI people in Ballarat, unless you wanted to go to the monthly gay night, which doesn’t suit all people.
“It was a chance to highlight the various LGBTQI groups in the region.”
An informal survey of attendees throughout the week of the festival indicated there was a strong sense of community engagement. “There was a strong impression that variety was the key. This helped attract many people from outside the region,” Mr Hodgson said.
For the co-director, some highlights of the festival were the bush dance and a film night, which featured a documentary from the Gay and Lesbian Archives in Melbourne, followed by an audience discussion with the producers.
Mr Hodgson said without the small band of volunteers, the festival would not have been so successful.
“We had about 35 or 40 volunteers across the festival … they were essential in the event’s running, particularly with such a small budget” he said.
The inaugural festival was awarded a Ballarat City Council grant to get off the ground.