The Wangaratta Community Garden is introducing a monthly Food Swap on the fourth Sunday of every month with the inaugural event kicking off this Sunday, 26 April from 10am at the community garden on Wills Street.

The community is invited to bring along excess home-grown and home-made produce including fruit, veggies, herbs, eggs, seeds, jams, pickles. sauces, cakes and more.

Volunteer Committee president Julie Wilkinson Flores said everyone is welcome.

"Even if people don't have something to bring and share, they are welcome to come along," she said.

"We always have a community garden bed with surplus."

Volunteer Committee member and social media manager Meg Autin said this initiative was a response to a number of things they noticed in the local community.

"With the cost of food, petrol and everything, we had a a few conversations about wanting to get as much free food to people in the community as possible," she said.

"It's also about building connections, we know a lot of people can feel isolated and this is an opportunity for people to share passions, connect and encourage one another to grow their own food.

"It's great for your mental health and making friends, we just have a great time together, sharing food and stories."

Julie said in the wider region there are some very successful food shares that have been going on for a long time, but nothing in Wangaratta.

"We want to test the waters and see if we can build something that will be of value to the community," she said.

"We know this area is a food desert, and we've had people rob the harvest so we know there is a need.

"We want to share our bounty and share knowledge around growing and producing."

For more information or to keep up to date with upcoming events, follow the Wangaratta Community Garden on social media.

*

What's On In Brief

*

Patronal Festival at Taminick this Sunday

The Festival of St George, the third century soldier saint and martyr, will be celebrated at the little bush church of St George at Taminick on Sunday, 26 April.

The Patronal Festival service will be led by The Venerable Mel Clark, parish priest of Benalla and Archdeacon of The Goulburn, at 2.30pm. It will be followed by afternoon tea in the CFA Fire Shed at Taminick and all are invited to attend.

St George was an officer of the Roman army who was immortalised after he refused to participate in an order to persecute Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

The enraged Emperor Diocletian ordered his torture and execution and after various tortures over several days, including laceration on a wheel of swords, George was decapitated before Nicomedia’s city wall on April 23, 303.

George is thought to have been just 28 years old at his death.

A witness to his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to also become Christians and they too joined George in martyrdom.

The martyr saint came to represent the knightly values of chivalry.

He is patron saint of many countries, including England and it is perhaps no accident that when St George’s Anglican Church was opened at Taminick during the First World War, it was named after both the warrior saint and the then King, George V.

For further information, contact Edwina McFarland on 0409-094809, Dianne Phillips on 0412-748627 or Mavis Bemrose on 0417-623078.

*

King Valley Country Music Festival this weekend

Country music fans are invited to head to the heart of the King Valley for a relaxed day of live music, local food and wine at the King Valley Country Music Festival.

Held at Red Feet Wines, the family-friendly event will showcase a strong line-up of country artists including Smoke + Mirrors, Jade Gibson, Tilly Rose, Maya O’Loughlin and Kaitlyn Thomas, alongside an all-star concert finale.

Set against the valley’s picturesque vineyards, the festival runs on Saturday, April 25, from midday to 8pm, with under-18s admitted free and tickets priced at $20.

*

Everything Botanical exhibition at Art Gallery On Ovens

Everything Botanical is a solo exhibition by Christine Cansfield‑Smith at the Art Gallery on Ovens, showcasing a vibrant collection of paintings inspired by botanical forms, the exhibition brings together traditional still life and contemporary styles.

The exhibition runs until Monday, 4 May, with an opening reception at 2pm on Sunday, 26 April.

*

Wangaratta community market on Sunday

The Wangaratta community market runs every Sunday at Moore Than Swimming, located at 11-13 Mason Street in Wangaratta, from 8am until 1pm.

There are a wide range of stalls to browse with new and used items, plants, fruit and veg and more, with refreshments available.

Stalls are available for just $20 each (no bookings required) and car boot sales are welcome for $15, with more information via the market's Facebook page or call Sheree on 0401 665 886.

*

Growth exhibition showcases local artists at Bainz Art Gallery

A celebration of creative renewal, landscape and experimentation is on display this April with the 'Growth' exhibition at the Bainz Art Gallery in the Wangaratta Library.

The exhibition features works by local artists Dawn Meader, Barb Forster and Marg Bennett, presenting a diverse range of styles from realism through to abstract and semi-abstract painting.

Entry is free and community members are encouraged to view the exhibition during library opening hours.

*

Ruins in Reverse exhibition at Wangaratta Art Gallery

Carly Fischer's exhibition 'Ruins in Reverse' is on display at the Wangaratta Art Gallery in Gallery 2 until 14 June.

Ruins in Reverse is a sculptural and sound-based installation inspired by the former Beechworth Asylum and Ms Fischer's great-grandmother’s 50-year life spent institutionalised for 'talking to the furniture'.

The work explores the idea of shifting between realities, uncovering forgotten fragments that blur past and present.

Tracing the architectural features of the asylum buildings, Ruins in Reverse captures its physical and acoustic resonance.

Drawing on histories of architecture, institutions, geology, and mining connected to Beechworth, Ms Fischer’s recordings, research and impressions are reassembled into 'architectural assemblages' that merge sound and sculpture, material and context, creating an immersive reflection on memory and place.

*

Affording Truth exhibition at Wangaratta Art Gallery

Exhibition 'Affording Truth' explores how people perceive and navigate truth in an era of global uncertainty, using the framework of affordances - the qualities of objects or environments that suggest or enable particular actions and interactions.

The exhibition presents new and existing work by 14 artists from across the country who interrogate this increasingly muddy space.

The exhibition will be on display in Art Gallery 1 of the Wangaratta Art Gallery until 21 June.

*