December 10, 2021
12496497-CG22-21
FREE DIGITAL EDITION
SIG N U P N O W!
A showcase of creativity
Lyn Dickson, Dianne Crea, Rachel Burke, Karen Hawkins (seated on floor), Marg Watts.
(Louisa Jones) 260761
A festival designed to shine a light on local creators will finally go ahead tomorrow, after being forced to postpone multiple times. The Creative Geelong May’d Arts Festival was originally scheduled for May and pushed back several times due to lockdowns. The festival will showcase local makers throughout Centrepoint Arcade tomorrow and give the community the chance to meet local artists, makers and creators. Creative Geelong chairwoman Fiona Lee said it was pleasing to finally be able to hold the event. “We can’t wait to finally present this event, it has been a difficult time for the entire community and we look forward to showcasing our local makers,” she said. Entry is free and all items on show are on sale. The festival will show off works by local artists, including fashion designer Fernanda Covarrubias, Geelong Fibre Artists, Jessica Sanzaro, jewellery designer Scarlett Bronte, Di Crea, Joshua Maxwell de Hoog, painter Brian McKinnon, drawer Annita Peters, Rachel Burke, clothing designer Smiel and GEMS.
Palais pleads to expand The Palais is hoping to increase its patron cap to attract bigger shows to the region and it’s calling on the community for support. Under its planning permit, the theatre is only allowed to welcome 350 attendees, but owner Anthony Tripolino said he was hoping to have that expanded. “A greater capacity leads to bigger and better shows,” he said. “At the moment, people are either turning us away or we’re turning them away because of the fact we can’t facilitate [the crowds].
“There’s been some major acts not only in the theatre or live performance world, but also in the sporting world, that have turned away from this venue because we just can’t accommodate them.” Mr Tripolino said he hoped to see the venue’s conditions expanded to allow “as many people as possible” based on the facilities. “If you can have more people, then you start attracting shows and events that would normally bypass Victoria and even sometimes Australia as a whole because they can’t get a venue of that space. “The reality of it is there’s a venue shortage,
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and obviously the more bums you can get on seats, the better the offering.” The theatre is currently undergoing works to improve the stage and other facilities and Mr Tripolino said the Palais’ planning team would then put in an application to the City of Greater Geelong to amend its planning permit. To support the push, the Palais has created an online petition to gather community support for the move, which had already received more than 900 signatures. “The primary reason for starting the petition is we will be submitting a planning application to council and if the history of this place repeats
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itself, there is every bit of a chance that it will go to a council meeting,” Mr Tripolino said. “And if it goes to a council meeting, well then a petition is a very strong document, because it’s the voice of the people who the council represent.” The Tripolino family bought the theatre in 1997 and Mr Tripolino said he felt an obligation to ensure it was providing for the community. “There’s a lot of nostalgia that’s attached to this building … [and] we want to make sure we’re paying homage to that in the best possible way we can.” The petition can be viewed at: bit.ly/3oCzXS5.
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By Ash Bolt