Victoria’s oldest arts festival back from brink of collapse
“When you’re turning 50, you should know who you are – your mistakes, your strengths,” says Martin Paten, executive director of the Castlemaine State Festival. It’s true of life, but he’s speaking about the event, which returns next year on its 50th anniversary.
Last year the festival went into voluntary administration, with organisers blaming losses incurred in 2023.
Musicians, community choirs and a shared feast were all part of the celebrations in Cornucopia! on opening night of the 2013 Castlemaine State Festival. Next year’s 50th anniversary event is taking its cues from festivals of the past.Credit: Michael Nix
Paten, together with Linda Sproul as artistic director, has been given the task of resurrecting the much-loved biennial festival, which started in 1976. Running from March 20 to 29, the event includes performing arts, visual arts, music, theatre and more; the most expensive ticket in the program is $50.
Sproul says the aim is to offer authentic cultural experiences “to enchant audiences with the craft, imagination and depth of the work presented by the local community and visiting artists”.
Martin Paten and Linda Sproul, co-directors of the Castlemaine State Festival 2026.
“The 2026 Castlemaine State Festival is all about returning art to where it should be in terms of accessibility and engagement: close up, intimate and inspiring,” she says.
She and Paten have a long history with the event, she as a former board director and Paten as artistic director from 2008 to 2017.
The festival next year returns to the spirit of earlier incarnations with a focus on locally made work, and activities spread across the town and the surrounding region. In the past, opera was staged in a mine near Maldon and a theatre show in the treetops of Vaughn.
“After a period of repair and reflection, the festival is taking flight again; lighter, more open-hearted and deeply connected to community and place,” says Paten.
