Circus, Pixar Putt and Groovin the Moo: Here’s what’s happening this week in Canberra
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Is the daily grind suppressing your inner roller disco dancer? Then it might be worth making time for some fun events this week.
Let us point you in the direction of this jam-packed list, guaranteed to flip your stressed aura and get you grooving again.
See SIX with HerCanberra (before anyone else does!)
Credit: James D Morgan/Getty Images.
Want to be the first in Canberra to see international smash-hit pop musical SIX? How about seeing it with the HerCanberra Team and a bunch of other fabulous people?
You’re in luck! The HerCanberra Team would love you to join us at Canberra Theatre Centre for drinks, nibbles and a show on the very first night—Saturday, 23 April!
What can you expect? A modern take on the tale of the six wives of Henry VIII and an electrifying, high-octane journey as these Tudor Queens turned Pop Princesses take to the mic to reclaim their story.
The six Queens are set against the theatrical backdrop of a pop concert, and battle it out to be the lead singer in their band. Each having their moment in the stoplight, it’s a catchy way to brush up on history while also keeping “girl power” at the fore—where it should be.
Canberra Theatre Centre | 6.30 pm, Saturday 23 April| Book tickets to the special HerCanberra event here
The Canberra Circus Festival
The Canberra Circus Festival is five days of incredible circus, street, magic, burlesque, and clown performances; workshops, demonstrations, markets, community stalls, and more, all set in the beautiful surrounds of the farm at Lions Youth Haven in Kambah.
The festival is part of a youth circus training intensive organised by Warehouse Circus, bringing elite circus performers and coaches from across the country to teach masterclasses in circus, performance and ensemble development to young artists from Australian youth circuses. As part of the camp, the young artists will work with each other to create new ensemble works to be performed alongside their own acts at the festival’s market day.
19–23 April | Lions Youth Haven, 244 Kambah Pool Road, Kambah | canberracircusfestival.com.au
Midnight Oil: Resist Tour
From the northern beaches of Sydney to the streets of Manhattan, they have stopped traffic, inflamed passions, inspired fans, challenged the concepts of “business as usual” and broken much new ground.
Seeing Midnight Oil in full flight is to experience the kinetic power of live rock’n’roll. They leave you inspired to live life more passionately and to Resist.
Tuesday 19 April | Stage 88 | frontiertouring.com/midnightoil
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Yass, that’s right, the drag queens of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, have taken their magical bus all the way to The Q.
Rally your fellow queens for a magic show of love, friendship, dazzling costumes and a lot of laughs.
Until 22 May | The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre | theq.net.au/whats-on/productions/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert
Pixar Putt
Pixar Putt has arrived in Canberra! This open-air, pop-up mini-golf sensation is made up of interactive putt-putt holes inspired by the stories, characters, and icons from some of Pixar’s most beloved films including Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Soul, The Incredibles, Onward, Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E, Inside Out, Luca and more. This premiere Canberra season will also feature a new hole from Disney and Pixar’s latest hit movie, Turning Red, now streaming on Disney+.
The experience is perfect for players of all ages and is sure to become a popular destination through the school holiday season. And when the sun goes down, Pixar Putt After-Dark sessions will be available for adults 18+ from Thursday to Saturday nights from 7 pm–10 pm, where patrons can also enjoy all the local food and beverage offerings around the entertainment precinct.
Until Sunday 1 May | Civic Square | pixarputt.com.au
Hop into Marketplace Gungahlin for Easter school holiday fun
Are you ready for magical (and chocolate-filled) fun these school holidays? Marketplace Gungahlin has rounded up your ultimate school holiday program to take the ease out of entertaining this April.
From an Easter Garden Party to craft activities and a hop-along Easter Egg Express trail, make sure your little one doesn’t miss out!
Until 24 April | Marketplace Gungahlin| hercanberra.com.au/event/hop-into-marketplace-gungahlin-for-easter-school-holiday-fun
National Folk Festival (Final Day!)
The Easter long weekend sees a veritable feast of musical experiences and folk culture on offer with more than 200 contemporary and traditional folk music acts across 12 venues, plus food and market stalls, workshops, roving entertainment and an engaging program of craft, dance and art—but it’s not over yet! You can still attend on Monday 18 April so don’t miss out.
18 April | Exhibition Park in Canberra | folkfestival.org.au
Africa Party in the Park
Africa Party in the Park, organised by Africa2Australia volunteers, is back again for another year. The family-friendly day out is geared to have you seeing, tasting, and dancing to the variety of colourful cultures found on the African continent, just here in your backyard, at Stage 88.
Expect live music performances, food stalls, a display of African Artefacts, cultural dance performance and much much more! The event is free of charge, so bring the whole family along to experience a touch of Africa!
Saturday 23 April from 10 am–8 pm| Stage 88 Commonwealth Park | africa2australia.com
Groovin The Moo
Photo by Tao Jones
That’s right folks; Groovin the Moo is finally happening. Take that COVID. Corral your mates and grove the night away to your favourite artists, not to mention local food, drinks and heaps of Instagram opportunities.
24 April | Exhibition Park In Canberra | gtm.net.au
Lake Ginninderra: Nine ways
Often unfairly overlooked in favour of Lake Burley Griffin, it’s only fair that Belconnen’s iconic lake has a moment of humble adoration.
The exhibition will combine local artists, beautiful local landscapes and the synergy of the revitalised new facilities at Belo Arts.
Lake Ginninderra: Nine Ways is a body of work from artists who have captured and interpreted the Lake Ginninderra vista through their own medium and viewpoint. Interested in seeing the lake from a different perspective? Give the link below a gander.
Until 15 May | Belconnen Arts Centre | belcoarts.com.au/lake-ginninderra
Heritage Festival
Jumptown Swing dancers at Lanyon.
This year’s theme is Curiosity. The Heritage Festival will invite audiences to be curious about the tangible and intangible heritage that make our region unique. Discover our mid-century architecture, our engineering heritage, or join Ngunnawal custodians as they connect to Country.
Read more here.
Until 1 May | Various locations | environment.act.gov.au
The Picnic Train
Experience the excitement of a steam train trip behind former NSW Government Railways locomotive 5917 as The Picnic Train in conjunction with The Canberra Railway Museum presents special family round trips between Canberra and Bungendore over the Easter long weekend.
You will experience steam locomotive 5917 working hard as it climbs the steep grade by the spectacular Molonglo River Gorge, through long, dark tunnels and on through the beautiful rural countryside to Bungendore.
18 April | Departing Canberra Railway Station three times each day | thepicnictrain.com
Pinot & Picasso Belconnen’s Open Studio
On Friday 22 April, the Belconnen Pinot & Picasso studio is opening up its doors to the public!
Pinot & Picasso offers ‘Paint and Sip’ nights like no other. BYO food and drinks, with excellent grazing board spreads on offer, and a guaranteed night of laughter, fun and some killer tunes.
With a glass of wine in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, you’re encouraged to just have a go at painting – and have fun while you’re at it!
Friday 22 April | Pinot & Picasso Belconnen, | pinotandpicasso.com.au
Daily Guided Walks at Australian National Botanic Gardens
Fancy a trip to the botanical gardens? Get the most out of your trip with a free guided walk.
Led by our knowledgeable guides, these walks allow you to appreciate the beauty and clever adaptations of Australian plants and the research and effort involved in creating and maintaining the Gardens.
Until August 2022| Australian National Botanic Gardens | parksaustralia.gov.au/botanic-gardens/do/walks-and-tours/guided-walks
2022 Pamela Denoon Lecture – BEYOND WOMENVISION. Trail Blazing Women in Australian Cinema: How far we have come & the road ahead
Celebrating award winning and talented Australian filmmaking women – trailblazers! A star studded line-up of Australia’s leading filmmakers.
The trailer for the AACTA Award nominated feature documentary, When the Camera Stopped Rolling about trailblazing proto-feminist filmmaker from the 1950s, Lilias Fraser, will serve to kick off a lively debate about the realities and exigencies of women in film in Australia.
See Eventbrite for the full speaker line up.
Friday 22 April from 7–8.30 pm | Llewellyn Hall, ANU | Eventbrite
Haig Park Village Markets
Taking place every Sunday rain, hail or shine, the Haig Park Village Markets has fresh produce, beautiful flowers, artisan breads, meats, treats and more. You can even enjoy a picnic in the park before grabbing your essentials for the week!
9 am – 2 pm Sunday | Haig Park, Braddon | haigparkvillagemarkets.com.au
Pianist Charles Huang plays works by Haydn, JS Bach, Chopin & Debussy
On Wednesday 20th April 2022 from 12.40 to 1.20 pm, the Wesley Music Centre Lunchtime Concert series welcomes back the extraordinary young pianist Charles Huang in his fifth recital at Wesley.
Charles will present Haydn’s crowning contribution to the piano literature, Sonata in E-flat Major Hob.XVI:52, with all its grandeur, humour, and lyricism. Also featured are a Prelude and Fugue by J.S. Bach, Etudes by Chopin, and the picturesque Jardins sous la Pluie (Gardens in the Rain) by Debussy.
Wednesday 20 April | 12.40 – 1.20 pm | Wesley Music Centre, 20 National Circuit, Forrest | www.trybooking.com/BXYBH
Three new exhibitions at PhotoAccess
PhotoAccess is delighted to present the opening of their next suite of Huw Davies Gallery exhibitions: Between Hope and Despair, by Natasha Fijn, Eating Wild Weeds by Alex Flannery, and Archive Apparitions by Elisa deCourcy.
In this intriguing suite of exhibitions the artists transverse time and place, exploring the possibilities of cross-cultural and/or intergenerational communication through the photographic medium.
21 April–Saturday 21 May 2022 | PhotoAccess, 30 Manuka Circle, Griffith | photoaccess.org.au
Botanical Watercolour Painting Workshops
Four workshops will be held at the Ainslie Art Centre by local artist and art teacher Jane, on Thursday 21 April.
Spaces are limited (only 15 spots available in each session) to foster a person-centered learning environment.
Thursday 21 April | Ainslie Arts Centre | Eventbrite
DECODED: 75 years of the Australian Signals Directorate
Find out if you have what it takes to be a cyber security operative at DECODED: 75 years of the Australian Signals Directorate, a free exhibition at the National Museum of Australia.
Explore objects, hear inside stories, and scan code words to reveal the hidden history of Australia’s oldest national intelligence organisation kept secret until 1977.
1 April – 24 July 2022 | National Museum of Australia | nma.gov.au/exhibitions/decoded
Growing in the Gardens
Is there anything more delightful than an Australian Native?
The exhibition of botanical art by members of the Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens’ Art Group, latest exhibition is, representing the diverse flora Australia has to offer, and rightly so.
Their artworks beautifully depict these national treasures that you could very well incorrupt within your own garden, should the autumn sunshine inspire your green thumb.
Until 8 May | Australian National Botanic Gardens | parksaustralia.gov.au/botanic-gardens/do/whats-on/exhibitions
Teeny Tiny Stevie’s: A thoughtful Tour
2020, for some unknown reason that I can’t quite put my finger on, was a challenging year for artists. Teeny Tiny Stevie, despite the odds, managed to release their third studio album into the world from inside the Melbourne lockdown.
Impressively, that album went on to win Best Children’s Album in the 2020 ARIA Awards, and lucky for us Canberrans, they will be performing a special show at the playhouse. If you have kids or are really into music for children (we are not judging), it’s not one to miss.
23 April | Canberra Theatre Centre | teenytinystevies.com/live-shows
When the camera stops rolling +Q&A
The daughter of trailblazing Australian filmmaker Lilias Fraser tells the epic tale of her mother’s extraordinary life, her career and their challenging relationship.
When the Camera Stopped Rolling reveals multiple sides of this proto-feminist icon and unique mother-daughter team. Set against a rich tapestry of stunning visuals and sound, the film captures the turbulence and triumphs of their relationship and careers with clarity and compassion.
23 April | National Film and Sound Archive | nfsa.gov.au/events/when-camera-stopped-rolling-qa
Connection: EASS 2022 Exhibition
Discover a visceral body of work by Canberra’s very own ANU ceramic students. The exhibition explores overarching themes of human relationships (to each other or their environments), connection and social impact are explored through wheel-thrown ceramic vessels in distinct and original styles.
Until 1 May | Canberra Potters Society, 1 Aspinall Street, Watson | canberrapotters.com.au/project/eass-2022
10 Years at Strathnairn
The Different Strokes Art Group has been painting at Strathnairn every Wednesday for 10 years. 10 Years at Strathnairn is made up of 26 paintings all identical in size and orientation.
Each artist has contributed two paintings in their own style and medium from collage to watercolour. Without an overarching theme, the exhibition is colourful, varied and hangs well together thanks to the size, shape and curation of the pieces.
Until 1 May | Homestead Gallery, Strathnairn Arts Association, 90 Stockdill Drive, Holt | strathnairn.com.au
Kaleidoscope: An exhibition celebrating LGBTQI+ pride
The LGBTQI+ community is so much more than six colours. Diversity and inclusion are the glue that binds the community; the common thread that makes connections and provokes dialogue. Everyone has their own ideas about what it means to be part of this diverse rainbow community.
Belco Arts is celebrating the LGBTQI+ community, and all that makes up its diversity of perspectives, lived experiences and shared ambitions by inviting LGBTQI+ artists in Canberra and throughout Australia – at any level of artistic experience – to create and share what being queer and being part of the LGBTQI+ means to them.
Until 15 May | Belco Arts | belcoarts.com.au
Upending Expectations
As the title Upending Expectations: Contemporary Glass implies, the focus of this exhibition is on artists whose experimental, innovative and at times cross-disciplinary practice, utilises glass and its properties of light, transparency and reflection, through a diverse range of approaches.
14 April – 15 June | Canberra Glassworks | canberraglassworks.com
Tipping Point
Tipping Point is a continuation of Jenny Blake’s commitment to the subject of climate change. This body of work is a departure from larger works, presenting an intimate look at the subject through 15 smaller works framed in oak.
Until 1 May | Homestead Gallery, Strathnairn Arts Association, 90 Stockdill Drive, Holt | strathnairn.com.au
Jeffrey Smart
The year 2021 marks one hundred years since the birth of acclaimed Australian artist Jeffrey Smart. This major exhibition celebrates and commemorates this significant centenary.
One of Australia’s most celebrated artists, Smart sought inspiration from the world around him – looking to the environment of urban and industrial modernity – which he transformed through his imaginative sense of theatre and intimate understanding of geometry and composition. These potent and intriguing images have become emblematic of 20th and 21st-century urban experience.
Until 15 May | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London
From Shakespeare to Winehouse, Darwin to Dickens, the Beatles, Brontë sisters and Beckham, the National Portrait Gallery London holds the world’s most extensive collection of portraits. While they undergo the largest renovation of their building in 125 years, more than 80 treasures from their collection are on show in Canberra for this exclusive exhibition.
Until 17 July | National Portrait Gallery | portrait.gov.au
Fourth National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony
Ceremony remains central to the creative practice of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. From the intimate and personal to the collective and collaborative, ceremonies manifest through visual art, film, music and dance. This immersive exhibition and program of events will challenge and unsettle; animate and heal.
Through the work of 35 artists from around Australia, Ceremony reveals how the practice of ceremony is at the nexus of Country, culture and community.
Until 31 July | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
On Stage: Spotlight On our Performing Arts
This exhibition brings Australia’s performing arts history into the limelight, also providing a backstage pass to the action behind the scenes, showcasing perspectives on stage direction, costume design, scripts, contracts and musical scores used by performers.
Presented together for the first time and drawing exclusively from the collections of the National Library, the exhibition features items that have never before been on display. Other highlights include the earliest surviving Australian printed document, selections from the JC Williamson theatre archives, and other contemporary live music and theatre posters.
Until 7 August | National Library of Australia | nla.gov.au
Old Bus Depot Markets
With more than 100 stalls (including your old favourites), you’ll have the chance to shop for a brilliant variety of Australian-made, handcrafted and premium products. And this week it’s Portobello Road—a chance to hunt for original antiques, jewellery and collectables.
9.30 am – 2.30 pm Sunday | Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | obdm.com.au
Capital Region Farmers Markets
With more than 100 stallholders each week, the Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC Park has endless options when it comes to freshly picked, grown and handcrafted produce.
Fill the garden using their great selection of natives and landscape plants, fruit trees, seedlings and shrubs or fill your stomach with freshly baked bread, cakes, macarons and croissants.
7 am-11.30 am Saturday | Exhibition Park in Canberra | capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au
Southside Farmers Markets
This village market is located at Canberra College, making it the perfect place to duck in to grab what you need (and maybe a few things you don’t). Order an egg and bacon roll to start the morning as you explore the best of fresh seasonal veggies, handmade pasta and pet treats.
8 am – 11.30 am Sunday | 2 Launceston Street, Phillip | facebook.com
Feature image: Groovin The Moo. Photo by Tao Jones
