By KATH GANNAWAY
AFTER years of meeting in members’ homes, the Millgrove Book Club has a community space to call home.
The club was officially the first group to try out the Warburton Community Space when it met last week ahead of the Grand Opening Day on Sunday 27 October.
The need for an accessible and affordable community meeting place was identified as one of the top priorities at a series of community forums hosted by Upper Yarra Community Enterprise (UYCE) that operates the Warburton and Yarra Junction Community Bank branches of Bendigo Bank.
UYCE has funded Koha Café as the auspicing group to lease the old Kitchenboys/ Poppy’s café building site as a non-for-profit meeting place.
With an indoor and outdoor meeting space, commercial kitchen, cool room and garden area leading down to the Yarra River, the building has unlimited potential for community and private use.
UYCE’s Lindy Schneider said the community response has been exciting.
“It’s really beautiful how excited people are about it. We have three cooking groups already, a book club and lots of ideas.
“We have talked about so many ways the place can be used from community groups looking for a meeting space, to fund-raising cooking sessions, cottage producers who need a commercial kitchen to kids birthday parties or a place for visiting welfare or other services to book for an hour or two to meet with clients,” Ms Schneider said.
Mitch Axton is also on the steering committee for the project and says it has enormous potential with the aim for it to become well-utilised and self-sustaining in the future.
“We want to run a tool-share from here, and have firewood days – things that make life a bit easier for people,” he said.
The space was given a huge vote of approval by the book club members who held their first meeting on Wednesday – alfresco style!
“We’re very honoured to be the first users,” said Dagmar Limp who has hosted the book club in her home for the past 17 years.
With no steps, plenty of car parking and a cost, by donation, of $10 for their two-hour monthly use of the building, the ladies of the Millgrove Book Club are very happy.
“We can meet inside, or out, and it’s a lovely, intimate setting for us to enjoy our discussions,” said Jenny Scammell.
“They are to be congratulated that this has been made available to the community because it’s what has been sadly lacking for a long time.”
The Grand Opening Day will run from noon to 4pm with a fundraiser sausage sizzle, musical jams, tea and coffee and is chance to mingle, enjoy the space, and think of even more wonderful ways to use the space.
Visit Warburtoncommunityspace.com.au for more information.
