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Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival

Be a part of the 2022 Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival and shine the spotlight on all that is great about the Macedon Ranges during its premier season.

An initiative of the Macedon Ranges Visitor Economy Strategy, the 2022 Autumn Festival will support and showcase local producers, creatives and businesses, and encourage community and visitors alike to engage in the diversity of experiences to be had across the shire.

Events and promotions are considered an important part of our COVID-19 recovery, as they stimulate the local economy, energise communities and add to the vibrancy of life in the Macedon Ranges.

Driven by local businesses, community groups, creatives and locals, the festival provides the perfect framework to showcase all that is great about the Macedon Ranges in autumn.

Supported by Council and Daylesford Macedon Tourism, the 2022 Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival will run from 26 March to 25 April.

Registration and applications for funding support is now open, so start considering how you can get involved and benefit from being part of the festival program.

Make sure you subscribe to the Autumn Festival e-News to stay in the loop on key event developments and announcements.

The festival program will be launched on the shire’s official tourism website visitmacedonranges.com in February 2022.

What you told us

To assist with planning for the 2022 festival, we invited community and local businesses to offer feedback and ideas.

There was an amazing response to the survey and we received loads of fantastic suggestions. We are especially grateful to everyone who took the time to send in a response.

You told us you’d like to see plenty of food & wine events (including workshops, talks and trails), live music, art exhibits and workshops. You’re keen for businesses to work together to develop packages and incentives to encourage visitors to stay longer in our region. And you’d like us to put more effort into promoting locations other than Macedon and Mt Macedon as destinations for visitors to enjoy the autumn experience.

You’ve also told us you’d like plenty of advance notice to start planning for your event or activity, and for the festival to be more widely promoted to the local community.

We’ve taken all your ideas on board and are planning the program and promotional campaign with this in mind.

Festival outline

Nine Villages, One Festival

Unearth autumn in the Macedon Ranges. A month-long exploration of events, nature experiences, autumn produce and creativity across nine unique and colourful villages.

Here is what we are currently working towards.

Artistic and immersive art experience

This year a grant of up to $20,000 is available to deliver an artistic experience or attraction. More details coming soon.

Festival Program of Activities and Events

This is the mainstay of the festival that includes all the activities, events, workshops, performances and exhibitions happening throughout the shire. You put on the event and we will add it to the festival program and promote it for you.

Read How to get Involved section for details, including access to support funding.

Eat and Drink Promotions

A specific section of the new festival website will be all our Eat and Drink promotions, highlighting special offers during the festival period from our amazing producers and foodie businesses.

Read How to get Involved section for details on how to participate.

Autumn Pie and Tart Trail

A specific opportunity for hospitality businesses is participation in an inaugural Pie and Tart Trail.

Read How to get Involved section for details on how to participate.

Self-guided itineraries

A range of different themed self-drive autumn itineraries will be promoted to encourage exploration around the shire.

‘My Macedon Ranges’ local insights

Locals will be encouraged to share their favourite autumn experiences in the My Macedon Ranges Autumn competition. The winning entry will receive a local staycation prize valued at $500.

Find out more at the Competitions section

Shop window displays

To help create an autumn buzz, businesses will be encouraged to dress up their shop window or add an autumn wreath to their doors. Participating businesses will go in the running for the chance to win one of two curated Macedon Ranges hampers worth $200 each.

Read How to get Involved section for details on how to participate.

Competitions

To provide an added incentive for visitors and locals to support participating businesses and explore the shire, we’ll be running a number of competitions. Our largest competition, ‘My Naturally Cool Autumn Adventure’, will provide entrants will the chance to win one of two Macedon Ranges getaways, valued up to $1,500.

Find out more at the Competitions section.

How you can get involved

There are a number of ways you can get involved in the 2022 Autumn Festival:

Host an event or activity and feature on the festival program

Funding will be available to help support the below activities, as well as a range of promotional assistance to help you get the word out.

To be eligible for the festival program, your event must be a clearly defined experience or activity* and align with our key visitor economy pillars:

Arts, culture and makers
Nature and the outdoors
Historic villages
Food, wine and ferments
Relax and unwind

Following feedback from the community and local business, we’re particularly looking for activities and events such as:

Food and wine autumn harvest inspired events and activities, including but not limited to:

Walks and tours
Workshops, talks and cooking classes
Beer, wine, cider and spirits trails

Art, music and cultural events and activities, including but not limited to:

Open studios
Workshops, talks and classes
Art exhibitions and markets
Music events
Outdoor art installations

We’re open to all ideas so please feel free to contact us to discuss your event concept.

Funding will be available to support approved events and activities, as well as a range of promotional assistance to help you get the word out.

For information on how to participate, please go to the Register your - Event or Activity section.

*A clearly defined experience means the event will be held on specific dates and timeframes and provides a visitor experience. The event can be either free to attend or paid tickets.

Get listed on the Autumn Pie and Tart Trail

To celebrate the best of the Macedon Ranges autumn harvest we’re encouraging our bakeries, cafes, pubs, restaurants and cellar doors to create a signature Autumn Festival pie or tart.

We’ll list your business (and gastronomic creation) on our Autumn Pie and Tart Trail map, on the event website, and across other print and digital festival promotions.

Visitors will be encouraged to visit a participating business, purchase their autumn pie or tart and upload an image on social media to win a prize in the Tart it Up competition

For information on how to participate, please go to Register your - Pie or Tart section.

Put on an Eat & Drink promotion

A specific section of the new festival website will be all our Eat and Drink promotions, highlighting special offers during the festival period from our amazing producers and foodie businesses.

This could be a simple autumn festival menu item or cocktail, a cellar door special, or team up with a local musician to provide entertainment.

For information on how to participate, please go to Register your - Autumn themed food or drink promotion section.

You don't have to hold an event or activity to get involved

Any business or community group can get involved to help generate the autumn buzz and create a festival atmosphere across the shire.

Decorate your shop window with an autumn theme

Promote an ‘autumn-related’ product. e.g. garden rakes for autumn leaves, or a festival special in your retail business
Display Autumn Festival promotional collateral such as poster and stickers (free promotional materials coming soon)
Decorate the front door of your home or business with an autumn wreath

Important! Make sure you subscribe to our Autumn Festival e-News to stay in the loop on key event developments and announcements.

Register your – Event or Activity

To be eligible to feature on the festival program you will need to register your concept.

Once your activity or event concept submission is approved, you will be provided with details on how to make your listing for the festival program.

Note, while we will continue to accept events or activities submissions through to 15 March 2022, to be included in the printed event program applications must be received no later than 15 November 2021.

See Key Dates to understand the application process.

Interested in applying for funding for your event or activity? Find out more about the application process at the Apply for Funding section.

Important! Make sure you subscribe to our Autumn Festival e-News to stay in the loop on key event developments and announcements.

Register your – Pie or Tart

To be eligible to feature on the Autumn Pie and Tart Trail, you will need to register your pie or tart creation.

Once your Pie and Tart Trail submission is approved, you will be provided with details on how to make your listing for the festival program.

Note, while we will continue to accept Autumn Pie and Tart Trail submissions through to 15 March 2022, to be included in the printed program applications must be received no later than 15 November 2021.

See Key Dates to understand the application process.

Important! Make sure you subscribe to our Autumn Festival e-News to stay in the loop on key event developments and announcements.

Register your - Autumn themed food or drink promotion

A section of the new festival website will highlight our Eat and Drink promotions, featuring special offers during the festival period from our amazing producers and foodie businesses. This could be a simple autumn festival menu item, cocktail or a cellar door special.

These can be accompanied by a special offer or just a great description to whet the appetite. They must have an emphasis on flavours or produce you'd typically connect with autumn to create a seasonal experience. Your promotion will link to your business listing on visitmacedonranges.com

If your autumn menu item is a pie and tart, register it in the Autumn Pie and Tart Trail section above.

Apply for funding

This year there will be two streams of funding:

Support funding for activities or events to help build the festival program
- Events and Activities Fund Application(DOCX, 910KB)
- Events and Activities Fund Application(PDF, 499KB)
Funding up to $20,000 through an expression of interest process for a major artistic installation or attraction.
- Artistic Experience or Attraction - Expression of Interest(DOCX, 2MB)
- Artistic Experience or Attraction - Expression of Interest(PDF, 337KB)

Key dates

1 November Applications close for funding support
15 November Applicants notified of funding support outcome
15 November Event and activity submissions and Pie and Tart Trail submissions for the printed festival program and Pie and Tart Trail Map close*
30 November All submissions notified on the outcome of their application to be included in the printed materials*

*Registrations will remain open for inclusion in the online festival program and promotions until 15 March 2022.

Don’t miss a deadline!

Make sure you subscribe to our Autumn Festival e-News to stay in the loop on key event developments and announcements.

Find out more about our competition for businesses to dress up your shop window or door for the festival at the Competitions section.

How is the festival being promoted?

Council will be collaborating with the team at Daylesford Macedon Tourism (DMT) to ensure the festival gets promoted far and wide. Promotional activates will include:

A new festival website (a sub-site to the shire’s official tourism website, Visit Macedon Ranges) will provide an engaging festival platform.
A full-page advertisement in Daylesford Macedon Life magazine with a distribution of 300,000 copies in The Age and Sunday Herald
Festival signs at the entry to the shire’s towns
Festival posters and other promotional materials around the shire and in businesses.
Partnering with the Macedon Ranges Accommodation Association to promote through its members.
Continuous social media promotion throughout the festival including boosted posts and paid ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram
Promotion in the Council’s Community and Arts & Culture e-newsletters
Promotion in the Visit Macedon Ranges and DMT visitor e-newsletters
Press releases and advertising in local and Melbourne-based targeted print and digital publications
Festival Information Hubs – Kyneton and Woodend Visitor Information Centres, plus locations at Hanging Rock and in key towns for visitors to find out what’s happening and where during the Festival - to be added at a later date

Competitions

We will be running a number of competitions for businesses, community and visitors in relation to the Autumn Festival.

My Macedon Ranges

An opportunity for community to submit 50-75 words with 1-2 accompanying images about what they love to do in the Macedon Ranges in autumn. It could be a drive, a special outdoor experience or a foodie experience.

Prize: Local staycation valued at $500