For children who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s a trip to the local milk bar is fondly remembered as a mixture of the sweets, snacks, milk and goods that could be yours for just a few cents - usually the change from the milk mum sent you there to buy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That sweet nostalgia is back on the menu at Housey Housey this weekend when Sugar Republic recreates an iconic retro 1980s/90s milk bar as part of Ballarat Heritage Weekend and Plate Up Ballarat.
The young and young at heart will be able to immerse themselves in the re-imagined Aussie milk bar, drinking in the sights, sounds and smells of their childhoods.
Sugar Republic's Allison Jones said the milk bar, part of a bigger installation that attracted tens of thousands of people to Myer Melbourne over a recent 12 week season, would evoke fond memories.
Melbourne artist Callum Preston hand painted the milk bar with the old signs, snacks, sweets, milk he remembered from childhood. Inside is the work of photographer Eamon Donnelly, whose exhibition features 50 evocative photos of disappearing milk bars.
For sweet-tooth visitors, a retro lolly stall in the milk bar with sell many of the lollies they remember from childhood, and local producers including The Forge, Vegas and Rose, So Soft Marshmallows and Hattie and the Wolf will have local produce and milk bar favourites for sale.
"There's lots of eye candy ... and it's the sort of milk bar you remember from being kids," Ms Jones said. "We want to get people to talk about the memories of milk bars, the iconic lollies, the things and stories they recall."
To cement the memories, there are selfie sites in the milk bar where visitors can take their own snaps.
Milk Bar & Co is sold out for the weekend, with the gold coin entry being donated to Feed Ballarat.
Have you signed up to The Courier's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
