'Tis the season to go local

Festive Season Web Banner

There are so many ways to enjoy the holiday season in Darebin!


Love Local Business Map

Business Map

Christmas is about the gift of giving. And what better way to give back to our beloved community than supporting the many wonderful local businesses right here in Darebin. This Christmas, let’s make it local.


Event Calendar

a choir sings under colorful lights

Clueless about what to do this holiday? We’ve got you covered! Check out the many exciting and family-friendly activities we’ve got lined up this festive season!


Westgarth Village

Explore your local villages this festive season! We have so many local shops and small businesses that are out there - all ready for you to get that perfect gift or have a festive celebration! 

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A cover version of Little Green Bag plays. Four people walk in slow motion past glass doors. The first is wearing red, the rest are wearing green. The camera whips to a sign against a blue sky. The sign says Westgarth Village. It cuts to various shop signs in time with the music. The four people wait on a traffic island. Westgarth Theatre is behind them. They walk into a bookshop at double time. A close up of Green Person 2, who peruses a shelf, finger on chin. Her eyebrows raise as she finds what she is looking for. The camera cuts to her holding open a book called Wild Things. The book blocks her face. She lowers the book, and we see she is wearing sunglasses. She mouths the word wow in time with the music. Green Person 3 buys a book at the counter. A close up of the shopkeeper’s hands, placing the book in a paper bag. The camera swipes down, to a shot of the Red Person skipping in front of shop windows. Purple flowers are in the foreground. Red Person skips up to the flowers and smells them. She pauses for a moment before skipping off again. The camera whips to the tiled entry of the store. The four people have shopping trolleys and are wheeling them inside at double speed. The camera cuts to an art deco ceiling. As it pans downwards, we see the four people entering. They excitedly admire the interior of the building as they go up the stairs. It cuts to a sign that says Cinema 2 3 4 5. The four people are now in the cinema, walking down the stairs to take their seats. They sit in unison – two people in the front row and two people directly behind. The camera cuts to a front on view, and the four people lower their sunglasses in unison, looking very serious. A shot from behind shows the cinema screen in a dark room. On the screen, we see a brick wall with a poster on it. The poster says Tis the season to go local.


Regent Village

'Tis the season to visit our little villages around Darebin and fall in love with them all over again!

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A cover of the song Little Green Bag plays. Four people walk in slow motion past a wooden slat fence. The first is dressed in red, the others dressed in green. They are carrying presents. The camera whips over to the street sign that reads Regent Village It quickly zooms in time with the music to wall art and street signs. A bin is in the foreground, with the words Tis the season to go local on it. The four people walk past shops, a tram passes behind them. They walk into a gift store. A close up Green Person 1. He looks in wonder at toy hot air balloons hanging from the roof. The shot fades into sparking green Christmas baubles, and then a pair of hands picking up a teacup. Green Person 2 shows it to a friend, out of sight. A close up of a Green Person 3, who is excited to spin a toy plane propellor. The people walk down the hallway of the store. A close up of hands wrapping a gift. Green Person 2 takes the gift and walks out. A spanning shot of the four people, sitting in front of a yellow mural. The excitedly pass a gift along. The three green people pat a black puppy on the sidewalk. The Red Person points at a window with golden lettering which spells out Audacious Monk. Inside, the four all sit on leather couches, chatting and laughing. Green Persons 1 and 3 look at wine bottles. All four people stand at the bus stop in sunglasses. Green Person 3 looks at their watch. All four person look to their right in unison. A long shot of them looking right. A bus drives past. Swipes to a brick wall, with the same Tis the season to go local poster.


Gilbert on Henty

With 75 villages all around Darebin, this festive season is a wonderful time to rediscover your local shopping strips!

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A cover version of Little Green Bag plays. Four people walk past a mural in slow motion. The first person is wearing red, the rest are wearing green. Camera whips in time with the music, to a sign that reads Gilbert on Henty. It cuts to various shop signs and fronts, also in time to the music. The camera scans down a ‘gelateria’ sign, which fades into a shot of a hand scooping icecream into a cone. In time to the music, it snaps into a different coloured icecream. The cone is handed over to Green Person Three, who licks it. Shot of the front of the icecream store, where all four people lean against the window, which says cono in large letters. They are chatting and eating icecream. Another slow motion walk, this time past a green wall. The speed goes back to normal, as the four people pass the Train Insane Gym window, and walk inside. The camera pans over some weights on a rack. It then whips to Green Person One, who is sitting, and straining to lift something with his right hand. The camera zooms back, to show that he is weight-lifting a very light Christmas present. The camera pans across the four people, who look very serious and are posing to best show off their muscles in the mirror. We see a white brick wall. Painted on it are the words Marn Bo Chinese Takeaway with Chinese symbols. It pans down, to view the four people in full. They look off in the distance, and lower their sunglasses in unison. It cuts to a brown brick wall. Stuck to it, is a poster that reads Tis the season to go local.


Johnson Street

Rediscover your local shopping strip this festive season! Whether it's a gift for a parent or one for a friend, be sure to check out all the great places you can shop and visit right here, in Darebin.

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A cover version of the song Little Green Bag plays. Four people walk in slow motion, past a fish and chip shop window. One person is wearing red, the rest are wearing green. The camera whips to a street sign in front of blue sky, in time with the music. The sign reads Johnson Street Shopping Centre. The shot cuts to shop signs, also in time to the music. The four people’s feet walk past a bin, which has a sign saying Tis the season to go local. From the interior, we see the three Green people walk into the fish and chip shop. The Red person is already there, looking up at the menu. The camera shows the menu, with a hand gesturing towards it. The Red person turns their head to look at the others, seemingly suggesting what they should order. The Green people snap their head towards the Red person. A pair of hands pass a paper bag over the counter to the Red person’s hands. Green Person 2 eats a dim sim beneath a sign that reads Takeaway Fish and Chips Bakery, and smiles subtly. The four people walk past a brown brick wall in double time. A shot of an exterior sign which reads Fishmart Aquarium. The camera whips to the interior of the aquarium, where the Red person and Green Person 3 are excitedly pointing at colourful fish in a tank. It fades into a close up of silver, yellow and black fish. This fades into a shot of Green Person 1 and 2 excitedly looking at another tank of fish. The camera zooms in quickly, and the shot fades into an interior of Bam Bams, a burger restaurant, looking out the front windows. The four people are walking in through the front door, laughing and chatting. The camera pans across the menus. We cut to the four people, who are gesturing and seem to be discussing what to order. A hand places a paper bag on the counter. The camera zooms in to a stamped logo, which reads Bam Bams Fried Chicken Burgers. The bag lifts away, revealing the final image. A poster with Tis the season to go local is pasted on a brown brick wall.


Elizabeth Street, North Coburg

This festive season rediscover your local shopping strip for a uniquely local experience.

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Four people walk past a mural in slow motion. The first is wearing red, the others are wearing green. The camera whips over to a sign that says Elizabeth Street in time with the music. It then cuts to various business signs, also in time with the music. The four people walk past a shop. The camera cuts to a closer shot of them, laughing and chatting to each other. The four people enter a store full of gifts and look around in wonder. It fades to a shot of all the wrapped bottles, stacked in shelves. The camera goes back to the people, still smiling in awe and showing each other the goodies they have found. Cuts to the exterior of a café. We see Red Person exiting the café, and then closeups of the other people drinking coffee and laughing. The camera whips to Green Person 2 jauntily putting a present into a post box. She pats the top of the post box as she turns to leave. The camera zooms into a painted Christmas window and baubles with the words Local and Darebin on them. The Red Person does a little dance in front of a Drycleaners. A present rolls across the screen to the final slide, which is a poster on a brick wall. The poster says Tis the season to go local.


Thornbury Village

There's always a shop in your local area that will have that something that will make a perfect gift.

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A cover version of the song Little Green Bag plays. Four people walk in slow motion, past silhouette of a person the wall. The camera whips to a street sign, in time with the music, to show a mural for Thornbury Village Shopping Centre. The camera cuts to another mural then signs for a fish shop, a theatre, a cafe and ends focussing on a bin with Darebin's "Tis the season to go local" signage attached to it, which the four people are walking past. The people meet up and welcome each other at a baby's gift shop. They all browse the store. One person plays with a mini echidna soft toy, the pregnant lady browses baby's jumpsuits, then all four people hold up books in front of their faces all at the same time for comic effect. Next, the camera tilts up to an exterior shot of the coffee bar. The four people are now inside the coffee bar, one person is playing a pinball machine, two others are browsing for music to play on the jukebox, while the fourth person gives a "hello!" gesture to someone off screen. The person playing the pinball machine celebrates a presumably great game, jumping up and down in glee. Next, the four people are standing directly in front of the bar, all in a straight line, where they all slip down their sunglasses from the tops of their heads onto their faces in a synchronised manner, again for comic effect. In the final scene, the camera starts off pointing directly up at the interior ceiling dome of a theatre. The camera pans down to see the four people passing a festive season gift down the staircase bannister. The last person to handle the gift presents it (no pun intended) to the golden bust of a faux Roman statue which is at the end of the staircase. The person has a big smile on his face that is very cheesy, but in a fun way. This wipes to a poster with Tis the season to go local is pasted on a brown brick wall. I give it 3 stars - David, what did you think?


Westgarth Village

Explore your local villages this festive season! We have so many local shops and small businesses that are out there - all ready for you to get that perfect gift or have a festive celebration!

Watch on YouTube

Show transcript

A cover version of Little Green Bag plays. Four people walk in slow motion past glass doors. The first is wearing red, the rest are wearing green. The camera whips to a sign against a blue sky. The sign says Westgarth Village. It cuts to various shop signs in time with the music. The four people wait on a traffic island. Westgarth Theatre is behind them. They walk into a bookshop at double time. A close up of Green Person 2, who peruses a shelf, finger on chin. Her eyebrows raise as she finds what she is looking for. The camera cuts to her holding open a book called Wild Things. The book blocks her face. She lowers the book, and we see she is wearing sunglasses. She mouths the word wow in time with the music. Green Person 3 buys a book at the counter. A close up of the shopkeeper’s hands, placing the book in a paper bag. The camera swipes down, to a shot of the Red Person skipping in front of shop windows. Purple flowers are in the foreground. Red Person skips up to the flowers and smells them. She pauses for a moment before skipping off again. The camera whips to the tiled entry of the store. The four people have shopping trolleys and are wheeling them inside at double speed. The camera cuts to an art deco ceiling. As it pans downwards, we see the four people entering. They excitedly admire the interior of the building as they go up the stairs. It cuts to a sign that says Cinema 2 3 4 5. The four people are now in the cinema, walking down the stairs to take their seats. They sit in unison – two people in the front row and two people directly behind. The camera cuts to a front on view, and the four people lower their sunglasses in unison, looking very serious. A shot from behind shows the cinema screen in a dark room. On the screen, we see a brick wall with a poster on it. The poster says Tis the season to go local.