General News
2 May, 2023
Lighting fires in the imagination
The main event of the 2023 Wimmera Steampunk Festival on Saturday saw over 3000 pre-sold ticketed attendees, while the final tally is still being counted for the hundreds of tickets sold at the gates. And that doesn't take into account the hundreds...
The main event of the 2023 Wimmera Steampunk Festival on Saturday saw over 3000 pre-sold ticketed attendees, while the final tally is still being counted for the hundreds of tickets sold at the gates.
And that doesn't take into account the hundreds more who arrived to peruse the market stalls and side acts surrounding the exclusive main stage area.
With the main street closed to allow more room for entertainment and shopping, the increased number of people attracted to the town by the weekend-long festival certainly had a positive effect on the local economy.
Store doors were all open and the town was alive with the weird, wacky and wonderous world of the imagination.
Leanne Combrink of 2J's in Dimboola's main street said they began the night with around a dozen Steampunk themed hats, three dozen pairs of goggles and hundreds of masks.
"We only have the one hat left in the window," she said just after 6.30pm on the night.
"There are four pairs of goggles left, wait - there goes another pair - now there are three. And the cabinet which was full of masks is looking almost empty."
The Wimmera Steampunk Festival is the brainchild of Dimboola's Chan Uoy, who said Saturday night was all about bringing people together and bringing the excitement and intrigue of the world to Dimboola.
"It was superb," he said.
"This is what living in the Wimmera is all about to me - the community - this wouldn't happen if it wasn't for community support."
Mr Uoy said the festival, like last year, exceeded his expectations and said the donation of the images from the Horsham Camera Club was invaluable.
"The calibre of costumes was so high that we could have been anywhere in the world," he said.
"If you were a first-timer in Dimboola, expecting a small town, you would be blown away by some of the images you see out there (from the festival).
"Having a group of professional photographers who donated their pictures to us has just elevated us to new heights."
With two years until the next event, the town can pause and take some deep breaths before planning what is in store when the Wimmera Steampunk Festival presents the Carnival of Peculiarities in 2025.
"Imagine The Greatest Showman meets Baz Luhrmann," said Mr Uoy.
"We want to transform Dimboola into a fantastical 19th century carnival with acrobats, stilt walkers, a hall of mirrors, a freak show, Gypsy fortune tellers, the works.
"One thing is for sure, and it is hard but, we need more volunteers - we need quadruple the number of volunteers.
"I'm already looking ahead at ways to keep the momentum going between now and 2025."