Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra

Forest of Hope

It’s the name of the immersive art and sound installation opening on Friday 5 August at the Yarra-me Djila Theatrette at the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub with large scale paintings by Anne Bennett, projections and sound recordings by Jutta Pryor and original music by bass artist Scott Dunbabin and flautist Megan Kenny. Given the somewhat depressing State of Environment report released by the federal government last week, it sounds like a welcome antidote and where there is action being taken, there is always hope.

The 2022 Banyule Art Salon opens the same night from 6 – 8pm and is Banyule’s biggest community art exhibition with this one also dedicated to the great outdoors – forest bathing has kept most of us sane over the past few years and personally I feel very grateful to live in a municipality where park life is abundant.

I’ve long been fascinated by the moon, the stars and the evening sky and I’m not the only one. Night Paintings at Darebin Creek by Fran Lee opens on 26 August at Loft 275 also at the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub while the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Across the Stars‘ September concert and ‘Nightscapes‘ December concert will be held across the road at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School Performing Arts Centre.

In nearby Bulleen, Double Moon by Korean artist Jaedon Shin (pictured above) opened at Heide Musuem of Modern Art last month and runs until October while Tyama: a multisensory experience of nature has opened at the Melbourne Museum and looks quite spectacular and means ‘a deeper sense of knowing.’ Our First Nations people have a different relationship to Country and Bangarra Dance Theatre’s latest production SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert also looks just as visually amazing.

While there’s another month of winter, there are blossoms and wattle on the trees and if next Sunday is just as nice weather-wise, it will be a fun day out at the Eaglemont Village Heritage Day with bookings already open for the Red Rattler steam train rides and the Eaglemont Village Market also on that day – the Art Deco village is one of my very favourite places in Banyule to visit.

Wander north

I’m excited about moving to Ivanhoe as much as you’ll still see me frequenting the shops and parklands in Rosanna. While I’m not a drinker – most of my friends are and gin is a favourite tipple of many of them. I discovered the interesting sounding Wander North with Imbue this week – a local bar in Ivanhoe that serves as the Gin Tasting Room for Imbue Distillery. They also run a Wednesday night book group and are closed today with the Melbourne Gin Festival on.

Ivanhoe itself has the distinction of the longest running book club with the Ivanhoe Reading Circle established in 1920 by Presbyterian Church minister – the Reverend Robert Wilson Rock and I intend to spend some time checking out the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub once we move. The upper end of Heidelberg Road is the arts precinct of Ivanhoe given the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra also regularly performs at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School performing arts centre.

Meanwhile close by is the Eaglemont Artisans Hub pop up shop which is currently running until 30th May and would make for a lovely morning or afternoon out given there are a couple of cafes at Eaglemont Village. I’ve always loved the Art Deco buildings there and hope it also revives in time as a number of businesses closed for good over the pandemic. Interestingly it could be local businesses that bounce back more quickly over CBD with many people continuing to work some or all of their time from home.

I’ve also recently also read about the evolution and innovation of local milk bars come cafes. I visited Matilda in Mont Albert not that long ago and have had brunch at Jerry’s Milk Bar in Elwood pre-COVID (where my girlfriends and I spied swimmer Michael Klim dining at the next table) but Tyler’s Milk Bar in Preston looks great and I wish there was something similar in Banyule. Four Leaves Cafe in Rosanna did pivot to a grocery store during lockdown but has since reverted back to a larger daytime cafe. Still, I feel very lucky to have cafes within walking distance given this is not the case in the western suburbs. I don’t take these amenities for granted and it’s what makes suburbs more attractive to live in.

I was also excited to read about 1960s Hong Kong-inspired Yum Sing House in the city where you can dine (Yum means ‘to eat’ in Cantonese) and then sing (literally!) with karaoke upstairs. I think my family will be paying a visit at some stage soon. I know that 1960s Hong Kong is also the inspiration for Mongkok Tea Room in Camberwell and the movie In the Mood for Love – a classic if you’ve never watched it.

Despite the new Omicron variant now circulating in our community, I’m glad to see so many outdoor events and festivals have still gone on including the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Melbourne Fashion Festival (apparently green is the new black!), Brunswick Music Festival, Moomba Festival, Melbourne Design Week (including the Kotodama exhibition in Ivanhoe) and the upcoming Melbourne Comedy Festival. Locally, the Warrandyte Festival is on today.

It’s important to remember that life is to be celebrated and lucky you if you’re a Fairfield local who yesterday got to watch artist Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhales take off into the skies. It has been nothing less than a triumph for all of us to have got through the last two years and such a joyous thing to witness.

On a final note, funeral details have been released for another lover of life – Blaise van Hecke – which will be held at Montsalvat in Eltham (as well as livestreamed). Attendees have been asked to wear orange (or other bright colours) or something that is birds and/or wings-inspired as well as a single flower to place on her coffin, which is fitting for those who were lucky enough to know Blaise. I hope she is soaring away in the next plane somewhere looking down on all of us. She will be greatly missed.

Raise hell

Despite being raised in a family of girls, I now live with my family of boys and so have moved from fashion and frocks to football. We saw Melbourne play off against Geelong at the MCG last Friday night (pictured below) and it was a great atmosphere as much as I had a pretty hoarse throat by the end of the night. We joined over 90,000 people there and there’s just as many going tonight. Football at the G is one of those quintessential Melbourne experiences whether you follow the footy or not and may the best team win this season. There’s also some great street art featuring a couple of the boys currently on display in the city’s laneways.

It’s pretty warm today but I think the weather is going to turn tonight. If Mexican mariachi music is of interest the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra’s Of light and darkness is on at Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School tomorrow, which isn’t something you hear everyday!

I’m hoping the weather is better on Sunday as the Olivia Newton John Wellness Walk and Research Run is being held at La Trobe University, YouthFest 2018 in Macleod as well as the Montsalvat Arts Festival in Eltham. Go Dees!

Music to my ears

How has your week been? I’m glad it’s Happy Friday as I’ve been out every night this week and we are suffering from holiday hangover in our house adjusting to the return to school, appointments and extra curricular activities, which seem to be never-ending. This week while travelling home at twilight I’ve seen both a fox and a full moon (or a super blue blood moon to be precise), which has felt a little auspicious or maybe it’s just the superstitious Chinese person in me! Chinese New Year is coming up next month, which I always look forward to as it’s a chance to start your year again if things have been less than ideal but perhaps that’s just life – full of change and imperfection.

25289477_1578914685534056_8027702144277328400_n — Image via Facebook

A couple of things I wanted to quickly mention today – a reminder that the Summer Vibes on Qwere St Midsumma Street Party in Montmorency is on tomorrow night from 6pm until midnight and if I didn’t already have something on, you would see me there as I’m a fan of Kylie Auldist who is one of the headline acts.

4322-fitandcrop-486x486 — Image via Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

For something a bit more highbrow, the 2018 Sidney Myer Free Concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra start next Wednesday night in the city and we’ve been lucky enough to attend some of their children’s concerts in the past. Closer to home too, don’t forget about the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra and the Preston Symphony Orchestra.

Kiss me I’m Asian

It’s the name of an article written a few years ago by Chinese Australian writer Benjamin Law, the headline of which has stayed with me all this time. There are a few of us Chinese Australians around now and I actually dropped in to the new Asian Mart at 149 Upper Heidelberg Road in Ivanhoe over the weekend while Mr Rosanna and I were out and about.

It was like re-visiting my childhood with some of the more unusual food they had on offer like tinned fried dace – one of my grandmother’s staples – as well as dried shitake mushrooms in packets. Mr R and I also like our spicy condiments and grabbed a large bottle of Sriracha hot chili sauce on the way out. I think my mum will be pleased when she’s next in town to find she doesn’t need to travel to Box Hill now to stock up on Asian groceries.

give-me-the-night — Image via White Night Melbourne

It’s been a cool few days and I’m hoping it might warm up a little for White Night Melbourne this coming Saturday. I love that the title they’ve gone with this year is Give me the night, which is also one of my favourite songs by George Benson – it’s been known to be on high rotation in our household on our record player. Yes, we love our vinyl here!

childrensconcerts2017 — Image via Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra

Some friends of mine went to the free MSO concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday night and they also have a range of concerts for kids and families throughout the year. Meanwhile locally, we have the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra and I am hoping to take my kids to the Children’s Concert at Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School later this year.

Have a great week and I’ll be back with a local profile up soon.