Monday 18 March – Sunday 24 March

TWiSK #406

Community Awards
Back after a 12 year break

Win Tix
Beast in the Room @ Theatre Works

The Women’s Show 2024 @ Vivien Anderson Gallery
Comedy Festival Gala @ Palais
Don Walker – Lightning Live @ Memo
Little Green Festival @ Bowlo
Eugene Hamilton & The Money @ Memo
and more …

Man dies after alleged assault in Acland Plaza
Grand Prix venues take over local streets

Citizen of the Year announced
Waste report arrives but remains confidential


Urban Heat or Cool Green forum @ Pride Centre
Discussing our urban environment

Tuesday 19 March, 6.30 pm – 8 pm
Organised by Port Phillip Climate Emergency Network (PECAN), Port Phillip EcoCentre, and City of Port Phillip this community forum looks at Port Phillip’s draft Urban Forest Strategy.
Jen Witheridge (Port Phillip Urban Forest Planner) and Greg Moore (Senior Research Associate, University of Melbourne) will reveal the benefits of canopy cover and address challenges on the journey to a cool green future.
Gio Fitzpatrick (Local Naturalist) will talk about the importance of planting for increasing local biodiversity.
Engage in a dynamic Q&A session and be part of the discussion shaping a more sustainable and resilient urban environment. Free
Tix 
79-91 Fitzroy St

Masculine double shot: The Wild Bunch & Deliverance @ Astor
Monday 18 March, 7 pm
Two hard hitting and landmark films in a classic double feature on the big screen.
Be shocked and spell bound by Peckinpah’s violent tale of violence and twisted principles in changing times.
Dive into the murky waters Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia, they should have played golf! Banjos will never be the same.
Tix 
Deliverance trailer |  The Wild Bunch trailer
Swansong @ TW Explosive Factory
Until Friday 22 March, 7.30 pm
A poignant exploration of the unyielding bond between a mother and her son, set against the backdrop of 1960s society. With the compelling journey of Austin ‘Occi’ Byrne, brilliantly portrayed by Andre De Vanny. $50 / $42
Tix 
Rear Laneway 67 Inkerman Street
Explosives Factory is accessed via a flight of stairs and is not wheelchair accessible.

The Women’s Show 2024 @ Vivien Anderson Gallery
Wednesday 20 March, 6 pm – 8 pm
Exhibition until 27 April
The Women’s Show is Vivien Anderson Gallery’s annual exhibition of paintings, photography, ceramics, jewellery and sculpture by emerging and eminent Indigenous Australian women artists. It will opened by Kimberley Moulton, esteemed Yorta Yorta writer and curator, Adjunct Curator First Nations Art Tate Modern.
More info 
Beast in the Room @ Theatre Works
Wednesday 20 March – Thursday 28 March, 7.30 pm
“Beast in the Room is an evocative exploration of loss through the lens of a mother-son relationship. This thought-provoking new work juxtaposes the absurd and surreal with the lived experience. This multilingual production will challenge perceptions and provoke introspection as it navigates the intricate nuances of grief and resilience.” $45/$20
Tix 
TWiSK has one double pass to win for the performance on Friday 22 March, 7.30 pm.
Email for “Beast tix” before Midnight on Monday 18 March to go in the draw to win the tix.
MICF The Gala @ Palais
Wednesday 20 March, 8 pm
Comedy Festival Gala always sells out – hurry $193+
Tix

The Southern River Band @ Espy Gershwin
Thursday, 21 March, 7.30 pm
Big sound, no shirts. $38
Tix | YouTube 

King Ibis + Sophian @ Espy Basement
Thursday, 21 March, 7.30 pm
King Ibis & Sophian will be bringing their brand of West-Coast indie rock to East Coast. Free
Info
GP Formula 1 @ Albert Park 
Thursday 21 March – Sunday 24 March
All the usual zoom zoom and boom boom
Fly over times
Thursday 5.35 pm – 5.50 pm
Friday 2.35 pm –  2.50 pm
Saturday 3.40 pm – 3.55 pm 
Sunday 10 am -10.15 am, 11.00 am – 11.15 am, 2.30 pm – 2.40 pm
Info
Grand Prix Street Party @ Espy (on Pollington Street)
Friday 22 March – Sunday 24 March, noon – 11 pm
“The Esp and Red Bull are decking out Pollington Street for an epic 3 days of big screens, simulators, outdoor bars, and post-race DJs playing into the night from noon everyday.” Free entry.
Program 

tfjdeane – Vinyl Launch @ George Lane
Friday 22 March, 7.00 pm – 10:45 pm
Melbourne-based and long-time musician in Melbourne’s music scene both north and south of the river, a special night for the launch of the solo vinyl ‘Melbourne Nocturne’ by tfjdeane. Special guests including fellow Superstitions band members.
Tix
Comedy Gold @ National
Friday 22 March, 7.30 pm
Follow the fairy-lights to the intimate cabaret Studio 2 for an evening of comedic alchemy with Josh Glanc and Henry Yan. $25+
Tix 
Don Walker – Lightning Live @ Memo
Friday 22 Narch, 7 pm
Don Walker returns with his crack band featuring The Harmonettes for the ‘Lightning Live 2024 Tour’. $60
Tix
Martik @ Palais
Friday 22 March, 8 pm
Martik Gharakhanian, also known as Martik, is an Armenian singer, composer, arranger and guitarist from Iran and living in the United States. $150
Tix

Client Liaison – ‘Club Liaison’ @ Espy Gershwin
Friday 22 March, 9 pm
‘Club Liaison’ where disco, lobsters and dancing unite. $44
Tix

Mulalo @ Espy Basement
Friday 22 March, 9 pm
The twenty-six-year-old rapper most known for her single ‘Tracy Grimshaw’, a hard-hitting, tongue in cheek Australian reference-filled song. Free
Info
Curator’s Tour @ Linden
Saturday 23 March, 1 pm – 2 pm
Linden Director, Dr. Vincent Alessi, speaks about Jill Orr’s The Promised Land Refigured and Aaron Christopher Rees’s Mirage. Gain insights into the artists’ creative processes and the conceptual frameworks that shape these exhibitions. Free
RSVP 
Little Green Festival @ St Kilda Sports Club
Saturday 23 March, from 3 pm
An 8-band line up staring the Repo Band with Jack Howard and Patrick Donavan playing hits from the cult classic film Repo Man.
Here’s the line-up….
Repo Band 11 pm
Waco Social Club 10 pm
Kim Volkman And The Whiskey Priests 9 pm
The Fiction 8 pm
Gas Babies 7 pm
The Woodland Hunters 6 pm
NIHL 5 pm
Dead Rodeo 4 pm
Tix $30 + bf 
Eugene Hamilton & The Money @ Memo
Saturday 23 March, 7 pm
Eugene and The Money supported by Murray’s Bay Country Club. Good times. $60
Tix

Opelousas – Album Launch @ George Lane
Saturday 23 March, 7:30 pm -11:00 pm
Bare boned blues band Opelousas launch their new album.
Tix
Scots in the Cemetery Tour @ St Kilda Cemetery
Sunday 24 March, 1.45 pm for 2.00 pm start
Led by Claire Barton, the tour concerns Scottish businessmen buried in the Cemetery. $5 members, $15 non-members with refreshments
RSVP Geoff gkp@netspace.net.au 
or phone 0448 740 195
Enter at Dandenong Road gates and assemble at the Dandenong Road pavilion.

Wizard of Oz – 85th anniversary @ Astor’
Sunday 24 March, 2 pm
Forget the Grand Priz, get with the Wiz! 1939 classic with Judy Garland.
Tix 

The Chuck Berry Revue @ Espy Basement
Sunday 24 March, 6 pm
Celebrate the genius of Chuck Berry with Rick ‘Hoey’ Bell’s narrative show. Free
Info

Man dies following alleged assault in Acland Plaza earlier this month

Victoria Police have reported that a 52-year-old Elwood man has died following an alleged assault in St Kilda earlier this month.
Police were called to the corner of Belford and Acland streets following reports of a man allegedly being assaulted, just after 8 am on Friday 1 March.
The victim was rushed to hospital with critical injuries where he later died on 7 March.
Local man arrested
A 51-year-old man was arrested at the scene.
At the time, the Windsor man was charged with intentionally cause serious injury in circumstances of gross violence and recklessly cause serious injury in circumstances of gross violence.
He was remanded and will appear before Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on 27 May.
Investigators are considering alternate charges.
Source VicPol 
Man in custody was known in the community
In a distressing twist, the man in custody had been a participant in several local groups, including VegOut and the EcoCentre. He has been a resident of Windsor for many years.
TWiSK has chosen not to publish his name, but includes these details because they run contrary to the common narrative that violent crime is committed by ‘outsiders’ or ‘others’.

Seeing double at the Espy during the Grand Prix

The Espy Hotel will have double the exposure during the Grand Prix hoopla this year.
Not only will Espy spill out onto Pollington Street adjacent to the pub for three roaring days of music and drinking, but a pop-up bar modelled on the pub will also feature within the Grand Prix venue.
Pollington Street closed for three day street party
Branded as a Grand Prix Street Party, the Espy promises to “deck out tiny Pollington Street for an epic 3 days of big screens, simulators, outdoor bars, and post race DJs playing into the night – and it’s all free entry.”
See the program 
Seaside vibe raceside
Meanwhile the GP PR machine is in hyper drive promoting that a new bar modelled on an iconic Melbourne pub will take pole position at the Australian Grand Prix in a fan-friendly Formula One race first.
Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld said the pop-up bar would create “more energy and excitement”.
“The Espy [bar] will be bringing their beachside buzz to the sidelines’’ he said.
Joining the dots, some very big dots
The Espy is operated by the mammoth Australian Venue Co. who also operates the Middle Park Hotel which also has a major pop-up bar expansion for the Grand Prix.
Both events and road closures have been approved by Council.
AVC also operates the Village Belle and Newmarket Hotels, as well as the recently acquired West Beach Pavilion.
For the record, TWiSK contacted AVC for information on it’s plans for the West Beach venue but has yet to receive a reply.
Esplanade Hotel Grand Prix activation
Friday 22 March – Sunday 24 March, 10 am to 11 pm
Road closure: Pollington Street, Thursday 6 am to Monday 3 pm
Event hotline: 0406 059 498
Middle Park Hotel Grand Prix activation
Thursday 21 March – Sunday 24 March, 10 am to 11 pm
Road closure: Armstrong Street between Canterbury Road and Erskine Street, Wednesday 6 am to Monday 3 pm
Event hotline: 9810 0079

Low key awards celebrate locals

After a 12-year break, Council has rebooted its community awards as the Proudly Port Phillip Community Awards.
In a low-key ceremony last week, a parade of nominees was assembled for the announcements at the St Kilda Town Hall.
Although there was a red carpet (of sorts), the event was a simple affair that got straight down to announcing nominees and winners. There were no prizes or trophies, just a framed certificate, some flowers and a few kind words.

And the winners are …

Port Phillip Citizen of The Year
Joanne and Scott Watkins
For their volunteer efforts with the popular Albert Melbourne Parkrun.
 Community First Award
 Veg Out Community Gardens St Kilda
For its continuing transformation of an abandoned bowling green into a volunteer run community garden with creativity, flair and energy.
Sustainability Award
Port Phillip Pickers
For their clever use of olives from public trees to make 140 litres of extra virgin olive oil.
Young Citizen Of The Year Award
Harshitha Meenakshisundaram
A student from MacRob for her passionate advocacy
 Small Business Of The Year
Space2b Social Design
For their social enterprise that enables migrants and refugees to build skills, especially through craft and design.
Full details of winners and nominees

Waste review: Will it be worth the wait?

The report of the long-awaited review into last year’s troubled transfer of the Council garbage contract will be tabled at Wednesday’s Council meeting as a confidential matter.
Promised initially in December, and then again in February, the report has been listed on the 20 March Council agenda with this proviso:
This report will consider commercially and legally sensitive information that could impact Council’s ability to manage an ongoing contract. Council will consider what information is to be released publicly at the 20 March 2024 Council Meeting.
Will it be worth the wait or (pardon the pun) a waste of time?

Local history staffing will continue …

Last week we reported the retirement of Kay Rowan as Local History Librarian after 48 years of service – yes 48 is not a typo!
TWiSK readers, an ever-watchful bunch, wanted to know if Kay would be replaced or would the position disappear?
Of course, Kay Rowan could never be replaced, they broke the mould on that one. So we asked the Mayor if someone would be recruited to continue Kay’s work.
Mayor Heather Cunsolo assured us that the Team Leader – Local History and Heritage position would be backfilled for three months while Council seeks a permanent replacement.
She pointed to the Port Phillip Library Action Plan 2021-2026 which commits to “strengthening cultural heritage, protecting local identity and enabling storytelling through continued investment in local history services and resources”.
“In 2023, Council recruited an additional Local History Librarian to support our Heritage Centre services, with a particular focus on programming.
“There is also a Customer Support Officer with specialist training who regularly works in the Centre and more staff are being trained,” she said.

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