Shepparton will host a two-night festival of lights in March based at the Shepparton Art Museum and Victoria Park Lake.
The festival will light up the sides of SAM with lasers and projections, while light installations, music and interactive entertainment and food trucks will be spread around Victoria Park Lake.
Illuminate will light up SAM and surrounds from 6pm on Friday, March 25, and conclude at 10pm on Saturday, March 26, with a light and sound show.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Kim O’Keeffe said council expected 10,000 people to attend the festivities, from Shepparton and beyond.
She said it would complement the White Night event planned for Shepparton in the middle of the year.
“Truly, 2022 is shaping up to be a landmark year for our region as we strongly and proudly rebound from COVID-19,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
The full program, including an exciting music line-up, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Council is advertising for food trucks to be part of the celebrations.
Federal Member for Nicholls Damian Drum said the Illuminate festival had received $176,500 of Federal Government funding via the Building Better Regions Fund.
That money was initially slated for SAM’s opening weekend last year, which was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“The new Shepparton Art Museum will be a tourist drawcard for years and decades to come, and this Illuminate event will be a wonderful way to celebrate what it has to offer, while seamlessly slipping into the Shepparton Festival’s line-up,” Mr Drum said.
“Illuminate, and the Shepparton Festival more broadly, will bring tourists to the Goulburn Valley, resulting in an economic boost as we emerge from COVID-19 restrictions.”
Mr Drum also announced an additional $110,000 for the 2022 edition of the Shepparton Festival.