We’ve got a big weekend coming up at ACC with the Christmas Makers Market on Saturday from 10am-1pm, and the Alphington Open Studios event also on.

If you’d like to pop past on Friday night between 5-7pm you can help us celebrate the opening of the salon exhibition at ACC that is part of the Alphington Open Studios weekends. Our salon exhibition includes works from all the artists with their studios open over the next two weekends plus works by other local artists. It should give you a lovely snapshot of what’s on offer … Share a drink with us, admire the art, collect a map (if you haven’t got one in your letterbox already) and then plan to take a neighbourhood walk and visit local artists in their studios over the next two weekends. Find out more here.

Then come back on Saturday morning for our Christmas Makers Market. We have 25 stallholders who have been busy making lovely things. This is a great opportunity for you to buy local and support your neighbours creative endeavours this year for Christmas presents.

We hope you can make it!

It has been lovely to have people back at ACC … here’s some pictures from our preserve makers. So … put some medlar jelly, cucumber 🥒 pickles and tomato 🍅 relish on your must buy list this Christmas! Our makers market is coming up next Saturday 27th November. Pop past from 10am-1pm for a sausage sizzle kindly run by the Ivanhoe Rotary, some family friendly Christmas craft … and local shopping. We’ll have 25 stalls all run by people from the neighbourhood selling locally made things … how lovely (and a GREAT way for you to have a more sustainable Christmas by reducing your ‘shopping miles’ through locally made gifts). Hooray!

We are delighted to feature the whimsical drawings of Marianna Marx on the fence at ACC as part of the Alphington Neighbourhood Gallery.

Marianna runs Gloworm Studios down in Fairfield (on the south side of Fairfield train station) and it is wonderful to be able to showcase and support her artistic endeavours in our local community.

You can find further information about her and the works in the ANG exhibition here. And then … take a walk past ACC and check them out on our fence!

This week we’re looking forward to:

• Our ukulele friends returning, and

• Another book club finally meeting up in person again!

We run 5 book clubs in partnership with Darebin Libraries here at ACC and Kalimna and Jodie (from the library) do an amazing behind the scenes logistical juggle to ensure books arrive on time and return on time and that all the groups get the books they want to read etc. They are just in the process of organising everything for next year. If you are part of one of our book clubs already and want to return but haven’t yet signed up for next year … please do! Kalimna has contacted everyone now (I think).

If you would like to be part of a local book club of up to 10 people that meets once a month here at ACC please let us know (give us a call or send us an email). Kalimna will let you know if there are spots available for next year in the existing groups … or put you on a list to create a new group if demand is strong.

With COVID restrictions easing we’re quite excited about planning a little neighbourhood gathering to kick off the Alphington Open Studios weekends.

For the first time we are going to have our salon exhibition open at ACC open from 5-7pm on Friday 26 November. Pop past for a glass of wine and some nibbles. Admire the art … buy some art as a gift for yourself (you deserve it) or a loved one! Have a chat to us, to the artists and/or your neighbours. We’ll set up inside and out in the garden to abide by COVID restrictions.

Put it in your diary and come along for a low key, fun, arty neighbourhood evening. Kids can play in the garden … fingers crossed for the weather!

If you are an artist that would like to participate you can register here. We welcome emerging and established artists.