Local Events

Living with Autism Taster Session

Thomastown/ Lalor, Local information and staying connected to your community

At this time we welcome the Deep Winter of the Waring (Wombat) season, when the days are shortest, the weather becomes colder and heavy rains fall. Plant growth slows, orchid rosettes appear and the bright flowers of the silver wattles decorate our landscape. Shy echidnas breed and birds nest, while Antarctic birds visit our shores. This is the time when the Kulin people traditionally moved to sheltered grounds upland, while the flats near the rivers and creeks flooded. They caught possums, wombats, koalas and found nutritious grubs in the trees. The leaves of the water plants have dried and browned, but the small tuberous herbs are growing; the roots of both yield good food. Bulait (cherry ballart) fruit and the flowers of the small shrub Burgilburgil (honey pots) provide fragrant nectar. People constructed bark Willams (shelters) and kept fires burning, wrapping themselves in soft, warm possum skin rugs. June to mid-July is the Deep Winter of the Waring season.

Collaborative Cultural Dance

Dance like you’ve never danced before. Be a Bollywood star, shake your booty to Mutuashi the Congolese dance of Freedom and connect with Country in Bik Ngarra. Join our online classes in Bollywood, Mutuashi and Aboriginal dance, and learn some sensational new moves. Learn the routines and upload a video of yourself and become a star in the collated clip. Designed for all levels of fitness, these classes give an exciting insight into world dance. Classes will be released weekly for six weeks on a Thursday.

Click here to Start dancing now.

National Reconciliation Week

Share, support and celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2020 by tuning-in to a host of virtual events, and by joining in on the conversations online.

Watch the wonderful video of the Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony Offered by Traditional Owner Kelly Hunter and Uncle Ian Goolagong singing ‘Biami’ in the background. Please note this video is only available May 2 -29.

Hear the Acknowedgement to Country in multicultural languages.

On May 26 each year, we recognise National Sorry Day. Our engagement is a positive contribution to our healing journey, we use it to remember and recognise our Stolen Generations and honour our commitment to truth telling. Watch the ‘What Sorry Day Means to Me’ video developed with the Whittlesea Reconciliation Group and Connecting Home.

The Keelbundoora Scar Tree Heritage Trail

Presented by the City of Whittlesea; supported by the Ngarara Willim Centre and RMIT University

Join Wurundjeri Elder Ian Hunter for a unique cultural experience at a sacred Aboriginal site to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2020. This specialised tour of the Heritage Trail includes participating in a traditional smoking ceremony, visiting the magnificent Scarred Tree and sourcing bush-tucker.

This event is outdoor and involves walking.

Date: Wednesday 10 July

Time 9.30am -12pm

Cost: Free. Bookings essential

Book at: https://register.eventarc.net/e/44243

Where: RMIT Bundoora West Campus, Plenty Road, Bundoora

Info: 9217 2174

Refugee week

Refugee Week Concert – 7-8pm Thurs 25 June 2020

Streamed online, professional artists, musicians, poets and storytellers perform live to mark refugee week 2020. Overshadowed by the impact of covid, the refugee experience is ageless. People have always migrated but many have done so against their will, facing impossible challenges, so while we lament the difficulties of staying home, this concert will remind us of those who have been forced to leave theirs.

Go to the City of Whittlesea Cultural Heritage page for streaming details https://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/arts-events-recreation/things-to-see-and-do/arts-and-culture/cultural-heritage/ or email connectingcommunity@whittlesea.vic.gov for more information.

Bukjey

Bukjeh is a community project funded by Creative Victoria that is currently running in the City of Whittlesea. Through creative workshops, discussions and performances artist Aseel Tayah asks the question “When you have limited time left to leave your home, you grab the most valuable things you have in one sack, a Bukjeh, and walk. When you are leaving a whole life behind and starting a new one, what do you decide to keep?” During Refugee Week, Aseel and other refugee artists, will be offering online story telling workshops, where community members can explore this question in a safe and supportive environment. There is also a Facebook live event where refugee artists perform songs, poetry and discuss their journeys, homes and the things they bought with them when forced to leave their home. Dates and Times coming soon.

Googling grandparents

With social distance measures in place to keep us safe, some people have felt disconnected or unsafe. Yet we know many older people in our community have lived through difficult times or events similar to those we are experiencing now. This project invites community members to ‘interview an elder’ and share their story and their knowledge, with others. See the attached flyer for how you can participate.

Grants

Council is launching a new grants program, the Whittlesea Creative Communities Fund, that has been designed to provide funding for creative projects to directly respond to the impacts of Covid-19. This grant is open to those working in our local creative sectors including artists, musicians, performers, producers, community artists, not-for-profit arts organisations and community/cultural groups to create and present work.

The City of Whittlesea understands that artists across the municipality are experiencing financial difficulty so these grants will provide funding of up to $2000. We also understand that artists are able to provide community connection and creativity to survive this period of crisis positively. The arts are a proven and effective vehicle known to strengthen community connection, emotional wellbeing and recovery.

Round one applications are open now and close Thursday 4 June. Round two applications open Wednesday 1 July, closing Monday 13 July.

To apply and for more information visit https://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/community-support/grants-awards-and-competitions/whittlesea-creative-communities-fund/

Do you have an event you would like promoted in the Cultural Heritage News? Please complete the attached form and return to the culturalheritageofficer@whittlesea.vic.gov.au

Nicola Vaughan

Cultural Heritage Coordinator

Your Story, Your Lens

DPV Health are offering a series of free film making and storytelling workshops across the Hume Local Government Area and Whittlesea Local Government Area. The objective of these workshops is to up-skill and engage youth between the ages of 16-24 and equip them with the skills required to create short stories using their smartphones.

These workshops will provide a forum for the participants to share their stories and thoughts on gender and gender stereotypes. Workshops will be delivered online via Microsoft Teams, and will be held over the Term 2 school holidays.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could please promote this workshop to your networks, via social media and all other communication channels.

Flyers for Hume & Whittlesea are attached. Registration links are listed below.

Hume: https://dpvgenrespect1.eventbrite.com.au

Whittlesea: https://dpvgenrespect2.eventbrite.com.au

For more information please visit our website: https://www.dpvhealth.org.au/news-events/news-posts/gender-film-making/

If you have any queries or require further information regarding the workshops, please contact populationhealth@dpvhealth.org.au

Kind regards,

Whitney Exposto

Health Promotion Officer (PVAW)