We are taking Monday and Tuesday off, but are looking forward to getting some more programming up and running in the next few weeks. Here’s what’s on the cards from our discussions this week:

• Japanese playgroup is returning onsite … it will be lovely to see Maimi and the families and especially to see how much the children have grown!

• Matthew is resuming guitar lessons onsite on Monday and Wednesday evenings.

• We are welcoming a new counsellor to ACC. Martina who has recently moved to the neighbourhood will be here one afternoon/evening a week.

• Our Wednesday daytime book club is going to meet in person in November.

• And finally we are looking to resume our Women in the Shed program in a couple of weeks - hooray! Maylei will be taking both classes and Kalimna has been in contact with everyone that was booked in in Term 4 (and 3 I think) to see who would like to get cracking before the end of the year.

It is pretty nice to start doing things in person again, and we are looking forward to a slow and steady resumption of activity.

If you are part of a group that has a plan and haven’t chatted to us yet just give us a call or send an email …

Some of the great kids who come along weekly to Japanese playgroups …

At ACC we offer a range of regular musical experiences. If you are keen to share music making and make neighbourhood friends along the way, you can join up for lessons or group experiences …

Choir - because our venue is too small in COVID times the Alphingtones Choir is now meeting at St Andrew’s Church in Duncan Street just behind Station Street. If you are keen to join up just click here to email them.

Harp - Jane’s harp group is for people wanting to have a go. No experience is necessary. Jane will lead you through a group music making experience with this beautiful instrument. Please contact Jane here if you are interested.

Ukulele - our uke group is an experienced group that plays together for practice and fun each Monday evening. And they sometimes do performances! New members are welcome. You can join up here.

Guitar - Matthew teaches in schools by day and then shares his love of music with locals at ACC in the early evening. If you are keen to learn guitar give him a call. He is very nice!

Did you know you can learn to play the harp at Alphington Community Centre? That’s pretty cool right?

Jane runs classes on a Wednesday evening and has a collection of small harps that participants use - they are very manageable in size and sound amazing!

When she first came along and gave us a demo a few years ago, I was interested to learn that the harp strings are just tuned to a scale, so if you’ve played piano etc. harp is actually very intuitive.

In any case, Jane’s classes are about group music making rather than complex harp playing … and so anyone who loves the sound of harps can join in. If you are keen to find out more give Jane a call on 0421 164 152.

In addition to Harp we have some other music making options at ACC in 2021. The Alphingtones Choir meet at ACC on Thursday evenings from 8pm if you keen on group singing. We offer Ukulele on Monday evenings. Book in on our website here. And then we have guitar lessons with Matthew (also on Thursday evenings) from 4-7pm. Contact him on 0435 265 756 if you’d like to find out more.

Our lovely friend Win having a go of one of Jane’s harps at community lunch

The Alphingtones are a long-standing local choir. It is likely that you have seen them performing at events such as the Wetlands Festival. They bring cheer with their voices to many local occasions, including our annual Christmas Carols (which we sadly couldn’t run this year)!

If you have a penchant for singing and you are thinking that joining a choir could be your thing, why not contact Kate here.

The Alphingtones choir meets on a Thursday night at ACC at 8pm. Weekly sessions cost $12.

Our new brochure is out. We’ve created a trimmed down version for semester 1 2021. You can read it here. It is jam packed with old favourites like playgroups and choir and new ideas including a range of short courses, workshops and events you can book in to.

• Women in the Shed is back on Monday (for beginners), Tuesday and Thursday for 6 weeks in Term 1 and 2.

• Our free Access All Abilities Bowls program run with Alphington Bowls Club is back for 6 weeks in term 1 and 2.

• Our new Drawing in the Shed short course will also run for 6 weeks in Term 1 and 2. Run by local artist Louisa, this is a low-cost opportunity for all members of the community to develop the observation and co-ordination skills necessary to make creative drawings in any style. It will cover contour drawing, creating creative compositions, drawing with perspective and more.

• In 2019 we had Gordon come along and run a sewing machine maintenance workshop. It was a fantastic morning and so we’ve rebooked him this year. On Saturday 1 May he will run a sewing machine maintenance workshop and then on Saturday 17 June he will run an overlocker maintenance workshop.

• Local Manu is keen to share her Indian cooking skills with us … starting with a chai tea making workshop (Sunday 9 May). $20. Book here.

• Our History Walk is back! Join local Anne and other history buffs for a stroll around South Alphington on Sunday 16 May from 2pm.

• And finally … Home maintenance 101. It’s a maintenance kind of year it seems … and on the weekend of 19 & 20 June we’re offering a two day workshop (only $50 with Learn Local funding) all about building home maintenance skills. How to unblock a drain, how to stop a cistern running, how to fix a hose leak, how to hang pictures and fix cracks in plaster. How to fix windows that stick … (depending how old your house is the list goes on and on right?).

Book in online today.