Community
4 February, 2026
Get crafty in Simpson
FOR those seeking a day out of arts and crafts, the Simpson and District Community Centre opens its doors on select Wednesdays for a different themed afternoon of fun for all.
Simpson and District Community Centre coordinator Debbie Smith said the centre’s afternoons, usually held on the third Wednesday of each month, provided an opportunity for community members to get busy with their own art projects.
“We’ve got locals come in and they paint, they draw and some do zentangle, which is like miniature intricate doodling,” she said.
“They all do their own thing and there’s multiple mediums used while they’re in here, we’ve had oil pastels, pencils and water colours.
“It was supposed to be an afternoon, but it’s evolved to coming in around 11am and leave about 3pm and have lunch.”
Mrs Smith said more opportunities came with the centre’s crafternoons as well as the writer’s block sessions.
“Crafternoons, which is usually the third Wednesday of the month, that’s where we do different crafts activities each month,” she said.
“Some of it relates to the season – we did decoupage eggs last year for Easter, we did crepe paper pumpkins in October for Halloween, crepe paper poinsettias for Christmas because they’re a Christmas flower, so we mix it up a bit each month, there’s a different craft activity.”
“Then the fourth Wednesday we started in December having a writer’s block, a three-hour window of quiet time, because I noticed there were people who were writing who were coming to the afternoon because it was quiet and they could get some work done so we started a separate session for that.
“That quickly evolved into what we had in January, we had an hour and a half of writer’s block and then a lunch break and then a two-hour discussion on authors and books.
“That’s going to continue on for the rest of the year so we have a writer’s block and then a reader’s group.”
Mrs Smith said starting this month, commencing today, (Wednesday, February 4), a new session involving yarn arts would be running at the community centre.
“We’re going to start ‘having a yarn’ so that will be all things crochet and knitting for anybody who wants to come along with their yarn projects and socialise with likeminded people,” she said.
“Bring your lunch, come for an hour or come for the day – tea, coffee and water provided.
“We do have a craft group on Tuesday and there’s hardly an empty seat, that’s mixed – there’s knitting, crocheting, stitching, quilting and all sorts of crafts.
“I thought there’s a lot of people out there who crochet and knit who can’t come on a Tuesday so maybe they’d like a special day where it’s just about yarn.”
The Simpson and District Community Centre is located at 11 Jayarra Street, Simpson.
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