Gala Parade entry form
Get your community group or school signed up to join our amazing parade.
Gala Parade Saturday 21st March
Marshall from 10am
Parade start 11am
Please read terms and conditions before entering
Terms and Conditions
Dragon city marshals and other parade personnel
At all times, please follow the instructions of Dragon City Marshals and Parade Staff. Under any emergency situation, please follow instructions of Emergency Services.
Entry is not automatic
Entry applications are not automatically accepted into the parade.
The Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival reserves the right to select parade entries according to the cultural and artistic values of the parade entry application. We also reserve the right to ask you to leave the assembly area or parade route if you are not meeting parade rules / expectations.
Parade content
The Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival Parade is a community parade. This is an opportunity for community groups to showcase and express themselves.
Whilst we encourage and support individual expression of its diverse community, please be mindful that the Gala Parade is a family event, and we urge you to dress and behave responsibly for the enjoyment of all people.
If you are unsure of the content and representation of your entry, please consult with the Festival Parade Coordinator prior to completing this form – phone: 0400 736 329.
No collection of donations on the parade route is permitted
You can download T&C’s in a PDF, or read through below.
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Each year we have a ‘theme’ for our festival. This year our theme is Harvest. We do encourage each entry to follow our theme. You are invited to complete an entry form. You are required to provide a brief description and detailed diagram of your proposed entry in your application form. Please attach any photos or support materials if relevant.
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Vehicles
Please note that all motor vehicles must be road registered. Those that are not must obtain and clearly display an unregistered vehicle permit from Vic Roads. (Please enclose a copy of this permit with your entry form)
Vehicles participate in the parade at their own risk
We encourage all vehicles to be decorated as a celebration of your entry.
Types of vehiclesFor the safety of the audience along the parade route, only the following sizes of vehicles are permitted in the parade.
Each vehicle must be within the maximum dimensions –
Length (12.50m), Width (2.4m), and Height (4.3m).
Motor car – including limousines, sedans and 4-wheel drives.
Ute and Trailer.
SES and Fire Brigade trucks.
Rigid tray truck only (No articulated vehicles [Semi-trailers])
Under no circumstances should any trucks be towing a trailer e.g. Prime Mover with trailers.
No semi-trailers, no waste trucks and no service vehicles.
Drivers of vehiclesVictoria Police may conduct a security check of drivers prior to the parade in the form of name and vehicle registration check. All drivers are to have ZERO alcohol and drug reading. (No consumption of alcohol at least 12 hours prior)
Victoria Police have the right to breathalyse parade entrants at random on the day. Only drivers, who registered in the Parade Entry form, are permitted to drive the vehicle during the parade.
Each entry must designate a primary driver and nominate a ‘respondent driver’. These two drivers must travel in the same vehicle at all times, during the parade. Both the driver and the nominated ‘respondent driver’ are required to provide their drivers details when asked in the assembly area.
If there is a change to the nominated driver please inform the Parade Manager immediately.
All entries are to adopt all the appropriate safety measures and ensure that safety of the audience and the participants are maintained at all times.
Helmets must be worn at all times, when riding on roller skates, motorcycles, bicycles, and three-wheeler motorbikes.
Seat belts must be worn at all times in vehicles.
No using mobile phones while driving on the road.
Additional fixtures on your entry such as decorative panels, flags, furniture, lighting or generators must be safe and properly secured.
When you are not in your vehicle the keys must be removed and the car locked whilst in the assembly area.
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Please firstly consult with the parade coordinator before entering animals in the parade.
Experienced persons must accompany their dogs and always keep them under effective control. Aggressive dogs will be removed from the parade.
All parade entries featuring animals are responsible for providing their own water and waste collection along the parade route.
For safety reasons, it is not suitable to enter horses (with or without riders) in the Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival Gala Parade due to the assortment of loud noises and music in the parade route.
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To ensure the safety of parade entrants and the audience, The Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival event personnel will be present at the parade assembly to inspect all vehicles and parade entries for safety. The event personnel have the authority to request alteration and removal of dangerous or unsound components of any parade entry including vehicles.
Your entry will not be permitted in the parade if you fail to comply with the requests from the event personnel.
Children and elderly participants
Due to the distance of the parade route, children under twelve 12 years old and the elderly are advised against walking the parade route, it would be advisable to sit them on a trailer or in a vehicle.
Children must always be accompanied by an adult (ratio of 7 children to 1 adult). Please wear appropriate shoes for walking.
Parade participants
Each entry can have a maximum number of 40 people.
Please notify the Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival Parade Coordinator prior to the parade, if you intend to have more than 40 people in your entry.
All participants must be costumed appropriately – no nudity.
Banner carriers
Due to the length of the parade route, the weather and wind factor on the day, please consider adults instead of children to carry your banners. We also suggest that you consider providing relieve carriers to assist the banner carriers throughout walk on the parade route.
Hats, sunscreen and water
Please be responsible for your own hats, sunscreen and drinking water during parade assembly and while travelling on the parade route.
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Eligibility
Parade entrants must be a school or community group, or a not-for-profit organisation.
Parade entrants must be non-political, and offensive behaviour will not be tolerated.
If you are an individual or groups with no public liability, you are ineligible to apply.
All parade entrants must be incorporated and/or have own public liability insurance. If your group is not incorporated, you will require an auspicing body.
If you are a Business / Commercial group, you must work with a school or community group to be eligible for consideration to participate in the Parade. We encourage partnerships between Business / Commercial groups to join with school groups and /or community groups and vice versa.
Insurance
All entrants must have their own public liability insurance to the value of five million dollars or more.
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The Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival monitors the weather leading up to the days of the festival.
In the event of extreme weather –
All parade entrants should follow their own parade risk assessment to determine whether to withdraw from the parade or not.
The Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival President, along with the parade coordinator will undertake a risk assessment on the day prior to determine whether it should continue. If a decision is made, that the parade is to be cancelled or delayed, this will be posted on the festival website and media platforms.
Extreme weather can be defined as including, but not limited to, continuous and ongoing high winds, heat, thunder & lightning, storms, torrential rain.
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Parade entrants are permitted to hand out giveaways, from person to person only, while on the parade route. Giveaways must not be thrown into the crowd from your float or vehicle. Failure to comply with this arrangement may result in immediate dismissal from the parade.
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We encourage all non - instrumental entries to provide their own portable music, to help create atmosphere along the parade route.
All entries will be monitored at the parade assembly as to the appropriate level of sound of each float, parade staff have the authority to request very loud music to be turned down to an acceptable level.
Please note that while every care is taken in assembling the order of entries in the parade, sometimes it is not unusual for entries with noise to travel side by side.
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Procession entries are only allowed to disperse in designated areas, guided by the Dragon City Marshals and Parade Staff.
Failure to follow the above instructions will compromise future participation. Dispersing while on the parade route is NOT allowed unless in an emergency.
When required, entries with students & passengers may park their vehicles in the designated dispersal area …to ensure the safe drop off of passengers at the end of the parade.
If you do not require dropping off your passengers, please notify our Marshals and Parade staff, and we will direct you to continue leaving along Sailors Gully Road.
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All parade entrants are responsible for providing your own signage; this is a crucial component of your entry to help identify your group on the parade route. Your signage must be at least – 60cm x 60cm (2ft x 2ft) or longer. Signage can be a hand painted, stencilled or professionally printed.
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At all times, parade entrants are to notify the Dragon City Marshals of any problems with vehicles or people in the parade. The Dragon City Marshals will assess the situation and take appropriate action to resolve the problem, while minimizing impact to the flow of the entire parade.
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Please be informed that you and your group may be photographed during the Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival Gala Parade, and these images may be used in future Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival promotional and marketing materials, including social media platforms.
If your group is taking photos along the parade route, you must not stop and hold up the parade whilst photo is being taken.
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Parade entries are judged by independent judges and members of the Eaglehawk Festivals Inc committee. The criteria that will be considered are creativity, colour, music, movement and relevance to the theme and nominated categories. The judge’s decision is final. All winners will be notified via the Eaglehawk Festivals Inc website.