Hepburn Springs Swiss & Italian Festa

The first Swiss/Italian Festa was staged in 1993 as a community initiative. It was designed to encourage and promote an annual event that celebrated the history, culture and lifestyle of Hepburn Springs and Daylesford with an emphasis on the region's Swiss and Italian heritage. Over a ten day period the people of Hepburn Springs and Daylesford show off to their neighbours and the wider community of Victoria, their pride in the strong links to the Swiss and Italian settlers of the district in the 1850's. The Festa also highlights the wide-ranging skills and diversity of the present community and the area s unique environment, still closely linked to "taking the waters" at the numerous mineral springs. Every year the festa features a varied program that offers a wide spectrum of events for the local community, descendants of the early settlers and visitors to the region.