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Make a November plan before the month fills up

An afternoon can disappear while you search for something to do. One listing has a useful date, another has the booking link, and then you have to work out which suburb it is in. The November 2026 Free Events Guide gives you a place to start.

The Maroondah Exchange has organised the edition by category and date. Start with the time you have, then look at the kind of activity you would enjoy: family sessions, learning, arts, outdoor activities or a chance to meet other people. Follow the event link before making the plan so you can check bookings, availability and the organiser's current conditions.

The guide is free to download. Check individual listings for bookings and any attendance contribution.

Choose one possibility and check whether it works for your day. You can then send the event link to someone you would like to invite, with the time and booking details already settled.

Get the November 2026 Free Events Guide

The waste-charge question

Maroondah's 2026/27 budget says the waste charge will rise by approximately 11 per cent, mainly because of the State landfill levy and contract cost pressures. With household charges, the explanation matters almost as much as the number. What should Council show residents so they can properly assess the increase?

Reply with your view

A walk followed by coffee, without guessing about dog access

A dog walk and coffee sounds easy until the access rules and route are left to chance. Make the park the fixed part of the plan. Then choose one nearby food stop with positive dog-access evidence in the current MX Dog Guide. Plan the connection separately because the route between the two places has not been checked, and confirm the permitted area and trading details with the business. You now have a two-stop outing that still works if the coffee stop changes: keep the verified walk, replace only the optional stop, and allow about 60 to 90 minutes overall.

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

Maroondah candidates side by side: the same six questions, every answer

What each state candidate told us, seat by seat, and which commitments are actually funded.

Read more about Maroondah candidates side by side: the same six questions, every answer

Free Lions skin checks return to Ringwood North — with limited appointments

If a skin check is something you have been meaning to organise, the Lions van is coming to Ringwood North Shopping Centre on Saturday 7 November 2026. The free screening is at the north-east corner of the car park, 115 Oban Road, with appointments essential. Check the booking page for current times. The Park Orchards visit on Sunday 8 November was already booked out when checked on 21 October. Trained volunteers refer suspicious spots to your GP; the van does not diagnose or treat skin cancer. If a spot is worrying you now, see your GP rather than waiting. The article explains the service and provides the direct booking links.

Read more about Free Lions skin checks return to Ringwood North — with limited appointments

Why local art matters, and how to get involved in Maroondah

The first Maroondah Art Fair at Central Ringwood Community Centre (17-18 Oct) showed more than 200 original works, mostly from the 60-year-old Ringwood Art Society. Your own story from Rainbow Serpent, plus how to join the society or the new Tuesday collage class from 27 October.

Read more about Why local art matters, and how to get involved in Maroondah

A free Wednesday book-club hour in Bayswater

A monthly reading habit becomes easier when the discussion already has a book, a room and an hour reserved for it. NovelTeas Bookclub meets at Bayswater Library on Wednesday 28 October from 11am to noon. The adult group discusses a monthly title supplied by Your Library. Attendance is free, with booking opening on 28 September. Book the session, allow one hour and set the activity budget at $0.

View the official NovelTeas Bookclub listing

Use the October stars as a starting point

A five-star average is one clue when choosing somewhere to eat. The number of reviews and the date of the observation matter too. The Maroondah Exchange’s October list records 19 qualifying businesses using a five-star average and at least 30 Google reviews, based on the 18 October snapshot. That is a dated selection rule, not a ranking of the best meal.

The list includes different sorts of food business. A café, a butcher, a caterer and a coffee supplier can qualify without offering the same kind of visit. Decide whether you want a meal out, ingredients, delivery or an enquiry before comparing the names.

Choose two that fit that purpose, then use each business’s current information to settle the order or visiting arrangement. A supplier listing does not promise a sit-down café, and a recorded address does not establish walk-in access.

The useful result is a new possibility that suits your day. Keep the October date beside the figures, and use the stars to start the search rather than finish the decision.

Read the checked October ratings selection

Coffee near me: first choose what you are going there to do

A coffee with a friend, beans for the kitchen and an enquiry about a machine are three different trips. A search for coffee can put all three kinds of business in front of you. Start by finishing the sentence: ‘I am going there to…’

Cinnamon Cafe & Bar in nearby Bayswater describes coffee and daytime meals alongside its Indian and Nepalese offering. Romeo Coffee has an online bean shop. Pelican Rouge offers machines, coffee and supplies through its own enquiry routes. Those are useful local connections, but they do not establish an identical café experience.

For a sit-down plan, use the venue’s daytime menu and booking information. For beans, choose the product and the available delivery or collection arrangement. For equipment, make the enquiry before planning a visit. Pelican Rouge’s directory record remains without a public map pin because visiting arrangements have not been confirmed.

Match the next action to the service and the search becomes much smaller. The full article brings those routes together; you can use the same distinction whenever a coffee result turns out to be something other than a café.

Read the full article

Cinnamon’s menu and booking information

Romeo Coffee’s online shop

Pelican Rouge equipment and contact routes

Before booking an activity, ask what the trial actually covers

A class can look right until the booking questions start. Is it for your child’s age? Can they try it first? Is the stated cost for one lesson or an ongoing commitment? Put those questions into the first enquiry rather than wait until enrolment.

The checked local examples give different routes. JUMP! Bayswater publishes swimming programmes and enrolment information. KSK Dojos describes age-based karate classes and an introductory lesson route. RUCCIS offers a come-and-try booking pathway, while Rachel Pietsch’s singing-lesson information sets out its own approach to a trial and student suitability. A trial is not automatically free or available for every class.

Send the child’s age, relevant experience and the times you could attend. Ask what the first visit includes, what you need to bring and what the ongoing charges cover. Where an age or admission question is unresolved, let the provider answer it before paying.

Then compare the options on the same basis. A clear trial arrangement gives the family something useful to assess before committing to a longer programme; it is not a promise that a particular class will suit every child.

Read the full article

JUMP! Bayswater programmes and enrolment

KSK Dojos classes and introductory enquiry

RUCCIS come-and-try information

Rachel Pietsch singing-lesson information