The club calendar goes beyond the scoreboard

A fixture tells you when a team is playing. It does not necessarily tell you when the club is bringing people together for a fundraiser, a barbecue or a social night. Those are the occasions we want to help make easier to find.

That is another part of the Maroondah Sports Guide: a way to connect local clubs with the wider community around them. We are building the event links, with current details checked through MX Event Intake before an event appears. The club-event calendar is still being connected, so it is not yet a complete list of what clubs have coming up.

We are focusing on those social and community occasions rather than listing every game. If your club has something coming up, tell us when and where it is happening, what it costs, whether bookings are needed and who can attend. A members-only presentation night is different from a fundraiser open to the neighbourhood, and readers need to know that.

For now, use the guide to find a club and its official information, or browse the wider MX What’s On pages. And if you help organise a club event, send it through so we can check the details and help spread the word.

See the Sports Guide’s community-event section

Submit a club community event to MX

When a fenced dog park is the simpler choice

Want an off-leash outing without trying to interpret the boundary of a large reserve? Maroondah Council identifies two fenced off-leash choices: Eastfield Dog Park in Croydon and Parkwood Dog Park in Ringwood North. Both have double-gated entrances and a time-out zone for young or quieter dogs. Supervision, recall and the current park rules still apply. Choose the closer park, check its conditions and keep an on-lead alternative in mind if the space is busy or does not suit your dog. That turns an open-ended search into one clear decision.

Planning to bring your dog? Please check current dog access and any conditions with the venue or organiser before you go.

Open the current MX Dog Guide

View Maroondah Council's off-leash dog park rules and locations

View the official Eastfield Dog Park page

The service you would notice first

Maroondah says its 2026/27 budget maintains service levels across more than 120 services. That broad number covers many parts of daily life, from waste and libraries to community support and local infrastructure. Which Council service would you notice most quickly if its quality declined?

Reply with your view

What should a better park include?

Maroondah's 2026/27 capital works highlights allocate $3.13 million to parks and open space. The usefulness of that spending can depend on practical details as much as major construction. What single improvement would make your local park more useful: trees, seating, toilets, lighting, paths, play equipment or something else?

Reply with your view

Who represents you in Maroondah? A plain guide to the 28 November state election

Maroondah is one council across four state districts. Here's how to find your three names, and what Council and the candidates have told us.

Read more about Who represents you in Maroondah? A plain guide to the 28 November state election

A new early learning centre is coming to Beaufort Road, and you're invited to the Community Day first

Village Early Education Croydon opens on 27 January 2027. Before that, local families are invited to a free morning of Christmas photos, a fire truck and a petting zoo.

Read more about A new early learning centre is coming to Beaufort Road, and you're invited to the Community Day first

Varsity opens in Ringwood on Friday 13 November

Bowling, an arcade, a 450-seat main bar and about 100 local jobs are coming to the old Jooce and Rivers site on Maroondah Highway.

Read more about Varsity opens in Ringwood on Friday 13 November

What makes a community building valuable?

Buildings account for $38.76 million of Maroondah's 2026/27 capital works program. A large allocation can support libraries, community facilities and other public spaces, but value depends on how useful and accessible those places become. What matters most when judging a community building: how many people use it, who can access it, where it is or how many groups it serves?

Reply with your view

Free high tea with a practical online-safety lesson

A scone and a conversation may be a gentler way to tackle the serious question of staying safe online. Scones & Scams is at Central Ringwood Community Centre on Thursday 22 October from 12.30pm to 2.30pm. The free session combines tea, scones and conversation with practical information about online safety. The event-level source lists places as available. Book the two-hour lunch-time window, allow $0 for the session and Do not treat the session as a guarantee against scams; use it as a practical learning step.

The session is a learning step and does not guarantee protection from scams.

View the official Scones & Scams listing

A free Tuesday session on wills and powers of attorney

Important legal planning is easy to postpone when the first step is unclear; this Tuesday supplies a time and place to begin. Wills and Powers of Attorney, presented by Eastern Community Legal Centre, runs on Tuesday 20 October from 10am to noon. The session is at North Ringwood Community House and is listed as free. Set aside the two-hour morning session and allow $0 for attendance. This is general information rather than personal legal advice, so check the organiser's current details and seek individual advice where needed.

This session provides general information, not personal legal advice.

View the official Wills and Powers of Attorney Presented by Eastern Community Legal Cen listing

A free Wednesday conversation circle in Croydon

Practising spoken English can be easier when the time, place and group format are already decided. Conversation Circle runs at Croydon Library on Wednesday 21 October from 11am to 1pm. Adults learning English can practise speaking and listening in a relaxed group led by a teacher from Mountain District Learning Centre. The session is free and currently listed as available. Allow two hours, head to Croydon Library and keep the activity budget at $0.

View the official Conversation Circle At Croydon Library listing

A coffee for a stranger led to 18 local food finds

A pay-it-forward board at Ringwood Street Cafe started a question: what else could a five-star search reveal close to home? The September search reaches well beyond cafés, taking in Ringwood spice maker Spice Fusion, Bayswater sauce business Uncle Mungo’s and fruit-and-vegetable deliveries from Micky Booth. Eighteen businesses met the same rule on 22 September: 5.0 Google stars from at least 30 reviews. That gives you starting points for a coffee, an order or ingredients for home. Check how each business serves customers before planning a visit; these are dated Google ratings, not MX reviews.

Explore the 18 food finds

Your next food find might have no dining room

Looking only for places with tables leaves out a surprising part of local food life. The September MX food map brings together 535 selected business records across 14 suburbs, including caterers, makers and delivery services as well as familiar meal stops. Ringwood, Croydon and Bayswater account for 316 of them, but smaller centres add neighbourhood services of their own. Start with what you need: a meal out, something to take home, a celebration order or ingredients. The map then points you to the relevant guide. It is a growing research map, not a complete census or a list of new openings.

Find your starting point on the food map

A bakery run beyond the usual shopping trip

Croydon’s bakery choice spreads across Main Street, shopping centres and neighbourhood squares. Ringwood has a different pattern: Eastland counters sit alongside businesses such as Dröm at 1A Bedford Road, now included in the refreshed guide. The September directory contains 37 operational primary-bakery records across 11 suburbs, with 10 in Croydon and eight in Ringwood. Our Place Bakery has a separate note because its advertised preorder service conflicts with its Google status. Use the guide to plan a bakery stop, then check whether the business offers walk-in shopping, production sales or advance ordering.

Explore the bakery guide

A food offer has to fit the day you want to go

A tempting price is only the beginning of choosing a local food offer. The day, meal time, exclusions and booking conditions can change whether it works for you. MX Local Value brings those details into a guide you can browse by date, area and meal time. We have refreshed its launch story so August-only offers are clearly historical. For your next outing, open the live guide, read the full conditions and confirm availability with the venue before ordering or travelling. That gives you a useful plan rather than an old price to rely on.

See how to find current Local Value offers

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

Where should we meet for coffee?

The answer might be near a workplace or a park rather than your usual shopping strip. The refreshed MX guide includes 120 café and coffee stops, with Milton Park Cafe in Kilsyth South, Festo Cafe in Bayswater and Slow Lane Coffee in Ringwood North joining the selection. The guide keeps their different formats visible, including the need to check a coffee van’s current session. It also adds dated dog-access ticks where positive evidence is available. Start with your suburb and the kind of stop you need. Bringing your dog? Confirm current access and conditions directly before you go.

Find a coffee stop that suits your plans

Award-winning Croydon JFC launches an off-season Academy for juniors

Eight fortnightly Sunday sessions led by Dean Jones, open to Under 8s through Under 17.5s.

Read more about Award-winning Croydon JFC launches an off-season Academy for juniors

Marlborough Primary turns 50, and the whole community is invited

A free, all-ages community day in Heathmont on Sunday 25 October, 11am to 3pm, rain, hail or shine. Tennis, a butterfly tent, native animals and 50 years of history.

Read more about Marlborough Primary turns 50, and the whole community is invited

A working smoke alarm got a Heathmont family out of a house fire

FRV says the fire is suspected to have started with a pair of Bluetooth earbuds left on charge. It's a timely reminder to check your smoke alarms.

Read more about A working smoke alarm got a Heathmont family out of a house fire

October is Motorcyclist Awareness Month: look twice, ride safe

More riders are heading out as the weather warms up. Here's what drivers and riders across Maroondah can do.

Read more about October is Motorcyclist Awareness Month: look twice, ride safe

Know your club? Help the next person find it

When you are already involved in a club, you usually know who to ask. Someone arriving for the first time has to work that out. A clear club name, a working link and the right contact can make that first enquiry much easier.

The Maroondah Sports Guide is growing, and clubs can help keep it useful. Have a look at your listing: is the location right, does the website work, and does it point people towards the club’s current information? If something has changed, send us the correction and the official page that confirms it.

We would also like to hear about a club we have missed. Tell us its name, sport, local connection and best public contact route. New information is checked before it goes into the guide; being suggested does not automatically make a listing ready.

Keep personal contact details out of a public listing unless the person has agreed to their use. A club inbox or an official enquiry page gives newcomers a route in without relying on someone knowing a committee member.

If you know a local club, this is a useful small job you can do for it. Help us make its next visitor’s first step a little clearer.

Check your club in the Maroondah Sports Guide

Send a Sports Guide correction or club suggestion