Come join the Hills community to celebrate the 13th annual Belgrave Lantern Parade, to light the longest night!

Activities start from 5:00pm
Parade starts at 5:30pm

***Catch public transport to Belgrave! Burwood Hwy will be closed and parking will be VERY LIMITED as we have thousands of people attending each year!***

Belgrave Lantern Parade has been warming the heart of Belgrave on Winter Solstice every year for the last 13 years. The event has become the highlight of the Winter season for our community bringing light to the darkness and signaling the coming of Spring. It reminds us that even in the darkest times, our supportive community can help light the way.

As always, this is a FREE inclusive event for the whole community!

Watch the event from the side of the road or join the parade. This year, we would love to see participating lanterneers thinking outside the box with creative illuminated costumes, props, musical instruments and of course, LANTERNS! Let your imagination run wild!

Hayes Carpark will become the Village with local food vendors, campfires to keep you warm, musicians, circus performances and more!

(P.S Hayes Carpark will be closed on the day to set up the magical community village space so please don't park there!)

For more information visit our Facebook page by clicking on the picture below..

Together, let's gather to celebrate community and friends by transforming Belgrave into a festival of light. We can't wait to see you there! ​

3MDR has been blown away by the generous support for our EOFY Donation Drive.

We would like to thank all the donors helping the station to finish off the sound engineer control room works and  making a start on fitting out Studio 2.  These dollars will go a long way at 3MDR.

Some super sized donations have been received with $1500 donated by David in Ohio USA and $1000 donated by Pete from Koo Wee Rup.  

Daniel from Ferny Creek, Chris from Ballarat, Michelle from Menzies Creek, Andrew from Upwey, Trent from Bayswater North, Mark from Warneet, Janet from Bentleigh East, Fotoula from Tecoma, Mark from Garfield, Glenn from Belgrave, Ross from Ferny Creek, David from Monbulk, Nathan from Berwick, Hilary from Cockatoo, Hayden from Wantirna South, Stew from Dandenong North, Maureen from Monbulk, Don from Gembrook, Phil from Cockatoo, Glenn from Belgrave South, Tony from Garfield, Neale from Heathmont, Gareth from Cockatoo, Michael from Emerald, Ian from Emerald, Lance from Wantirna South, Jean from Upwey, Callum from Kilsyth and Geoff L from Warneet are all mighty fine supporters with donations ranging from $100 to $10.

It's not too late to join this illustrious list of supporters.....with a couple of weeks to go before the financial year ticks over, you still have a chance to make a tax deductible donation and help 3MDR to continue its development of Forest Park Homestead as a community broadcasting hub in the Dandenong Ranges.

Click on the Studio 2 Panel image below to visit 3MDR's Give Now page and donate today.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.......................we really do appreciate your support!

3MDR is experiencing some technical issues with the live stream service.

Unfortunately, the live stream is being somewhat temperamental at present with the audio signal dropping in and out at any given moment.

3MDR's Tech Team is on the case and working with the streaming host and the telco company to rectify the situation.

The FM broadcast on 97.1 is unaffected by this issue so you can tune into 3MDR on your wireless if you are in the broadcast area.

This internet stream issue is also affecting the archives for current programming.

We apologise for this disruption to your online listening experience and we hope to have everything back up and running on this thing they call the internet real soon.

Attention lovers of live blues music!

Come and enjoy live blues music with John McNamara and Andrea Marr performing at the Emerald RSL on Friday 31st May

Gather family and friends and warm up with great live music as we head into winter.

Tickets are only $10 for 3MDR/RSL members/subscribers or $12 full price.  Doors open 7pm with the music starting at 7:30pm

The RSL bar will be open for liquid refreshments and food options are available with a local community/school fundraiser BBQ.

Tune into Red To Blue every Friday from 3pm for more information.

There are two fabulous new programs firing up on 3MDR:
'Do Your Thing' with Daniel on Thursday nights from 11pm-Midnight | A weekly music based show on Thursday evenings between 11pm - 12am. A sharing of a record collection, a journey through old favourites, recommendations, discoveries from the depths of the inter web, record shop finds and current musical obsessions.  Exploring but not limited to the following musical worlds:
A prominent feature of New Zealand guitar pop, post punk and DIY weirdness.
http://programs.3mdr.com/do-your-thing

​'The Subway Walls' with Patrick on a Saturday evening from 10pm-Midnight | A music show exploring the role of language in songwriting.  Featuring artists from a variety of eras and styles, The Subway Walls is all about great lyrics, the writers who pen them, and the stories behind the tunes.
http://programs.3mdr.com/the-subway-walls

Local musos check this out...
Cardinia Shire Council is seeking Expressions of Interest from a professional contemporary
musician/s to lead a month long residency program for four independent emerging musical
groups/individuals in collaboration with a professional sound engineer.
The Residency comes from local artists expressing the need for more links and opportunities
with the music industry. It aims to provide early career musicians with professional
development opportunities inside an industry standard work environment allowing the
musicians to create and take risks in a mentor context. The focus of this residency is to
develop a body of musical work as a key outcome.
The selected Music Mentor will have a key interest in mentoring and nurturing emerging
musicians as well finding unique ways to help them develop as a group and individuals. The
residency schedule will be developed by the Mentor in conjunction with the Cardinia Arts team.
​
​For any further information, please contact the Project Manager:
Dave Thomson, Arts Project Officer
Cardinia Shire Council, PO Box 7, Pakenham VIC 3810
Telephone: 03 5943 4604
Email: arts@cardinia.vic.gov.au
The Residency is supported by Cardinia Shire Council and the Victorian Government through
Creative Victoria

3MDR is pleased to introduce our newest volunteer Committee of Management members.

Joining the leadership team in May 2019 is Samantha Dunn, Bluzal Field and Edward Willoughby.

3MDR's CofM now has nine members overseeing the governance of the association.  

​Samantha Dunn loves being part of the Dandenong Ranges community, a place of natural beauty and inspiration. She takes an active interest in community matters and enjoys working closely with the community on a range of advocacy issues.
 
She's been a local government councillor, serving three terms with Yarra Ranges Shire Council and also served one term as a member of the Victorian Parliament. She's been on a number of boards and is a champion of good governance, integrity and open and transparent decision making.
 
She has also led extensive community engagement campaigns during her time in local government and the state parliament. Samantha has campaigned on forests for nearly two decades, passionate about environmental protection, including biodiversity, water security, climate change, air quality, tourism and recreation. 
 
She is an experienced strategist, advocate and negotiator and dedicates much of her time inspiring others to love nature. 

Bluzal has always had a long relationship with arts, performance, community and culture.

With a history that includes film production, circus, performance art, media and communication Bluzal is currently interested in the intersection of old and new media, and how we tell stories, collaborate as communities and thrive in a predominantly digital landscape.

​She brings her expertise in marketing, social media and digital media to the board. She is currently the Marketing Manager at Burrinja Cultural Centre in Upwey and is passionate about arts in all its forms in the Hills community.

Edward Willoughby - ​After almost a year on the Programming Committee, I am very excited to be taking over from outgoing Program Manager, Lee Hannah. Both I and the rest of the Programming Committee are greatly in debt to all his diligence and initiative and he will be greatly missed.
 
I come with great love for our local area as a hills resident of 7 years, and I am so passionate about our diverse community and the amazing things we create together, much like this radio station. I especially love the music that comes out of this part of the world, over the airwaves as well as in our live music venues.
 
I am a musician: a pianist, singer and composer; I completed my Bachelor of Applied Music (Composition) in 2012. I have composed for live theatre, dance, film as well as having written contemporary baroque pop songs. I was a proud staff member at the iconic Skylark Room in Upwey until it sadly closed its doors and I now work across a diverse range of cultural venues in the Yarra Valley with a dynamic mix of arts, culture and heritage. I am currently preparing to record a full length album of compositions at home and in my spare time I review new music releases for Piano & Coffee Co.
 
I am very excited to make a positive contribution to the culture of this station, and by extension to our community. I hope I can make you all feel supported in making your shows and our station thrive, and I am confident we can continue to grow in a positive direction. I’m looking forward to working more closely with you all!

You can email Edward on programming@3mdr.com about 3MDR's programming or how to apply for a program.

Should you wish to get in touch with 3MDR's committee members you can email
Jeff Springfield - President - president@3mdr.com
Kathleen Snowball - Treasurer - business@3mdr.com
Neesy Smith - Secretary - secretary@3mdr.com

A super month of live blues music at the Emerald RSL this May!

​Multiple award-winning Australian Blues musician Darren Jack has been electrifying audiences with his signature powerhouse Rock ‘n’ Blues and original music for over twenty years. 

Darren Jack is heading down from NSW for another performance at the Red To Blue Sessions on Friday 10th May at the Emerald RSL.

Doors open at 7pm with the live music commencing at 7:30pm

Tickets are only $10 for MDR/RSL Subscribers/Members or $12...available on the door.

The RSL bar will be open for liquid refreshments.  A local school or community group will also fire up a fundraiser BBQ.

And because you can never have enough live music in Emerald, the Red To Blue boys will be hosting John McNamara and Andrea Marr on Friday 31st May....pop the dates in your diary.

Tune into 3MDR every Friday afternoon for Red To Blue with the Webstar & Doc for all the info.

We look forward to your company on Friday 10th May for Darren Jack and again on Friday 31st May for John McNamara & Andrea Marr.

The Music Garden Presents: Jules Boult & The Redeemers live on the front veranda at Forest Park Studios this ANZAC Day - April 25th from 12noon

Come along to the 3MDR studios this Thursday for some free live music with Jules Boult & The Redeemers performing on the front veranda at Forest Park Homestead from 12noon.

The Goonybird & Biff will be firing up the BBQ as Jules fires up his special brand of New Orleans style jazz.

Entry is free but if you would like to help keep 3MDR on the air you can make a donation or subscribe to the station while you enjoy the live music on the veranda.

We look forward to seeing you!