Brief July 2025 e-Newsletter

Each language has a unique memory. The thoughts, whispers and voices of a people live in their language. Gradually, over time, all the words grow together to build a language. The sound of the wind, the chorus of the tides, the silence of stone, love whispers in the night, the swell of delight and the sorrow of the darkness, all came to find their echoes in language. As it fills out, the language becomes the echo-mirror of the people and their landscape. No one knows the secret colour and the unique sound of the soul of a people like their language does. A language is a magical presence. It is utterly alive. Because we use it every minute, to feel and think and talk, we rarely stop to notice how strange and exciting words are. It is like the air – we cannot live one moment without it, yet we rarely think of it …

Welcome to a brief Localising Leanganook e-news this month. Please bear with our editing team as we continue to pull together a directory of localising groups and initiatives within central Victoria, which will be accessible via our website.  In the meantime here’s a brief newsletter with some upcoming events in July. Unfortunately no feature article this month but there will be something special included in the August edition.

Cheers, Keppel, Nikki, and Laurel

A few events coming up in July

Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival (including locals films)

From world premieres to local legends (our jam-packed LOCALS program), this year’s line-up is packed with stories you couldn’t make up if you tried.

Think jaw-dropping data conspiracies in Human Algorithm, a performance artist literally turning his body into living art in Stelarc – Suspending Disbelief, poetic laser-lab voyages in Tracing Light, and three generations of Hazara women forging resilience in Writing Hawa.

When night falls, we crank it up: silent-film masterpiece Man With a Movie Camera gets a live electronic music score with beloved Melbourne band, Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca. And on Saturday, the boundary-blurring hybrid doco-musical Reas transforms a Buenos Aires women’s prison into a stage of song and dance, followed by the local glam-pop band, Sugar Fed Leopards.

LOCALS 2025 — a diverse collection of short-form storytelling by filmmakers from Castlemaine and surrounds. Every year, the LOCALS session packs out with applause, laughter, awe, and the occasional “Wait, isn’t that my neighbour?” This year promises no less. Bursting with creativity and heart, the judges’ selection celebrates the eccentricities, questions, memories, and momentum of regional life. From hand-held reflections to high-vis heroes, this is the heartbeat of our community on screen.

Yandoit Cultural

Tall Tales and True(ish): A filmic soundtrack to the human condition-With Richard and Michelle Pleasance – Pleasantville

When:  Saturday July 12^th, 7.30pm Where: Yandoit Cultural, the old church in the bush, Uniting Church Rd, off High St, Yandoit

From stories of murder and love gone wrong to more upbeat, humorous swing tunes, Pleasantville is family affair featuring husband and wife team, Richard and Michelle Pleasance.  Richard, music composer, producer and founding member of “Boom Crash Opera”, will lay down some haunting and filmic guitar sounds forming the background for some smooth, conversational tones by Michelle.  They will be playing a mixture of originals from their three albums and putting their own spin on some of their favourite covers as well. They will be joined by son Alfie Pleasance, who will bring his jazz talents into the mix.

Richard and Michelle are locals who both eek out a living by writing stories and music .Michelle is a published children’s author. Richard is an accomplished composer for screen and TV. Together they make original music that is touching and at times cheeky.

Cost:  $15/10      Bookings: https://yandoitcultural.org/

Reconciliation Action Plan Launch featuring Amos Roach performance

When and Where: Friday 11 July 2025, Hepburn Pavilion, Mineral Springs Reserve Road, Hepburn Springs, 1 to 3 pm

The launch of Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan INNOVATE will be held during NAIDOC Week at Hepburn Springs Pavilion. A traditional Welcome to Country ceremony will be conducted at the start of the event by Dja Dja Wurrung Elder Uncle Rick Nelson and Traditional Owner Jason Kerr. The launch event will include a performance by Amos Roach-“A proud Ngarrindjerri, Djab Wurrung and Gunditjmara man, Amos’ music presents a narrative of healing, told with song and dance. His voice travels between the Desert, the Riverland and the Saltwater to the city like smoke from a fire. Amos is a cultural practitioner. Traditional First Nations culture informs the fundamentals of his craft”

Cresfest Expressions of Interest for 2026

If you are a soloist, duo or band, wishing to perform head to the link below, and remember, if you are part of a choir, community group, street act or kids act, you are also very welcome to apply. “At CresFest, we are seeking high quality folk and roots music that embodies the rich traditions of specific cultures and communities, celebrating the musical oral heritage passed down through generations. We value performances that reflect the everyday lives and experiences of ordinary people, as this plays a vital role in preserving cultural identity. We are interested in music from around the world that resonates with themes such as love, work, family and social issues, and history. We create an atmosphere that encourages audience involvement through singing, dancing, and playing instruments, fostering a strong sense of community and shared experience”.

ARTIST EOI LINK LIVE HERE UNTIL 31 JULY

Let’s Talk Affordable Housing- Online or In Person

Join Grounded on Wednesday 16 July at 6PM either in person at the Northern Arts Hotel in Castlemaine or online for our livestream event.

Be part of the community conversation about how we can reclaim housing from a system that has failed us. Discover how Community Land Trusts (CLTs) offer a proven model for shared equity, local control, and long-term affordability.We’ll share insights from the new Grounded in Affordability report, which shows how CLTs could help Castlemaine residents save hundreds of thousands on housing, strengthen the local economy, and create a lasting legacy of affordable homes.

REGISTER TO THE PUBLIC EVENT

REGISTER TO THE LIVESTREAM

BECOME A GROUNDED MEMBER

Yimby Composting on ABC’s Gardening Australia plus Documentary Film

Our Gardening Australia segment will be airing this Friday July 4th, 7:30pm on the ABC, or anytime on iview

YIMBY will be showcasing another short film in the LOCALS night of the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival this weekend, Saturday July 5th, 4:30 pm at the Theatre Royal. This beautiful film by Kath South and Lucy Young celebrates the human connection created through YIMBY. This event is already SOLD OUT but don’t despair, there is a Encore viewing scheduled for Saturday 26th July 2pm at the Theatre Royal.