School holiday fun in Moonee Valley!
What you need to know
The Winter school holidays are here and we have you covered with some fun and interactive programs that are sure to keep the kids entertained!
Check out the programs on offer below across Moonee Valley.
For children
Pete the Sheep
Saturday, 10 July at 11am
Adapted by Monkey Baa in 2014 from the picture book by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley, with foot-tapping music and lyrics by Phil Scott and comedic direction by Jonathan Biggins, Pete the Sheep is a lively and mischievous award-winning musical for young audiences and their adults.
Prices vary, bookings required.
Location: The Clocktower Centre
Arty Tales 2021
Designed for children aged 2 to 5 with a carer
Introduce your pre-schooler to art with our early learning program Arty Tales. Led by a Barking Spider Visual Theatre artist, pre-schoolers are led in awe and wonder to consider the world around them. Children will listen to stories and songs and enjoy looking at art. Children and their carers will gain the confidence to explore simple materials to make their own artworks, as well as building their confidence to appreciate art and to visit art galleries independently.
Pre-recorded videos released:
7 May | 2 July | 3 September | 12 November 2021
Ninja Warrior and Mini Olympics (Ascot Vale)
Monday, 5 July at 1pm & Wednesday, 7 July at 2pm
Get active this school holiday with the library and Active You. Try and complete a mobile Ninja Warrior course and then you’ll get a chance to test your Olympian abilities with track and field events, bean bag shot put and a tug of war challenge. Suitable for ages 5-12.
Free event, bookings required.
Location: Ascot Vale Leisure Centre
Ninja Warrior and Mini Olympics (Avondale Heights)
Wednesday, 30 June at 10-11am
Get active this school holiday with the library and Active You. Try and complete a mobile Ninja Warrior course and then you’ll get a chance to test your Olympian abilities with track and field events, bean bag shot put and a tug of war challenge. Suitable for ages 5-12.
Free event, bookings required.
The Write Stuff - Creative Writing Workshop
Thursday, 8 July at 10:30-12 noon
Learn how to write a great story in this workshop. You’ll be provided with a prompt to write the bones of a story – then work with others to make your words jump off the page!
Suitable for upper primary aged students (8 to 12 years).
Free event, bookings required.
Location: Flemington Library
Retro Kids Films: Babe
Thursday, 1 July at 10:30-12 noon
Come and enjoy ‘retro’ 90s films with us at Sam Merrifield these holidays!
Babe, an orphaned pig, learns to herd sheep after Arthur Hoggett, a farmer, wins him in a contest at a country fair. But will the other farm animals accept a pig who doesn’t conform to the farm’s social hierarchy?
1995. 92mins, rated G.
Suitable for school aged children. Please book one ticket per family.
Free event, bookings required.
Location: Sam Merrifield Library
Retro Kids Films: Space Jam
Thursday, 8 July at 10:30-12 noon
Come and enjoy ‘retro’ 90s films with us at Sam Merrifield these holidays!
After Michael Jordan’s retirement, he is abducted by Bugs Bunny from the Looney Tunes group and is asked to play a match to defeat the Nerdlucks, a criminal alien group led by Mister Swackhammer.
1996. 88mins, rated PG.
Suitable for school aged children. Please book one ticket per family.
Free event, bookings required.
Location: Sam Merrifield Library
NAIDOC Week - art & storytelling for kids (3 locations)
Thursday, 5, 6 & 7 July at 10:30-11:30am
Participants will learn to draw traditional symbols found in Aboriginal artworks from different cultures around the country. Symbols will be used to demonstrate how they can be combined to tell a visual story, with participants guided to create their own stories.
This program is for school aged children.
Free event, bookings required.
Book here: Sam Merrifield Library
Book here: Niddrie Library
Book here: Avondale Heights Library and Learning Centre
Performing Arts Roadshow
Tuesday, 29 July - Saturday, 3 July
The performing arts roadshow is back these winter school holidays and coming to a neighbourhood near you!
Get ready as Black Hole Theatre delights children of all ages with a story of longing and companionship in The Last Lighthouse Keeper.
Free event, bookings required.
Location: multiple across Moonee Valley libraries and Clocktower Centre
Lego Sculpture Exhibition and Make & Take
Monday 28 June - Wednesday 30 June
Join our school holiday LEGO exhibition and "Make & Take" run by Melbourne Lego Users Group, 28-30 June at the Clocktower Centre!
The exhibition will be run daily between 10am-4pm in the Clocktower Children's Space, and will feature a range of impressive sculptures constructed from bricks ranging from lifesize to tabletop.
There will also be a daily "Make & Take" session at 4pm on these 3 days in the Clocktower Café.
Free event, bookings required.
Location: Clocktower Centre
Pete the Sheep Workshop
Friday, 9 July at 2pm
Come and enjoy our one-off children's workshop where we'll be exploring the much-loved book in our brand new Children's Space at the Clocktower Centre.
The workshop will be run by Monkey Baa Productions - the same group that will be running the Pete the Sheep live performance on Saturday, 10 July, the following day!
Tickets are $5, bookings required.
Location: Clocktower Centre
For teens/adults
Gouache Painting
Sunday, 27 June 2021 — 12.30 to 3.30pm
This workshop aims to demonstrate the endless possibilities of gouache as a painting medium. From abstract explorations, dynamic colour washes to more realistic compositions with personalised guidance from Kathy.
The class will begin with some tips and tricks when working with gouache through experimentation. Students will learn about blending colours and creating depth through layering, working towards producing a finished still life painting.
Price: $40 per person, bookings required.
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Glass Fusing Workshop
Saturday, 10 July 2021 — 12.30 to 3.30pm
The focus of this class is to create a glass work in the kiln that incorporates a fused-in hook to make it suitable to hang. The finished piece could be used as a wall hanging, suncatcher or component of a mobile. Bethany will demonstrate how to cut glass and the basics of fusing glass in the kiln. Students will have access to a limited range of Oceanside fusing glass (small pieces of transparent and opaque sheet, frit and stringers) and high temperature hooks suitable for fusing into the glass.
Prices: $50 per person, bookings required.
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Social Justice Art for Teens 2021
For teens aged 11 to 17 years of age
Saturdays 10am
10 Jul | 11 Sep | 13 Nov 2021
Pre-recorded videos available:
17 Apr | 12 June | 14 Aug | 16 Oct 2021
Using art as a catalyst for expressing thoughts, opinions and ideas this course focuses on engaging young people in issues that are real and important to them about the world they inhabit.
Participants will engage in dialogue and analysis of the role artists can play in shaping dialogue and advocacy about social issues of concern for young people. Participants will learn how to lift their own ideas and transform them into artworks that express their critical voices
Free, bookings required.
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Virtual Reality Gaming for Teens
Wednesday, 30 June at 2-4pm
The future is here in Moonee Valley with Virtual Reality!
Free event, bookings required.
Location: Flemington Library
Game Off!
Thursday, 1 July at 1-5pm
Come and show off your Smash Bros Ultimate skills in this video game tournament for young people aged 12+. Compete for your chance to win gaming vouchers.
This activity is run in conjuction with Northwest Gamers.
Free event, bookings required.
Art Club
Tuesdays 10am:
29 Jun | 27 Jul | 31 Aug | 28 Sep | 26 Oct | 23 Nov 2021
Zoom Live:
Tuesday 10am — 18 May
Be inspired by artists and designers and their creative practice to discuss and exchange ideas, responses and issues. Join our monthly meet ups, connect with creative thinkers past and present to discover and rediscover great stories through art and culture.
Free, bookings required.
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Zine Making Workshop
Monday, 5 July, 3pm – 4.30pm
Learn how to make zines in this fun and relaxed with Gems Zine!
Zines are self-published works filled with words and images, usually in the form of a small booklet. They're often reproduced using a photocopier!
Gems are experts in zine-making! They're a Naarm/Melbourne-based collective who produce zines and fill the pages with art and writing by women and non-binary people based in Australia and worldwide.
Free, bookings required.
Location: Sam Merrifield Library
FReeZA Committee
Mondays at 5-6pm
Free, learn more here.
Location: Sam Merrifield Library
Exhibitions
Sky Orchestra: Cyrus Tang
25 June 2021 - 1 August 2021
Artist(s): Cyrus Tang
Sky Orchestra is a project exploring Confucian values of filial piety through the lens of Chinese history and pop culture, and how it relates to the artist’s existence within a Western context. Through Sky Orchestra, Hong Kong-born artist Cyrus Tang, delves into the history and legacy of a poem by a well-known Chinese poet Su Shi of the Song Dynasty, written during the Moon Festival in 1076. Expressing feelings of loss and yearning, the words of the poem evoke the joys and sorrows of human existence from a Buddhist worldview
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Beyond the Rhetoric: Sha Sawari
25 June 2021 - 1 August 2021
Artist: Sha Sawari
Beyond the Rhetoric is an interactive exhibition by Afghanistan-Australian artist Sha Sawari that explores migration, identity, and place through the power of language. Utilising the poetic conveyance of Nastaliq, a form of Persian calligraphy, this exhibition articulates the plight of many refugees, and invites visitors to enact gestures of healing through words of affirmation.
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Baab 02: Mohamed Chamas
18 June 2021 - 1 August 2021
Artist: Mohamed Chamas
Baab 02 is a mixed reality (MR) installation by artist Mohamed Chamas that acts as a speculative, ceremonial altar for glimpsing the barzakh.
Location: Incinerator Gallery