Jade Jungwirth
Castlemaine’s inaugural Town Open Day will be held this Saturday May 16 – giving residents a taster of the wide breadth of groups, teams and hobbies on offer locally.
A fun-filled day full of food, activities, demonstrations and workshops, the Town Open Day is the perfect place to meet new people, pick up a hobby and get involved.
From sports to choirs, and bird watching to roller skating, there really is something on offer for everyone.
Organised by Castlemaine Community House and Get Connected Mount Alexander, the family-friendly, accessible event is designed to help bring people together.
Community Connector Isis Jordan said there will be around 30 clubs and groups available on the day.
“It’s kind of like O’Week at university, a community open day with a range of hobbies, activities, and clubs,” she said.
“It can be really hard to find where the action is, especially if you don’t live in the centre of Castlemaine. Maybe you’re on the periphery, and you don’t know anyone, maybe you’re not tech savvy, maybe you’re not on Facebook.”
CCH executive officer Mahira Sobral said Get Connected is a social prescribing program that identifies the need for a more medical approach to social inclusion, one which identifies that mental health and community wellbeing are key.
“We see great outcomes from people being connected,” she said.
“Town Open Day is the brainchild of Get Connected – bringing that work to life in a physical space.”
Local holistic practitioner Rich Moffat is one of the many stallholders who will be offering demonstrations on the day.
“I teach yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong; they’re all a little bit different, so it’s good for people to understand what they are, so I’m going to teach short classes on the day so people experience them for themselves,” he said.
Other groups include: the Falcons, Bird Life Castlemaine, Queer Book Club, the Nordic Walking Group, Silent Disco, Pickleball, Nalderun, and a variety of local choirs just to name a few.
Pizza De Wheels, Ice Cream Republic and Les Bean Coffee will be on site, plus a BBQ cooked by CCH.
Town Open Day will be held on Saturday May 16 from 10am to 2pm at The Goods Shed, 21 Kennedy Street (*no longer at the Botanical Gardens due to the weather).
This is a free event, and transport is available across the shire. Call CCH on 5472 4842 to book your place on the free bus.
For more information, please visit www.cch.org.au/town-open-day or follow Castlemaine Community House on socials for updates.