BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - ECPv6.16.4.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Australia/Melbourne BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20240406T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20241005T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20250405T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20251004T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20260404T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20261003T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20270403T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20271002T160000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251118T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251118T193000 DTSTAMP:20250930T062718Z CREATED:20250917T050616Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250930T062718Z UID:67363-1763488800-1763494200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Margaret Hickey DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/margaret-hickey-25/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/margaret-hickey-sq-promo.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T183000 DTSTAMP:20251110T232935Z CREATED:20250728T054722Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T232935Z UID:66407-1763573400-1763577000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2025\, Season 5\, Recent Years | Ballarat's Her Majesty's Reinvention\, Presented by Richard Nicholson DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/her-majestys-reinvention/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Talk,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-2025-her-majestys-final.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T200000 DTSTAMP:20250917T031134Z CREATED:20250917T030336Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031134Z UID:67346-1763578800-1763582400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-19-nov-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251120T183000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251120T200000 DTSTAMP:20251110T031636Z CREATED:20251110T031233Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T031636Z UID:68444-1763663400-1763668800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:An Evening with Peter FitzSimons AM DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/an-evening-with-peter-fitzsimons-am/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/cover-peter-fitzsimonos-book-e1762145093105.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251121T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251121T210000 DTSTAMP:20251110T233455Z CREATED:20250917T004106Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T233455Z UID:67335-1763753400-1763758800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ben Knight: The Parent Teacher Interview | Show now SOLD OUT DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/ben-knight-parent-teacher/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ben-knight-sq-promo.webp ORGANIZER;CN="KEG Touring":MAILTO:Contact@kegtouring.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251122T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251123T160000 DTSTAMP:20251120T012503Z CREATED:20240822T062240Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251120T012503Z UID:58498-1763805600-1763913600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Open Garden & Devonshire Tea - BMI Fundraiser | Errard Hall DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/open-garden-fundraiser-2025/ LOCATION:Errard Hall\, Errard Street North\, Ballarat Central\, City of Ballarat\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Urban Agriculture Month ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/square-promo-errard-hall.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251122T184500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251122T223000 DTSTAMP:20251110T042444Z CREATED:20251017T035401Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T042444Z UID:68049-1763837100-1763850600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Small Things DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/small-things/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Live Music ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/sq-promo.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T183000 DTSTAMP:20251110T233614Z CREATED:20250728T055539Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T233614Z UID:66413-1764178200-1764181800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2025\, Season 5\, Recent Years | Ballarat Arts Foundation: 25 Years Old\, Presented by Paula Nicholson DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/ballarat-arts-foundation/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Talk,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-2025-ballarat-arts-foundation.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T200000 DTSTAMP:20250917T031337Z CREATED:20250917T031231Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031337Z UID:67356-1764183600-1764187200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-26-nov-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251128T200000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251128T213000 DTSTAMP:20250813T031528Z CREATED:20250408T004608Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T031528Z UID:64310-1764360000-1764365400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Akmal | Live Comedy at the BMI DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/akmal/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/promo-square-akmal.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251129T200000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251129T213000 DTSTAMP:20250813T025904Z CREATED:20250714T024250Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T025904Z UID:66208-1764446400-1764451800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Daniel Muggleton: You Might Be White\, I May Be Crazy DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/daniel-muggleton/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-daniel-muggleton.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251202T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251202T193000 DTSTAMP:20251113T003410Z CREATED:20251113T001614Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251113T003410Z UID:68682-1764698400-1764703800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with William McInnes DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/william-mcinnes/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/william-sq-promo.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251203T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251203T200000 DTSTAMP:20250917T031513Z CREATED:20250917T031355Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031513Z UID:67359-1764788400-1764792000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-3-dec-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251206T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251206T140000 DTSTAMP:20251128T005707Z CREATED:20251110T024632Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251128T005707Z UID:68436-1765015200-1765029600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Christmas Book Sale DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-christmas-book-sale/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Library,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/book-sale-square-promo-christmas-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251207T090000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251207T140000 DTSTAMP:20251203T043313Z CREATED:20251110T010546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251203T043313Z UID:68424-1765098000-1765116000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Christmas Market DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-christmas-market/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Art programs,Christmas,Fundraiser,Important Dates,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/square-promo-christmas-market-calling-for-stallholders-v5-final-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251210T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251210T200000 DTSTAMP:20250917T031619Z CREATED:20250917T031528Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031619Z UID:67361-1765393200-1765396800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-10-dec-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251211T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251211T210000 DTSTAMP:20250321T110602Z CREATED:20250212T034546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T110602Z UID:62004-1765481400-1765486800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society | ​Little Richard: I am Everything DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-little-richard/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sqaure-promo-bfs5.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251212T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251212T200000 DTSTAMP:20250923T051149Z CREATED:20250923T045702Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T051149Z UID:67545-1765566000-1765569600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/minervas-secrets-night-tours-12-dec-25/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Night Tours,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_908662326866361-e1708918930337.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251213T200000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251213T213000 DTSTAMP:20251210T032321Z CREATED:20251021T225043Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251210T032321Z UID:68162-1765656000-1765661400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Christmas Comedy Gala at BMI DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/christmas-comedy-gala/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/sq-promo-comedy-gala.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260110T130000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260110T160000 DTSTAMP:20251209T041541Z CREATED:20251209T021738Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T041541Z UID:69434-1768050000-1768060800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Artistanbul: Create your own Turkish Mosaic Lamp DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/art-istanbul-workshop/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Christmas,Fundraiser,Important Dates,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/sq-promo-art-instanbul.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260112T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260112T190000 DTSTAMP:20251209T010209Z CREATED:20241217T012501Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T010209Z UID:60743-1768240800-1768244400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Festival of Organ and Fine Music | Darkness & Delight - Jerry Wong (solo piano) DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/jerry-wong/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Classical Music,Live Music,organs ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/jerry-wong.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260123T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260123T213000 DTSTAMP:20251203T010553Z CREATED:20251203T003308Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251203T010553Z UID:69281-1769196600-1769203800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Billy Hinde's Big Band presents: A Night of Big Band DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/a-night-of-big-band/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Live Music ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/sq-promo-billy-hinde.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260128T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260128T193000 DTSTAMP:20251215T040410Z CREATED:20251120T065224Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251215T040410Z UID:68764-1769623200-1769628600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Geoff Parkes and Susi Fox DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/in-conversation-with-geoff-parks-susi-fox/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/sq-promo-geoff.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260128T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260128T201500 DTSTAMP:20251201T032638Z CREATED:20251124T043242Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251201T032638Z UID:68875-1769626800-1769631300@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living From a Place of Inner Peace - Ballarat Public Talk DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/living-from-a-place-of-inner-peace/ LOCATION:VIC CATEGORIES:kadampa,Talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/square-promo2-1.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="KMC Australia & Melbourne":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260204T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260204T200000 DTSTAMP:20260119T235306Z CREATED:20260119T040646Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260119T235306Z UID:70116-1770231600-1770235200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | A Fresh Start: Discover the Power of Meditation DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-4-feb-26/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Square-A_Fresh_Start.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260211T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260211T200000 DTSTAMP:20260119T235116Z CREATED:20260119T041205Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260119T235116Z UID:70121-1770836400-1770840000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | A Fresh Start: Discover the Power of Meditation DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-11-feb-26/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Square-A_Fresh_Start.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260212T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260212T210000 DTSTAMP:20260129T033730Z CREATED:20260128T030546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260129T033730Z UID:70313-1770924600-1770930000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society | Flow DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/ballarat-film-society-flow/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/flow-sq-promo.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260214T120000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260214T140000 DTSTAMP:20260112T060448Z CREATED:20260112T012814Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260112T060448Z UID:69779-1771070400-1771077600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In conversation with Tori Baxter | Book Launch DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/in-conversation-with-tori-baxter/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Author Talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Untitled-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260215T170000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260215T183000 DTSTAMP:20260123T000304Z CREATED:20260112T034344Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260123T000304Z UID:69818-1771174800-1771180200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Joseph Tawadros | Solo Oud DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/joseph-tawadros-solo-oud/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Live Music ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/sq-promo-joseph-tawadros.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260218T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260218T200000 DTSTAMP:20260119T234924Z CREATED:20260119T041316Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260119T234924Z UID:70123-1771441200-1771444800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | A Fresh Start: Discover the Power of Meditation DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark\n For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Collection Events\n Events staged in conjunction with our Heritage Collection will be... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith\n Where Truth Ends Mark Smith Don’t miss Mark who will... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n From the Curator | Arresting the Ephemeral\n The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-18-feb-26/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Square-A_Fresh_Start.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR