Lake Bolac Eel Festival

22 Mar 2013 - 24 Mar 2013

The Lake Bolac Eel Festival is a community Art and Music Festival held each autumn on the banks of Lake Bolac in south-western Victoria, and inspired by the fact that Lake Bolac was a traditional gathering place for indigenous people before white settlement.

Lake Boloke is the most celebrated place in the Western District for the fine quality and abundance of its eels, and, when the autumn rains induce these fish to leave the lake and to go down the river to the sea, the Aborigines gather there from great distances James Dawson, Australian Aborigines 1881.

The Festival is a gathering place for people who care for the environment and respect Aboriginal cultural heritage. This is reflected in the indigenous dancing and ceremony, the environmental forum, indigenous, environmental and historical displays, and the Healing Walk held prior to the Festival, all adding up to a unique Festival experience.

In 2009 the Twilight Celebration saw a spectacular community performance combining traditional ceremony and dance, story telling and giant puppets created by the community to tell the story of "The Return of the Rainbow Serpent and Mother Eel".

Music from the Festival Stage features a diversity of blues, roots and acoustic performance, with young and emerging musicians encouraged. Recent headline acts have included Carus Thompson, Declan O'Rourke (Ireland), Neil Murray, Shane Howard, Liz Stringer, Rose Bygrave, Jordie Lane, The Little Stevies and ...