A community-building event bringing residents together to celebrate the coming of age of the Parkville Gardens neighbourhood founded 21 years ago after the 2006 Commonwealth Games. We wish to mark this notable anniversary in the spirit of Moomba, Harmony Day and Easter, and build on the great success of our 2025 GWW-funded Autumn Fiesta. That event included a children's show, a BBQ for all, a Tae Kwon Do demonstration, and engagement with staff from Greater Western Water, Victoria Police and the City of Melbourne mobile library team.
The Parkville Gardens community is very diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity, language, age, gender, socio-economic status and household type. It hosts a significant cohort of social housing clients, especially in Housing First's 15-storey tower opened in October 2023. There are also more families with young children. Our aim is to engage the community in an event that's welcoming, safe, enjoyable and inclusive and that strengthens identity and resilience. This is more important than ever due to a recent increase in crime such as car break-ins and thefts. More broadly this aligns with the City of Melbourne's Strategic Plan and Neighbourhood Priorities such as Safety & Wellbeing and Access and Affordability.
