Golden Horseshoes Festival - Easter Long Weekend
Preparations are in full swing in Beechworth as the town gets set for its biggest annual celebration, the Golden Horseshoes Festival, opening three weeks today on Good Friday and continuing across the Easter weekend.
Horse breaker, whisperer, trainer, accomplished show jumper and blacksmith, Mike Orton (pictured above), will recreate Daniel Cameron’s famous 1855 ride through the streets of Beechworth when he leads the spectacular Golden Horseshoes Grand Parade on a horse shod with shoes made of real gold.
His ride down Ford Street will signal the start of the Grand Parade on Saturday 3 April at 1pm. Earlier - at 10:30am in the area next to the Historic Courthouse in Ford Street - visitors will have the chance to see him fit the golden shoes to his magnificent four year old Palomino colt, McLeod, one of the few “Cinderella’ horses available with the right sized hooves to fit the famed golden shoes.
The Grand Parade, which will see dozens of weird and wonderful floats compete for the annual Beechworth Bakery Perpetual Parade Trophy is a highlight of the 2010 festival, the biggest on Beechworth’s busy annual calendar which annually draws huge numbers to the town.
A new addition to this year’s event will be the world’s biggest performance of the favourite Aussie tune, Home Among the Gum Trees led by local legend, Lazy Harry. Together with local school children, he will lead an all-in performance of the song, complete with actions, by the thousands of visitors lining the streets to watch the Grand Parade.
This year also sees the return of the music stage to the Camp Street Food Court with a fabulous line-up including Lee Rosser and Nick Barker (formerly of Nick Barker and the Reptiles). Other highlights include a Good Friday fun run Monster Raffle offering prizes worth thousands of dollars, including the $2000 golden egg from Beechworth Gold, live roaming entertainment from sensational comic marching band, The Itchy Feet Pep Band, a huge Easter Egg hunt with the Easter Bunny and all day family fun at the Chinese Gardens and much more.
Contact Beechworth Visitor Information Centre 1300 366 321
Located on the banks of Lake Sambell and situated within walking distance to the centre of historic Beechworth. We offer a variety of accommodation including fully selfcontained cabins.