At the front of the line for Spilt Milk tickets on Sunday was Rebecca, 24, who was keen to attend her first music festival.
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She and her friends got in line about noon, and by 4.30pm, half an hour before tickets officially went on sale, they said they were freezing.
"We're here because of the lineup, and the potential for upgrades and discounts - and we're guaranteed a ticket," she said.
"We've made some new friends as well.
"They say it'll sell out in 20 minutes (online), so why not?"
By 4.45pm, the line had stretched from Hop Temple's front door around to Mair Street, with at least 120 people in Hop Lane alone.
Some people up the back, who'd been waiting more than 90 minutes, seemed worried by the overcast weather.
Samantha was in line with her friend Zoe, who'd also never been to a festival.
"My favourite band's Confidence Man, we have to see them," she said.
"We live right near Victoria Park too."
Tegan was in line with her dog Ellie.
"We've been here maybe 20 minutes? Half an hour? My sense of time's gone," she said.
"I'm keen to see Ocean Alley, I've seen them numerous times, they're great."
Hop Temple's Jordan McPhan said she was "a little" surprised by the turn-out.
"Once the event went up on Facebook, I think everyone realised pretty quickly that numbers were going to exceed expectations - we're thinking maybe 800 to 1000 are going to show up," she said.
"We're surprised how early people turned up - it's been phenomenal."
She added from a hospitality perspective, businesses should begin getting prepared now.
"In Canberra, my understanding is the night before Spilt Milk is the biggest night of the year for hospitality - we're hoping for the same thing in Ballarat," she said.
"How Spilt Milk has gone about engaging businesses here has been incredible, so supportive to help us maximise what we'll get out of today as well."
People lucky enough to get a locals-only code could buy two tickets before general public tickets to the over-18s only festival go on sale Tuesday.
Spilt Milk is on November 30 at Victoria Park, Ballarat.
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