What Spaces are available?
The Church
This sacred space is much loved by our community and often said to have a ‘special kind of energy’ and ‘amazing acoustics’. The church seats 150-200 people and is great for chanting, singing, and special ’quieter’ performances. There is a small kitchenette with mugs, a hotplate (available upon request), small fridge, sink, and urn. Generally there is a table for front of house, and a table for the service of tea/coffee etc plus 2 other fold up tables generally stored behind the rear pews.

The Hall
The capacity of the hall is 250-300 people, there are approximately 100 blue plastic seats, and another100 assorted vinyl chairs in the first storage room. The hall is 19m long by 12m wide with a fully functional kitchen and rear access is available from Eastment st.
There are 12 staging units (2m x 1m) in the first storage room which have variety of legs and can be used as additional tables and/or a stage. There are usually 6-8 fold up tables in the hall, and 3-4 kitchen type tables (stacked in toilet foyer area).

The Courtyard
The courtyard area includes a stage (without cover), limited seating and access to power. The courtyard can be booked either in conjunction with your event or for separate activities depending upon both the normal operating hours of Café Koula and other church or hall bookings.

Who can book the space?
Northcote Uniting Church is a community space and not a “typical venue”, and so we pay special care and attention to who is here. The Chalice model embodies a wholistic approach to being contemporary church that embraces a great diversity of spirituality, expression through the creative arts, environmental responsibility and social justice.
The Chalice model means that we ensure our own program and the types of events we have at Chalice contribute to the building of a strong and inter-connected community. As community space we rely on each group being flexible with other users, and taking responsibility for ensuring the space is used respectfully and left clean and tidy ready for other community groups/activities.
Please note we do not accept bookings for private functions or for events that are going to be excessively loud, raucous or impinge upon our neighbours.
How do I make a booking?
All booking enquiries must be submitted as an email to admin.chalice@gmail.com. Please ensure you have read the entire FAQ section on this page before sending your email.
In your email please introduce yourself, explain why you want to be here and what you would like to do, list any potential dates and please make sure to leave a contact number. Please be advised that our administration person is only here 2 days per week, so we may not be able to get back to you ASAP.
What do I need to know when I book the space?
Provide evidence of or purchase one-off Public Liability Insurance.
All groups and individuals at Chalice need to have Public Liability Insurance. If you have your own, please supply us with a copy of your certificate of currency as early as possible. Otherwise you can purchase one-off Event PL insurance through The Uniting Church in Australia for a premium of $55.00. This applies for events up to 2 days in duration. You will need to provide us with a completed form and payment (cheque or cash) two week prior to your event. Forms available from the office.
Register your event with APRA
The church has an agreement with APRA that it will advise all musicians performing at the church that they need to register their event with APRA. An event notification form will be supplied to you and it is the responsibility of the musicians to ensure that they comply with APRA guidelines.

You must clean up after yourself.
Chalice is a community space, and as such it requires its community to keep it clean for each other. If you have an event make sure you leave the space clean and tidy the day/night of your event as there are often groups coming in after you or the next morning. We don’t mind if you move furniture around as part of your event, however it is a requirement that you return all furniture etc in accordance with the floorplan provided with your booking.

You must take your rubbish with you
Chalice does provide a number of rubbish and recycling bins. However we do not have the capacity to process all the rubbish from all the events. So please do not fill all of the bins and ensure that you take responsibility to remove any excess rubbish and recycling.

Make sure to collect your key
All groups using the facilities pay a $50.00 deposit and receive a key to access the facilities for the duration of their booking. Please make a time to pick up your key at least a week in advance of your booking and ensure the key is returned promptly at the completion of your booking.
Consumption and/or Sale of alcohol and Liquor Licensing.
If you are planning to consume and/or sell alcohol as part of your event, you need to discuss this with either of our two Ministers Rev. Daryl Sangster or Rev. Ali Sangster.
The sale of alcohol requires a Temporary Limited Licence through Responsible Alcohol Victoria (RAV). RAV advises that applicants need to allow 8 weeks to process their application, so please do this as soon as you have confirmed your booking.
As of June 2011 the cost for an Application for a Temporary Limited License is $50.00

http://responsiblealcohol.vic.gov.au/wps/portal/rav/licences/apply/apply_for_a_temporary_limited_licence

If you require a floorplan/map of the hall for your application please contact Eliza on (03) 9482 2884 or admin.chalice@gmail.com

What does it cost?
Because Chalice seeks to support the building of strong community and the activities a diversity of groups we have a sliding scale so that the space is accessible to a wide variety of groups.
Hourly
Based on the above principle the hourly rate may vary between $15 – $25 p/hour.
Events/One Offs
The cost to hire either the church or the hall for the evening will range from $150.00 to $300.00 depending on the size of the event, how much you are charging and numbers expected. We gauge this on a trust system and expect that those who do well will make a larger contribution to the church as we operate on a limited budget. Essentially we expect $200.00 – $300.00 and the minimum amount of $150.00 exists as the minimum. We encourage people using the space to always discuss payment options with us.

Fundraisers, Social Justice and Environmental Events.
Chalice does try to support good causes and charitable events. For people/organisations raising money for social justice, environmental or other good causes $150 is acceptable as the maximum payment. Of course if you do very well, we do ask that you make a larger contribution to the church. However if $150.00 is still breaking your budget please get in contact with us (03) 9482 2884 or admin.chalice@gmail.com and we may be able to work out something else.

How many people can the Church seat?
In the church we have pews that can seat comfortably approx 100-150 people. Extra chairs that can be setup to seat around 50 and an assortment of colorful pillows that can be strewn around floor which can seat another20 depending on how much performance space you need.
Depending on if there is an event in the hall, it may also be possible to borrow chairs from that space – on the promise they MUST be returned that evening. You must discuss this with us prior to your booking.

How many people can the hall seat?
The hall can seat between 200-250 people.
How about a stage?
There are 12 staging units (2m by 1m) that have adjustable legs so they can be made higher or lower and can be used as tables. If you book the hall or church you are able to use these at no extra cost subject to availability.
Tables?
There are presently 8 fold out tables that can be used depending on other bookings, 3-4 kitchen sized tables, as well as the 12 staging units that can adjusted and used as tables.

Can my group/workshop be at NUC-Chalice regularly?
Because of limited availability and the Chalice model it’s not always possible for groups and individuals to be here on a regular basis. If you or your group are interested in holding your workshop etc at Chalice permanently it’s best to send us an email with a short one page proposal that will introduce yourself, tell us why you want to be at Chalice, and what you plan to do, as well as your proposed times. Email admin.chalice@gmail.com and either our programs coordinator or our Minister,  Rev. Daryl Colless will be in touch.

If you have further inquiries please contact us on admin.chalice@gmail.com or by calling 03) 9482 2884. Please be mindful that our programs coordinator  is only here 15 hours a week so you may not hear back from us straight away ; )