Hi everyone,

It was great to see even more of our ACC community last week all back for another year. Book clubs starting, AAA Arts back on Friday afternoons and our Men’s Breakfast had at least 10 people booked in which is super! Thanks John for organising this.

This week the first sessions of Garden to Plate, AAA Bowls, and Sound Healing with Crystal Bowls will also be running. Feels like we are well and truly back in business…….

AND … it is also time to start getting ready for the Alphington Show! HOORAY!!!!! You should start thinking about what you’re planning to enter right now, because this year there’s going to be some tough competition!? In addition to the usual cooking categories (bread, jams, presrves, cakes etc.) we have a new one this year - covering everyone who makes kombucha and kimchi and the like …. (upon request). How fun! Also, don’t forget the Dog Show …. time to start training up those fur babies!

There’s a lot coming up and a lot of posts in our news this week - see all the links below. And in the meantime here is our very official program listed for the week:

• 2nd Monday of the Month Book Club, tonight!

• 2nd Tuesday of the Month Book Club (we’re still recruiting for this new Book Club - so please get in touch - we hope to start it up next month!).

• Toy Library open Tuesday, 1-3pm.

• AAA Bowls at Alphington Bowls Club (email us at info@alphington.org.au to join), Line Dancing at Alphington Scout Hall, and Alphington Playgroup here at the centre (book in online here) all on Wednesday morning from 10am-12pm.

• U3A Armchair Theatre, Wednesday 1-3pm.

• Our new Alphington Playgroup on Thursday morning 10am-12pm.

• Garden to Plate, Thursday 11.30am-1pm (more info and book in online here).

• Sound Healing with Crystal Bowls, Thursday 7-8pm (contact Keiko at her website here).

• Community Morning on Friday from 10am, and stick around for Community Lunch at 12-1pm.

• AAA Arts, Friday 1-2pm (email us at info@alphington.org.au).

Cheers,

Leanne

Next week on Tuesday the 17th of February we’ll be back with our first Preserves Group of the year! We’ll be making seasonal jams and tomato relishes… mmm delicious … hopefully we will be able to restock our supply in time for the Alphington Show next month. It’s free to come along, please book in online here to let us know you’ll be joining. See you Tuesday from 1pm.

Week 2 already …. and it really is good to be back! It had been super to catch up with so many of you already, and to have wrangled the leaves (oh the leaves, the leaves) into order and gotten the rest of our organising (that we didn’t get too at the end of last year) organised.

And yes, our brochure is finally out. Check it out here.

And so it is the perfect time to book in online to our programs for this year!

AAA Art (Friday 1pm) and Artful Painting and Drawing (3 classes on Monday and Tuesday) will both be starting back this week with the wonderful Clare. You can contact her directly to book into Artful Painting and Drawing on 0423453160 and call our office on 9499 7227 to find out about AAA Art.

Book Clubs are back! There are still some places available this year - so book in online. Our Thursday evening Book Club starts this week. Get in quick as these groups generally fill up fast!

And this Saturday at 8am we will also be running our first Men’s Breakfast for the year - you can book in on our website or call John on 0439899352 for more information. See the post below for more details …

Also running this week will be:

• CWA on Monday night at the Gleeson Centre in Darebin Parklands

• Alphington Playgroup and Toy Library both Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 10am-12pm.

• Line Dancing at Alphington Scout Hall on Wednesday at 10am-12pm.

• U3A Armchair Theatre on Wednesday at 1-3pm.

• Alphingtones Choir at St Andrews on Thursday at 7.30pm.

• Our Community Morning on Friday from 10am, and Community Lunch Friday at 12-1pm.

Looking forward to seeing you here at ACC.

Cheers Leanne

Over the last 18 months we have launched and been running two new and very tasty programs: Garden to Plate and CRUNCH (Creative Lunch).

This year they are both back with a bit of a variation - they will be running on alternate Thursdays!

So, Garden to Plate will start next Thursday the 12th of February from 11.30am-1pm, and Crunch will start the following Thursday the 19th of February from 12.30 to 2pm. Each program will run for 4 weeks per term. The cost is $10 per week and places are limited so you will need to book in if you plan to attend.

At Garden to Plate we cook a meal together using fresh seasonal ingredients (including from our Community Garden when possible!) and then sit down and eat our creations (admiring what we made and chatting about life). And at Crunch we eat a lunch cooked by Leanne and then get into the creative spirit with arts and craft activities led by Lee! Both are lots of fun and very social. A real highlight of the week.

See some of our favourite things we made at Garden to Plate and Crunch last year are in the photos below … and don’t forget to book in online here for our first sessions!

MEN’S BREAKFAST – FEBRUARY 2026

A simple table. Real talk. Stronger men.

After the busyness before Christmas, it’s time to come back to something steady.

The Men’s Breakfast is a monthly gathering for men to reconnect — with themselves first, and with other men who value honesty, responsibility, and heart.

To make catering and logistics smooth, this breakfast is run as:

✔ Pre-booked tickets only – $15 each
✔ Seats must be secured before the breakfast

The breakfast runs from 8am-10.30am. Click here to book in.

For more information you can contact John on 0439 899 352 or email coachinglifework@gmail.com.