Can you believe the first month of 2023 has been and gone?
There are no shortages of events as we move into the second month of the year, with markets, live music, performances, sport, shows, lectures, workshops, rodeos, and more being hosted in and around the Wellington Shire throughout February.
So what’s on this month?
GIPPSLAND PRIDE FESTIVAL
Gippsland Pride Initiative officially launched one of Victoria’s largest pride festivals, geographically and logistically, with 21 low and no-cost events for LGBTQIA+ Gippslanders, families and communities across four weeks, six shires and a few thousand kilometres.
This Saturday, the Gippsland Pride Festival is making its way to Sale for a special day in the Community Garden.
From 10.30am until 2.30 pm LGBTQIA+ individuals, Rainbow Families and allies are invited to join in a range of activities at Sale Seed Garden – get your hands dirty, enjoy a wood-fired pizza lunch, live music, and much more.
This is a secure event, spaces are strictly limited and registration is required.
All adults are to individually complete the form found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2RRAF1ty7P77njEVvFEpfQ7iHOQkdhyyv-lR2mYSf6WM-Vw/viewform
When: 10.30am until 2.30pm, Saturday, February 4.
Where: Sale Seed Garden, Montgomery St, Sale.
MCC TWILIGHT MARKET
Gather the family or a group of friends or ride solo to the Maffra Cricket Club’s MCC Twilight Market at the Cameron Sporting Complex this Friday night, February 3, with doors opening at 5.30pm.
Mosey past myriad market stalls boasting talented creations from local makers and delicious Gippsland-grown produce, fuel your cravings with food from one of the numerous food trucks and listen to live music whilst the kids are kept busy with fun-filled activities.
MCC Twilight Market is guaranteed to be a spectacular night for the whole community.
When: Friday, February 3 from 5.30pm.
Where: Cameron Sporting Complex, Maffra.
COME AND TRY DAY
Sale United Football Club is hosting its annual Come and Try Day on Saturday, February 4.
Do you have a child who loves soccer, just can’t get enough of it? Maybe you have a child who participated in SUFC’s 2022 Twilight Soccer Tournament and has expressed interest in playing? Or maybe you have a child who doesn’t know what sport they like yet.
SUFC’s Come and Try Day is the perfect opportunity for children aged six to 16, wherever they fall on the spectrum.
Come and Try Day 2023 will begin at 10.30am, with participants divided into age groups before proceeding to one of the various activity areas set up across the Sale United Football Club grounds.
Activities at each station will focus on a different skill, with variants easily adaptable to suit all ability levels.
SUFC will host a barbecue lunch for participants and their families to enjoy from 12pm.
Come and Try Day 2023 is a fantastic opportunity for children of all ability levels, whether they want to hone their skills under instruction from Sale United’s award-winning coaches, have a crack at a new sport, or make new friends.
To register for Come and Try Day 2023, go to https://rb.gy/zi6lfa
For further information, call or text SUFC junior coordinator Laurel Irvine at 0409 144 757, or SUFC coach Paul McGrath at 0410 811 733.
Alternatively, email lozirvine@gmail.com or p.mcgrath2006@yahoo.ie
WHITE NIGHT 2023
White Night at Mewburn Park Homestead is back!
On Friday, February 10, pull together your best all-white outfit for an evening of eating, drinking, catching up, and of course, dancing at Mewburn Park Homestead from 6.30pm.
Glitz and glam-styled marquees, a welcome drink, and Created by Bels mini grazing cones on arrival, you will feel like you’ve walked straight out of Gippsland and into heaven.
Get your tribe together, dress from head to toe in all-white clothes and get ready to boogie all night long to the good vibe tunes of Dj Nige at Mewburn Park Homestead.
Tickets cost $75 per person and include one welcome drink, a grazing cone on arrival, a finger food taster box by Vintage Graze and entertainment to enjoy in the ‘straight-out-of-heaven’ marquee.
Tickets are essential, and the dress code is strictly all-white, shoes exempt.
Buy your tickets at www.trybooking.com/CDQSF, or for more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/mewburnpark.
When: Friday, February 10 from 6.30pm until 11.30pm.
Where: Mewburn Park Homestead, 5667 Traralgon-Maffra Rd, Maffra.
SMALL STAGE SESSIONS
Introducing Bond Street Event Centre’s new Open Mic Night for musicians, poets and short filmmakers.
Small Stage Sessions offer up-and-coming performers the opportunity to test their skills in a 15-minute set on a respective crowd of like-minded creatives.
Guests and performers must be 16 years and older.
For more information about Small Stage Session, visit the Bond Street Event Centre website at https://www.bondstreeteventcentre.com/.
When: Friday, February 3, from 7pm until 10pm.
Where: Bond Street Event Centre, Sale.
BARRY DICKINS’ ART EXHIBITION
The Bond Street Event Centre will host an exhibition event of the works of Melbourne-based artist, teacher, actor, writer and poet Barry Dickins on Sunday, February 5, from 1pm until 5pm.
The exhibition will include a series of his large charcoal works inspired by Dickins’ deep interest in the Bronte sisters, accompanied by video footage of poems read by the artist.
Barry Dickins’ Art Exhibition at Bond Street Event Centre will also include brilliantly coloured whimsical gouache works and large theatrical coloured acrylic on canvas works, plus pen and ink drawings.
In addition to the wonderful works of Dickins, the exhibition boasts live music, an operating bar and light snacks will be provided; the entry cost is $15 or what you can afford.
When: Sunday, February 5, from 1pm until 5pm.
Where: Bond Street Event Centre Sale.
SALE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB’S KENDAL CUP
When: Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26.
Where: Sale United Football Club, Baldwin Reserve, Sale.
DAY @ THE PORT
Wellington Shire Council is hosting and inviting you to a free, family-friendly event on the banks of the Port of Sale on Saturday, February 4.
The Port of Sale will be unrecognisable as it transforms into a carnival-like atmosphere with a return of the beloved Art Bar, live performances, food trucks, rides, activities for the kids and a fireworks display.
Day @ the Port is a free, fully accessible event, and the Wellington Shire Council is inviting everyone to come along and enjoy everything the Port of Sale has to offer.
When: Saturday, February 4, from 10.30am until 9.30pm.
Where: Port of Sale Precinct – Sale.
HEADLINE ACTS AT JACK’S
Girls’ night out, boys’ night out, work drinks, school reunion, sporting club outing or just a random night out with friends – every weekend, Jack Ryan’s has live music to keep you rocking out and partying (responsibly) until the night’s end.
Weekends at Jack Ryan’s feature local and travelling headlining artists, and with so many artists performing live every weekend of the month, there is bound to be a tune to get everyone in the mood to get down and boogie.
Not a dancer, no worries: You can soak up the good vibes and enjoy headlining artists while testing your skill at a game of pool.
Headline acts at Jack’s this month are:
Friday, February 3 – Matt-Peter Fry
Saturday, February 4 – Dad Bod
Friday, February 10 – TBA
Saturday, February 11 – Spitting Swallows
Friday, February 17 – Justin Rebecchi
Saturday, February 18 – Old School DJ Night
Friday, February 24 – Dale Gannan
Saturday, February 25 – Gecko
When: Every Friday and Saturday, from 9pm.
Where: Jack Ryan’s Irish Bar Sale
METUNG MARKET
The Metung Market, on the Metung Village Green, boasts a variety of goods, including fresh local fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, organics and flowers. Plus, beautiful preserves, breads, pastries, home-baked cakes, biscuits, clothing, artisan items and more.
When: 8am until 12.30pm, Saturday, February 11.
Where: Metung Village Green, Metung.
COURT IN THE ACT PRESENTS “KILLING KATIE, CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK CLUB”
Local Stratford Theatre ensemble “Court in the Act Theatre” will perform “Killing Katie” this February at the Stratford Courthouse Theatre.
Directed by Gavin Roberts and starring a great all-local female ensemble, Killing Katie will bring the house down with its clever, witty script and “who done it” plot.
Katie is dead. Physically at least. However, over a decade later, she is still very much alive in the minds of the four women who witnessed her shocking death at book club. None of them have met again or dared whisper her name.
Killing Katie explores the intricacies, depths and power plays of female friendship groups. How does the arrival of a new member upset the balance? How do the others respond? How did Katie die? And who should feel guilty?
A shocking, laugh-out-loud, funny and brutally honest play, Killing Katie will resonate with anyone who doesn’t want to end up dead on a coffee table.
To buy tickets go to www.stratfordcourthouse.com.au
When: 7.30pm, Thursday February 2, Friday February 3 and Saturday, February 4 and 2.30pm Sunday, February 5.
Where: Stratford Courthouse Theatre.
SALE POLOCROSSE TOURNAMENT
Sale Polocrosse Club is hosting its annual polocrosse tournament on Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12.
This weekend has some of the top polocrosse matches in the state, with games taking place across the entire weekend, from 9am on Saturday until 4pm on Sunday.
The club will host the ever-popular Twilight Matches on Saturday night, which includes three matches, the Mini Juniors, the Under 16 Allan Semmens Memorial Match and the U21 Sale Polocrosse Challenge.
With players from all over Australia participating in the 2023 Polocrosse Tournament, showcasing the best of the best Polocrosse players in the state and country, this year’s talent pool is sure to make for a fantastic display for everyone watching.
This is a free event, with local food vans and coffee vans on site all weekend.
When: From 9am, Saturday, February 11, until 4pm, Sunday, February 12.
Where: Sale Polocrosse Grounds, 43 Polocrosse Lane, Fulham.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Direct from Melbourne, Sale Botanic Gardens will play host to the wonderfully romantic, hilariously funny musical production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing on Sunday, February 5.
Much Ado About Nothing draws on pop music, rock imagery, pantomime and sitcom packed full of 90s pop and rock music.
Bold, cheeky, courageous and self-effacing, this battle of the sexes rom-com takes flight in a version unlike any you’ve seen before!
Enjoy the summer tradition of Shakespeare in the park and as the sun goes down, sit back, pop the cork and revel in this feel-good story where everyone lives happily ever after.
When: 8pm until 10.30pm, Sunday, February 5.
Where: Sale Botanical Gardens.
LISA IRELAND AND SALLY HEPWORTH
Lisa Ireland is a bestselling Australian author who has established herself as a thoughtful, nuanced voice in modern historical fiction and women’s fiction through her seven published novels across various genres.
On Thursday, February 23, the Port of Sale will play host to Gippsland author Lisa Ireland in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth about her new book, The One and Only Dolly Jamieson.
The One and Only Dolly Jamieson has been described as a compelling feel-good novel featuring a proud and gutsy heroine with a truly unbreakable spirit.
New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, Sally Hepworth wrote a rave review, saying, “This novel had me from the first page. It’s been years since a book has made me feel like this”.
Kelly Rimmer, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, joined Sally in accolading Lisa’s latest publication, The One and Only Dolly Jamieson.
“From the glamour of Broadway in the 1960s to the realities of life for the unhoused today, this is a riveting and heart-breaking story of friendship, second chances and hope,” Kelly said.
At 7pm on Thursday, February 23, in the Wellington Building at the Port of Sale, join the ever-talented Lisa Ireland in conversation about her latest novel, The One and Only Dolly Jamieson, with Melbourne-based bestselling author Sally Hepworth.
For all enquires phone 5142 3164.
