See you at Sunset Veranda

Happy New Year! I hope you have had a fantastic start to 2020 and that this year brings you lots of successes and enjoyable times. Talking about enjoyable times, what better way to make the most of summer than a visit to the City of Stirling Sunset Veranda – the beachside pop-up festival at Scarborough Beach where FRINGE WORLD meets the ocean.

With Cr Karlo Perkov and Sugar Blue Burlesque performers

This year’s program runs until Sunday 16 February with our biggest and most diverse mix of comedy, music, theatre and cabaret acts. Whether it’s relaxing with a cold drink in the open-air bar, catching a ticketed show in the Big Top or an entertaining workshop for the kids, there’s something for pretty much everyone. Visit www.stirling.wa.gov.au/sunsetveranda for tickets and details of all the exciting events on offer.

Still on beach activities, there’s going to be a feast of sports action on the sand and in the water when Trigg and Scarborough beaches play host to more than 10 free events starting later this month.

It’s set to be a big 10 weeks from Sunday 26 January right through until Sunday 29 March with spectacular events including beach volleyball, surfing, beach football, surf lifesaving carnivals and more. Some of the highlights include the iconic King of the Point surfing contest at Trigg Point and Scarborough Beach will be playing host to a beach football tournament and the Surf Life Saving State Championships. Visit www.stirling.wa.gov.au/summerofsports for more details about all the upcoming events.

This year, the City is taking its Australia Day citizenship ceremony outside to the beautiful surrounds of the Stirling Civic Gardens. The outdoors event will be a first for the City of Stirling as it will combine a citizenship ceremony to welcome 250 of our newest citizens with the Community Citizen of the Year Awards. Each year, the awards give local governments across the state a valuable opportunity to recognise local individuals and groups that make an outstanding contribution to their community.

We will be presenting the Community Citizen of the Year Award, the Senior Community Citizen of the Year Award, the Young Community Citizen of the Year Award as well as the Active Citizenship Award, which recognises a community group or event. This year, we received more than a dozen award nominations and the recipients are fantastic examples of our incredible community.

It should be a special day for everyone involved and I look forward to celebrating with our new citizens and all the worthy winners of the 2020 Community Citizen of the Year Awards.

Cr Bianca Sandri at a recent citizenship ceremony

Since being elected Deputy Mayor in October, Cr Bianca Sandri has enjoyed her new role presiding over the City’s regular citizenship ceremonies. During that time, more than 400 new Aussies have taken the pledge at ceremonies in the City’s Reception Hall.

An enormous thank-you goes to a group of industrious St Andrew’s Grammar School students who wanted to make a difference by rolling up their sleeves with a clean-up day at Scarborough Beach. The students recently collected everything from empty cans and cups to pizza boxes and even big cardboard boxes discarded along the coastline. 

Cr Felicity Farrelly with St Andrew's Grammar staff and students

Cr Felicity Farrelly visited the students on the day to congratulate them on their fantastic efforts. The students had originally contacted the City to find a way they could help the environment on a local level after learning about the concerning amount of plastic waste ending up in the world’s oceans.

If you have ties to the City of Stirling that go back to the late 1980s and earlier, we would love you to share some of your photographic memories in the 2020 History and Heritage Awards. Held every two years, the awards include the ‘Stirling Memories’ category that calls for entrants to submit a photo taken within the City of Stirling prior to 1990.

To be in the running for cash prizes, you can either submit a classic photo with a caption (up to 10 words) or with a short story (up to 200 words). The City will also present an award for the Best Youth Entry. The contest closes on Friday 14 February 2020, so there’s still time to look through your old photo albums and send in your entries (up to five per person).

The award-winning photo of Margaret Taylor

Our last awards in 2018 showcased some great local photos and stories including one submitted by Roda Hatzistavridi about her mother (Margaret Taylor) who won the Miss Scarborough contest in 1956.

Staff and students outside Osborne Primary School, which features on the City's Heritage List

The awards also recognise the efforts of individuals and groups striving to preserve the City’s history. So, if you have restored a classic home, possibly taken part in a project to adapt a heritage building or shared the importance of local heritage in your community, we would love to hear from you. Visit www.stirling.wa.gov.au/heritageawards for more details on how you can enter.