MIDNIGHT SKIES across the south-west will be lit up by fireworks to bring in 2020.
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While many cities across a fire-ravaged Australia have pulled the plug on New Year's Eve fireworks, Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Portland will go ahead with fireworks displays.
Warrnambool's Flagstaff Hill will host the New Year's Eve on the Hill event, with fireworks to be released form the breakwater at 9.30pm and midnight.
Portland will welcome the new year with a street party, followed by fireworks displays at 10pm and midnight at the foreshore.
Fireworks will also be part of a packed New Year's Eve program in Port Fairy, with the night sky to be lit up at midnight.
More than 10,000 people are expected to converge on Port Fairy for New Year's Eve celebrations, with a variety of activities planned.
These will include the Moyneyana Festival street parade through the town's CBD.
Up to 70 floats will take part in the parade, which is the signature event for the 72nd Moyneyana Festival.
Port Fairy community groups and sporting clubs will showcase their creative sides, preparing floats to fit in with the festival's Powered by the Community theme.
One such group is the Port Fairy Heritage Boats Inc.
This group will bring out its Shearwater historic boat to show off to the town and visitors to the area.
Group member Sue Knudsen said the New Year's Eve parade provided a unique opportunity for the Port Fairy community.
"We are really proud of the boat and it's a wonderful chance to show it to a wider audience," Mrs Knudsen said.
"The boat was built by Port Fairy boatmaker Garry Stewart and is based on a boat from the 1880s and is beautifully constructed.
"Because it is so well made, people love looking at it and I'm sure that will be the case on New Year's Eve."
The parade will be led by the Warrnambool Pipes and Drum Band, while the feature music act for the night on Fiddler's Green will be Good Faces 4 Radio.
At 7.30pm, the Rotary Club of Port Fairy Barista Race will be held, testing the skills of the town's renowned coffee makers.
Other activities on New Year's Eve across the region include the Woodford Cup at the Warrnambool Racecourse and the Warrnambool Kiwanis New Year's Eve Move to the Groove at St Pius Hall, which will raise money for the Warrnambool Special Development School.
In Cobden, the community will gather at the miniature railway park from 5pm for family entertainment, a sausage sizzle and an appearance from Darth Vader.
