Free School Holiday Activities Bendigo | July 2026

School holidays are here, and Bendigo families feeling the pinch of rising living costs will find more than a dozen free or under-$10 activities running across the city from this week. The City of Greater Bendigo’s Summer in the City program, launched Wednesday, includes 22 events at venues from Lake Weeroona to the Bendigo Library, with the majority priced at zero dollars.

The reason this matters now is simple: the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in June that recreation and culture costs in regional Victoria rose 5.4 per cent year-on-year, the steepest jump since 2022. For a family of four, a single trip to a commercial indoor play centre can push past $80. Local councils and community groups are stepping in to fill the gap, and Bendigo’s lineup is one of the most extensive in the Loddon Mallee region this winter.

Story time under the gums, nature play at the Lake

One of the standout free events is Woodland Story Time, held every Wednesday from July 15 at the old bandstand in Rosalind Park. The Bendigo Library’s early-literacy team leads 45-minute sessions of stories and songs starting at 10am, with a focus on Australian bush animals and local Indigenous stories. No booking is required; parents just bring a rug.

Over at Lake Weeroona, the Nature Play Pop-Up returns on Saturday, July 18 and again on August 1, from 11am to 2pm. Run by the Bendigo Sustainability Group in partnership with Parks Victoria, the program lets kids build cubbies from fallen branches, dig in a mud-pit, and learn about macroinvertebrates from the lake’s edge. All materials are supplied, and the only cost is parking, still free at the Weeroona carpark until the end of July.

The Bendigo Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, at 15a Bridge Street, is hosting Winter Wonders, a free drop-in activity on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26. Between 10am and 3pm, children can make seed bombs with native seeds, paint a terracotta pot to take home, and follow a self-guided “tree detective” trail through the gardens. The trail sheets are available from the Conservatory’s front desk.

Science, sport and cinema for a fiver or less

For families happy to spend a little, the Bendigo Discovery Centre on Eaglehawk Road is offering its school-holiday “Junior Innovators” pass for $8 per child, half the usual entry price. The pass includes access to the centre’s new Augmented Reality Water Table exhibit, launched in May, plus the regular physics and earth-science displays. Passes must be booked online at least 24 hours ahead; the centre reported selling out three of its four sessions during the April holidays.

The Bendigo Cinemas at the multiplex in Epsom, just off the Midland Highway, continues its $5 Kids’ Flicks program every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am. July’s lineup includes the animated adventure “The Wild Robot” (rated G) and a re-release of “The Iron Giant” (PG). Tickets are available at the box office only, and the session on July 14, the first day of the official school break, was already 70 per cent sold as of Thursday afternoon, according to a staff member who answered the phone.

For active families, the Bendigo Netball and Sports Centre at 91 Brighton Street is running two free Come & Try afternoons: July 16 and July 23, both from 1pm to 3pm. Coaches from the Bendigo Strikers Netball Club and the Bendigo Tennis Academy lead modified games for children aged 4 to 12. No equipment is needed, and water bottles are provided. The City of Greater Bendigo’s sports development officer estimated that more than 300 kids attended similar sessions in the January school holidays.

Next up: on Monday, July 20, the Bendigo Library will launch its Winter Reading Challenge for children aged 5 to 14. Children who sign up borrow at least three books before August 10 and submit a one-sentence review go into a draw to win a $50 gift voucher from Dymocks Bendigo. Last year, 412 children completed the challenge, up from 289 in 2024. Registration is free and available at the library’s service desk or online at ncgrl.vic.gov.au.