Ararat council staff take talents online

Ararat Rural City Council staff members have learnt their lines and practiced their singing before getting in front of the camera to film Ararat Library Story Time, Baby Rhyme Time and Ararat Gallery TAMA Mini Makers Art Club sessions.

The end result is now all available online.

Baby Rhyme Time and Story Time sessions happen weekly at the library, and Mini Makers is at the gallery once a month.

Both usually involve children and their carers attending the venues, but are now available for families to view and interact with from home as they follow COVID-19 restrictions. Council chief executive Tim Harrison said many families were missing the three regular sessions, so it made sense to provide them in another format for children.

Dr Harrison said staff member Grant Thomas took Story Time for pre-schoolers and Kylee Whiting Baby Rhyme Time in person at the library, but were now diversifying their talents by performing in front of the camera in a combined session.

Mini Makers sessions, also for pre-schoolers, feature Jiah Harrison who sings songs, reads a book and then guides children through a craft activity based on the book’s themes.

“The council is really glad to be able to provide the sessions to our local children, who must be missing the personal interaction while being in isolation,” Dr Harrison said.

“We have heard on the grapevine that Story Time and Mini Makers online have been a hit with kids, so we will continue producing the online versions while COVID-19 restrictions are still in place.”

To access the videos people can visit www.youtube.com and search for Ararat Rural City Council’s channel – click on ‘playlists’ to find the library and gallery playlists.