Expect to see goths galore as Maldon gets in touch with its darker side this weekend to stage its very first Goldfields Gothic Festival of Dark Ideas.
Part of the annual Maldon in Winter series, the new Goldfields Gothic Festival of Dark Ideas celebrates the darker side of the area’s goldfields history.
Organisers Valentina Tansley and Maldon resident Paul Kooperman say the new event taps into the locality’s Gothic, tragic and more mysterious past with performances, tours, themed food experiences, live music and conversations on topics noir.
“It’s the first of its kind and we hope it will be huge,” Paul told the Mail.
“We are expecting more than 1500 people to come to Maldon and enjoy the activities.
“In late 2021 we felt there was a real thirst in the community to revitalise the events program so we came up with the idea to do something a little different this year.”
Highlights include live performances by Dandelion Wine and legendary Australian dark alternative band Ikon.
A family friendly Gothic and Victorian Picnic in the little tourist town’s shire gardens, a special meeting of internationally renowned Death Café at Café Maldon, a uniquely crafted dark high tea, ghost tours by award winning spook sleuths Twisted History, and a street display of collectible hearses are all on the niche program.
The first time event aims to makes the most also of ongoing rumours that more than one local building – notably including the town’s Kangaroo Hotel – are haunted.
Organisers hope to bring new audiences to the town and the festival’s Michelle Dorian says it’s expected that Goldfields Gothic will become an annual fixture on the region’s calendar.
“Definitely. This is one of those dreams,” she says.