The event, A Very Liebig Christmas, will be a family-friendly community street festival that aims to support local business as part of the city centre renewal project.

It will be held on Friday, November 30 and will be run and organised by the Liebig Street Leadership Group, with support from the Warrnambool City Council (WCC).

The “unmissable” night will include street stalls packed with Christmas gift ideas, entertainment from street performers, a range of alfresco dining and the opportunity to be the first to see the new city Christmas lights and decorations.

WCC manager economic development Shaun Miller said the event aimed to attract visitors from the region to spend the evening in the Warrnambool CBD shopping and celebrating the end of the renewal works and kicking off the festive season.

“This group of innovative, local business people understand the importance of coming together to celebrate as a community and the economic and placemaking benefits associated with it,” Mr Miller said.

Leadership group member Adele Griffin, from the Commonwealth Bank, said it would launch Christmas in Warrnambool. “It’s about bringing everyone into the centre of Warrnambool, into the CBD, where everything happens,” Mrs Griffin said.

“It will be good. It will be awesome. I’d encourage everyone to come to the CBD, join the fun and support our local businesses, who have a lot to offer.”

She thanked council for their support and said a number of initiatives had been delivered based on their discussions including Find the Five, laneway activations and more. 

She hopes A Very Liebig Christmas will become an annual event. The group is seeking sponsorship with a number of packages available to purchase to support the event. Mrs Griffin said they had entered the event into Pick My Project, a Victorian-first community grants initiative, with $30 million available to fund local projects. Public voting opens in August. For more information go to the A Very Liebig Christmas Facebook page.