Goosebumps, raw, powerful, emotional. Shandelle Cooke will take you on an incredible musical journey via her vocal mastery awakening feelings long hidden within.
Shandelle was born in Geelong. She tells us “I love Geelong as it has everything at our doorstep, from the Arts, to the coast to great shopping, cuisine, culture, fabulous entertainment and a connected community.
“I’m hoping to join Cruiselines as a Guest Entertainer, being accompanied by professional orchestras on board, bringing my own exciting shows to large and appreciative audiences.
“To be able to go away for very brief periods of time to perform my shows and come back to do my regular performing and teaching here at home, would be a perfect balance.
“I’m really feeling ready for such fulfilment at this stage in my life, as I approach a milestone birthday in the coming months!
“I have worked on Royal Caribbean Cruiselines across the Mediterranean and the Caribbean for six years previously, as a lead performer in production casts. They offered such a high standard of shows performed in up to 1000 seat theatres, that included all the bells and whistles of any professional theatre on land!
“I’d also love to perform my shows in theatres and venues across Australia.”
Here’s how you can help Shandelle’s dream come true. She’s performing Number One Divas (80s, 90s, 2000s) & James Bond Classics on Sunday 20th July at 2pm. She’ll be backed by a stellar 7-piece band.
This one-time-only event will be professionally filmed for Cruise Ship showcase and promotional use, and you can be part of the live audience! Purchase your tickets here:
Feel like getting in touch with nature? Or looking for something fun & local to do with the kids these holidays? The Geelong Nature Festival is on July 12-27th with plenty of free or highly discounted activities to join in our beautiful region. Spot an Eastern Quoll or perhaps a bat on a night hike, learn DIY garden tips at a workshop, attend a nature based family fun day, go orienteering at the coast, plant it forward, or watch nature on the big screen at the movies, there’s plenty to choose from. Bookings essential! https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/naturefestival/default.aspx
A perfect winters day for planting along the Bellarine Rail Trail! Bellarine Catchment Network teamed up with The Bellarine Railway to provide a fun community planting day. Participants arrived by train to Suma Park station where they enthusiastically went to work planting native shrubs to increase plant biodiversity in the area. A well-deserved BBQ lunch was provided before catching the train back to Drysdale. If you like trains & helping nature thrive, look out for this event next year! There’s plenty more tree planting days coming up with National Tree Day on Sunday 27th July, so check in with your favourite local organisations, or find a planting initiative near you to volunteer at: https://nationaltreeday.org.au/find-a-site/
The Geelong waterfront leg of the Yoorrook (meaning truth) Justice Commission’s Walk For Truth happened this morning. A great crowd joined Yoorrook Deputy Commissioner Travis Lovett, Kerrupmara Gunditjmara, in the sunshine as he continues his walk from Portland, where Victorian colonisation began, to Parliament in Melbourne.
“As Victoria’s first formal truth-telling process, over the past four years Yoorrook has heard powerful truths from people right across the state, giving evidence on the impacts of colonisation, including systemic injustice, as well as the strength, resistance and achievements of First Peoples.” ( https://yoorrookjusticecommission.org.au/events/walkfortruth/#what )
The walk aims to bring all people together, to hear those truths, and move forward together to transform our future.
Happy 10th Birthday Piano Bar Geelong! Thanks for providing a fun, safe, inclusive space where we can be ourselves. You can turn up & you never feel alone.
We love our Piano Bar Family. Congratulations to all.
“We may look different, but on the inside, we are all the same.”
Northern Bay College is hosting an art and film exhibition at their senior campus to celebrate Refugee Week. College Captains Farzana Mohammad Aref and Ali Agha Walizada share their stories and invite the community to attend.
Farzana was born in Afghanistan but grew up in Kuwait, a place where, as a refugee, she lived under the constant fear of being sent back. In 2023, her family made the journey to Australia in search of safety and opportunity. Now a proud College Captain, she’s preparing for her next adventure: attending NASA Space Camp this July. “This exhibition matters because people need to understand a person’s background,” she says. “That’s how we build real empathy.”
Ali’s journey began in Afghanistan too. As a member of the Hazara ethnic minority, he and his family fled to Pakistan before resettling in Australia in 2016. Ali was also the recipient of the prestigious Victorian Multicultural Commission’s Youth Leadership Award. “We may look different,” Ali says, “but on the inside, we are all the same.”
Together, they invite the community to attend Freedom Without Borders, a powerful Refugee Week event that celebrates student voices through visual art and film. The exhibition showcases the personal journeys of young people from across the globe. Stories of courage, loss, transformation, and freedom.
Monday 23rd June 3:30pm – 4:30pm Northern Bay College Goldsworthy Campus Free Entry. All Welcome
The Bluebird Foundation Geelong is supporting Jam for Refugees by providing a heartfelt program of performances, films and discussion to raise awareness and money for refugees in Geelong at an Exclusive Launch Event on Thursday 19th June. All are Welcome.
Please support and help spread the word by sharing this event.
The event, at the Pivotonian Cinema, runs from 6.30 – 8pm and includes performances from Baraka the Kid, the North Children’s Choir, Pipi Tay Too and People like You. All proceeds go to The Combined Refugee Action Group Geelong.
“I wanted to tell stories that the teenage me wishes she could have read back then—stories about the huge feelings and personal struggles I was going through at the time that now might help another teenager going through the same things.”
Miranda Luby is an author, journalist, copywriter and animal-lover living on Victoria’s Surf Coast.
“The Surf Coast is such a special part of the world. It’s the proximity to such incredible nature, for me. I love the powerful autumn swells, the golden sandstone cliffs, the sunrise over the water—all in my own backyard! So lucky.”
She has won several awards for her short stories, and her journalism features in publications such as National Geographic, BBC Travel and the New York Post. Miranda was shortlisted for the Text Prize for her debut novel, Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over. While written for a Young Adult (YA) audience, Miranda’s first novel also proved touching to those young of heart.
“I received an email from a 70-year-old woman who found one of my books in a campsite in Spain! She sent this beautiful message saying how much she identified with the main character, Sadie, and how it helped her feel seen. She didn’t even realise it was a YA book! The Young Adult space offers an incredible opportunity to tell deeply honest, moving and relatable stories that really resonate with both teenagers and adults (we’ve all been 16, right?).”
Her recently released second YA novel The Edge of Everything draws from Miranda’s personal experience of grief and loss as a teen, and “explores the taboo and rarely spoken about existential side of losing a loved one.”
“My novels aim to shine a light on taboo or less talked about topics that can affect teenagers (and, often, adults) like perfectionism, eating disorders, and grief—while still being funny and romantic! I hope that readers see themselves reflected in my characters and their stories offer them the words to talk about these issues in their own lives.”
It’s always wonderful to support local talent, so seek out Miranda Luby’s books whether you’re a young (or not so young) adult, next time you’re looking for a good read!
Kelli Lavelle is one of the enthusiastic members of Geelong Gardens for Wildlife (GGFW), an initiative that got underway locally in 2024, stemming (excuse the pun!) from Gardens for Wildlife Victoria. The group are all about giving advice to make your home garden more attractive to our native wildlife.
“As a group of passionate volunteer garden guides, we give practical and easy suggestions to transform a home garden into somewhere a little more wildlife friendly and a place where nature can flourish. Through an easy process of a garden visit, the garden guides will recommend plants to include in your garden to bring in the pollinators, birds, and even amphibians. After the visit residents receive a report and a bonus voucher for a local indigenous nursery to get planting (subject to grant funding limits). The boon with these indigenous plants is they are totally suited to our region and once established, they are flying and you will be rewarded every day with your flourishing garden.”
After initially requesting a guide to visit her own garden for advice, Kelli decided to sign up to be a guide herself.
“I love gardening yet am certainly no expert in local indigenous flora and fauna, but as a fledgling garden guide we all have to start somewhere. The adage learning by doing applies to me here. I have initiated a demonstration garden site in South Geelong, thanks to the support of Barwon Water and the talented team at GGFW. This meadow garden highlights the beauty and diversity of our local indigenous flora and provides a living example to passers-by of what can be created in their own gardens. Given 60% of urban land is owned privately, there are so many potential gardens out there which can become wildlife friendly.”
While new to GGFW, Kelli has already been proactively supporting her community and nature for quite some time.
“Inspired by Hugh McKay (social researcher extraordinaire who wrote that ‘if you want to change the state of the nation, you need to start in your own street’) I started a ‘grow free’ basket, exchanging fresh home grown produce on the front fence with my neighbours. As a parent and in my work at a school’s kitchen garden program, l know how important nature is for children and for everyone’s wellbeing.”
Kelli has also spent many years tree planting for local Landcare and Rewilding groups on the Surfcoast.
“While satisfying, l realised l was neglecting the urban areas of Geelong. Rather than despairing about the loss of green open space around where l live, the lack of biodiversity, the poor state of our urban ‘parks’ l decided to take action. And now there is potential everywhere l look!”
Kelli sees Geelong Gardens for Wildlife as a great way to create a healthy urban environment for all of Geelong to enjoy.
“If l were to dream, l see nature strip pollinator corridors stretching from one end of Geelong to the other, native bees and butterflies galore, ably supported by every private garden in Geelong with a space for wildlife, no matter how small.”
The great news is that if you’re a Geelong resident, you too can easily be part of this dream simply by booking a Gardens for Wildlife garden visit on the City of Greater Geelong website Gardens for Wildlife – City of Greater Geelong. And if you’re interested in learning about how to become a GG4W Garden Guide email geelonggardensforwildife@gmail.com. You’ll likely meet someone like Kelli who’ll encourage you to make a positive difference to our local environment from your own backyard!
“We can all read the appalling statistics about biodiversity loss and extinctions which we humans are responsible for. Turn that around. Get involved for yourself! Gardeners are fit, happy and contented people, bird song is shown to bring us joy, cooking up your own home grown salt bush crisps will impress any dinner guest. Go on, l dare you, get a little wilder!”
HuG 