15+ events to look forward to this week in Canberra
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Thinking about the week ahead? Fill your calendar with these fun events.
From the National Folk Festival to a very special visit from the Easter Bunny, there’s sure to be something for everyone!
Special events and festivals
Retro Arcade at Canberra Centre
Live out your retro arcade dreams these school holidays, as Canberra Centre brings the nostalgia of your favourite arcade machines to life!
Step through the doors of the Retro Arcade and be transported into a classic 50s style arcade—sure to be a hit with the young and the young at heart.
Visitors will enjoy an immersive space where they’ll be able to enjoy for free retro arcade games including Munster Pinball, Atari Pong, Air Hockey and a number of others, including from Kingpin, Canberra’s leading entertainment venue, which was awarded Canberra’s Top Entertainment Venue for 2022 (for the third year in a row)!
8–23 April from 10 am–2 pm daily, and 4–7 pm on Friday nights | No bookings are required for this free event | Canberra Centre
360 ALLSTARS
360 ALLSTARS has taken its revolutionary urban circus around the world—now it’s making its official Canberra debut at Canberra Theatre Centre. The theatre will come to life with BMX, breakdancing, rap and drumming, showcasing diverse artforms that were born in the streets and mastered at the hands of these elite performers. It’s sure to leave you dizzy with excitement.
Tuesday 4 until Saturday 8 April | Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, Canberra City | Book here.
An evening with Deborah Frances-White, with special guest Steph Tisdell
If you are one of the 100 million people worldwide who has downloaded the juggernaut podcast The Guilty Feminist, then get your skates on! British author, comedian and podcaster Deborah Frances-White is coming to the National Museum of Australia. And she is going to record The Guilty Feminist live!
Her appearance at the National Museum of Australia will be her only Australian appearance this visit and the night promises to be extremely entertaining. The program starts at 7:00pm with refreshments available for purchase.
Wednesday 5 April | National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent Acton | Book here.
Mid-Week Mingle: CBR Gals x Amici
Make some new connections at the CBR Gals Mid-Week Mingle. With all the April blues setting in, take this event as an excuse to farewell the last rays of summer properly — wear your favourite pastels and bring a little extra sunshine. At (arguably) the most gorgeous and iconic establishment in Canberra, it’s sure to be a divine night filled with great wine and even better conversation.
Wednesday 5 April | 59 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra City | Book here.
National Folk Festival
The Folkie is back! Bringing world-class performers, established and emerging artists and music lovers together to discover, share, experience and celebrate the exciting world of folk, expect five days full of fun.
Thursday 6 until Monday 10 April | Various locations | Book here.
Tuff Nutterz Canberra
Measuring almost 300 square metres, Australia’s largest inflatable obstacle course is back to cause some chaos for the whole family. This supersize inflatable maze is packed with 30 fun and challenging obstacles to complete, including huge slides, climbing walls, hanging rails, balance balls and more! The kids will have a blast and so will you…if you’re game to try.
Friday 7 until Sunday 23 April | Parkes Place Lawns, King Edward Terrace, Parkes | Book here.
Playful Endeavour
Playful Endeavour is returning for the April school holidays for loose-parts play in Glebe Park! Take the kids along and let them run wild with open-ended, imaginative, self-directed play using a wide range of materials to spark the imagination such as hoops, poles, pipes, crates, ropes and tyres. Children are encouraged to let their imagination run free, using found and made materials to become whatever they want them to be! The best part? It’s free.
Saturday 8 until Sunday 23 March | Glebe Park, Canberra City | act.gov.au
The Great Easter Egg Hunt
It’s time for the Haig Park Village Market annual Easter egg hunt! Head along to enjoy an incredible day in the park, including the fun hunt and the free Easter arts and crafts table. Bookings are essential so get in quick!
Sunday 9 April | Haig Park, Braddon | Book here.
Meet the Easter Bunny at the Old Bus Depot Markets
Enjoy some chocolate and freshly baked goodies as the Easter Bunny hops into the Old Bus Depot Markets! And then after the hunt for chocolate eggs, it’s a hunt for original jewellery, art and homewares. See you there?
Sunday 9 April | 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | obdm.com.au
Stage and Screen
Danny Bhoy—Now Is Not A Good Time
Internationally-renowned and critically-acclaimed comic Danny Bhoy is on his way to Canberra and get ready to laugh at his world premiere of his brand new show Now Is Not A Good Time. Hurry, this show will sell out!
Monday 3 until Tuesday 4 April | Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, Canberra City | Book here.
Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2023
The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is back in Canberra for its 34th edition! Running until 5 April, enjoy more than 260 screenings at Palace Electric Cinema of 39 exceptional French films.
Take part in some of the special events happening throughout the festival and savour French wine and delicacies before your screening including HerCanberra’s own Ladies Night as well as Taste of France, Human Rights Night and Closing Night…the possibilities are endless!
Until Wednesday 5 April | Palace Electric Cinema, 2 Phillip Law Street, Canberra City | Book here.
Exhibitions
A Stranger I Know Well
The exhibition’s witty and purposeful use of reflection provides the viewer space to consider the value of (self) image in our visually saturated culture. Allowing the artist’s own insecurities to manifest themselves in a body of work that puts the gaze on display, it’ll make you think.
Until Sunday 9 April | 21 Blaxland Cres, Griffith | m16artspace.com
Fagpile—Pink Is Fun
Created by Gerald Jones, this work showcases unique iconography in their work, featuring recurring themes of the artist’s easel and the edifice, and the head. Inviting the viewer to form their own allegory of the queer artist’s “fagpile” or detritus. In this body of work, pink plays a central role with political and emotional connotations, particularly in relation to queerness.
Until Sunday 9 April | 21 Blaxland Cres, Griffith | m16artspace.com
Cosmotechnic Telepathics in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Through investigations into digital telepathic infrastructure such as The Internet of Everything (the aim to automate all human processes), and current developments in Brain Computer Interfaces, in this exhibition a range of artists explore the differences between ‘regenerative’ and ‘extractive’ forms of telepathy.
Until Sunday 9 April | 21 Blaxland Cres, Griffith | m16artspace.com
10th Anniversary of the National Apology for Forced Adoptions at Parliament House
This exhibition is a audio-visual display commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the National Apology for Forced Adoptions at Parliament House. The apology acknowledged that the forced separation of mothers from babies ‘created a lifelong legacy of pain and suffering’.
Watch historic footage of speeches given in the Great Hall on 21 March 2013, including the full Apology and responses from former MP the Hon Steve Irons and former Senator Rachel Siewert.
Saturday 16 April | Australian Parliament House, 1 Parliament Drive, Canberra | aph.gov.au
Chromology: a solo exhibition by Luca Siliquini
This exhibition of oil paintings shows the effects that the colours of Canberra have on an Italian-born artist.
Until Sunday 16 April | Humble House Gallery, 93 Wollongong Street, Fyshwick | humblehouse.com.au
Matthew Thorne: Jingo was born in the Slum
This darkly powerful exhibition reflects on the bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang’s exploits in late 1870s Australia and the enduring legacy of the Kelly myth in contemporary culture. The exhibition includes Alice Babidge’s costumes from the film as well as iconic paintings from the Commonwealth Sidney Nolan collection of which CMAG is the custodian.
Until Sunday 16 April | Canberra Museum and Gallery, Cnr London Circuit and Civic Square, Canberra City | cmag.com.au
Light, Colour, Humanity—The Legacy of Alastair Swayn
The exhibition, Light, Colour, Humanity—The Legacy of Alastair Swayn is curated by colour and combines the three elements: Light, Colour and Humanity. Curated by Ian Wong from Monash University and presented through the Alastair Swayn Foundation 2023 Legacy Showcase, you won’t want to miss this.
Until Sunday 28 May| Canberra Museum and Gallery, Cnr London Circuit and Civic Square, Canberra City | cmag.com.au
