Leisure

  • Rocky Riders on a roll

    Rocky Riders on a roll

    When early last year Natayla Garden set up a Facebook page to see if any women wanted to join her and a friend on a beginners’ mountain bike ride, little did she imagine that she was starting something quite significant. After Natayla, her friend and 11 other women met at the local Bacos trails in…

  • Hull to perform at The Bridge

    Hull to perform at The Bridge

    Award-winning Castlemaine musician, writer and disability advocate, Eliza Hull, is set to perform at Castlemaine’s Bridge Hotel on Friday April 29. Fresh from a whirlwind trip to America last month where she performed as part of the Sounds Australia Showcase at the renowned South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Hull is excited to hit…

  • Grill a master gardener

    Grill a master gardener

    Join the Mount Macedon Horticultural Society for a day of pure indulgence in which three master gardeners get together and exchange notes, theories and practical tips with the audience. Stephen Ryan, Simon Rickard and Michael McCoy will present ‘Dreaming Gardens’ on April 20. Expect some healthy debate and inspiration while these three experts battle out…

  • Nordic pole walking expands

    Nordic pole walking expands

    Local nordic pole walking classes have really hit their stride, proving so popular they’re now being offered in Castlemaine, Harcourt, Newstead and Maldon. Volunteers have recently had their qualifications updated by the Nordic Academy and as a result are enthusiastic to offer this opportunity in more locations across Mount Alexander Shire. Healthy Heart of Victoria…

  • Open studios at Macedon

    Open studios at Macedon

    At this lovely time of the year, when Macedon is full of colour, the artists of Open Studios Macedon will be opening their doors to welcome members of the public over the weekend of April 23-24. Having had a successful year of the program in 2021, the nine participating artists look forward to once again…

  • Autumn spectacular at Mica Grange

    Autumn spectacular at Mica Grange

    The spectacular gardens of Mica Grange, with their panoramic views across the Sutton Grange valley, opened this weekend for their Autumn Sculpture Exhibition and run until Sunday May 8. The exhibition will provide garden lovers with an abundance of creative ideas to enhance the beauty and enjoyment of their own gardens. The open garden will…

  • Somewhere over the rainbow

    Somewhere over the rainbow

    Coming from Turkey to Melbourne to escape political unrest in 2015-16, Oz Demirhan could never have imagined that she would be able to start her own business. It all began while walking with little son Lennon during the first COVID lockdown and admiring rainbows decorating people’s windows. It inspired her to revive her old hobby…

  • Maldon’s dark side

    Maldon’s dark side

    Maldon will host the inaugural Goldfields Gothic Festival of Dark Ideas this July. Plans for the new festival, part of the Maldon in Winter series, were launched this month and will celebrate the dark side of the goldfields with performances, tours, themed food experiences, conversations on dark topics and a range of strange and unforgettable…

  • The insurmountable becomes easy

    The insurmountable becomes easy

    After 10 successful and popular years teaching in Melbourne, Angela’s Kitchen Cooking School is bringing people to Guildford to experience the pleasures of Mediterranean-style cooking. Angela Nicolettou draws on her Greek Cypriot background (and her love of cooking and career as an educator) to guide people though the know-how of preparing what to some is…

  • Afternoon jazz with the Melbourne Octet

    Afternoon jazz with the Melbourne Octet

    The Woodend Winter Arts Festival presents the Melbourne Octet in concert in Woodend on April 3. Much of the repertoire in this program was written in a period of history that saw recovery from a war and a devastating pandemic followed by the rule of several dictators across the world, mass unemployment, discrimination against and…

  • Art book fair this weekend

    Art book fair this weekend

    To complement the 2022 Melbourne Art Book Fair, Castlemaine Art Museum is hosting a two-day regional art book fair inside the beautiful 1931 art deco building this weekend, March 26 and 27. The two-day National Gallery of Victoria satellite event will from run 12-4pm each day and will see CAM host stalls showcasing work by…

  • Proud as pooch!

    Proud as pooch!

    Plenty of Macedon Ranges’ proud pooch owners turned out to the annual All Breeds Dog Conformation Show on Saturday at the Calabria Club/Bulla Dog Exhibition Centre in Bulla. Hosted by the Toy Poodle Society of Victoria Inc., it is most unusual for a single-breed club to take on the big task of running an All…