Bacchus Marsh's Soul Food program has been awarded $19,200 in state food relief funding. The registered charity serves hot meals weekly and provides staple supplies to people in need. Coordinator Jenny Kearney said the grant, applied for in July, will help fund food purchases for the next 12 months. Every Wednesday at Saint Bernards Parish Centre, the program serves 180 to 200 lunchtime diners. Meal numbers have risen from 2800 in 2020 to over 10,000 in 2025.
The Bacchus Marsh Strawberry and Cherry Festival returns to the Victorian town for three days in November. Festivities begin on Friday 13 November at Village Green, with market stalls, food trucks, entertainment and carnival rides. Saturday 14 November is the biggest day, ending with a fireworks display at 9.30pm. Local farms open for fruit picking across the weekend. A shuttle bus runs between Bacchus Marsh railway station and the festival areas on Saturday and Sunday, with a gold coin donation welcomed.
Ballan's men's team scored 5/226 against Bacchus Marsh in BCA Division 2 at Ballan, with Heath Doherty making 67. Bacchus Marsh passed Ballan's total in the 43rd over, with Cody Salmon scoring 66. In a separate match, Ballan's senior women opened their season by defeating Napoleons Sebastopol by 59 runs. Ballan restricted the visitors to 4/133 after defending a total of 192, with several players taking wickets and catches.
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Bacchus Marsh residents will revisit life in the 1950s at a free history talk at the Lerderderg Library on Saturday 31 October, as part of the Seniors Festival. Local Rotarian Alan Morton came up with the idea after receiving a collection of 1950s agricultural journals. Eight to 10 speakers will each talk for about 15 minutes, followed by questions. Morton will cover early local dairy farming, while Alf Hawken will speak about RP Sewell, a local engineering firm that made parts for Massey Fergusson tractors. The session runs from 10am to 12.30pm and includes morning tea.
The Moorabool News has published its October 23 edition, with recent headlines on its website. Recent stories include a former King Charles horse running in the Melbourne Cup after a Geelong Cup win. Other headlines cover a Halloween ball, a church concert raising funds against cancer, a Ballan estate given a river's former name, and a possible synthetic surface for the Bacchus Marsh little athletics centre.
Mayhem Pro wrestling returns to Bacchus Marsh on Saturday 31 October with a family-friendly Halloween night at the Bacchus Marsh Public Hall. The main event is the fifth annual Relentless Rumble, a 30-wrestler match to decide the last wrestler standing. Mayhem Pro wrestlers will share the ring with rising talent from the Relentless School of Pro Wrestling. Doors open at 6.30pm and the first bell rings at 7.30pm. Children aged five and under enter free, and booking online in advance saves $5 on tickets.
A free Halloween party for young people aged 11 to 17 returns to Darley on Thursday 29 October. The Moorabool Youth Halloween party, called Spookaball, will run from 6pm to 8pm at the Darley Civic Hub Pavilion. Games, snacks, drinks and karaoke are planned, and prizes will go to the best dressed. Places are limited to 40 participants and must be booked through Eventbrite. Council received grant funding from the Victorian government's Amplify program to run the event. Other Halloween events for young locals are planned across Moorabool Shire.
Labor will upgrade the athletics track at Masons Lane Reserve in Bacchus Marsh if it returns to government after 28 November. Eureka MP Michaela Settle pledged $1.2 million towards a new all-weather synthetic surface to replace the current grass track. The Bacchus Marsh Little Athletics Centre president, Karen Stewart, said the surface would make races easier for children with special needs and sight-impaired children. Moorabool Shire Council will contribute a matching $1.2 million to the works.
Police are appealing for public help to find Adrian, a 29-year-old man from Bacchus Marsh. He was last seen on Lyle Street at about 6am on 11 October. Victoria Police say Adrian has a medical condition that requires medication, and they are concerned for his welfare. He is about 182 centimetres tall, with a solid build, brown hair and facial stubble. Anyone who sees him or knows where he is is urged to contact Bacchus Marsh Police Station.
The Victorian government has made the Wombat-Lerderderg National Park official. The park spans more than 44,000 hectares between Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh. It combines the former Lerderderg State Park with large areas of the former Wombat State Forest. Wombat Forestcare convenor Gayle Osborne said the area will now be managed for conservation and visitor enjoyment rather than logging and mining. Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas praised the outcome for the environment, tourism and local jobs. Three new national parks were created alongside it.
The Moorabool News has published its edition for October 16. The page lists several recent local stories. Headlines include a midcourt boost for Bacchus Marsh, the Cobras celebrating their best and fairest players, and live music and storytelling planned for November. A women's project to fill a metaphorical bickie tin with stories is also listed, along with a Marshall shortlisting for a new Australian fiction prize.
Keilor has signed forward Lucas Failli from Hillside for next season. Failli played 17 games and kicked 14 goals for the Sharks this year. Meanwhile, defender Brad Xavier has signed with Bacchus Marsh for the next two seasons after leaving Keilor, where he had played since 2012. Xavier was in the Blues leadership group and is a three-time premiership player. Bacchus Marsh also says he will join its coaching panel as a senior assistant coach.
Luke Goetz, Georgia Shattock and Jamie-Lee Speakman have won the top individual honours at Bacchus Marsh Football Netball Club for 2027. Goetz was named starting ruckman in the BFNL's team of the year. Speakman kicked 35 goals and helped the side reach the grand final. Life membership was awarded to Kaye Lafranchi and Barry Miller, whose combined service exceeds 80 years. The club also named winners across its other grades and age groups.
Bacchus Marsh has signed midcourter Jess Pane on a permanent basis for the 2027 Ballarat Football Netball League season. Pane played one game for the Cobras this season. Coach Nichole Gleeson said she would fit in quickly and could play wing attack, centre or wing defence. The club is now looking to recruit another goal shooter, as Chloe Eyre has moved on. Gleeson said the aim is a return to finals netball, despite the arrival of Gisborne in the competition.
Moorabool Shire will host a series of music, poetry and storytelling events in Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Blackwood throughout November. The Hide + Seek Presents program features touring artists and local creatives, with a focus on First Nations music and creative writing workshops for young people. Mayor Steve Venditti-Taylor said the program is designed to spark conversation and connection across generations. Events include Thin Red Lines at Ballan Mechanics Institute Hall on 7 November, and the spoken word salon Better Off Said at Bacchus Marsh Town Hall on 20 November.
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Bacchus Marsh author Wayne Marshall has been shortlisted for this year's Readings New Australian Fiction Prize. His book, Henry Goes Bush, is inspired by the life of writer Henry Lawson. It blends a real outback trip Lawson took as a young man with science fiction and comedy. Marshall learned of the shortlisting by phone while visiting Lawson's birthplace of Grenfell in New South Wales. The six shortlisted books were selected by a panel of Readings staff. The winner will be announced in Carlton on 27 October.
Brett Bewley, Matilda Elliot and Trinity Skenderis have won the Darley Football Netball Club’s top individual honours for 2026. Bewley claimed the senior football best and fairest, Elliot took out the A-grade netball best and fairest, and Skenderis added a senior women’s football best and fairest to her league medal win. The club also awarded life membership to Lily and Jarrod Edwards. In netball, star defender Elliot claimed the best and fairest, with midcourter Montana Holmes the runner-up. In senior women’s football, Skenderis claimed the best and fairest ahead of Ruby Thomas.
