March has marched on and I could not help notice how many birthdays there were!

March has marched on and I could not help notice how many birthdays there were!

Among those were the esteemed owner of this newspaper and the editor of the sister paper Southbank Local News! If you had a birthday in March – Happy Birthday to you! Whilst on that topic, one of the executive officers of the Docklands Chamber of Commerce, Matt McInnes and his partner Arlee welcomed yet another “Marchie” – Mae Catherine McInnes born 18th March. Congratulations all!

March saw a successful Docklands Chamber of Commerce Networking lunch aboard the Lady Cutler. It was fully booked and plenty of networking was done amongst the 90 attendees. If you missed out, be sure to book for the next one, which is scheduled for June 13.

April is upon us, and your Chamber is presenting a very special Wonderland Carnivale at the newest Spiegeltent in town! There will be no formal networking but plenty of fun to be had and loads of entertainment!  Wonderland Fun Park has just acquired a fantastic new Spiegeltent, which is hosting Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows in Docklands. This is a great opportunity for our members to help launch Docklands’ very own boutique performing arts venue. The evening will include a pre-show drink, a performance and comedy with Miss Behave (UK), Ian Bagg (CAN/USA) and Circus Superstars! To be part of this special event put the time and date 7.30pm, Thursday 10 April in your diaries today! Chamber members will be admitted FREE* of charge and their guests at $25 pp. Look out for your invitation and you can also check out the DCC or Wonderland Spiegeltent websites for details. (*conditions apply)
YOUR Chamber Executive has been very busy investigating a number of great opportunities for engagement in Docklands.  This year Melbourne is hosting some major conferences and exhibitions and we will be putting Docklands on the map for visitors with the City of Melbourne and Destination Docklands.  We look forward to working with all of you as these activations are finalised.

Looking slightly further ahead, May will see us co-hosting another networking evening with Destination Docklands, so book the date in your diary – 5.30pm, Monday 19 May.  This will be another “Docklands Discovery” opportunity to meet and mingle with stakeholders – not to be missed.  Enquiries may be directed to Nandini via [email protected]

Also in May, Wesley College is holding its 7th Annual Business Breakfast 2014 – “Real Competition in the Australian Airline Industry”.  The speaker this year will be John Borghetti, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Virgin Australia Group of Airlines. Event details: 7 am, Tuesday 6 May, Savoy Ballroom, Grand Hyatt, 123  Collins Street, Melbourne. Tickets - $100 pp or $900 per table of 10.  For more information, please visit http://www.wesleycollege.net/Our-Community/Upcoming-Events

Planning is underway for the Melbourne Regatta – Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony. It will be held on Saturday 30th August, which celebrates Melbourne’s birthday. The Regatta is designed to raise public awareness through a spectacular activation of Melbourne’s waterfront to draw local businesses, residents and visitors to the water to gain an appreciation of this great asset here in Melbourne. This year the event will deliver a flotilla of vessels including Melbourne’s passenger boats for the purpose of enabling corporate guests, staff, residents and visitors, along with their families, to enjoy a few hours on the water. Vessels will be able to participate as private operations or be available to the public free of charge. If you would like to know more, or have a desire to book a vessel for your company then contact Jeff Gordon of the Lady Cutler and also of the Melbourne Passenger Boating Association on 0439317449. The Regatta will be a fundraiser to support the great work the Mission to Seafarers undertakes in caring for the welfare of seafarers. The Blessing of the Fleet is an appropriate occasion on Melbourne Day for us to reflect on the significance of the maritime industry, its people and its history in the development of Melbourne and Docklands.

Finally I’d like to highlight a great initiative happening over near Docklands Drive, Harbour Town and NewQuay.  Joe Blanck has opened Ampersand Studios in Doepel Way and is working on a proposal to create a large street art project in Docklands. Joe explains that he has been in contact with various youth organisations, who he hopes to work with to create a huge street art mural, with a mentorship element to it. The ultimate objective is to create an iconic piece of art to be admired and visited for many years to come. If you have any interest in learning more about Joe’s work call him on 0410 654 601.

April is sure to be an interesting time in Docklands – school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day will, I hope, bring many new and repeat visitors to our precinct.  

So here’s to good business!

The area is fast developing into an Arts precinct with a number of studios opening. The aim is to attract more people to that part of Docklands to see and support the artists with their many different art forms. Why not wander down and take a look? For more information on the very interesting Docklands Spaces project, which lets spaces to people like Joe, take the time to visit http://www.docklandsspaces.org.