We have just returned from spending the long weekend at Port Fairy with Friends.  Each weekend in June, Port Fairy has its Winter Weekends Festival. This isn’t the reason that we went, but it definitely added to the enjoyment of our stay. We participated in some of the events and had a great time. We also did quite a bit of walking around the town and along the coast. Following are the highlights of our weekend.

12th Annual Dachshund Dash
This for me was the biggest highlight. The day started with the Doggie Breakfast, which included games for the dogs and owners plus a fancy dress competition. Following this, there was a grand parade to the venue of the Dachshund Dash, at the end of the main street. Then came the big event – The 12th Annual Dachshund Dash with 100 entries and over 2000 people cheering the dogs on.  The video below explains it better than any words I could write.

Lights After Dark

Parts of the town centre and wharf area were lit up after dark with a beautiful display of coloured light projections. We had a lovely time walking around the town in the evening. The weather was  unusually mild all weekend, which added to our enjoyment

Open House: Mill Cottage

Mill’s Cottage is an historic house near the wharf which was built in the early 19th century. We had a personal guided tour with a very enthusuastic and knowledgable guide who pointed out the many interesting parts of this building. Of course, with my interest in history and Victorian history this was always going to be highlight for me, and it didn’t disappoint.

Lighthouse

On Sunday the Port Fairy Lighthouse was open for the public to climb the stairs to the top.  This was a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Port Fairy, and a rare opportunity to see the inner workings of the historic lighthouse, and imagine the life of a lighthouse keeper. We were a bit pushed for time, and as I’m a bit wary of heights and confined spaces, we chose not to climb to the top. But it was great to see the lighthouse up close. Also the walk out to the lighthouse was really beautiful, so definitely worth doing.

Markets

On Saturday morning, we headed to the community market, to check out the local produce and crafts for sale. On Sunday evening,  a twilight market was held at the Port Fairy Consolidated School. This market is an annual event and fundraiser for the school. Food and live entertainment were a feature of this market.

Thumbs Up

We all gave the Port Fairy community volunteers and residents a huge thumbs up for their organisation of the weekend. The above events are only a few that were held over the weekend, so there is plenty to do for all age groups. I would recommend this Winter Weekend Festival in Port Fairy as perfect for a family getaway. I have never seen so many dogs in one small town. Of course, where there are dogs, there are children having fun.  It really was a good fun weekend for all. A huge highlight was the opportunity to catch up with good friends, who we don’t get to see all that often. We have planned to get together again in Port Fairy on the Queens Birthday Weekend in 2019