Monday 7 August – Sunday 13 August

TWiSK #377

World Cup watch sites
Born in a Taxi @ Theatre Works
Ray Beadle @ Espy Gershwin
Theatre and music for locals

Council takes long view on short stays
Council promises bin hope
Scroll down for Council stories
Women’s World Cup Watch Party @ Pride 

Monday 7 August, 7.30 pm
Celebrate the Women’s World Cup and watch the Matildas vs. Denmark live on the big screen.
Free entry, but tickets are limited
Tix 
Matildas vs Danes Live N Loud @ St Kilda Sports Club
Monday 7 August, doors 5 pm
Football live in Bowlo style, hot food, meat tray raffle.

Teen Art Workshop Project @ Linden
Mondays 7 August – 25 September, 4.30 pm – 6.30 pm
This 8-week program is a unique blend of open play-based creativity and guided skill-building.
Through photographic exploration, you’ll discover the power of storytelling and develop your voice and its place in the world.
Sign Up 
Inclusion Rocks with The Candle Snakes @ The Local Tap House
Tuesday 8 August, 7 pm – 9.30 pm
Inclusion Rocks is all about giving people with and without disabilities the chance to perform and show the world their passion and love for music. With a special performance from fan favourites The Candlesnakes. $14.55
Tix 
Murder Mystery @ The Espy
Wednesday 9 August, 7 pm
“The Ghost of Alfred Felton” Murder Mystery Event is an immersive and thrilling experience that combines elements of suspense, investigation, and entertainment. Set in the elegant and historic Hotel Esplanade in St Kilda, this event promises an unforgettable evening of intrigue and mystery. $75
Tix
Rachel’s Farm: Friends of Suai Film Night Fundraiser @ Classic Cinema
Thursday 10 August, 6 pm
In Rachel’s Farm, film director and actor Rachel Ward presents her regenerating farming story.
All funds raised will support the With One Seed carbon forestry program in Covalima, and support subsistence farmers in Timor-Leste to grow and maintain trees. $25
Bookings 
9 Gordon St, Elsternwick
No Former Performer Has Performed This Performance Before #8 @ Theatre Works
Thursday 10 August – Saturday 19 August, 8 pm
Born in a Taxi present a live ‘study’ into performance, risk, improvisation, and audience-performer reciprocity. $45/$35/$20
Tix
Lucinda Strahan exhibit @ Linden
Thursday 10 August to Sunday 10 September
Opening: Thursday 10 August, 6 pm – 8 pm
Writer and researcher Lucinda Strahan presents a suite of posters, each a collage pairing image and text extracted from the colonial record The Webbs’ Australian Diary 1898.
Poetic Erasure Workshop with Lucinda Strahan @ Linden
Saturday 19 August, 1 pm – 4 pm
Participants will have the chance to explore expanded and experimental forms of writing, using found colonial texts and selectively ‘erasing’ parts to produce new texts with unexpected meanings. Free
Walking Tour with Lucinda Strahan
Sunday 3 September, 11 am – 12.30 pm
Join Lucinda Strahan for a local walking tour as the artist discusses her multi-site exhibition project, starting at Linden Projects Space before travelling between a network of locations where her public installations can be found.
Info
Alma Road Chatty Cafe @ Alma Road Community House
Every Friday in August, 10 am – 12 pm
Looking for connection? Want to learn more about what services and activities are available locally?
Come down to grab a free cuppa, a snack & meet people from your neighbourhood for a chat.
Everyone is welcomed by our friendly volunteers. Tea, coffee & snacks. Free. Drop-in
200 Alma Rd, St Kilda East

Strawbz @ Espy Gershwin
Friday 11 August, 8 pm
Strawbz with special guests Alisya Rae and Lip Stereo. $22.95
Tix

Lloyd Spiegel ‘Bakehouse Dozen’ Album Launch @ Memo
Friday 11 August, 7 pm
Melbourne Blues artist Lloyd Spiegel celebrates the release of ‘Bakehouse Dozen’. $40/$30
Tix
Bird survey @ Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve
Saturday 12 August, 7.30 am
Join the monthly bird survey of the Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve. 
The surveys are led by BirdLife Bayside president Tania Ireton. The process generally takes one hour and thirty minutes per group.
Meet at St Kilda St end of the reserve.
More information
Poetry Launch: James and Roderick Waller @ Readings St Kilda
Saturday 12 August, 11 am
A father/son celebration of poetry. Join them for the release of James Waller’s Kingdoms of Silence and Roderick Waller’s Toward Another Sun. 
Free, but bookings are essential

Ray Beadle Album Launch @ Espy Gershwin
Saturday 12 August, 4.30 pm
Bound to Get The Blues is a dirty blues rock album featuring seven new Beadle originals.
Supporting the launch are The Frank Sultana Blues Band and Checkerboard Lounge. $38
Tix

Stuck in a Moment – The U2 & Inxs Story @ Memo
Saturday 12 August, 7 pm
Tribute acts U2 Show Achtung Baby and INXS Forever present a double tribute experience with high-energy performances from each tribute band, playing INXS and U2’s greatest hits. $50
Tix
Bag O’ Nails @ St Kilda Sports Club
Saturday 12 August, 8 pm
Free
Earthcare Community Planting @ Elwood Canal
Sunday 13 August, 10 am – 11 am
Support Earthcare St Kilda and Citywide to get indigenous plants into the ground near Elster Creek.
Connect with nature and likeminded neighbours at this community driven, family-friendly event. Plants and trowels provided.
Sign Up 
Elwood Canal, between Ruskin St and Broadway
Johnathon World Peace Bush’s exhibition: Curator’s Tour @ Linden
Sunday 13 August, 1 pm – 2 pm
Join Dr Vincent Alessi, Director of Linden New Art and Curator, for a special tour of Johnathon World Peace Bush’s exhibition Everything That Came Before Makes The Present. Learn about the artist’s practice and interest in global politics, family, and cultural heritage through the lens of three key themes, Religion, Colonial Crimes and Indigenous Culture.
RSVP 

St Kilda Repair Café @ EcoCentre
Sunday 13 August, 2 pm – 5 pm
Bring your broken items to the Repair Cafe to reduce waste and learn new skills.
If you have any unwanted phones or laptops, please bring them along to donate. Your donated device will be provided to refugees and asylum seekers. Free / by donation
More info
38 Blessington St
Mornington Peninsula Welsh Ladies Choir @ All Saints
Sunday 13 August, 3 pm
The Mornington Peninsula Welsh Ladies Choir returns with more glorious harmonies in the Welsh tradition. They will be joined by clarinettist, Paul Jenkins, who will be accompanied on the piano by one of the choristers, Kathryn Leonard. Directed by Tom Buchanan. $25 full / $20 concession.
Tickets at the door (No EFTPOS) or on Trybooking 
2 Chapel Street,  (opp. Astor Theatre)

Those Pretty Wrongs (USA) @ Memo
Sunday 13 August, 6.30 pm
Jody Stephens and Luther Russell combine the lyrical and soulful harmony and jangle of both Big Star and classic ’90s alt-country with the sort of folky, summery feeling that will warm anyone. $55/$50
Tix
Fiddler on the Roof @ Alex
Until Sunday 13 August,
MLOC Productions Inc presents their first production of its 2023 season with Fiddler on the Roof.
Profits from the performance on 10th of August will go to support the preservation of Ukrainian cultural education in Australia through The Lehenda School. $65/$45
Tix

Next Week
Monday 14 August – Sunday 20 August

Monument @ Redstitch
Wednesday 16 August – Sunday 3 September
“Edith Aldridge is the youngest woman to be elected leader of her country. In a lush presidential suite in a heritage listed hotel, she has just ninety minutes to get ready for the biggest day of her life. Enter Rosie, a 22-year-old makeup artist from the David Jones counter, sent to help Edith get camera ready. In Rosie’s capable hands, this morning will be a breeze. So long as they both stick to the brief.”
Written by Emily Sheehan, directed by Ella Caldwell, featuring Julia Hanna and Sarah Sutherland
Tix 

We Don’t Have Time For This @ Alex
Wednesday 16 August, 7.30 pm
WDHTFT are on tour with an all-singing, all-dancing evening celebrating motherhood, female friendship, and what it means to be a woman. $98
Tix
Author Talk: Sally Olds @ St Kilda Library
Thursday August 17, 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Shortlisted for the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, Sally Olds’ “People Who Lunch” probes the ambivalent utopias of polyamory, cryptocurrency, clubbing, communes, and the essay form itself. Free
Bookings required 

Dave Graney & The Coral Snakes @ Espy Gershwin Room
Thursday 17 August, 7.30 pm
Night Of The Wolverine 30th Anniversary. Dave Graney and the original members of The Coral Snakes will reform to perform the landmark album in full. In a two set program, they will also perform classics and deep cuts from their mid 90’s ‘window of heat’. $60
Tix

Marooned @ Alex
Friday 18 August – Sunday 20 August, various times
Four people are marooned together in a waiting room in the afterlife. The only thing it appears they have in common is that they have all attempted to take their own lives… $35
Tix
Traditional Alool Wall Hanging Workshop @ Space2b
Saturday 19 August, 10.30 am – 2 pm
Muhubo Suleiman is an inspiring Somalian weaver and has a passion for preserving her cultural heritage through craft making and hand weaving techniques. In this weaving workshop, Muhubo  will share her passion for her Somalian craftwork.
More info | Book your tickets 
144 Chapel St

Late August / September

How To Save A Tree @ Gasworks
Tuesday 22 August – Saturday 26 August
Four upbeat, uplifting and defiantly unapologetic stories of local protest.
 Melbourne Writers’ Theatre have curated four new stories:.
Extinction Rebellion’s ongoing fight to save the planet is celebrated in ‘The Time is Now’, a wonderfully original short play by Megan J. Riedl.
Jennie Baines and her Salvation Army tambourine return to fiery life in ‘Jennie Baines vs the World’ by Bruce Shearer.
In ‘Waiting Game’, written by Louise Hopewell, trailblazing nun Sister Brigid Arthur fights to free an asylum seeker with help from a famous visiting tourist.
And in ‘Good Trouble’, Gregory Vines relives one of the more humorous moments from the Save Albert Park protest archives. $40 – $49
www.gasworks.org.au
21 Graham St

20-year Anniversary Celebration Dinner @ Christ Church Mission
Tuesday 22 August, 6.30 pm
Locals are invited to a very special sitting of the Little Mission; ‘Open House’ dinner.
Meet the dedicated volunteers who prepare and serve a free 3-course meal at the Community Centre each week. They will be your hosts for the evening.
On the menu: soup, bread, main course, and dessert. Ingredients are sourced from Foodbank, SecondBite and a local eatery. $50
Bookings 
14 Acland Street
communitycentre@ccm.org.au or on (03) 9534 9250
Making Native Bee Hotels @ Linden
Saturday 26 August, 1 pm – 2.30 pm
Create charming, miniature structures using recycled materials and bamboo, providing native bees with safe homes. Children of all ages are welcome. Free
RSVP

The Simon and Garfunkel Story @ National
Sunday 27 August, 3 pm
The fascinating tale of how two young boys from Queens, New York went on to become the world’s most successful music duo of all time. The show features 1960s projected images and film footage and is accompanied by a full band performing all of their hits including Mrs Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Homeward Bound, Scarborough Fair, The Boxer, The Sound of Silence, and many more. $90
Tix and info 
The Giants Q&A with Bob Brown @ Pride
Monday 28 August, 6.45 pm – 10 pm
The documentary is a poetic and cinematic portrait of Bob Brown intertwined with the story of the giant, ancient trees of the Tasmanian wilderness.
Q&A moderated by journalist James Norman, with environmental activist and founder of the Australian Greens party, Bob Brown, his husband, sheep farmer and LGBTIQ+ advocate Paul Thomas, along with filmmakers, Laurence Billiet and wife Rachel Antony.
All profits going towards the Rooftop Terrace Pavilion campaign. $45/$25
Tix 
79-81 Fitzroy Street
Benefit for Bedders @ Memo
Friday 1 September, 7 pm
Benefit for Bedders is a huge one night only comedy spectacular for writer, producer, comedian and media personality, Steve “Bedders” Bedwell, currently dealing with the effects of early onset dementia.
Hosted by Dave O’Neil and Bev Killick and featuring Steve Vizard, Tom Gleeson, Scared Weird Little Guys, Bob Franklin, Richard Stubbs, Elliot Goblet, Tania Lacy, Hung Le, Brad Oakes, Ethel Chop, Sean Choolburra, Jeff Green, and Colin Lane (Lano & Woodley fame). $65/$60
Tix
Davitt Awards Ceremony @ Rising Sun Hotel
Saturday 2 September, 6 for 6.30 pm.
Six Davitt Awards will be presented at a gala dinner by Walkley-award winning investigative journalist, and true-crime author, Debi Marshall: Best Adult Novel; Best Young Adult Novel; Best Children’s Novel; Best Non-fiction Book; Best Debut Book (any category); and Readers’ Choice (as voted the 600+ members of Sisters in Crime Australia). Prior to the awards presentation, Debi will be in conversation with true crime author and podcaster, Emily Webb.
Details and bookings 
The Rising Sun Hotel 2 Raglan St., South Melbourne

Friday Community Gardening Group @ EcoCentre
Fridays, 10 am – 12 pm
The greenies with green thumbs are calling out for volunteers for small space gardening & creative cooking sessions at the EcoCentre.
With gardening on the sunny decks at the Centre, and regular field trips to their friends at Veg Out, the Redgum Triangle and Salvation Army Youth Service, this program is friendly and special. From the garden harvests, they prepare nutritious and delicious lunches together.
Learn more 
Contact the EcoCentre to find out more volunteer@ecocentre.com
Cora Graves, 38 Blessington St
Off Ya Back Winter Coat Drive @ St Kilda Library
Runs until 31 August
Over 115,000 homeless Australians arefreezing through a cold winter and they could use your help!
Donate your pre-loved coats and jackets to Off Your Back via the St Kilda Library.
More info 
Roomers magazine: Opposing Forces
Online now 
Opposing Forces is the theme of the latest Roomers Magazine, the annual creation of the Roomers Creative Writing Group who are local residents or ex-residents of rooming houses, or supported residential services in Port Phillip.
Read Now

Local and independent coverage
of Council news and decisions

Last chance to have your say about new ward boundaries

The Government panel reviewing Port Phillip’s electoral structure has recommended three different options for single councillor ward boundaries.
This change was required by the State Government and will take effect at the next Council election in October 2024.
Submissions are invited until 9 August
You can have your say by making a submission to the panel in response to their preliminary report.
Read the preliminary report and see boundary maps

TWiSK backs Model 2

Make it easy for residents to identify who represents them
Call TWiSK old fashioned, but we prefer having ward boundaries and names that are easy to identify with and don’t need a map to understand.
That’s why Model 2 works best (with boundary moved to be Fitzroy Street).
It will deliver a Councillor for St Kilda, another each for St Kilda East, Balaclava and Elwood.
Other wards also have sensible names and boundaries, Lakeside (St Kilda Road/Queens Rd), Catani (Middle Park /Albert Park), South Melbourne, Port Melbourne and Kirrip Park (Fishermans Bend).
Read the Council’s response

Short stay action deferred until October

After receiving an urgent internal report on Short Stay Accommodation (SSA), Council voted to defer the matter until October.
The unfettered growth of short stays promoted vocal residents to call for Council help to resolve amenity issues arising from unstoppable ‘party rentals.’
In March, Council commissioned an internal report and started to collect data on SSA complaints. When tabled last week, that report concluded that complaints were few and the police were best placed to handle complaints.
But there was no way to complain say vocal locals
The vocal locals told TWiSK that the low level of complaint was understandable because there was no simple way to lodge a complaint. They also questioned the council data on the number of SSA properties.
SSA can be big business
The vocal locals called on Council to use existing local laws that control the amenity impacts of commercial activities to help manage SSA issues. They claimed that “50 top AirBNB hosts in Port Phillip control 543 full time listings between them – an average of 10 plus each.” If this is true, SSA is indeed a big commercial operation rather than ma & pa hosts.
Use existing local laws
While the council report was eager to hand pass action on SSAs to the State Government, it over looked a section in local laws that give council the power to investigate and regulate amenity issues like noise coming from commercial activities. 
The vocal locals have created a petition calling for local law S59 to be used
Hosting can also be positive
Council also heard from a pro-SSA local who championed the merits of short rentals and explained the steps taken to host responsibly.
The matter will return to Council in early October.

Rubbish is picking up, says Council

Council took to Facebook on Friday to say they have seen significant improvements in the kerbside waste collection service.
But their carefully worded statement was a study in guarded optimism:
“Although this is still a work in progress, the marked improvement in the standard of service now being delivered gives us more confidence that things have turned a corner, and we’re much closer to seeing our service levels back on track.”
Mayor focused on solutions before considering penalties
Mayor Heather Cunsolo told TWiSK that the number of missed bin reports has dropped drastically since last week.
“While this is encouraging, further improvement is imperative and our Council will continue to do everything we can to help Citywide resolve its route and bin location mapping issues.
“While we’re pleased to share we are receiving fewer reported missed bin collections and that the vast majority of these services have been going smoothly, we acknowledge this is little consolation to those residents who have been affected and we understand their frustration,” she said.
Penalties and remedies?
In response to questions about penalties and remedies being negotiated with the contractor, Mayor Cunsolo said the immediate focus was on getting the bins collected.
“We are reserving all rights under the contract. Once services return to an acceptable standard we will focus on how we address the impacts from the disruption.”
Mayor to Mayor conversation
Intrigued by the fact that CityWide is fully owned by the City of Melbourne, we asked if the mayors had  been communicating about the rubbish situation.
Mayor Cunsolo said she has a good relationship with Lord Mayor Capp.
“[Lord Mayor Sally Capp] has been in touch as a colleague to offer assistance. While Citywide is wholly owned by the City of Melbourne, it is an independent company governed by the Corporations Act and officers are working with management and staff at Citywide to address issues with bin collections as per the contract.”
Greg Day
Happy to chat anytime 0418 345 829
Content suggestions and community questions are always welcome.
gday@archives.gdaystkilda.com.au
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