arts Archives

Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival

Posted on 9 October 2010 by alex

Eastern Volunteers is a community based not-for-profit organisation that provides volunteer assisted transport and volunteer recruitment across the Cities of Maroondah and Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

Alex with Terry Macdonald, Chairman of Eastern Volunteers and Cr. Natalie Thomas, at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival.

Throughout today Eastern Volunteers held a Multicultural Spring Festival at Ringwood Lake, bringing together the diverse communities within Maroondah. The festival included food, arts, rides, crafts and performers providing a range of activities throughout the day.

Alex opening the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival as the Mayor of Maroondah.

As the Mayor of Maroondah I had the pleasure of opening the festival and congratulating Eastern Volunteers on organising Maroondah’s first large-scale multicultural festival. After opening the event I served as the Master of Ceremonies, introducing each performance and discussing the aims and role of Eastern Volunteers.

These sessions included discussions with volunteers on their involvement with Eastern Volunteers and the benefits they receive from volunteering. While volunteering provides benefits to the wider community, it can also deliver new skills, enhance employment prospects and expand networks for the volunteer. The Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival is an example of an event that utilised a wide variety of skills and teamwork to deliver Maroondah’s largest multicultural event.

Alex with volunteers and staff of Eastern Volunteers at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival

The Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival featured a wide variety of entertainment, including a roving performer, as well as a Chinese Lion Dance, Bollywood Dancers, the Police Rock Band, African Drumming from Rhythm of Life, the Karen Young Dancers, Reggae from Uprising Rebels, Scottish Highland Dancers and Japanese Drummers. In addition, Ultimate Martial Arts from Heathmont and Abandon Sane, local rock band also performed on the main stage. Vasili, from Vasili’s Garden on Channel 31 and 3AW, was also in attendance and provided a demonstration on making garden pots from recycled newspapers.

Alex with Vasili, from Vasili's Garden on Channel 31 and 3AW, at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival

Approximately 5000 people attended the festival and it was great to see the community embrace the festival and actively participate in the activities that were present throughout the day. Many volunteers and staff at Eastern Volunteers worked extensively on the Festival through organising the group’s largest event in its history. The Festival was only possible due to this work and the commitment of sponsors who saw the benefits of partnering with Eastern Volunteers.

Alex with sponsors (Power Balance, Ringwood Honda and Bendigo Bank) who contributed to the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival.

For further information on Eastern Volunteers please visit www.easternvolunteers.org.au.

Alex with Natalia at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival, which was held on the 9th of October 2010.

Filming for the Monkami Drama Production – Hey Hey Its Monkami

Posted on 20 September 2010 by alex

Monkami is a not-for-profit disability service provider in Croydon, which provides educational, employment and lifestyle opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Monkami has developed a strong arts based program to encourage confidence and expression with their participants, including the Monkami Drama Group, which is now in its fourth year of productions.

This afternoon I volunteered to be part of the filming for the Monkami Drama Groups, “Hey Hey Its Monkami”, the title and theme of this year’s production. A scene takes place at the Council Chamber and will form part of the production that will be performed at the Karralyka Centre on the 28th of October.

Enjoying Planned Retirement – The Final Spotlighters Performance

Posted on 18 September 2010 by alex

Enjoying Planned Retirement is a community group, based at Norwood Hall in Ringwood North, that provides a range of activities for seniors. One of these activities is Spotlighters, an annual musical performance, which is organised by members.

This afternoon I attended the final Spotlighers Performance, which featured a range of musical talents, including tap dancing, musical acts and solo singing performances. All aspects of the performance, including the stage and costumes, are made by members of EPR over the 20 years of Spotlighters Performers.

While this years marks the final performance for Spotlighters, Enjoying Planned Retirement will be providing further performance activities over 2011 and beyond.

Launch of Brush Strokes Exhibition from the Croydon Stroke Support Group

Posted on 14 September 2010 by alex

The Croydon Stroke Support Group provides peer support to people with stroke and their carers. The group has a strong emphasis on social inclusion and provides a range of art based programs to restore confidence to people with stroke.

This morning I was invited to open the Croydon Stroke Support Group’s Brush Stroke exhibition, which is being exhibited at Maroondah Federation Estate in Greenwood Avenue in Ringwood. Brush Strokes, includes a range of mediums, including photography, sculpture and painting, some of which were collaborative pieces made by several members of the group.

Brush Strokes is the inaugural exhibition to be held in the Long Gallery, within the former school building of Ringwood Primary. The building, which is now used for community space will complement the existing cultural focus of Maroondah Federation Estate, providing additional space for the arts within Maroondah.

In addition, I had the pleasure of launching Left of Tomorrow, a book by Wendy Lyons, a person with stroke and a member of the Croydon Stroke Support Group. Wendy’s book details her experiences with stroke and the challenges she faced.

The Croydon Stroke Support Group has a strong focus on the arts and the restoring of confidence for people with stroke. In addition to photography, painting and sculpture, the group has also initiated a choir to provide people with stroke the ability to sing and regain their voices.

The Croydon Stroke Support Group meets each Thursday on a weekly basis, for details please visit www.strokeassociation.com.au/CroydonSSG.htm

Launch of the Independent Type Exhibition

Posted on 9 September 2010 by alex

The Independent Type Exhibition celebrates Victoria’s literary culture and will be displayed at Croydon Library until Sunday the 3rd of October.

This evening I was invited to launch the exhibition, which covers Victoria’s literary evolution from traditional Indigenous storytelling through to colonial literature and contemporary writing. The exhibition consists of panels and multimedia presentations that cover Victoria’s literary history reinforcing Melbourne’s status as a City of Literature.

In addition, workshops are provided for young, emerging and experienced writers, as well as specific sessions on emerging mediums, including blogging and zines.

The speech delivered during the launch is available in this entry:

Continue reading “Launch of the Independent Type Exhibition”

Heathmont East Preschool – 40th Anniversary

Posted on 4 September 2010 by alex

Heathmont East Preschool is located in Pleasant Drive, Heathmont and celebrated its 40th anniversary this weekend. To commemorate the occasion I was invited to officially unveil tiled pavers, which included the names of students and families that attended the preschool over the past 40 years.

In addition, the preschool provided a range of activities for children and unveiling a new time capsule that included works from current students. Heathmont East Preschool prides itself on its warm and friendly environment and it was great to see a large number of families that attended the anniversary, despite the cold and rainy weather.

Maroondah Art Gallery Exhibition Opening ‘Idee fixe’ & ‘Come into the Garden Maud’

Posted on 2 September 2010 by alex

The Maroondah Art Gallery is located at Maroondah Federation Estate in Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood. This evening I attended the opening of two exhibitions, ‘Idée fixe’ and ‘Come into the Garden Maud’.

‘Idée fixe’ includes works from three artists, Penelope Le Petit, Julie Milton and Antoinette de Morton, who utilise printmaking and a range of mediums to explore the association of objects and gender associations. ‘Come into the Garden Maud’, features works by Sharman Feinberg whose paintings depict the colours and shape of a number of private and public gardens, including Monet’s Garden in Giverny France.

Both exhibitions will be featured at the Maroondah Art Gallery until the 2nd of October. For further details please visit www.artsinmaroondah.com.au.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra “Mozart’s Masterworks”

Posted on 1 September 2010 by alex

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia, with its first concert being conducted in 1906. This evening the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre as part of its Metropolitan Tour.

The Tour involves the Orchestra performing at a number of Metropolitan and Regional Centres and we were fortunate that Maroondah was chosen as one of these locations. This evening I attended the performance, where the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed several works from Mozart, including the Overture from La finta giardiniera, as well as a Violin Concerto.

The Ringwood Tour was supported by Regis Amaroo in Ringwood, a high care facility providing aged care within the community. As expected the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was brilliant and it was great that there was an opportunity for Maroondah residents to see the performance at a local venue.

Delegates’ Report: Presenting the Monster Petition, NAIDOC week and support for our community

Posted on 19 July 2010 by alex

On the 24th of June I was part of a delegation through the Eastern Transport Coalition, that presented a petition of 13,000 signatures to the Parliament of Victoria.

The petition, which was accepted by Martin Pakula, the Minister for Public Transport, as well as Terry Mulder, the Shadow Minister for Transport and Greg Barber, the Greens Spokesperson on Transport, requested public transport improvements for Melbourne’s outer east including:

A full and public feasibility study for a heavy rail line to Rowville,
A full and public feasibility study for a heavy rail line to Doncaster
A greater commitment to the extension of the Metro rail tunnel from Domain to Caulfield,
A full and public feasibility study for an increase in capacity on the Belgrave/Lilydale and Glen Waverley lines,
Improved facilities for passengers, particularly at interchanges located in central activity districts – Ringwood, Dandenong and Box Hill,
Fully accessible public transport facilities and vehicles

It is great that the eastern region recognises the importance of the redevelopment of Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated transport interchange. As the City of Maroondah and as part of the eastern region, we can only hope that the State Government and all political parties act on requests within this petition.

On the 8th of July I had the pleasure of launching the Maroondah Photographic Competition and announcing the winners amongst this year’s entrants. The competition has now been running for 14 years and it is great to see that it has sustained interest from both sponsors and the community. There were 121 entries this year and the judging decision was definitely a difficult one.
The diverse of photographic talents is to be commended and in particular it is great to see our schools supporting the arts and encouraging students to participate, with the two winners in the Intermediate category both being students from Norwood Secondary College

On the 9th of July I attended the Outer Eastern NAIDOC Ball, which was held at the conclusion of NAIDOC week. The ball recognises the many individuals and organisations that are involved with Indigenous communities and provides an opportunity to celebrate Indigenous culture and achievements.

On the 10th I attended the opening of the redeveloped Glen Park Community Centre, which had extensive works to improve the accessible and inclusiveness of its facilities. One of the real accomplishments with Glen Park has been the partnerships that have formed with various organisations, as well as all levels of government working together to provide better facilities for our community.

On the 13th of July I had the pleasure of welcoming James Merlino as the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Youth Affairs at EVs Youth Centre in Croydon. The State Government has provided a $10,000 grant, which will be used for the purchase of new music equipment through the Youth Centre and also announced that EVs will be one of the venues for the state wide FReeZA Central Music program. This is a great achievement and would like to commend our Youth Services Team for raising the profile of EVs and the talents of our young people.

In addition, on the 14th of July I had the pleasure of receiving a grant for $8,800 from the State Government through the Victorian Multicultural Grants Commission to further the work of the Maroondah Interfaith Network. The funding will be used to strengthen the capacity of the group and to further encourage Maroondah’s faith based communities to become involved the Network. I would like to commend the Community Development Staff and the Maroondah Interfaith for their work in establishing the group and for achieving this great result for our community. The Maroondah Interfaith Network was formed in November last year and it is fantastic to see that its efforts have been recognised by both Council and the State Government.

I’ll be tabling the rest of my report.

Media Release: Music funding a win for Maroondah youth

Posted on 14 July 2010 by alex

Maroondah Mayor Councillor Alex Makin has welcomed a $10,000 State Government music equipment grant saying it will give Maroondah’s budding young artists a chance to share their talents with the community.

Youth, Sport and Recreation Minister James Merlino announced the Victoria Rocks – Music Equipment Grant during a visit to EV’s Youth Centre in Croydon last Tuesday.

Cr Makin said the funding would allow Council’s Youth Services team to expand its already successful music programs.

“Maroondah has a very strong musical community and this funding will give Council more scope to nurture the interest of our young people and to strengthen the pathways between our community and the arts and entertainment industry,” Cr Makin said.

“The grant will provide greater access to instruments, training, rehearsal spaces and staging equipment for the young people of Maroondah,” Cr Makin said.

“As part of the funding application Council undertook consultation with young people and we uncovered a huge demand for the casual use of musical equipment,” Cr Makin said.

“With this funding we will now be able to offer more flexible access to equipment to address this unmet need,” Cr Makin said.

The $10,000 funding is part of a $1.3 million Victorian Government initiative. The funding initiative is based on the principles of participation, accessibility, partnership and diversity.

– ENDS –