Wollongong City Council : Celebrate with your Community this Australia Day

While helping launch our family friendly Australia Day 2018, Breaker took a quick break.

Australia Day is just three weeks away and Wollongong City Council has all your family fun covered.

On Friday 26 January, head to Wollongong Harbour from 8am for a day-long celebration that even has something to keep the four-legged fur babies happy.

This year Council's popular event includes the debut of the UOW Global Corner which gives people the chance to drop a pin on a map to mark their family heritage, catch cultural dance performances and participate in interactive Indigenous art. There will also be the debut of the Australia Day Ozzy Doggy Show, a children's stage and main stage, and a Youth Chill Out Zone where young people can bring along their skateboards and scooters and have a go on a ramp, catch skate and scooter demos, and see performances from the Cam White Pro BMXTeam.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM said Council's Australia Day celebrations are one of our most popular events, attracting more than 45,000 people across the day in and around Wollongong Harbour.

'There is always a great atmosphere and a packed program of events. I'd encourage everyone who has not joined in the fun in the past to come along and see what it's all about,'' he said. 'We've got a stellar line up again this year with shows and performances happening across the day. Plus, of course, there is the 9pm fireworks that'll see people lining the foreshore area, Cliff Road and Flagstaff Hill to watch this display against the backdrop of Wollongong Harbour.''

There will be a range of stallholders selling food, novelty items and craft in and around Osborne Park, which is also where you'll find the children's stage and rides. The Main Stage will be in Lang Park and will feature a Runway Beachwear Fashion Parade. In Lang Park there will also be rides, hands-on activities led by Scouts NSW and The Big Wedgie.

'We really do offer something for everyone - including the Ozzy Doggy Show which is a first for Council's Australia Day. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the outfits the pampered pooches will be wearing for the Best Dressed Ozzy Doggy category and I encourage everyone to register early because there will not be an opportunity on the day,'' Cr Bradbery said.

'However, one of the things I'm most proud of in regards to this event is its focus on accessibility. Last year, Council won an award for our accessible New Year's Eve event and we're continuing that focus here. We've always had accessible parking in Harbour Street for Australia Day but this year we've extended this to offer an accessible viewing area between 6-9pm for the fireworks. It's open to people with disability and their families and carers and they need to register for it through Council's website. This is all part of Council's commitment to make our City open to everyone.''

For more information on Australia Day, and to register to participate in the Ozzy Doggy Show call our Customer Service team on 4227 7111.