Are you looking for a productive and creative indulgence in The Gap? Take some time to enrich your artistic creativity in the next 10 weeks by joining the second term of Art Classes Brisbane at 12 Paltarra Street.
Beginning Tuesday, the 23rd of April 2019, enrollees at Art Classes Brisbane will meet once a week for a three-hour session until the 29th of June.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or have had art lessons in the past since creativity has no limits. You can sign up and learn to create art using various mediums like acrylic, gouache, oil, pencil, pen and ink, and watercolour.
Classes are $40 per session, but students get one free session if they sign up for the 10-week term ($360 for April to June). Students are expected to bring their own art materials, but they may also have access to the tutor’s supplies for an additional $15 per session.
Art Class Brisbane has listed the materials to prepare for each medium and you may check these out at their official site.
Each session includes a tea break. The art classes are designed for the students to have fun and to relax while they nurture and develop their creativity. However, Art Classes Brisbane also offers casual art lessons, if you’re not yet ready to commit to a 10-week term for a rate of $60 per class.
There is also a special class for Mosaic for Beginners on Sunday, the 28th of April 2019, from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. At $230, this class includes free materials. Morning and afternoon tea are provided but students should bring their lunch.
Art Classes Brisbane has been in operation for more than seven years. It is managed by artist and Graphic Designer Debra Pickering and her husband Greg.
Would you like your kids to experience the wonders of nature this Easter school holidays at The Gap? Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre has some amazing programs lined up for children of all ages.
Experience the Wildlife Centre at night. Park rangers will take visitors in the bushlands after dark to hear the sounds and spot the sights. The night ends with some star gazing.
12 April 2019
6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
For ages 6+
Kids require an adult companion
$15 per person
$50 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 children)
Wildlife Discovery Show
Get a chance to be up close and personal with the animals. Park Rangers will guide visitors, as well as share interesting anecdotes about the residents of the Wildlife Centre.
Daily
6 April to 25 April 2019
11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
For the whole family
$15 adult
$10 child
$35 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 children)
Prior booking is required to join these activities.
The Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre holds different school holiday programs every quarter. The reserve on Mount Nebo Road, however, is always open to visitors from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except on ANZAC Day and Christmas.
Preparing for a race or simply looking for a challenging ride around Brisbane? Check out this popular The Gap to Mount Glorious bike ride.
This 31.7-kilometre bike trail is one of Brisbane City Council’s recommended training rides and includes 1,167-metre climb. Traversing mainly through the Mount Nebo Road, this bike ride includes picturesque views, several long and challenging climbs, and sweeping descents.
The Gap to Mount Glorious Bike Ride
One of the most common routes for The Gap to Mount Glorious bike ride is outbound from The Gap via Mount Nebo Road.
Photo credit: Cycling Brisbane bike route/Google Maps
Following Cycling Brisbane’s bike route, riders can start from the Waterworks Road, turn right to the Hilder Road, then take a left at the Alutha Road. The end of this road leads to the beginning of the long stretch through the Mount Nebo Road.
Alternatively, riders may continue to the end of Waterworks Road which is already connected to the Mount Nebo Road. This path passes by the Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre which also offers plenty of activities for families to enjoy.
Also part of the D’Aguilar National Park, Mount Nebo Road involves a scenic drive winding through eucalypt forest. The road runs through the park past Mount Nebo township leading to Mount Glorious.
The path passes by several lookouts along the way. These include the McAfee’s Lookout, Jolly’s Lookout, and the Westridge Outlook.
Mount Glorious
Mount Glorious Road through D’Aguilar National Park. Photo credit: Kgbo/Wikimedia Commons
Continuing with the long bike ride, the end of Mount Nebo Road connects to the Park View Road which is also connected to the Mount Glorious Road. From here, it will take less than a kilometre before you reach your destination.
You’ll know that you’ve already reached your destination once you see the Maiala park. This park is also a great and peaceful place to visit. Interestingly, the Maiala was the first national park declared on the D’Aguilar Range.
You can choose to explore the park or you can celebrate finishing the journey by grabbing a bite to eat at the nearby Mount Glorious Café. The cafe, formerly Maiala Rainforest Teahouse and Restaurant, serves breakfast, lunch, and great coffee along with a good selection of teas and house-made cakes.
Riders coming from Samford Valley or those who want an even more challenging route can ride up to Mount Glorious via Samford and Mount Glorious Road.
Friendly reminder: Make sure to bring lots of water to keep you hydrated during the entire trip. Also, as much as possible, ride with a fellow cyclist. It’s always better (and safer) to have a long bike ride with a family or a friend to keep you company.
A group of locals will be hiking at the Enoggera Reservoir in The Gap to raise awareness and raise funds for the homeless.
Photo credit: Leonie Clark/Facebook
The event hosted by Leonie Clark aims to support the initiative being done by Orange Sky Australia. On her Event page on Facebook, Leoni shared how she wanted to help homeless people sleeping rough. Through this event, other individuals wishing to do something can find ways to help.
The hike will follow the 5-km Araucaria Track. Meeting place will be at the start of the track, past the Walkabout Creek Centre, down by the water. The track is a relatively easy hike, suitable for all ages. There will be limited parking, so it is advisable to come early. For those who choose to take the bus, route 385 stops nearby.
Hikers will meet at 6:30 a.m. for a 7:00 a.m. start.
The hike should be a great way to help those experiencing homelessness while enjoying the beauty of nature. Participants should bring a hat, sunscreen, water and togs and towel for those who want to swim after the hike. Those who wish to join the hike should also sign a waiver form: http://bit.ly/HikeForTheHomelessForm.
Orange Sky is a volunteer platform providing simple aid to the homeless. By providing free mobile laundry and warm showers to homeless individuals, the organisation hopes to restore dignity to people in such a tough situation.
A development application has been lodged proposing to redevelop The Gap’s Old Coffee Club into a new tavern.
Plans for the refurbishment of The Gap’s Old Coffee Club involves the construction of a tavern with indoor and outdoor dining. The proposal intends to preserve the height and scale of the existing building and refurbish the vacant tenancy.
Photo credit: www.yourneighbourhood.com.au
The idea of converting the Old Coffee Club into a new tavern is welcomed by some locals saying that such a place is needed in the suburb. However, some residents are concerned about parking and the tavern’s current location.
According to the proposed plans, the tavern will be utilising existing car park spaces of The Gap Village shopping centre. Access locations are retained to Waterworks Road and Glen Affric Street.
Photo credit: www.yourneighbourhood.com.au
The Council had already carried out an initial review of the development application. The Council is now requiring the developer to address a couple of issues. One of the concerns raised is that the outdoor dining might interfere with pedestrian traffic as it is too close to the entrance and pathway to the shopping centre.
Coming up this Saturday, on 1 September, is this year’s Sunlit Sounds Festival 2018 at Hilder Road State School in The Gap. From 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., be part of this family-friendly event whilst enjoying good live music.
This year, there will be six bands that will play to keep you groovin’ and movin’ to the beat.
Photo credit: Georgie Neilsen & The Growing Pains / Facebook
Georgie Neilsen and The Growing Pains is an indie rock band. Ms Neilsen first started out as a solo singer-songwriter. She first debuted her first single “What Do You Want” on Triple J unearthed in 2017. Join her and her band who consists of Liam Alder, Bede Prince, and Tennyson Fowler, as they enchant you with their captivating music.
Delivering good indie, pop, and roots music through her weapon of choice, the guitar, Asha Jefferries has a way of telling good stories through her music. Her latest single is “Chaos.”
Kellie Lloyd, one of the band members of Screemfeeder, will play her own music at the event. Listen to her music from EP’s Fragile States and Magnetic North.
There will also be a songwriting workshop on-site along with food trucks.
The Gap shoppers have shown tremendous support to the three-week SecondBite Winter Appeal held by Coles Supermarkets, raising over $3,200.
In the SecondBite promotion, Coles shoppers can purchase a $2 donation card that will provide ten healthy meals to people in need. All of the funds go to the efforts of SecondBite that will aid in collecting, sorting, storing, and redistributing healthy meals.
The Gap was included in the list of the top ten most generous shoppers in Queensland according to Coles.
Jerry Farrell, the Coles State general manager is overwhelmed by the support from local shoppers. Their Queensland stores have garnered over $147,000 worth of donations.
With the influx of donations all over the country, SecondBite will be able to feed more than three million people.
SecondBite workers are working with community food programs across the nation to redistribute surplus fresh food. The food is donated by wholesalers, markets, farmers, supermarkets, events, and caterers.
As an organisation, SecondBite was established in 2005. Today, it is a national organisation with warehouse locations all over the country. They are committed to improving the access of people in need of fresh healthy food.
A Brisbane mum is taking significant steps to make Queensland plastic-free, including Brisbane suburbs such as The Gap. Her efforts started a year earlier than the implementation of the plastic shopping bag ban in the state which took effect on 1 July 2018.
Sarah Young & Arlian Ecker. Photo credit: Plastic Sucks / Facebook Page
After watching the documentary Plastic Ocean, Sarah Young set up a Facebook page called Plastic Sucks. Since then, she has started gathering support from politicians, ocean pollution campaigners, and Arlian Ecker who is also known as the Plastic Free Boy.
Enlisting Ecker’s support has become a significant part of their campaign. Ecker is a 12-year-old boy who lives in NSW and now has become a social phenomenon. According to Ms Young, with Ecker’s help, they get to target adults through their children.
Ms Young has also been talking to the Brisbane City Council to discuss how the schools in the city can integrate Arlian’s movie into the school programs. They are focusing on cafes, coffee shops, and schools to ban plastic straws and bags. She has also set up The Gap’s very own Plastic Sucks page, the Plastic Sucks 4061.
There will also be a first community clean up of the movement in The Gap on 2 September. The location is still to be announced.
Plastic Sucks is starting to spread across the country, with a spinoff group already established in Sydney. Ms Young is encouraging other suburbs to start their own Plastic Sucks Facebook groups wherein she will supply the social media profile page and they can do the rest.
It was in September 2017 when the Queensland legislation passed the ban for single-use plastic bags from being provided in supermarkets, pharmacies, online goods, takeaway stores, and markets.
Retailers who still use plastic bags after the implementation can face a fine of up to $6,307.50.
According to Councillor for The Gap Ward Steve Toomey, projects that will benefit from the funding include widening of Waterworks Road which has an allocation of more than $3.5 million.
Better Roads
Photo credit: cogdogblog/Wikimedia Commons
Also, as part of the Council’s 2017-18 road resurfacing program with $90 million continued investment from the Council, $1.1-million is allocated for the resurfacing of Stewart Road in Ashgrove. Twenty-one more streets in The Gap ward are also set to be resurfaced. The road resurfacing program aims to help in making suburban streets smoother, safer, and more enjoyable to use every day.
Walton Bridge Reserve Restoration
A further $220,000 investment will go to the Walton Bridge Reserve restoration to upgrade the war memorial. Stage Two of the Walton Bridge Reserve upgrade is already underway and is expected to be completed prior to Remembrance Day, 11 November 2018, weather and construction conditions permitting.
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council
Current upgrades to the Walton Bridge Reserve include new pedestrian entrance gate, new concrete seats, new accessible entry from Glen Affric Street, and more.
Dog Off-Leash Area Upgrades
Furthermore, off-leash dog areas in The Gap will undergo refurbishment with the help of more than $130,000 funding from the Council.
Located between Yoorala Street Community Garden and the Balaangala Garden Space, at the SOWN Environment Centre Shed, the shop has finally closed its doors.
The shop’s announcement of leaving their building came in April of this year. Their last trading took place on 18 June. Locals expressed their sadness upon hearing the news and extended support in finding potential areas where the shop can relocate.
Despite this sad news, it seems like it’s not for good. The shop is hopeful of finding a new location where they can set up their place again. The Yoorala St location is now being leased by a The Gap/Ashgrove Men’s Shed.
Monday Deliveries
Despite the location closure, the shop continues to be a part of the local community with their home deliveries taking place every Mondays.
The Gap LOCO is a community initiative that consists of seven part-time workers. It was established in 2012 and they aim to create an ethical and environmentally sustainable business that can survive financially and help other cooperatives to develop as well.
If you want to order from them, you can click here.
