CELEBRATIONS are planned right across the Mornington Peninsula for Australia Day on Friday.
The national day will be bookended by barbecues and breakfasts at Mt Eliza, Hastings, Dromana and Rosebud and ending at night with fireworks at Rye and Mornington.
In between those times there will be entertainment, food stalls and children’s activities at Mornington Park and a walk or run event at Rosebud, before breakfast.
Members of the biggest mosque in Melbourne, the Baitul Salam Mosque (House of Peace) at Langwarrin have issued an invitation for the public to tour the mosque and meet local Muslims while enjoying a free barbeque and cricket.
Worshippers will finish Friday prayers at the mosque before watching a flag raising ceremony. The mosque is in Leisureland Drive, Langwarrin and will open its gates to the public at 2.30pm.
At Mt Eliza celebrations organised by Mt Eliza Rotary Club at the Village Green include free food and entertainment from 9am until 12.30pm. The formal program including the flag raising conducted by 1st Ranelagh Scouts and the Australia Day address from ambassador and Nine Network journalist and presenter Brett McLeod starts at 10.10am.
Jerry from Despicable Me 3 will be a special guest from 9.30am, and there will be face painters and balloon artists.
Children will also be able to get up close to the animals in the animal farm and inspect Mt Eliza CFA’s fire truck and meet the volunteer firefighters.
Dave and Bec Campbell will provide live music.
A free sausage sizzle breakfast will be available for all and free Australia Day flags and show bags for the kids.
Australia Day program:
Hastings foreshore 9am–2pm: the Emu Plains market on the foreshore, scouts free barbecue breakfast, free children’s activities and live entertainment.
Mount Eliza Village Green 9am–12.30pm.
Mornington Park 3pm–9.30pm: non-stop music, food stalls, amusement rides, free children’s activities, street parade and fireworks.
Dromana Foreshore 8am – 1.30pm: free breakfast, art and crafts, animal farm and live entertainment.
Rosebud Village Green 8.30am–1pm: family exercise with a 5.3km run/walk or 10k run followed by free community breakfast, live entertainment and children’s activities.
Rye Foreshore 12.30pm–9.30pm: free sausage sizzle, entertainment and activities, finishing off with fireworks from Rye Beach.
Sorrento Bowls Club 10am – 3.30pm: morning tea, children’s activities, barefoot bowls with raffles and prizes.
Sorrento – Portsea RSL 11am–5pm: free barbecue lunch and live bands.
For more information and to see what’s on across the peninsula visit mornpen.vic.gov.au/australiaday
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 23 January 2018
