Daylesford chillout festival loud and proud

Australia’s largest and longest running LGBTIQ regional festival has kicked off thanks to the Andrews Labor Government’s $20 million Regional Events Fund.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas was at ChillOut Pride today which is one of the festival’s most beloved events of the weekend.

The Festival, in its 23rd year in 2020, is a significant driver of tourism in the Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges region, attracting more than 25,000 visitors during the long weekend in March.

With the support of the Labor Government’s Regional Events Fund, the festival program has been revamped in 2020, introducing new elements to the weekend and a lowering of ticket prices to attract more visitors to the event.

On Saturday 7 March, festival organisers are attempting to break a world record by creating the largest human rainbow and are calling for 30,366 supporters to join in a show of solidarity and acceptance for the LGBTIQ community.

ChillOut is one of Victoria’s best loved lifestyle festivals featuring a diverse range of free and paid events, with highlights including the annual Vincent Street Parade, the ChillOut Carnival and the Bush Dance events.

The Government’s Regional Events Fund is helping rural and regional towns across Victoria secure a strong calendar of events which create local jobs and enhance the liveability of local communities. Tourism is vitally important to the Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges region, receiving approximately 3.5 million domestic and international visitors who spent an estimated $526 million in the year ending September 2019.

These impressive results come off the back of the Victorian Government’s investment in tourism which has helped deliver over 200 events across our regions.

The ChillOut Festival will run from 5- 9 March 2020. For more information visit www.chilloutfestival.com.au/

Quotes attributable to Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas
"We’re so proud to support events like the ChillOut Festival, which are so integral to not just our LGBTIQ community, but to our local region as well."

"ChillOut is Australia’s number one queer country pride festival and for a good reason – it encapsulates everything that is fabulous about our LGBTIQ community right here in Daylesford and we couldn’t be prouder to continue our support."

Quote attributable to Festival Director Michele Bauer
"We’d like to thank the Victorian Government for investing in regional tourism and local businesses by supporting the ChillOut Festival."