This year we’re running formal playgroups on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then welcoming families to pop into our garden on Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm for an informal play.

Grab a coffee from Alphington Foodstore next door or an icy pole from the milkbar, and enjoy our mud kitchen or our sand pit, our ride on toys etc.

There are tables and bench seats scattered around to relax and enjoy conversations with other parents or just sit and take a breather for 5 minutes. Come along with your kids, arrange to meet another family here … our house is your house!

We hope to see you at ACC when we return for Term 1. Our programming recommences in the first week of February.

If your family is looking for some creative fun in the park during January, Darebin Council is offering Capoeira sessions for young children (0-4) and their parents/carers in our public parks in January.

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. It was developed by African people in Brazil at the beginning of the 16th century.

The sessions will be focused on simple music and physical movement for young children in a fun family atmosphere. The sessions are facilitated by a qualified Capoeira Instructor/Musician, Yusuke Akai and a Darebin Supported Playgroup Facilitator.

Groups will be small and capped at 15 people. Multiple sessions are available. The dates are Monday 11 and 18 January at Edwards Lake in Reservoir and Tuesday 12 and 19 at All Nations Park in Northcote.

This is a COVID-Safe activity with social distancing and face masks required by all people aged over 12 years in attendance. Pre-screening for COVID-19 symptoms will be required by telephone at the time of booking and at arrival at the session.

Please email early.years@darebin.vic.gov.au to find out exact locations and to book in.

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.

At ACC we try to offer a wide range of opportunities for people to meet their neighbours, to make friends in the community, and to build, explore and share their skills and knowledge.

We run a number of activities that are self-led or run by a generous volunteer. These include Czech and Slovak Playgroup, Ukulele, Line Dancing and the like. For these programs we ask all attendees to contribute $5 per week (no matter how long the session lasts) to keep the lights on and the heater heating etc.

We also support a number of micro-businesses that provide services that fit in with our programming goals. Small business owners/sole traders running these programs set their own fees and we support them with low room hire rates (again $5 per attendee) and publicity. These programs include Jane’s Group Harp, Cat’s Lego Club and Matthew’s Guitar Lessons (about to start up).

Then we run a number of tutored programs, where we spread a small bucket of money that comes from Darebin Council and Yarra Council as widely as possible, prioritising community building and community need.

In the first half of 2021 we will fully subsidise Jill to run our very successful and long-standing AAA Bowls program (a partnership with Alphington Bowls Club) and Jenny to oversee our Friday community morning program that includes Community Craft, Gardening Group and Morning Tea on the Corner.

Then with the remaining program funding we will partially subsidising our tutored/supervised Community Shed sessions.

These programs will cost $5 per hour per participant (still a bargain) and we’ll need a minimum of 6 people booked in by the term for them to run.

Of course, we also tap into other funding where ever possible. We always have our eyes open and our ears to the ground … last year we partnered with MyTime to support our Peer Support Playgroup for example. And we get one-off grants from wonderful community support organisations such as Clifton Hill/North Fitzroy Community Bank who have previously provided funding for our Community Lunches and our Gardening Group … and this coming year will be supporting our History Group (more to come on this).

Our full program for 2021 will be out next week, and we’ll be featuring some of the new things on offer at ACC (and some old favourites as well) in our newsletter in coming weeks (with the links to book in).

We hope you can find something that you will enjoy being part of, and we look forward to seeing you onsite in the new year. Our programming will resume in the first week of February.

This coming week is children’s week, and we have a special ‘space’ edition of craftberry jam available for the occasion.

Make a rocket, stuff an alien … and more! Kits will be available out the front under the pergola. Just look out for our special children’s week astronaut …

Pop past to pick yours up.

This activity is presented by ACC in partnership with the Victorian government.