Quiz night success

It may have been dark and chilly outside, but there was plenty of warmth, light and good cheer at the Parkville Gardens Residents’ Association’s (PGRA) Quiz Night and Community Dinner on June 23.

A great turnout of 55 participants thoroughly enjoyed the hearty meal and the fun of the contest. It was especially pleasing to see a number of fresh and young local faces in attendance, as well as to have the company of a handful of visitors. Everyone had a great time.

A huge thank you to the PGRA’s secretary, Faye Ryan, who did all the planning and organising. A big round of applause for QuizMaster Sparx who kept us all on our toes and well entertained, and for Carlo Pavia and staff at the Reggio Calabria Club who fed us so generously.

In the interests of full disclosure, I admit that my table team (Pot Luck) came last in the quiz.  Finally, thank you to the City of Melbourne for the Connected Communities grants that make community events like this possible and affordable.

Applications for next year’s grants closed on Monday, July 11. Readers may like to know that the grants we apply for fall into two categories. One is Small Grants of up to $2000. We rely on securing this grant to pay for the association’s mandatory public liability insurance. The other is Impact Grants.

These are aimed at enabling the City of Melbourne to partner with local communities to support their needs and aspirations, empower them to deal with issues, and strengthen community connection, inclusion and capacity. These grants range in size from $2000 to $20,000.

Understandably these are in much demand and funds applied for are always in excess of the budgeted allocation. It’s an anxious wait until December when the awarded grants are announced.

PGRA’s committee is always keen to hear from local residents. We want to be informed about issues affecting the neighbourhood and the community. We’d also love to know what ideas you have for events and activities that will draw the community together and help us grow strong. The very best ideas are those for which you can secure funding and provide leadership. Get in touch with us please at either [email protected] or [email protected].

There was a big burst of publicity when the initial results of the 2021 National Census were released earlier this month. They paint a revealing portrait of the nation in terms of age, ancestry, education, income, religious affiliation, language and many other indicators. It will take time for state and local authorities to extract the figures that pertain to their constituencies. I’m looking forward to what the Census has to tell us about Parkville, and in particular the Parkville Gardens neighbourhood, once the City of Melbourne has been able to process the information.

In the meantime, I’m pleased to report that work on upgrading the safety of the T-intersection of Galada Ave and Oak St has begun.  •

Residents can find us: facebook.com/groups/pgrass or email [email protected].