By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
Belgrave chef and cafe owner Alex Palmer is bringing the community together with delicious pizza and good vibes, all in an effort to support one of the Dandenongs’ most cherished events – the Lantern Festival.
Alex Hughes Palmer, chef, and owner of Little Hendrix Cafe is turning his free community pizza nights into donation-based fundraisers to help give the festival an extra boost after it received less funding than usual this year.
The Lantern Festival is made possible each year through the incredible support of the community, with funds coming from a variety of sources, including contributions from council, local business sponsorships, Belgrave Traders through their memberships, and community-led initiatives like Mr Palmer’s popular pizza nights.
It’s this collective effort that brings the festival to life every year and allows the community to celebrate together in such a special way.
“This year, we just needed a bit of extra help to make sure everything runs smoothly, and the festival can be as amazing as it always is, without any hiccups,” Mr Palmer said.
“So we figured, why not turn our community pizza night into a fundraiser? It just made sense.”
The first of two events will be held on Thursday, 22 May, from 4.30pm to 7.30pm at the First Belgrave South Scout Hall, located at 28 Station Street, Belgrave.
Mr Palmer and a crew of local volunteers will be serving up Lebanese-style pizzas made fresh with a portable pizza oven, including vegan and vegetarian options, and a bacon, tomato and onion pizza using locally donated ingredients.
“The pizzas we’re doing are a bit of fun, they’re Lebanese-style, the folded ones,” Mr Palmer said.
“We’ve got vegan and vegetarian options too, Bills of Belgrave are donating their in-house, free-range smoked bacon, which is just fantastic.”
The community spirit doesn’t stop there.
“As it’s grown, we’ve reached out to a few other local businesses to get involved,” Mr Palmer said.
“Bills of Belgrave are going to come down and set up their own grill to feed everyone and donate all the meat for free. The bakery is donating bread. And then there’s us doing all the pizzas.”
Businesses currently involved in the fundraising are Little Hendrix Cafe, Bills of Belgrave, Jimmy’s Kebabs, with bread supplied by The Belgrave Bakery.
While there’s no fixed price, donations on the night will go directly to supporting the Lantern Festival, which Mr Palmer describes as a key part of what makes Belgrave so special.
“When I first saw it, it kind of reminded me of a Hills version of Burning Man,” he said.
“It’s one of those events that brings together all the different parts of the Hills and the local community in such a beautiful way, it means a lot to everyone,” Mr Palmer said.
“Belgrave is such a creative place, full of artistic people, and the Lantern Parade gives everyone a chance to express that creativity together.”
Mr Palmer said community support has always played an important role in making the festival possible, especially when costs like public liability insurance stretch the budget.
“Even just getting that to happen is a big deal,” Mr Palmer said.
“It’s such an important event for everyone and making sure the funding is there really means a lot.”
The idea for the pizza nights began when Mr Palmer noticed his sous chef Josh and local families gathering at the park and ordering takeaway pizza.
“I was like, dude, why don’t we just make our own pizza?” Mr Palmer said.
“The kids love it, they gather around this 400-degree pizza oven and watch us crank out a huge amount of pizzas. It’s a lot of fun.”
What started small has now grown into something special.
“I’m most looking forward to looking out over the pizza oven and just seeing this amazing community coming together,” Mr Palmer said.
“There’s this energy in the Hills when people come together, it’s just beautiful and cool to see.”
There are a few things Mr Palmer asks attendees to bring:
“Dress warm, take your rubbish with you, and one thing I forgot to mention earlier, bring lanterns and lights,” Mr Palmer said.
“Parking’s a bit limited at the venue, but there’s a big car park about five minutes’ walk away.”
If you’re unable to attend the event but still want to support the fundraiser, Mr Palmer encourages you to send a direct message to the Little Hendrix Cafe Instagram page to arrange a donation.
Please note that payments will be accepted in cash only, for more information or to discuss alternative payment options, feel free to reach out via Instagram.
“We’ve set up a separate bank account just for donations, which we don’t use for business, so it’s really easy for people to contribute. We’ll combine it with the funds raised on the night,” he said.
A second event is already being planned for about three weeks after the first, with the same team and more food, community fun, and hopefully, even more donations to help light up Belgrave’s streets once again.
“We hope everyone gets fed, has a really good time, and comes together to show how much we all care about the Lantern Festival – and each other,” Mr Palmer said.
