Families came along on Friday to join in our garden program and decorated some gorgeous tins and potted up some cuttings for our street seed library. If you are passing by and would like a rosemary plant or some Vietnamese mint for your garden you might like to collect one this weekend! Cute hey?

This year Children’s Week runs from 23-31 October and celebrates the talents, skills and achievements of children, and their right to connect with others and respectfully share their views.

This year’s theme is ‘Children have the right to choose their own friends and safely connect with others’. 

To celebrate Children’s Week, we’ve made a series of neighbourhood pop-up playstations that engage the senses, capture the imagination, and encourage creative expression.

Look out for them on the street outside ACC and at the Wingrove Street shops. Our playstations all have different themes to suit different interests and are designed so children can stop for a play by themselves or if the choose, share the experience with a friend.

Our playstations are just one of over 115 free Children’s Week events supported by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. You can also check out other events taking place across Victoria at www.education.vic.gov.au/childrensweek.

Keep your eye out over the long weekend for this super cute covid-safe neighbourhood play experience.

This year we are again super pleased to receive funding from the Department of Education and Training to deliver a Children’s Week neighbourhood activity … and here’s a sneak peak at one of eight playstations that will be out on the street as part our efforts to promote creative and imaginative play and create opportunities for children to play by themselves or with others as they choose.

How cute are all these little snails? Lee made them from polymer clay and shells donated by Shirley

Take a stroll past ACC and the Wingrove Street shops to check out our snail world … and the other seven playstations we’ve created as well - from Wednesday!

And what about these pot plants with appendages? Gorgeous.

The next artist to feature in the Alphington Neighbourhood Gallery is Stephen Armstrong, and you are bound to recognise the scenes in his works.

Over 3 years Stephen regularly documented the Alphington Paper Mills site as it was demolished, and painted over 200 works. Our fence will include a collection of these paintings along with paintings of familiar streetscapes and landscapes in our neighbourhood.

The originals of the works featured in the Alphington Neighbourhood Gallery are all for sale. They range considerably in size and price (from $350 to $4000).

This year Stephen’s studio will be open as part of the Alphington Open Studios weekend (at the end of November). If would like to see more of his art in real life, keep an eye out for the details - coming soon!

In the meantime here’s a sneak peek of the works that will be on our fence. Pop past ACC on your next neighbourhood walk to see them in our street gallery. They’ll be up from Wednesday. And we’d like to once again thank Yarra Council for supporting this neighbourhood arts initiative.

Local artists collective Alphington Open Studios is hoping locals who use Instagram will follow their site … and are having a ‘giveaway’ to encourage you to do so … a series of lovely cards and some delicious chocolate are on offer.

Click here to both ‘like’ the giveaway post and ‘follow’ the page … then you’ll be in the running! Something positive we can all easily do at this time to support other locals who do neighbourly things in the neighbourhood right?

We’ve still got our fingers and toes crossed that the Alphington Open Studios weekend (currently scheduled for 27-28 November) can go ahead.

And did you know that we’re planning to host a small works exhibition at ACC as part of the event? If you are a local artist who would like to participate (you’ll need around 2-4 small works) please email your interest here. Thanks Yarra City Council for supporting this local arts initiative.

And good luck in the draw everyone!

You could win these gorgeous cards made by artists from Alphington Open Studios.