Emerald Ladies Probus Club hosts its third ‘Royal’ show on September 16

By Shamsiya Hussainpoor

The Emerald Ladies Probus Club will host its third ‘Royal’ Creative Show on Monday, September 16, at the Emerald RSL – the event will feature members showcasing their creative talents and winners will be presented with awards.

The Emerald Ladies Probus Club brings together retired and semi-retired women to foster friendship, fellowship, and enjoyment – it features engaging speakers at each meeting and organises monthly walks, outings, a movie club, and special events such as lunches and barbeques.

The event day will start with a brief administrative meeting, followed by a morning tea that lasts around half an hour, afterward, there will be ample time for members to mingle and connect – the day will conclude with a presentation by a guest speaker.

This year, Andrew Gardner from the Bendigo Bank’s Dandenong Ranges Group will be attending the event to award the winners.

The Emerald Ladies Probus Club president Linda McIvor said the club is home to many talented women in the past 35-years.

“It’s great for the club and for these ladies to get together,” she said.

“We have a monthly meeting, and it’s a great way to form wonderful friendships, and share their passion for creative things like this – there’s been lots of long-term friendships formed, and one of our ladies has been a member for just over 30 years.”

The club has 42 members at present, and each will be displaying their talents during the ‘Royal’ Show.

“We’ve got lots of different categories, from art and photography, handicrafts – including anything that’s knitted, crocheted, sewn, made with paper, floral section – which is flower arrangements, plants, special points that they’ve grown, garden curiosities, such as garden gnomes or sculptures, writing section on stories, songs, and family history and we’ve got a few people that have recently written their memoirs, they may present those and other research projects they’ve done,” Ms McIvor said.

“We’ve also got a special section, called ‘unfinished projects’ – things we may have been doing for many years but haven’t quite got the end result that we’ve liked or just things that are taking a bit longer than what we actually thought.”

Women interested in joining the club are invited to attend any of the monthly meetings, which take place on the third Monday of each month at the Emerald RSL, starting at 10 AM.

There is an annual membership fee of $35, along with a one-time joining fee of $15. Part of these fees supports the umbrella Probus organisation for insurance and administrative purposes.

“We have a lot of activities in the club, aside from our meeting, we’ve got a regular coffee morning once a month, and each month we have a monthly lunch as well in different venues,” she said.

“Last month, we had a mystery tour, which we used our Miki cards, and were set off on the train from Belgrave towards a mystery destination we had in mind, which was The Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) in South Melbourne.”

“We try and do things that interests club members, we chat with them and ask what they’d like to do, and then someone will arrange an activity and we go from there.”

Ms McIvor said many of the club’s members are single or widowed and live alone, the club offers them a welcoming space to socialize and connect with others, emphasising its role as a purely social community.

“We don’t fundraise or anything like that, so it’s purely a social outlet,” she said.