Red faces all round

Saturday was hot - Sunday was a disaster - in fact a series of disasters. Yes it would be far far worse in a bushfire zone - but the sitters who arrived on Sunday to open the gallery and care for the hardy souls who braved the heat to see the artwork waited on the landing - in the heat - in vain. The punt had mechanical troubles and was unsafe to run - and no one told our gallant sitters - their red faces were due to a combination of heat stress and irritation.

We have lessons to learn - about communication mostly - as we can't plan for those gremlins in the works. So apologies all round - sorry everyone that you couldn't visit on Sunday. But....

Next weekend will be better - better weather for a start - a blissful 23 degrees - oh joy - a touch of rain - bring it on! Parks Victoria has had the mechanics in and the punt is running well. And no one got in and bought that work that you wanted - so get in this weekend and see those amazing works in fibre.

Too Hot! - No Show Tomorrow!

Unfortunately tomorrow is forecast to be over 40° and the island will be unbearably hot, not to mention the punt operator will be roasted and it's likely to be a total fire ban day....

Herring Island Gallery and 

Summer Arts Festival will be 

Closed on 

Sunday 2nd February 

Don't go there until next weekend when hopefully it will be cooler

Dear Info Centre,

For your information.

The CFA has declared tomorrow a day of total fire ban with a “Very High” fire danger rating for Central District.

Due to the predicted excessive heat please note the Herring Island Punt Service will not be operating this Sunday 2^nd February.

This is in recognition of staff working on board the Punt having little relief from the heat as well as the Basket Makers of Victoria volunteers operating throughout the day.

An information board will be placed at Como Landing to advise of these arrangements.

Regards, Peter Teesdale

Lift Off!

There it was - the most wonderful sight in the world - the Parks Victoria punt service rounding the bend in the river to take us to Herring Island.

First run of the Parks Victoria punt to Como Landing this summer - hooray!

And we had amazing weather for our opening: mild and overcast in the morning breaking to a sunny afternoon. A few people got lost - the pathways amongst the earthworks are a bit confusing but the aim is to reinstate the vegetation on the river bank so it will all be worth it.

We had a small crowd for the opening - ably performed by Councillor John Chandler representing Stonnington Council - but after that and through the day visitors kept coming, many not realizing that this was the first day this summer that the island has been open.

The sculpture was admired, the festival launched and a good time was had by all... now to make the rest of the festival as much fun - come and join us on the island - there's a lot to see.

The view to the "mainland" from bush-clad Herring Island

More Cheering needed?

Could everyone at the coffee shop please join in on the cheering? We want to get down to the landing and onto Parks Victoria's punt service..... soon.... next January 11th..... and we prefer dry shod and wheel accessible too - spoilt aren't we?

Two months to go and......

What is happening on Herring Island and more importantly Como landing? Well Stonnington Council is doing great things for the landscaping in the area. You can check their website http://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au for more details - or just look at the work under way! We are sure that access to Como landing will be restored in time for the festival - and to that end we'll go and cheer the workers on - only on sunny days of course and from the safety of a coffee shop!

Como landing on 11th November 2013