BEECHWORTH

Beechworth craft-brewery Bridge Road Brewers is hosting its forth annual Oktoberfest. Located in the heart of town, this small brewery has a swag of awards to its name, and is ready for this years celebration of beer and music to be its best yet. The event is based around the original Oktoberfest held in Munich in late September each year.

The Beechworth event will be held on Sat 11th and Sun 12th of October, from 11am till 6pm. October is also the breweries official beer month, with other events being planned for October including a beer degustation evening and special brewing events.

Visitors are encouraged to get out the Lederhosen or Dirndl (traditional Bavarian dress) and enjoy the festivities. This family weekend will include children’s activities, plenty of beer, German cuisine and fun for all with a traditional ohm-pah band belting out some great drinking tunes.

Bridge Road Brewers, established by Ben Kraus and his Austrian partner Maria Frischmann, has been brewing its beers for a little over 3 years and has come a long way from its origins in the family garage where the business spent its first year. Its relocation to an old coach house in Beechworth’s centre has proven a success. The brewery has been able to expand its range of beers, currently nine, and increase its production capacity to almost double.

Oktoberfest Entertainment will be provided by Alpine Cocktail, specialists in German ohm-pah music, with vocalist Rene hailing from Vienna, Austria.

The new venue has also allowed the addition of a kitchen to the brewery, where, apart from the giant pretzels, pizzas are the pick of the lunch time menu.

The Beechworth Oktoberfest will be held at Bridge Road Brewers, off Ford St, behind Tanswell’s Hotel, rear access from High St. It will be held between 11am and 6pm on Sat 11th and Sun 12th of October.

For further information contact Ben or Maria
Telephone +61 3 5728 2703

Chiltern’s annual celebration of its unique historical and natural treasures, the Ironbark Festival, returns on Sunday 12 October from 10am – 4pm with a packed day of activities, displays and guided tours for all ages in and around the town.

Highlights of this year’s popular event include:

• Video-making workshops and local film screenings at Chilternwood Studios
• A fantastic display of heritage cars and demonstrations of stationary engines
• Market stalls featuring local produce and handcrafts
• Live music and entertainment at the Music Bowl, including choirs and the Murray Brass Band
• Traditional skills demonstrations

One of Australia’s best-preserved Gold Era towns, Chiltern is crammed with historic buildings of which 22 are listed or owned by the National Trust as are the amazing Dow’s Pharmacy, Henry Handel Richardson’s one-time childhood home, Lake View House and the Federal Standard Printing Works,

All three of the Trust properties will be open for the Ironbark Festival and as a special treat, visitors will have the chance to see the Federal Standard’s machinery operating, including one of the few intact hot lead linotype machines still surviving from the 1850s.

New to this year’s program is a guided bicycle tour of the Chiltern-Mt Pilot Ironbark forest led by local Park Ranger, John McDonald. Following an easy, mostly flat trail, the tour will offer an enjoyable and informative introduction to the flora, fauna and history of this internationally recognised National Park which is named for the dominant eucalyptus species of the area

Cyclists joining this special Ironbark Festival tour have the chance to see Spring wildflowers in bloom, including delicate native orchids, Dillwynia (Egg & Bacon flowers) and wattles as well as some of the 220 bird species known to inhabit the forest. If they’re very lucky, visitors may also glimpse a Regent Honeater, a highly endangered species dependent on the food and shelter offered by the Box-Ironbark forests surrounding Chiltern, one of the last such habitats still in existence.

History buffs can also join a fascinating guided tour of the Chiltern Valley gold mines, once the lifeblood of the town.

For more information and full program details, contact: Joy Lee, phone (03) 5726 1498 or the Chiltern Visitor Information Centre, (03) 5726 1611

Guided Tours
9:30am: Chiltern Valley Gold Mine historic tour. Contact Lois Hotson, phone (03) 57261358
11am:  Chiltern Historic Tours. Contact Joy Lee (03) 5726 1498
11am:  Guided bicycle tour of the Ironbark Forest. One and a half to two hours. Bookings essential. Contact John McDonald, phone 0407 292 553

Pictured above right: Egg & Bacon (Dillwynia phylicoides)

Beechworth’s annual salute to its Celtic heritage, now in its 14th year, is set to be the best yet.
This three day event set in Historic Beechworth celebrates all things Celtic, with a full program of live music, theatre, dancing, comedy, pipe bands and a street parade. The Celtic Festival is a diverse event with something to offer every age group.

Highlights of the 2008 program include a Gala Celtic Dinner to open the weekend on Friday evening.

The festival will showcase more than 20 bands from around Australia in a series of concerts and workshops, including Not the Wolf, Celtacylismic, Sibin , Red Cat and ToRags adding a frantic edge to the always well received Bantree and the traditional Scottish pipes. Flanagans Mob, Humbug, Schroedingers Cat, Mandy and Helen, Leanne Murphy, Pauline Hammans, Shirley Power and many more show the depth of the program available for the serious Celtic music lover over the weekend.

The Celtic Festival is truly a festival of fun, entertainment and celebration in the celtic spirit. So put on your favourite kilt and get yourself up the hill to Beechworth this November to celebrate all things Celtic.

Download information on the Beechworth Celtic Festival Gala Dinner >>

www.beechworthcelticfestival.com.au

Beechworth Country Craft Markets are now organised by the Rotary Club of Beechworth and are held in Queen Victoria Park, Sydney Road side four times per year commencing at 9am.

Venue: Queen Victoria Park
Times: 9am - 3pm

The alternative house tour is back, with a sustainable focus!
Visit homes within the  Beechworth area showing elements of sustainable house design. Be presented with elements of passive solar design including orientation, thermal mass, ventilation, insulation and zoning. Explore material and construction techniques including earth, masonary and leightweight construction. Talk with owners and builders. Experience the integration of the built environment, people and nature.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

Venue:
Tickets can be purchased from the Beechworth Neighbourhood Centre on the day, 30 Ford Street Beechworth. Upon purchase of your ticket you will be given an event booklet and a map showing you where the houses are located. Vehicle parking will be provided at each house or as close as practicable. In some cases a short work may be required.

Times:
This year the sustainable house tour will be held on Saturday 8th November, 2008, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets will go on sale on the day from 9.00 a.m and sales will close at 1.30 p.m.

Tickets:
Travelling by vehicle
Tickets cost are $12 for adults, $20 for a couple (2 adults) and children under 16 are free.
Travelling by cycle
Cyclists will be given a 50% discount on ticket prices.
Tickets cost for people cycling on the house tour are $6 for adults, $10 for a couple (2 adults) and children under 16 are free.
You can preregister your interest for tickets at http://housetour.beechworthmontessori.vic.edu.au/preregister.html