Our annual Christmas Makers Market is coming up next weekend on Saturday 23rd of November.

It looks like the weather will be nice … and the amazing makers will have so many options on offer. This is a great opportunity to get cracking with your Christmas shopping and spoil family and friends with unique gifts.

• Jan the Tea Lady will be here - with her home crafted blends to lift spirits and soothe ailments.

• There are several options to find the perfect piece of jewellery for someone special. Hand crafted Sterling Silver pieces from both Rita and Lee. Jeanie and Ella are also offering jewellery and accessories.

• There will be hand crafted toys for little ones as well as fun accessories, handmade playdough, bath bombs, tote bags, felt items, printed textiles, paintings, silk scarves, pin cushions, device bags, lavendar bags and Betty’s cookbook too!

• The CWA will also have a stall with the many wonderful things they make and bake.

• We’ll have a range of baked goods, preserves, chutneys and curry sauces available for the foodies.

• There are also stalls supporting volunteers - local groups like Friends of Darebin Parklands and stalls that send their sales to support charities overseas.

• There will be a sausage sizzle going, supported by the wonderful volunteers from the Rotary of Ivanhoe and Friends of Baucau coffee (using our coffee machine) inside …

• We’ll also have hand printed Christmas Cards and wrapping paper for purchase - to get your gifts ready to put under the tree or deliver to friends and family.

Come along on Saturday 23rd of November from 11am - 2pm.

Please note not all stalls will have tap and go so bring some cash if you can.

A short post this week, with a few reminders.

• We have Crunch on Thursday at 12.30pm. $15 for a delicious lunch and a creative activity.

• Come along on Friday at 10.30am for morning tea and have a chat with Clare about our multi-use garden. It should be interesting. This Garden Tour is part of Urban Agriculture month.

• Next week we have Preserves Group at 1pm on Tuesday and Movie Club on in the evening. We’ll let you know the movie and the time later this week.

• We’ll be getting ready for the Makers Market on Saturday 23 November from 11am-2pm which also coincides with the start of the Alphington Open Studios weekends. We are once again really looking forward to hosting local artists here at ACC and the market is always a great local community event. We hope you can make it.

Also, next week we’ll be participating in the 4 yearly Community Survey that is run by our peak body Neighbourhood Houses Victoria (NHVic). We’ll have QR codes around our site and will ask everyone who comes along to take two minutes to participate and complete the survey. The survey really helps us build a picture of the value of our house in terms of community need for our services and why and how people engage with us … and it is fundamental to securing our ongoing funding as a sector - so we’d be really grateful if you participated. Keep an eye out for the QR codes if you are here!

Lots on (still) as we roll into the end of the year … see you soon.

Leanne

Coming up soon! Put the dates in your diary … This year this event is supported by the Community Bank in Queens Parade.

So much fun at Community Lunch this week celebrating Diwali - with Meet sharing her Punjabi culture with us. Fabulous food, clothes and dancing! Thanks Meet.

We are excited to once again be part of the Alphington Open Studios Weekends - coming up in late November. Numerous local artists are opening up their home studios, and there will also be artists here at ACC and at the Parklands (in the office/management area at the end of Separation Street). Put a place holder in your diaries to take a trip around the neighbourhood!

This year the event is supported by our wonderful friends at the Clifton Hill/North Fitzroy Community Bank on Queens Parade. Bendigo Banks really do have a fabulous community model for banking that gives back up to 80% of their profits to the community.

If you have kids at schools, you play sport with a local club … or come along to places just like ACC, you will have benefited from them for sure!

Alphington Open Studios is a fabulous way to support local artists and also learn more about art processes - from painting to pottery to 3D sculpture. You can find out more about the artist involved at www.alphingtonstudios.com.