Fireworks, food and fun will be on the syllabus for the Twilight Festival on Saturday. The free community event from 5pm to 9pm will feature free rides, live entertainment, face painting, farm animals, market stalls and fireworks and much more.

Deakin vice-chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander said the event was an opportunity to welcome the community and thank those who had been a part of the university during its quarter of a century.

“Deakin began as Victoria’s first regional university in 1974, determined to ensure young people could get a quality education no matter where they lived,” Professor den Hollander said.

“Our Twilight Festival will be the perfect way to say thank you to not just the thousands of staff and students who have walked through our doors in the past 25 years, but to the entire region for making us a part of the fabric of the community.

“For most of the year, university is about hard work, commitment and focus, but on Saturday... Deakin Warrnambool will be a place of festivity.

“These types of events are among my favourite aspects of being the vice-chancellor at Deakin, because it gives me the chance to come along and mix with everyone from within the university and beyond, in a relaxed and fun environment.

“It is at evenings like these events where we get to hear first-hand what are often extraordinary stories and experiences that bring to life the journey of members of our wider community.”

Food and beverages will be available to purchase from various stalls on Saturday, including a sausage sizzle at the campus eatery Ginger Kitchen.

Packed picnics are welcome and there will be free parking on the campus grounds. 

​Deakin University and the former Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (WIAE) merged on August 1 1990. 

There are about 700 students enrolled at the Warrnambool campus, which has about 25 undergraduate courses.