We had such a great turn out to our visible mending class in Term 1 … and some requests for a regular opportunity to get together and chat and stitch … and learn new skills.

In response to this community interest, Serene (who ran the session last time) has offered to come along on the 1st Saturday of the month to run our new Visible Mending Club from 10-11.30am. You can bring along your clothes or pillows or towels or blankets that need mending … and tap into Serene’s skills and expertise to mend and perhaps even transform your beloved item(s) with beautiful stitching!

The slow art of visible mending is super rewarding and is a perfect way to relax. And these regular sessions will be a great way to get to know others in the neighbourhood who also enjoy the slow arts. The cost is $15 per session.

If you are keen to come along you can book in here.

The dates are:

• Saturday 6 August

• Saturday 3 September

• Saturday 1 October

• Saturday 5 November

Hi Leanne here. In March (along with what always seems like half of our suburb) I went once again to Port Fairy Folk Festival - where Archie Roach has regularly performed over the years. He was looking very frail. He’d been in a wheelchair last time I’d seen him, but this year he really couldn’t walk at all and had an oxygen tube.

I have seen him in concert for half my life, since going to Folk Rhythm and Life Festivals around the late 1990s and through the 2000s where he and his partner Ruby Hunter were often the feature act.

As you know if you’ve seen him live, he generously shares his story throughout his performances, and his recounting of reconnecting with his family here in our neck if the woods - Fitzroy - is mind bogglingly eye-opening and deeply sad. The stolen generations experience is such a tragedy for whole families and communities and it’s not a distant thing - the trauma sits here now today, close to the surface. It happened to our neighbours and friends, it is their lived experience. Archie Roach was only 66 after all.

It’s very sad that he died so young. Amazing that he was so willing to share his life so openly.

You can get a taste of his connection to Fitzroy and his family story in this great episode of Kutcha Edwards’ show Kutcha’s Carpool Koorioke that is also jam packed with understated kindhearted love, respect, caring, gratefulness and joy in community and connection.

If you are a local with young children you might like to come along and join the other families who hang out in our front garden on Wednesday mornings. Come hail or shine, Playtime in the Garden is running in the front yard near the cubby and under the pergola. Pop in anytime from 10am-12pm and catch up with other families in a Covid-safe way.

Please note this is an outside program - but our toilets and kitchen are of course available if you need them.

And … if you’d like to borrow some toys to take home for the week you can join our Toy Library which is open inside. You can borrow up to 4 toys at a time. So handy! And neighbourhoodly …

We had a lovely night last Friday for our opening. Around 60 locals came along which was fabulous, and more popped in over the weekend.

25 artists were part of the event, and we thank Sharyn Madder, Beatrice Magalotti and Wendy Roach for hanging the exhibition.

We’d also like to thank Yarra City Arts for the seed funding to get this regular event in our calendar up and running and also thank the Community Bank on Queens Parade for funding the gallery equipment install.

We have so many talented artists in our community. If you are keen to see more local art in real life or join us for another fun community event (being the opening night) keep an eye out for the Alphington Open Studios Weekend coming up on the last weekend in November!

Looking for a lovely local activity? Pop past on Friday night from 5-7pm for a drink and some finger food and to admire (and even buy) great local art.

If you can’t make Friday then the exhibition is open over the weekend too from 11am-5pm Saturday and Sunday. We hope you can come along.