Good News Bill - October 2011

It is October already, and the good news this month is surely Cadel Evans.

October will see preparations for the Suit Up and Ride day that is scheduled for Friday, November 25. This starts and finishes at the Waterfront City Piazza and runs up and down the NewQuay Promenade.

The great Cadel Evans, who participated last year, will be here again in November! Make sure you come down to NewQuay Promenade  and enjoy that Friday afternoon. This great event is for teams of cycling enthusiasts to Suit Up and Ride on one of the many blue Melbourne share bikes to raise money for Orygen Youth Health. Orygen do magnificent work raising funds for youth mental illness.

So why not organise a team and get your company behind this great event. The bars and restaurants will be making you very welcome with some great deals and entertainment to be had. More information on how you can join in can be found at http://www.suitupandride.com.au.

For your further entertainment, Claire Bowditch will be performing on the day. You might like to watch this space for further announcements – the Docklands community is gearing up to make this a great event in Docklands. Don’t miss it!

And speaking of the Waterfront City Piazza - have you been wondering what is going on inside the tent that is located there? You may have noticed water trickling out into the street from inside. I asked to have a sneak peak and what a surprise met my eyes! City Snow Park has built a giant ski slope complete with man-made snow. Derek Nicholson is the inspiration behind this operation and he believes he has come up with the perfect park design. He tells me they have their very own snow making facilities located on site. This means they make as much snow as they like. It is open to the public now, so for more information check out their Facebook page.

For tourists coming to Docklands there was some really great news last month. There has been much conjecture that the free tourist shuttle bus service would either be cancelled or a fare structure put in place for each journey. Thankfully councillors of the City of Melbourne listened to the people of Docklands and voted in favour of keeping the bus as a free service. This means that this vital transport link to ferry tourists to Harbour Town is maintained.

Other good news items include the network evening put on by the Docklands Chamber of Commerce. This was held at the Medibank Icehouse on Tuesday, September 20. The invitation was open to everyone and those that were fortunate to attend heard a great speech from guest speaker Chris Buckingham – CEO of Destination Melbourne. He told us how we can work together positively for a greater Docklands. Chris was inspirational as he talked about some of his real life experiences as he dealt with challenges outside of his control. A remarkable speaker, and a man who is willing to share his enthusiasm to succeed. On my travels, I have met a number of business owners who would have benefited from hearing what Chris had to say.

The team at the Medibank Icehouse made us all very welcome as we enjoyed a few drinks and finger food in the upstairs bar offering great vantage points to the ice hockey action and skating rinks below. Guests were all invited to have a try out on the ice. About a dozen or so brave souls ventured out on to the ice and after some sound instruction from friendly staff members were soon skating confidently unassisted!

If you have never tried ice skating, Medibank Icehouse is a great place to start. Have a look at its website for more information – http://www.icehouse.com.au. If you are a Facebook fan, have a look at the Medibank Icehouse page – it is full of great information.

Consider joining the Docklands Chamber of Commerce if you run a business in Docklands. Membership is inexpensive and you will have a voice! Join today.

Last month I told you all about the great walking experience if you crossed over the Webb Bridge to Yarra’s Edge and explored that part of Docklands. Ok, so who has taken advantage of the glorious September weather and gone out there and had a look?

To see the original article, visit the Docklands News website.