Macedon Ranges Blue

Macedon Ranges Blue is the local autism awareness campaign, part of the national, Autism Speaks Light it up Blue initiative. See article, Light on autism awareness (Guardian, 28/03/13), for more information.
Local Events during Autism Awareness Month:

April 2 
World Autism day 
Landmarks will be lit up blue 
Romsey - tree, fountain and shops
Woodend- clock tower Gisborne- fountain
Lancefield - businesses and shops

April 1 - 7
Blue autism awareness displays
Visual displays and information in business windows in Romsey 

April 4
Fundraising dinner for Playconnect autism spectrum disorder playgroup 
Sicilian Vespers Restaurant, Main Road, Romsey
Tino Fichera, 5429 3909

April 6
* Barbecue at Romsey Skate Park 
Short walk and balloon release
Kids activities
Romsey Lions Reserve/Romsey Skate Park 
12 - 2.30pm
* Lions Club visit with Righteous pup (autism spectrum disorder trained companion dog)
Romsey Lions Reserve/Romsey Skate Park 
* Romsey Football Club 
Blue practice match players run through blue banner and wear blue arm bands

Each Friday
* Playconnect, ASD playgroup for children from diagnoses to school (2-6 years) 
Romsey Community Hub 
* All Abilities kids health and fitness programs
Kids come and try day
Romsey Community Stadium
Mel Traynor, 0430 370 361

April 10
Macedon Ranges support group 
Morning tea 
Ethic Cafe, Woodend
Fiona Le Nepveu, 5421 1693

April 20
Pie eating competition
Fundraiser for the Macedon Ranges Autism Specturn Disorder Support Group 
Giveaways and prizes
Country Cob Bakery, Mollison Street, Kyneton 
10.30am 
Kate Neale, 0427 226 645

April 24
Macedon Ranges support group lunch 
Country Cob Bakery, Mollison Street, Kyneton 
12.30pm
Kate Neale, 0427 226 645

April 22
Question and answer session
Professor Tonge
Autism and adolescence
For parents, school staff, youth workers
Cobaw Community Health Woodend, 47 Forest Street 
6 - 8pm
Supper provided
Cobaw 5421 1680

April 29
May 6
May 13
Autism spectrum disorder in preschool years
Three professional development sessions for kinder and childcare staff
Cobaw Community Health Woodend, 47 Forest Street 
6 - 8pm
Fiona Le Nepveu 5421 1693

Month of April 
* Primary and secondary schools awareness activities
Cobaw staff will provide talks to schools in Macedon Ranges
* Macedon Ranges schools get on board to fundraise and raise awareness and acceptance of difference
Blue activities
For Amaze (Autism Victoria)
* Amaze will offer the Supporting Differences program to schools in the Macedon Ranges
To raise awareness of differences in the classroom and understanding students with an autism spectrum disorder

End of April 
Raffle drawn 
Fundraiser for Macedon Ranges Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Group


For more information on these events, please contact Macedon Ranges Blue organiser, Shantelle Grant on 0411 444 447. 

Music and wine - Pop-up fundraiser for Artists for Orphans

 Internationally acclaimed harpist, Mary Doumany will be a special guest at 

a fundraising event in Kyneton for Artists for Orphans.

Live music in an intimate wine bar setting is the foundation for Artists for Orphans' (AFO) latest fundraiser.

Proceeds will support AFO and its work to assist orphaned children, particularly those affected by Agent Orange, widely known as a chemical warfare herbicide used in the Vietnam War and still causing birth defects.

The event, Marcie Jones and Friends, will be hosted at Ruby's Pop-Up Wine Bar, at Ruby Cafe, Kyneton.

"While you enjoying a glass of red, white or beer and listening to the superb live music, you will be supporting Agent Orange affected and orphaned children in Vietnam," AFO founder and event organiser, Roni Wildeboer said.

Roni plans to run the event monthly, starting on Saturday, April 6, 7-11pm.

The opening fundraiser will feature special guest performer, internationally acclaimed harpist, Mary Doumany.

"(It) will be a great night and will also raise funds for Artists for Orphans Inc.," Roni said.

The event will recreate the wine bars of the 60s and 70s, Roni says.

"We want to revive the wonderful, cosy atmosphere of those bygone days.

Tickets are limited and available at Ruby Cafe, $20.

Million dollar relay! Teams walk, run and dance to fight cancer

 2013 Macedon Ranges Young Citizen of the Year Award, Indigo Nicholson, together with family members, supported her mother Laverne, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, in the first lap for Survivors and Carers at the 2013 Lancefield Macedon Ranges Relay for Life last weekend.

 The weekend ended emotionally with the traditional release of white balloons into the blue sky.

Lyn & Wendy's Walkers raised the highest amount with more than $8500.

It's official! The Lancefield/Macedon Ranges Relay For Life has raised more than $1 million for the Cancer Council Victoria.
In near perfect weather, 23 teams relayed overnight and were rewarded by the news on Sunday morning that by raising $58,000 they had pushed the event's 11-year tally to $1.04 million.
"Thanks are due to so many people who have supported the Relay since its inception," says organising committee chairmanager, Ken Wiltshire.
"The inspiration of that first group of volunteers who formed a committee to run a Relay For Life because they wanted to do something meaningful that would make a long-term contribution to the fight against cancer, a disease that had taken friends and family from them, is something that has sustained us all along the way."
Raising on average nearly $100,000 a year, teams from across the Macedon Ranges and beyond have rallied with courage and determination to support cancer research, education, advocacy and support services.
This year's event included the involvement of Sacred Heart College year nine student Indigo Nicholson, who won the 2013 Macedon Ranges Young Citizen of the Year Award.
Indigo read the Relay For Life Oath at the opening ceremony, and a winning video she made last year for the Live 4 Life Program conducted in Macedon Ranges secondary schools was screened throughout Saturday night.
Indigo was accompanied by her extended family including her tremendously spirited mother Laverne, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, and participated in the first relay lap for Survivors and Carers.
Relay For Life unites hundreds of people touched by cancer, and offers empathy and hope. Among the survivors at Lancefield Park were several people who had overcome one or more forms of cancer and others still having treatment. They were given afternoon tea with music entertainment, pampering and an opportunity to add their handprint to a commemorative banner.
One of the most inspiring efforts was made by Anthony Traynor, who ran more than 100 kilometres in recognition of his wife Melanie's successful battle with breast cancer. Melanie and the couple's son Layne lit symbolic candles as part of the evening ceremony. The family entered a team under the name of their Romsey business, You Can Fitness.
The Lyn & Wendy's Walkers team raised the highest amount with more than $8500. Romsey IGA accepted the Georgette Watkins/Spirit of the Relay Award.
Fun and outright hilarious highlights included Slip, Slop, Slap, Shade and Slide races, tug-of-war in the moonlight and an energetically contested dancing competition.
Romsey and Lancefield Community Banks donated $2000, while the Foley family of Romsey presented the Carol Ladgrove Award and $500 to The Amigos who were judged best dancers.
Eleven teams responded to an incentive prize for registering for the 2014 Relay For Life. Lyn & Wendy's Walkers scored a daily double by being picked from a ballot to win $500 to kick start their next year of fundraising.
Mr Wiltshire says that while survival rates have improved for many cancers and there have been many medical advances, there is still much to do in terms of research and the provision of support services for those with cancer.
"The Cancer Council is at the forefront of that work. By its advocacy campaigns it is arguing for the enhancement of screening programs and other innovations that will improve the fight against cancer. Knowing all this gives the teams and the event organisers the resolve to be a part of the Lancefield/Macedon Ranges Relay For Life."
Donations for 2013 can still be made to teams or the Lancefield/Macedon Ranges Relay For Life event itself at www.relayforlife.org.au. For more information visit the website or ring 1300 656 585.

Choose your partners ... it's time to relay

Melanie and Matthew Foley, with their children, Alexander, Millie and Cooper, are donating an award to the Lancefield Macedon Ranges Relay for Life to be given in memory of Melanie's mother, Carol Ladgrove.

It's a dance competition, so get your scootin' boots on!

If you are near Lancefield Park around 6pm this Saturday you may get the urge to twirl your partner or bust a few energetic moves. Lots of others will be doing just that on the footy oval that gives way to the Lancefield/Macedon Ranges Relay For Life for one weekend every March.
The Carol Ladgrove Award will be contested in the form of a dance competition that will challenge teams to put their best ballroom, rock 'n' roll, disco and Gangnam style dancers on the track for a lap like no other.
Chief dance judge, Melanie Foley, cared for her mother Carol at her family's Romsey home before she died in May last year. She had fought a long battle against Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood cancer.
Carol danced in the rain with family members at last year's Relay For Life and a month later achieved her goal of celebrating her 60th birthday.
Melanie's husband Matt instigated the idea of donating an award to be given out at the Relay in memory of his mother-in-law. The dance competition was chosen by the family because of the joy that music and dance gave Carol, even when she was very ill.
The winning team will receive $500 towards its fundraising total. It should be enough incentive to inspire some spectacular costumes, if not plenty of fancy footwork to make the judging tense.
Teams will also be invited to test their strength in tug of war contests and to keep their shirts and hats on during slip, slop, slap and slide races. Prize money donated by the Romsey and Lancefield Community Banks will also go into the winners' fundraising banks.
Over the past 12 months, teams have again tried various ways of raising money for the Cancer Council Victoria. Barefoot bowls, golf, sausage sizzles, old time dancing, trivia nights, raffles and dinners have been enjoyed in the name of Relay For Life.
About 25 teams will participate in the overnight Relay at Lancefield Park this weekend. Registrations will be taken up until Saturday afternoon. Cancer survivors and carers are invited to join in the first lap to 'Celebrate, Remember, Fightback' at 3pm. It is not necessary to be in a team but individuals must check in at the registration office before walking on the track.
For more information visit www.relayforlife.org.au, ring 1300 656 585 or contact Kelly Milne on 0419 319 429.

Edwardian elegance

Local business owners, Emma Sonno from Weddings & Events by Ladyz that Lunch and Christine Lauder from The Dressing Table, with local actors, Suzanne Sandow, Don White and Katherine Nowland share some afternoon tea Downton Abbey Style at the Kyneton Bluestone Theatre.

A Downton Abbey garden party will raise funds for the Kyneton Bluestone Theatre restoration.
Local businesses are hosting the event in support of local performing arts.
"Downton Abbey has captured everyone's imagination and this fundraising event gives people the opportunity to dress up and immerse themselves in the charm of an Edwardian garden party for a really worthy cause," Christine Lauder from participating business, The Dressing Table, said.
The party is on Sunday, March 17, in the grounds of historic Skelsmergh Hall, Carlsruhe.
It will recreate the elegance of an Edwardian Garden Party.
Tickets include musical entertainment by The Really Cool Big Band, sumptuous high tea showcasing local food producers, a cash bar with regional wines, Edwardian fair games, raffle and prizes for most elegantly dressed.
Tickets for this event can be purchased from the Macedon Ranges Council box office on 1300 888 802 or at www.mrsc.vic.gov.au
To find out more or offer your support go to www.gardenparty.net.au or like Downton Abbey Garden Party on Facebook.

Itching for a bargain?

Macedon Fire Brigade's Steev Carrigg and Phil Wilkinson invite you to support the brigade at its annual flea market fundraiser on Saturday.

Macedon Fire Brigade's annual flea market is on again tomorrow - Saturday, February 23 - in the car park of the railway station, behind the fire station on the corner of Smith and Victoria streets.

The flea market will have the usual auction, bric-a-brac, books, kids toys, bikes, small electrical goods, big boys' toys (lawn mowers, tools, etc.), plants and of course the food kitchen. Food and drinks will be available all day from 10am, and amusements, including games alley, jumping castles, face-painting and and coloured hair spraying will all be there. 

The brigade is aiming to make this the most successful flea market ever and is hoping to make considerable progress towards raising the funds needed for the replacement of its brigade-owned tanker, which was purchased in 1997 with funds raised with the support of the local community. Despite fundraising efforts each year, the brigade has been unable to raise the amount needed as vehicle costs have escalated and resale value of its existing vehicle has dropped over recent years. 

So, even if you are unable to go along to the flea market, but would still like to help support the local brigade, please consider making a donation towards the replacement of its tanker. You can drop in to the fire station any Sunday morning or you can mail it to: Macedon Rural Fire Brigade, PO Box 282, Macedon, 3440. Your support will be greatly appreciated and will help the brigade continue to provide the highest level of emergency services to the local community.

Amusements, food and stalls commence at 10am. Auction commences at 11am.