A vinyl swap meet will be held on Saturday at the Victoria Hotel’s Drill Hall from 1pm and is expected to be one of the highlights of the festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday.

The event will be an opportunity to buy and swap LPs, EPs and singles, with local DJs also spinning their favourite tracks all afternoon.

The last Winter Weekend will feature a wide range of activities, starting with the opening of a new exhibition by Port Fairy artist Liam Murphy from 6pm on Friday at St John’s Church Hall.

There will also be a special edition of the much-loved 15 Minutes Of Fame concerts, which will be held at the Port Fairy Bowls Club instead of its usual home at St Brigid’s Hall in Crossley. The event is a fundraiser for St Brigid’s, which is owned by the local community.

Saturday morning features a community market at Railway Place, and at the nearby Visitor Information Centre at 11am the winners of the previous Winter Weekend’s photography contest will be announced.

Conlan’s Wine Store is expected to be busy on Saturday when it hosts a cooking class and a wine-tasting workshop.

Two of the most popular parts of the previous Winter Weekend were the ghost tours and the Budj Bim tours, and they return this weekend. Spots on the ghost tours have already sold out, and the Budj Bim tours are also likely to sell out.

As well as Budj Bim, the Winter Weekend also extends beyond Port Fairy by taking in Tower Hill with a bush food and wildlife experience on Saturday and Narrawong with a produce market on Sunday.

Saturday will also feature a Spanish and South American-themed concert at Blarney Books featuring flutist Laura Thompson and pianist Julie McErlain, and a special anniversary at the Merrijig Inn celebrating 175 years of the iconic venue.

The final day of the festival will be a big one, with a special performance by singing diplomat Fred Smith and double bassist Liz Frencham at the Lecture Hall.

There will also be a coffee-making workshop at Sterling Espresso Bar. 

The whole thing wraps up with a closing party at Battery Point that will feature fire drums for roasting marshmallows, live music, and hot food, as well as mulled wine and hot chocolate.

There will also be an appearance by the “roaming interactive robotic sculpture of vintage packing crates”, which will be cruising around town all weekend showcasing its “unexpected, humourous and absurd abstract cabinet of curiosities”.