In these workshops poet and philosopher Luke Fischer will guide participants into new ways of seeing, writing and thinking about the natural world. Open to adult writers at all levels of experience, the workshop will be valuable to anyone interested in improving their writing and/or deepening their appreciation of nature. Covering topics such as place and landscape, imagination and metaphor, ecological crisis and conscience, the course will involve exercises in creative writing, nature observation, and focused reading of selected poets and texts. Students will have the opportunity to workshop several poemsand to share poetry at a public event at Bookoccino (optional). Luke Fischer is the author of six books and an editor of various volumes. Fischer holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Sydney, where he is also an honorary associate. For more information visit: www.lukefischer.net Please arrive by 4:20pm with your preferred writing tools (laptop or pen&paper).

Come on a journey of deep listening with world-renowned nature sound recordist Andrew Skeoch.  Experience an evening of immersive soundscapes and discussion. Andrew uses sound recordings and spectrograms to introduce ways of identifying species by sound, and discusses the behavioural purposes of different expressions of repertoire, and why particular species use the specific sounds that they do. Deep listening to nature is soothing and inspires a great empathy for the sentience of all things. Please bring your cushions and blankets. We will be on the floor with some seats available. Tea and wine available to purchase. Tickets $8.

Join us for great music, good vibes and generous prizes at Trivia Fridays. An evening of live music and fun with friends. Once per month until we've had enough... or summer comes back. We will have 7 table with 6 people each.

Join us for a special day at Trincomalee, Richard Unsworth’s historic home and garden on Lovett Bay. Catch the ferry from Church Point. Bathe in the serenity of the Western foreshores. Enjoy scrumptious cakes, wander around the beautiful grounds of Trincomalee, then settle in for conversation with legendary publisher Julie Gibbs. Saturday 26th October, from 10.30am. Tickets $70, single (including a copy of The Natural Gardener), or $100 per couple (with one book) A celebrated garden designer, Richard Unsworth’s practice is considered and curated, taking its cues from the surrounding landscape. In this, his third book, Richard offers advice on how to select landscape materials that sit effortlessly in the landscape, planting combinations that thrive in different settings, and discusses principles of bush regeneration and restoration. Whether large or small, urban or rural, every garden and every gardener can benefit from wildening their surroundings to reconnect with nature.

Join us for an inspiring evening of poetry and musical performances by distinguished artists, and encounter new ways of imagining the natural environment. Poets: Judith Bishop (visiting from Melbourne), Martin Langford and Luke Fischer (moderator). Musician: Hong Yu Wong (violinist visiting from Germany). This event is in conjunction with the six-week poetry workshop Reimagining Nature (led by Luke Fischer) and will include readings by poets who participated.

Join us to celebrate the sumptuous Bellissima: An Italian Australian Affair, by renowned designer Collette Dinnigan. Date: Saturday 2nd November, from 6pm Venue: Avalon Sailing Club There is nowhere else you would rather be. Collette's signature style is simple yet sophisticated. In Bellissima we travel between her homes in Bowral and Darling Point, Rome and Puglia. Together with photographer, Earl Carter, she captures the essence of Italian beauty and brings it back home to Australia, her ‘great Southern light’. Peep inside the homes and lives of wonderful friends, including Mimi Thorisson in Turin, Neil Perry in Sydney, and Louise Olsen and Luke Sciberras in country NSW. Enjoy welcome drinks by House of Arras and a casual dinner as the sun sets over Pittwater, with an in conversation with fellow designer Vince Frost and live music by DJ Darren Todd. Dancing and laugher strongly encouraged.

Join us for ceremonial cacao and a mindful celebration of life and community. Led by Sontaan Hopson we meet once a month on a Tuesday evening to enjoy this sacred drink and set intentions for the month ahead.

Join us for a fascinating evening of art and aistory with Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee. The Washington Post writer discusses his new book Paris in Ruins: Love, War and the Birth of Impressionism with curator and Vault editor Alison Kubler. Date: Thursday November 14, 2024 Time: 5.30pm arrival for 6pm start Venue: Avalon Surf Club Tickets $55, includes a drink on arrival. Impressionism was a complex reaction to 1870, otherwise known as 'The Terrible Year’. Fighting a losing war with Prussia, Napoleon III was swiftly defeated, deposed and exiled. A fledging republican government came to power at the same time as Paris entered a long siege. Rebellion, starvation and horrific violence ensued. Smee tells this story through the eyes of key artists, with a special focus on the intimate, enigmatic relationship between Manet and Morisot. Paris in Ruins is both an indelible portrait of the city and of modern art.

Join us for an unforgettable event with Gina Chick, the inaugural Alone Australia winner, who tells the story of her extraordinary, indomitable life in one of the most powerful and moving memoirs you will ever read. From day one of her wildly unconventional childhood, Chick blazed her own trail, which led her to dance through the hidden world of the ’90s Sydney nightlife into the arms of a conman. She fled to the wilderness to find healing, began a wondrous love affair with the deepest lessons life – and death – can offer, and found that all the answers are written in the wisdom of the body and the whirling silence of stars. Date: Thursday 21st November, from 5.30pm Venue: Avalon Surf Club Tickets $55, includes drink on arrival We Are the Stars is a magic carpet ride through the exquisite mystery of the human heart. We can't wait to welcome Gina for this 2024 event highlight.