City Life | Summer Edition | no 97

MAYOR’S MESSAGE

Frank Carbone

We are constantly working hard to ensure the community has the highest quality facilities, services and events, while keeping rates the lowest in Sydney.

The latest project to get the green light is an indoor multicultural and sports centre at Fairfield Showground, with the NSW Government recently announcing it will provide $28 million in WestInvest funding. The centre will include 4 multipurpose sports courts and stage area, 800+ seat grandstand and corporate box seating, meeting rooms, change rooms, umpires’ room, a kitchen and a kiosk.

With the redevelopment of Fairfield Showground already including a festival arena, synthetic sports field, AFL/cricket and football pitches, amenities building, pavilion, community rooms, walking tracks, bike tracks, off-leash parks and an all-abilities playground and water play area, the Showground is shaping up to be a place for the whole community to enjoy, where there truly is something for everyone.

Do you know an inspirational woman who excels in her career? Nominations are now open for the 2023 Fairfield City Women’s Day Award. If you know a local woman who is successful in her chosen career and inspires others, we want to hear from you. Visit fairfieldcity.nsw. gov.au/womensdayaward to nominate them now.

Christmas is a very special time in our City and there is lots happening! To support families and individuals who require assistance this Christmas, you can donate new toys and nonperishable food items with the Mayor’s Christmas Appeal. Donations can be accepted at our library branches and participating Woolworths store locations. Visit the tallest Christmas tree at Epoch Plaza in Fairfield, look out for Christmas lights and decorations at 17 roundabouts and intersections across the City and don’t forget the annual light up Christmas competition! We are looking out for houses with the best Christmas lights and decorations display and you can nominate your favourites. Make sure you also check out our Christmas celebrations and school holiday activities happening over the break.

We are also holding our popular Illuminate New Year’s Eve event at Fairfield Showground, a celebration of family-friendly entertainment, food, rides and fireworks.

See all the latest on our projects, events and activities in this issue of City Life. I wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. I look forward to what 2023 holds for us as a City.

Information and events in this publication are current at the time of printing.

The third stage of Fairfield Showground Memory Walk was officially opened.

Year 6 students graduating from primary school received free passes to Aquatopia.

We celebrated Grandparents Day at Calmsley Hill City Farm.

Frank Carbone Mayor of Fairfield City fcarbone@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au @FC.FrankCarbone

IN FAIRFIELD CITY

Christmas in Fairfield City Centre

Big City Lights

Light up Christmas Competition

Competition closes Friday 16 December 12pm.

Mayor’s Christmas Appeal

Donations can be made until Friday 16 December.

Mayor’s Summer Holiday Reading Program

For library members 0 to 4 years and 5 to 13 years Until January 31 2023

A literacy program for children to engage with libraries and reading throughout the summer. Practice or improve reading skills over the school holidays, meet new friends, learn more about your community, libraries and have fun!

*Terms and conditions apply Visit http://bit.ly/MayorsSHP for more information.

Active Kids School Holiday Program

It’s time to get moving! The Active Kids School Holiday Program kicks off from 9 to 25 January 2023.

Children aged 5-12 years will have a blast with a variety of physical activities like

• Basketball

• Netball

• Bubble soccer

Fairfield City Open Libraries

• Soccer and other fun sports, games and activities. They will learn new skills, make friends, improve their confidence and stay active! Prices start from $50 per day. Visit fairfieldcityleisurecentres. com.au/active-kids/to book.

• Hockey

There’s so much to see and do in Fairfield City these school holidays!

Free workshops in videography, photography and more in March and April 2023. Learn skills in creative industries and use your skills at Bring It On!

BRING IT ON! CREATIVE SKILLS & CREW TRAINING

Free 4 to 6 week workshops for young people aged 12-24 in creative industries and digital media. Annual creative skills training in the lead up to the Bring It On! Festival

Have an interest in creative arts and digital media but don’t know where to start? Join our Bring It On! GEN20 Crew to learn skills from industry pros from Western Sydney. Participants will join weekly workshops to get hands on with cameras and digital production gear as well as practise real life workflow. All participants will then work together as the official photography, film and media crews of the Bring It On! Festival in 2023 which celebrates its 20th anniversary in April!

When: Workshop sessions are one afternoon per week between March and April 2023, plus one full day at the Bring It On! Festival in April 2023. All workshop sessions are after school hours from 4.30pm. Workshops: • Photography • Videography • Presenting for Digital Media and Podcasting • Live Audio and Stage

Registration: To register for workshops and find more details, visit Fairfield City Youth at linktr.ee/fairfieldcityyouth. Registrations open in December.

Visit our website fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au or follow our Instagram @bringitonfest for regular updates.

*Photography by former Bring It On!

Festival Crew members John Vo, Quyen Le and Rania Abbott

We have been busy upgrading our smaller park playgrounds around the City so families can get out and about and active!

We have just completed four and have more coming up early next year. The playgrounds recently completed were:

• Comanche –Bossley Park

• Abercrombie –Cabramatta West

• Bancroft – Abbotsbury

• Choma – Bossley Park

Upcoming playgrounds to be completed early next year are:

• Rosford, Smithfield

• Prospect View, Smithfield

• Curran, Prairiewood

• Tallowood, Bossley Park

• Fitzgerald, Edensor Park

• Handel, Bonnyrigg Heights

We have a long term schedule of upgrades and will get to all parks across the City in the coming years.

MAJOR PROJECTS UPDATE

CABRAVALE MEMORIAL PARK PLAYGROUND

The upgraded Cabravale Memorial Park playground with a brand new state-of-the-art inclusive playground to ensure young families of all abilities can enjoy the play equipment was officially opened in November.

The new playground is more accessible and welcoming to local children and families with all inclusive features including:

• Giant tree house

• Climbing and slide play tower

• Inclusive rocker

• Wheelchair accessible carousel

• Swings.

The playground, located right near the Cabramatta Town Centre precinct, is very popular.

It joins other well-used leisure precinct facilities in the area –basketball court, badminton courts, outdoor ping-pong, accessible toilets and circuit walking path – to ensure there is something for all ages at the park.

The play space will also be well shaded with additional trees being planted to help everyone remain cooler in the warmer seasons.

The $400,000 playground is jointly funded by Council and the NSW Government’s Everyone Can Play program.

Carrawood Park

Together with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Council is improving the much loved Carrawood Park in Carramar.

The design of the new park was inspired by its Prospect Creek location.

The upgrades include new barbecues, the preservation of Cumberland Plain Woodland and the new inclusive ‘Big Bass’ playspace.

The playspace is a feature that will have something for all ages including:

• shaded seating,

• jumping jacks,

• voice tubes, gong drums and sound cubes,

• a water play area,

• 2-seat swing set,

• spinning bowl,

• junior bouldering set,

• wobble bridge,

• balance beams and

• picnic area.

Works are scheduled for competion in the second half of 2023.

Crescent Streetscape Upgrade Multicultural and Sports Centre

Open, beautiful spaces, especially in city centres gives workers and visitors an open space to eat lunch, socialise and relax within the hustle and bustle of the City.

Council is to give the international monument near Fairfield Rail Station a facelift to create an oasis for workers and visitors while also giving a good impression of our City for rail passengers arriving at Fairfield Station or passing through.

Upgrade works include new flagpoles, the addition of a universally accessible footpath and taxi stand, plus new seating, paving, and surrounding landscape.

Council’s Crescent Streetscape Upgrade will boost the visual quality of the area, help shape the pride the community takes in their area while maintaining a welcoming, safe environment.

Council has been successful in securing funding through the NSW Government’s WestInvest Program to finance part of the proposed indoor Multicultural and Sports Centre at Fairfield Showground.

Concept plans for the $46.5 million project include 4 multipurpose sports courts and stage/performance area, 800-seat grandstand and corporate box seating for 50, meeting rooms, change rooms, umpires’ room, and kitchen and kiosk.

The facility will cater for recreational to competition level sports such as gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, futsal, basketball, volleyball, netball, badminton, table tennis, as well as events like exhibitions, conferences, weddings and banquets.

The DA for this facility was lodged in August 2022 with early works expected to start in April 2023. The major construction works are expected to start in September 2024.

NEWS AND EVENTS

Fairfield Spring Fest was held over two days in Fairfield City Centre proudly funded by the NSW Government CBDs Revitalisation Program.

More than 1500 people became Australian citizens in September and October.

Marion Catholic Primary School won second place in the Waste to Art category of the Capture Fairfield competition.

Chilean Independence Day was celebrated at Fairfield Showground in September.

Trees

Council donated 20 recycling bins to schools across the City so Return and Earn money can go to the Little Wings charity.

To promote ‘Zero Litter in Georges River’, a stencil was drawn by a local artist at Bossley Park Public School.

were planted near Orphan School Creek at the Queen Jubilee Planting Day to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years of service.

Les Powell School opened a Mini Woolworths store to support students with hands-on learning experiences.

Mayor Carbone marked Harrington Street Public School’s 60th anniversary with a tree planting.

Victory in the Pacific Day was held in August at Cabravale Memorial Park.

Marikit Santiago’s solo exhibition We Eat This Bread features work inspired and influenced by her Filipino ethnicity and Australian culture.

The title of the exhibition refers to the memorial acclamation in liturgical mass, and the self and family portraits reflect the interweaving cultures of her ethnic and social identity. Marikit Santiago is the 2020 winner of the prestigious John Sulman Art Prize.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Marikit Santiago - Legacy. Image Credit John Daly

A big thank you to the residents who volunteered to help us plant plants at some recent community tree plantings. National Tree Day was a fantastic turnout with more than 200 community members registered for the day. We also had special guest Costa Georgiadis turning up to get his hands dirty.

We planted 12,000 native trees, shrubs, grasses and groundcovers, including 20 tree species and 50 other native species indigenous to the Fairfield City area. The project was part of the Greening Our City Grant program that is proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with Local Government NSW.

We also planted to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

The plantings help to increase shade and enhances the liveability of the area for the community.

More community plantings are being organised for the near future. Follow us on Facebook @fairfieldcity to find out more.

The 2023 calendar is your guide to Council’s annual program of events and services delivered across the City.

Each resident will receive a 2023 calendar delivered to their home.

COUNCIL CLOSURES

Some of Council’s services will be closed over the Christmas/New Year period. For urgent enquiries outside these closure periods, please call 9725 0222.

Long Day Care and Multipurpose Services

NSW Seniors Festival 2023

The 2023 NSW Seniors Festival is coming up, and Council is hosting a free Seniors Week event to recognise the important role seniors play and the contributions they make to the community.

The Seniors Week Festival will be held on Tuesday 28 February 2023 from 10am2pm at Fairfield Showground. The free event encourages seniors to get out and participate in community life, while learning about local services and programs that encourage social engagement and ways to stay connected to the community.

Follow us on Facebook @fairfieldcity for updates!

Council Administration Centre Closed 22 December – 8 January

Fairfield City Leisure Centres

All Leisure Centres closed 25 December

Cabravale Leisure Centre

Closed 25-28 December, 1 January, 3 January

Fairfield Youth Centre

Closed 24 December – 9 January

Fairfield City Museum & Gallery Closed 23 December – 9 January

Fairfield City Open Libraries

Closed 23 December – 2 January

Fairfield Showground

Closed 25 December and 1 January

Closed 23 December – 10 January

Preschools

Closed 23 December – 24 January

Fairfield City HQ

Closed 22 December – 8 January

Recycling Drop Off Centre

Closed 18 December – 13 January

Sustainable Resource Centre

Closed 22 December – 8 January

Kerbside Clean-Up Book-in Service

No book-in services from 23 December – 8 January

Other waste services will operate as normal

Fairfield Showground

WHAT’S ON

For more information or to register for these events visit www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/events

JANUARY

Saturday 14 January

Canley Heights Lunar New Year fireworks Canley Heights Town Centre 5pm – 9pm

Wednesday 25 January

Australia Day fireworks

Canley Heights Town Centre 9pm

Thursday 26 January

Australia Day Celebrations

Fairfield and Prairiewood Leisure Centres, Fairfield Youth & Community Centre

FEBRUARY

Every Saturday

Fairfield City Markets

Up to 600 undercover stalls Fairfield Showground Smithfield Road, Prairiewood 9am-4pm

Thursday 2 February

Meet & Greet your local Police Officers Whitlam Library Cabramatta 10am – 11.30am

Saturday 4 February –

Sunday 5 February

Cabramatta Lunar New Year – Year of the Cat and Rabbit Cabramatta 9am – 9pm Sunday 10am, blessing of Fairfield City & community

Cabramatta TownCentre

04 February 2023 11am to 8pm

Fairfield City Markets

Sunday 5 February

Fairfield Youth and Community Centre Open Day 11am – 4pm

www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov. au/womensdayaward