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

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 had a great turnout for the AGM, a mix of staff, committee members, volunteers and community members.

We ate dinner together and then reviewed the year through a presentation that featured Kalimna’s beautiful photos. Every year I am amazed at all the things we get done!

Thanks to our Committee of Governance last year - Heather Campbell (Chair), Jane Wilkinson (Deputy Chair), Lorena Felicitti (Treasurer), Wendy Pryor (Secretary), Ina Leung, Michelle Fidler and Anne Crehan for your guidance and support.

We are very sad to say goodbye to both Michelle and Anne this year. Anne has been on the Committee since at least 2007 and Michelle says she has emails going back to at least 2012. They have made an amazing community contribution over that time, and for staff they have been always supportive, enthusiastic, forward thinking and kind.

We will miss them but know we will keep in contact through all the other amazing community things they are involved with - CWA, Alphington Bowls Club, AFCA etc.

I’d also like to thank Wendy for her contribution over the last few years. She is also retiring from the Committee - but I wave to her multiple times a week as she walks by and she is part of The Ukes (our ukulele group) - so I know we will keep connected!

Thanks again everyone for a fabulous year. We look forward to building on the foundations put in place this year - through our renovations- in the coming years.

Leanne

A short message this week as I have been flat out getting the paperwork ready for our AGM. It’s on tonight (Monday) at 6.30pm. All welcome. It’s always nice to have a few people along to share the highlights of the year.

We’ll have some food and drinks, and review the year that has been. Kalimna has taken some beautiful photos to remind us of all of the fun things we’ve done.

If you are coming please email or call so we cater for you!

Other than that … join us for Playgroup Wednesday from 10am-12pm, Crunch on Thursday 12.30pm … or check out our program below for everything else that is on.

Also, I think Kalimna has been in contact with Book Clubs about paying for next year. So a reminder to rejoin if you are planning to keep coming in 2025. Thanks!

Good luck to everyone with VCE kids (for those without, the English exam kicks things off on Tuesday and the kids are gearing up for a couple of weeks of pressure).

And … if you have any ideas for next year please get in contact. Email your ideas or call us. We’d love a couple more music teachers (we have violin and guitar at the minute) and we have a spot on Monday mornings that would be ideal for another playgroup or children's/family activity. More broadly we are open to ideas - the best things we run are always community led!

See you soon.

Leanne