INSIDE THIS EDITION… PORTARLINGTON COMMUNITY CAROLS, PAGE 3
19 DECEMBER, 2025 - 8 JANUARY, 2026
BELLARINE’S NUMBER ONE NEWSPAPER
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A special time of year
(Ivan Kemp) 523483_03
Carols in the Park took over Ocean Grove on Sunday 14 December for an evening of singing and Christmas cheer. The annual event, held at Ocean Grove Park, is always one of the most anticipated on the local calendar. It has been running for more than 30 years and is the largest community gathering on the Bellarine Peninsula. Carols in the Park is a true family event and guests were encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift so that Cottage by the Sea could provide gifts for kids in need. Entry was by gold coin donation, which will go to Feed Me Bellarine. Kyla and Mimi Maddock are pictured enjoying the performances. For more photos, see pages 18 and 19. From all of us here at the Ocean Grove Voice, we wish you a happy and safe Christmas and New Year. We will return in 2026 with three consecutive editions on January 9, 16 and 23.
Upgrades urgent By Matt Hewson While the latest annual report shows the beloved Potato Shed continues to play a huge role for the Bellarine community, councillors have warned that it desperately needs funding for upgrades. The Bellarine Arts Centre, which includes a 200-seat black box theatre, outdoor amphitheatre, studio spaces, rehearsal rooms and classrooms, welcomed 50,250 visitors during 2024-25, including 70 performances, 145 dance classes and11 community functions. Operated by the City of Greater Geelong under a joint use agreement with Bellarine
Secondary College and St Ignatius College, the small arts venue also hosted 875 high school classes and 450 care sessions outside school hours. The Potato Shed’s Morning Showtime Season also consistently sold out through the last financial year, providing quality entertainment to older audiences and those who struggle to access evening performances. Councillor Rowan Story, the elected representative of the Potato Shed’s Murradoc Ward, said the venue had operated “at or beyond capacity for over a decade”. “The redevelopment of the Bellarine Arts
Centre is of key importance,” he said. “It’s not just the parochial aspect…One of the things that happened in COVID was that a lot of the back-of-house and technical support staff in the theatre world in general lost their jobs and went off and did other things. “One of the things that the Bellarine Arts Centre does, in its relationship with secondary students, is to encourage and introduce them to that sort of world. We will, in the future, be an incubator for these vital members of the creative community.” The annual report tabled at the council’s December meeting calls for a $36 million investment, which would provide a second
larger theatre, improved backstage and technical facilities and additional teaching and learning spaces. Councillor Eddy Kontelj, chair of the City’s arts and culture, hospitality and live entertainment portfolio, said he would “be standing right beside” Cr Story in his advocacy for funding. “I think we have to do all that we can to continue to support, develop, promote, grow and of course celebrate our creatives here in Geelong,” he said. “Not everyone’s built for sport…the creatives, the arts, live entertainment is an extremely strong and valuable (part of) the fabric of Geelong.”
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