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A Saturday fete, and a playground for the years ahead
Good morning, afternoon or evening,
A practical local week led by verified events and useful community information.
What's Inside
- What's Worth Your Time
- MX Highlights
- What's Happening This Week
- Family Life
- Eat & Drink
- Home & Property
- Discover Maroondah
- A quick reader question
- Add Your Event and share prompts
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What's Worth Your Time |
A Saturday fete, and a playground for the years ahead
The rides and stalls at Holy Spirit's fete have a purpose beyond Saturday: helping fund a replacement playground at the school in Ringwood North. Fete committee president Keiran Dole says the project will replace equipment in Holy Spirit Community School's Senior Area. The $123,420 cost, including GST, covers play equipment, site works and synthetic turf, and is also the fundraising target. Construction is planned to start after the fete, with the school aiming to finish this year. That is a target, rather than a confirmed completion date. So a visit is also a chance to take part in the community effort behind a project for the school's students and wider school community. The volunteer-run fete is on Saturday 10 October, 10am–5pm, at Holy Spirit Community School, 120 Oban Road, Ringwood North. Entry is free, with rides starting at 11am. If rides are part of your plan, wristbands are $70 online until Friday 9 October, compared with $100 on the day. Games and skill testers cost extra, and adults riding with children need a wristband or individual ride tickets. Check the official fete information or check wristband prices and booking conditions. Community Support: MX is providing this coverage at no charge.
Check the official fete information
Check wristband prices and booking conditions
A free afternoon does not need to become a search project
A spare afternoon can disappear surprisingly quickly when the plan begins with too many tabs and no clear way to choose. Use the October Free Events Guide as a filter, not a reading assignment: pick the date first, decide who the outing needs to suit, then keep only the options that fit the available time. Before leaving, use the linked organiser source to check whether registration, capacity or another current condition applies. The useful result is not a longer shortlist. It is one suitable free activity, checked and ready to put in the calendar.
Use the October Free Events Guide
Before your next swim: Council's healthy-pool checklist for Maroondah
Council is asking swimmers at Aquanation, Aquahub and Croydon Memorial Pool to help reduce illness risks with a simple hygiene checklist. Key steps include staying out of the pool while unwell and for at least 14 days after diarrhoea symptoms stop, showering with soap before swimming, using properly fitted swim nappies for children who are not toilet trained, washing hands after toilet or nappy use, and avoiding swallowing pool water.
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MX Highlights |
A school fete, a book conversation and several quite different ways to hear live music: there’s room in this Maroondah week for a bigger outing or a smaller catch-up. The useful question is who you’d like to spend that time with—and what you’d enjoy doing together.
Saturday’s Holy Spirit Community Fete 2026 brings that community effort into one place. Volunteers are putting on rides, food stalls, stage entertainment and an animal farm, with the fete helping support a new school playground. It runs on Saturday 10 October, 10am–5pm, at Holy Spirit Community School, 120 Oban Road, Ringwood North. Entry is free; rides and purchases cost extra. If rides are the plan, all-day wristbands are $70 until Friday 9 October and $100 on the day. Adults riding with children also need a wristband or individual tickets, so check the ride conditions before buying.
Before the weekend gets going, Bayswater Book Lovers – A Book Club for Young Adults gives readers aged 18–30 somewhere to talk about what they’re reading, discover new releases and pick up a monthly reading challenge. You can come with an established reading habit or an interest in getting back into it; hot drinks and snacks are provided. The free session is on Thursday 8 October, 6–7pm, in Community Room 2 at Bayswater Library. Reserve a place through the library’s booking page, by phone or at a library.
That Thursday evening also has a musical option in Croydon. At Jazz Thursdays at McAdams Wine Bar, Jazz Notes pairs flute and guitar across jazz, swing, bossa nova and Latin music. It’s a regular Thursday performance, so this could become a familiar evening in the calendar rather than a once-only outing. This week’s session is on 8 October, 7.30–9.30pm, upstairs at 48 McAdam Square, Croydon. The music is free; food and drinks are purchased separately.
For Friday, Katie Noonan – Alone but All One offers a different reason to listen: new songs about love, with Noonan’s first songwriting collaboration with author Trent Dalton. The album’s piano-and-string-quartet setting gives some context for the work being brought to Karralyka in Ringwood East on Friday 9 October. The evening runs from 7.30–9.30pm, with Mark Wilkinson opening and Noonan’s set beginning at 8.20pm. Tickets are $70 full price or $65 concession; check current seats before making plans.
Sunday changes the pace again. At the Maroondah Handicrafts Makers’ Market, you can meet makers and buy handmade gifts, jewellery and homewares directly. That’s a useful starting point if you’re looking for a present and would like to see the work in person. Maroondah Handicrafts Inc. runs the market on the second Sunday of the month, making this week’s date Sunday 11 October, 10am–3pm. Entry is free at Ringwood East Senior Citizens Hall, 6 Laurence Grove, Ringwood East. Purchases are extra.
Then Music Legends: The Cat Stevens Story brings a familiar songbook to the stage. Music Legends Productions’ tribute includes songs such as Father and Son, Wild World and Peace Train; this is a tribute performance, rather than an appearance by Cat Stevens. It’s at Karralyka in Ringwood East on Sunday 11 October, 2–4.20pm, including an interval. Tickets are $69 full price, $64 concession or $55 for children aged 2–15. The market overlaps with the show, so allow time to leave and travel if you’re considering both. Check current ticket availability.
The music continues into Monday with Morning Melodies at Club Ringwood in Ringwood. Brendan Scott is this month’s performer, and the outing includes morning tea and a two-course lunch after the show. On Monday 12 October, doors open at 10am and the performance starts at 10.30am, with the session running until 1pm. The recorded ticket price is $25; confirm the current price and reserve your place with the club on 9879 8733. If evenings are harder to organise, this gives you a daytime option with the meal already part of the plan.
You don’t need to fill the whole week. Choose the outing that fits your time, check its current booking details, and send the link to the person you’d like to take along. That’s often enough to turn an idea into a plan.
What’s Happening This Week
Maybe you’ve got an evening free, want something to do with the family, or would like to get out without spending much. Choose the guide that fits what you have in mind.
Our selected highlights, with a story about what makes them worth your time. |
Start with the day you’re free and see which events fit. |
Explore free events and activities, with dates and any booking conditions. |
Find something to enjoy together, and check the ages and details before making plans. |
See where you can hear live music this week. Maybe there’s someone you’d like to invite along. |
Some outings need a little more planning. Have a look at later events and booking details, so you can make room for something you’d like to do. |
Want to explore a bit further? Browse the full MX What’s On database and choose by date, interest or location. Start with the time you have available, then see what fits. |
Find something near you
Prefer to stay close to home? Choose your suburb to explore local events and activities.
Ringwood · Ringwood East · Ringwood North
Croydon · Croydon Hills · Heathmont
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Family Life |
A free Tuesday morning for babies and carers
A useful baby outing needs a clear age range, a short session and room for the carer to connect as well. Tiny Tots Storytime is at Bayswater Library on Tuesday 6 October from 10.30am to 11.30am for babies aged 0–12 months and their carers. The story, song and rhyme portion runs for about 20 minutes, with time to socialise afterwards. The session is free and currently listed as available. Make the library the only morning stop, allow the full hour and set the activity budget at $0.
View the official Tiny Tots Storytime For Babies 0-12 Months At Bayswater Library listing
Explore more current family ideas
A free Thursday-afternoon youth hangout
The gap between school and dinner is easier when the activity already has a place and a two-hour window. Hangout — Magic with Wizz Fizz runs at Croydon Community Hub on Thursday 8 October from 3pm to 5pm. Maroondah Youth Services and Your Library present the free creative activity, and the maintained listing currently shows places available. Use the 3pm–5pm session as the full after-school plan and allow $0 for the activity.
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Eat & Drink |
A manageable starting list for burger night
If you want a business whose main public identity is burgers, the local shortlist is quite compact. The September MX guide has seven specialists: four in Croydon, two in Ringwood and one in Heathmont. Ringwood’s two are at Eastland, while Croydon offers the largest group. That gives you a practical list to explore before checking menus and ordering options. It also explains the guide’s boundary: cafés, pubs and other takeaways can serve burgers without appearing in this specialist directory. Use the shortlist for focused discovery, not as a count of every local burger menu.
Explore the seven burger specialists
Fish and chips starts with the neighbourhood
The fish-and-chip map spreads through small local centres as well as the larger suburbs. MX’s September guide retains 26 businesses across 11 suburbs, with Ringwood’s four the largest group. Croydon, Croydon South, Kilsyth and Ringwood East each have three. That spread makes the guide useful when the practical question is what is nearby tonight. Find your suburb, follow the business link and check the current menu for your household’s order. The directory supplies the starting list; grilled options, dietary requirements and today’s availability still need a direct check.
Find a nearby fish-and-chip shop
Pizza night has a neighbourhood map
A local pizza search does not lead to just one dining strip. The September guide retains 25 qualified pizza businesses across 10 suburbs, with Croydon’s six forming the largest group. Croydon South, Kilsyth, Ringwood and Vermont each contribute three, giving you several starting points close to home. The refreshed directory also records the Exeter Pizza Pasta trading name. Choose a nearby listing, then use its current menu to check the style, size and ordering options you need. A public category and a Google rating cannot answer all of those questions for you.
Explore pizza places by suburb
A celebration cake starts with the right kind of enquiry
A cake from a retail counter and a custom celebration design usually begin in different ways. MX’s refreshed guide separates those service models and adds two makers: Art You Can Eat in Bayswater and Flourish Cake Design in Kilsyth. Their websites provide enquiry or ordering routes, bringing the guide to 12 selected listings. Before choosing, work out your date, serving needs and dietary requirements, then confirm the maker’s lead time and collection or delivery arrangements. The guide helps you start that conversation without assuming every cake business welcomes walk-ins.
Find a cake maker or celebration-food option
Chicken night can mean three different kinds of stop
A neighbourhood charcoal-chicken shop, a national chain and a fresh-poultry counter answer different plans. MX’s September guide separates those formats across 15 selected locations, with Red Rooster Kilsyth at Canterbury and Liverpool roads joining the list. The guide now covers six local or neighbourhood specialists, eight chain locations and one poultry retailer. Decide first whether you want a ready-to-eat meal or ingredients to cook, then check the current venue menu and ordering details. That distinction keeps a broad chicken search useful.
Buying local can begin with an order from home
Some local food businesses are easy to miss from the street. Spice Fusion in Ringwood sells spice blends and dukkah online; Uncle Mungo’s in Bayswater has sauces and chilli products; Micky Booth offers fruit-and-vegetable delivery from Ringwood. Each gives you a different way to buy locally without choosing a restaurant. The useful question is how to order: through a website, a stockist, an enquiry or a delivery booking. Our refreshed hidden-food-economy story follows those routes and explains why a listed address does not always mean a public shopfront.
Meet the food businesses beyond the shopfronts
Ringwood North’s food story fits around everyday errands
Bread, meat, coffee and dinner choices sit close together around Warrandyte Road and Ringwood North Shopping Centre. The refreshed guide follows that everyday pattern, then looks beyond the obvious shopfronts. Its 22 selected records now include Slow Lane Coffee and Double Dragon Dumplings. One is a coffee-van option with a location and session to confirm; the other adds a dumpling takeaway listing. That difference matters when you are planning a stop. Use the directory to match a local errand with the food service you need, and check current trading arrangements before heading out.
Explore food around Ringwood North
The local butcher’s counter has changed with the suburbs
Butchers were part of Croydon’s early Main Street shopping mix. Today’s local guide reaches from neighbourhood counters to businesses offering online ordering, pickup or delivery. The September reconciliation retains 11 butcher businesses and one poultry specialist, keeping those different roles visible. It is a useful starting point whether you want to ask about a particular cut or organise food around a busy week. Check the current services and availability directly before making a trip or placing an order; the historical story and directory give you context, not a promise about today’s stock.
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Home & Property |
A free Saturday workshop on reusable nappies
For households considering cloth nappies, two practical hours may answer more than another week of scattered online research. Maroondah City Council's reusable nappies workshop is at Realm Library on Saturday 10 October from 10am to noon. It is for parents, caregivers and childcare workers who are curious about reusable nappies or want advice on caring for and using their current cloth nappies. The workshop is free. Set aside Saturday morning, take the questions that matter to your household and allow $0 for the workshop.
View the official Reusable nappies in-person workshop listing
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Discover Maroondah |
Meet Michael Robotham at Croydon Library
A midweek hour with an Australian author is a more specific plan than simply deciding to visit the library. Michael Robotham appears at Croydon Library on Wednesday 7 October from 2pm to 3pm to discuss his new novel, Tell Me Something True. The maintained event listing shows the author session as free and available. Reserve the 2pm hour, allow $0 for the event and
Quick Question
What local event or activity did you nearly miss?
Reply with one Maroondah event activity or useful local program you only discovered at the last minute. MX will check the source and use recurring gaps to improve the event and source directories.
Share This With Someone Local
If this was useful, forward it to someone in Maroondah who might like it too. The more locals who read MX, the easier it becomes to surface good events, useful updates and small community stories.
Add Your Event Or Local Tip
Running a local event, workshop, performance, community activity or open day? Add it to The Maroondah Exchange so more people can find it.
Thanks for reading,
The Maroondah Exchange
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