40+ ways to spend the final week of October

Posted on 23 October, 2023

October is coming to an end but that doesn’t mean the fun is slowing down – in fact, this week is overflowing with events.

Head along to see the Queensland Ballet, have some wicked fun with Halloween-themed events, and make time for the Handmade Market. There’s so much happening in Canberra!

Looking for even more to do in Canberra? Check out our What’s On section to find hundreds of events happening around town.

Special Events and Festivals

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Queensland Ballet is touring to Canberra for a very magical show – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Capturing the hearts of many, young and old, in the centuries since it was written, this fantastical masterpiece interweaves the magical realm of fairies and woodland creatures with the mortal world of unrequited lovers. All through exceptional chorography of course.

Wednesday 25 until Saturday 28 October | Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, Canberra City | Book here.

Hackett’s 60th Birthday Celebrations

This weekend, the Hackett Community Association is partnering with local churches to celebrate Hackett’s 60th birthday.

This Saturday 28 October from 3-8 pm, the grounds of the Holy Cross Anglican and St Margaret’s Uniting Churches will come to life with stalls, displays, music and food, as well as attractions for children.

A highlight will be the Hackett Squares Artshow. All entries to be inspired by Hackett, and accompanied by a 50-word statement which explains how the entry links to the suburb or its community.

A birthday cake will be cut at 4 pm by some of the original residents of Hackett.

Saturday 28 October from 3-8 pm | Holy Cross Anglican and St Margaret’s Uniting Church | hackett.asn.au

Handmade Market

Canberra’s Handmade Market is back for spring. Showcasing over 250+ genuine Australian designers and producers, you’ll discover everything from limited edition fashion, ceramics, handcrafted furniture, children’s toys and clothing, original artworks, jewellery, and accessories along with their indoor gourmet food and wine pavilion!

Saturday 28 until Sunday 29 October | Exhibition Park, Budawang and Coorong Pavilions, Lyneham | More information here.

The Pop Your Business The Conference 2023

After the huge success of their first conference last year – Pop Your Business is back in 2023 and this year’s conference will be bigger and better. The conference is two full days of high-quality business content with sought-after speakers that will inspire and motivate you to grow your business with integrity and intention. Some of the speakers this year include Kristina Karlsson (Founder of Kikki K and Dream Life) Anita Siek (Wordfetti) and more.

Friday 27 until Saturday 28 October | Mercure Canberra, Braddon | Book .

Gemcraft and Mineral Spring Show

This is one for the whole family! Dealers and fossickers will be there selling jewellery, gemstones, fossils, rocks, mineral specimens and lapidary supplies. There will also be lucky dips, sapphire sieving, gold panning, sausage sizzle and much more.

Saturday 28 until Sunday 29 October | Exhibition Park, Federal Highway, Mallee Pavilion, Watson | More information here.

M16 Artspace Open Day

Established in 1985, there’s no denying that M16 Artspace is an iconic Canberra hub for artistic expression, inclusivity, and creativity. Holding an Open day to connect the community with resident studio artists, during this special event you’ll be able to purchase pieces directly from the creators, partake in workshops, and gain insight into the creative processes of the artists!

Saturday 28 October | M16 Artspace21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.

Oktoberfest

This will be a wunderbar weekend of authentic German beer, hilarious party games, fun competitions, dancing and oompah music. Expect authentic German bier, traditional German food, German music and dancing, Beardmeister, Miss Oktoberfest, Strong Man, Fingerhakeln, party games and much more.

Friday 27 until Sunday 29 October | Harmonie German Club, 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah | More information here.

Halloween Tribute Show

Boo-ya, this fancy-dress party and tribute show looks like wicked fun! Featuring tributes to Metallica (performed by Slaytallica), Audioslave (performed by Sonic Butler), Korn (performed by Kornholio), and more, head to The Basement this Halloween.

Friday 27 October | 2 Cohen Street, Belconnen | Book here.

PhotoAccess Open Day

Ever wanted to know what happens behind the scenes at the ACT and region’s centre for contemporary photography, film and video and media arts? At their Open Day head along to see it for yourself, participate in fun activities (like seeing their homemade Afghan camera in action, and having your family portrait taken with a large format camera), explore market stalls with heaps of second-hand bargain camera gear, but original artworks from local photographers or just relax and enjoy some live music!

Saturday 28 October | PhotoAccess, 30 Manuka Circle, Griffith | More information here.

Halloween Party

Featuring an interactive screening of the cult film The Craft (1996), themed food, drink, bingo, games, and prizes, this party is the place to go to eat, drink and be scary! Kicking off at 4 pm and running late into the evening, from market stalls to a costume party and an incredibly special appearance by Melbourne author Maria Lewis, (who will be signing copies of her new novel The Graveyard Shift) this has something for everyone looking to add a little fright to their night.

Saturday 28 October | Verity Lane Market, 45 East Row, Canberra City | Book here.

Halloween Zumbathon

Dress up and join in on a spook-tactular Zumba dancefest! Raising money for Kulture Break, for 90 minutes you’ll dance your way through your favourite Zumba tunes as well as some Halloween-themed tracks. Costumes are highly encouraged as well – just make sure you’re comfy enough to boo-gy!

Saturday 28 October | 28 Georgina Crescent, Kaleen | Book here.

Dance of the Dead

You wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere else. From hair-raising decorations to spooky snacks, this Halloween Transit Bar is bringing an immersive Halloween experience you won’t forget. Getting dressed up in some frightful frocks is highly encouraged – and with the chance to win a $200 voucher, why wouldn’t you?

Saturday 28 October, 8 pm | 143 London Circuit, Canberra City | Book here.

Canberra Brick Show 2023

This is one for LEGO fans of all ages! Some of Australia’s best builders are coming together to exhibit more than 250 tables of awesome creations. From a massive train layout to dozens of vehicles, a great ball contraption, Technic displays, mosaics, Star Wars displays, historic collections and more, check out the displays, take place in interactive activities, and eat some great food!

Saturday 28 until Sunday 29 October | Thoroughbred Park, 1 Randwick Road, Lyneham | More information here.

Craft + Design Canberra Anytime Open Studios

This is a unique opportunity for you to engage directly with local artists, craftspeople and designers in private studios and see behind the scenes at Canberra’s dynamic arts organisations. Taking place at various locations, you’ll gain insight into the creative process, engage directly with artists, designers, and organisations learning about their practices and have the opportunity to purchase work directly from the makers!

Saturday 28 until Sunday 29 October | Various locations | More information here.

Halloween Social Dance

Calling all witches, ghouls, goblins, and ghosts, you’re invited to take your wicked selves along to a spooky night of dancing with Crystal Ballroom Canberra. A drink is included on arrival, along with some nibbles so get ready to have some skele-fun (sorry).

Saturday 28 October, 7 pm | 6/38 Reed Street North, Greenway | Book here.

Trick or Treat at Old Bus Depot Markets

Perfect for your little monsters, there will be a Trick or Treat spectacular at the Old Bus Depot Markets! Pick up all your spooky hand-crafted needs and explore all of the stalls.

Sunday 29 October | 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | More information here.

Food and Wine

White Gloves: Food & Drinks with Friends

Ever wanted to get up close and personal with highlights from the National Library’s Collection? In this special event you’ll be able to a broad range of food and drink-related items—from menus and tablecloths to paintings and serving-ware—with a specially curated display for one night only. And with drinks, canapés and a short talk from Canberra food legend Janet Jeffs, it promises to be the ultimate culinary experience.

Thursday 26 October | National Library of Australia, Parkes Place West, Parkes | Book here.

Stage and screen

Halloween Double Feature: Pearl + X

In honour of Halloween, NFSA are presenting a double feature of terror with Pearl and X at Arc Cinema! Filmed back-to-back in New Zealand, Ti West’s films introduced the world to Pearl (Mia Goth). She is introduced as the elderly killer in X, and then Pearl fills out her backstory and offers an interesting view into her twisted mind and what drives her to kill. It will be a horror filled night – just the way we like it.

Friday 27 October | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, McCoy Circuit, Acton | Book here.

COVEN

Get ready for a night of mortal frights and otherworldly delights as The Vaudevixens summon you to join their Coven this Halloween. Performing at the Belconnen Arts Centre, experience the magic of dance and burlesque as sensuality meets the arcane and the powerful feminine forces within us all are celebrated. Strictly R18+, expect nudity, strong sexual references, adult themes, and magic. The Coven is beckoning – will you answer?

Saturday 28 October, 8 pm | Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | Book here.

Collections

Collections by The Training Ground is an inspiring selection of group, solo, duet and trio dance works, as well as a few student-devised works, showcasing the strength of the school’s dancers, our studio and our achievements in 2023.

Saturday 28 October, 7pm | Erindale Theatre, McBryde Crescent, Wanniassa | Book here

Halloween Ladies Night

This show will leave you screaming for more. Promising spine-tingling thrills, this ladies’ night will be full of Halloween horror-themed stage shows, spook-tacular models strutting their stuff, lip-sync battles and music that will keep you dancing until you die. Channel your inner creature of the night and don a spooky costume – you won’t want to miss any of these ghoulish delights.

Saturday 28 October, 6 pm | 32 Grimwade Street, Mitchell | Book here.

Decadence and Debauchery

Prepare to have a decadent time as acclaimed burlesque stars from across the country take over Verity Lane Markets to delight audiences with burlesque, cabaret, fire eating, sideshow and more. Decadence and Debauchery will be Auslan interpreted, and for those unable to attend in person there will be a live stream available so you can see the fun and frolics from your own home.

Saturday 28 October | Verity Lane Market, 50 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra City | Book here.

Fright Night: Cult Cinema Classics with Venus Mantrap

Join NFSA for this special Halloween double feature as you revisit the original Scream (1996) in 35mm and watch the most recent sequel in the franchise, Scream VI (2023). Featuring a special live performance, it’ll be a spook-tactular evening.

Saturday 28 October | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, McCoy Circuit, Acton | Book here.

Carmen the Cabaret

This is a brand new, deliciously subversive take on the world’s most famous opera. Using all the hit tunes from the opera Carmen, this show will comically interrogate the opera’s story and music, and explore how performing Carmen affects those who dare to take on the role…like if Carmen is a ‘femme fatale’, why does she end up dying? And if Carmen inhabited your soul, what would she tell you? You’ll be laughing, crying, and singing along.

Saturday 28 October | Smith’s Alternative, 76 Alinga Street, Melbourne Building, Canberra City | Book here.

Music

Wednesday Lunchtime Concert: Charles Huang

Charles Huang will astonish you with his piano skills as he performs Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, nicknamed “The Hunt”, one of Rachmaninoff’s best-loved compositions, his Prelude in G minor, along with a selection of Preludes and Fugues from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Did we mention that this is his eighth solo recital?

Wednesday 25 October | Wesley Music Centre, 20 National Circuit, Forrest | Book here.

ANU Orchestra Concerto Gala and ANU Jazz Orchestra In Concert

Immerse yourself in an enchanting evening of music with this amazing two part concert. Kicking off with classical music from the ANU Orchestra Concerto Gala (which will include the world premiere of “Dying to Know; Afraid to Find Out” by ANU Composition student Grace Abigail), after the orchestra you can head along the Athenaeum to hear the ANU Jazz Orchestra conducted by Greg Stott. Make sure to bring your dancing shoes!

Thursday 26 October | Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, William Herbert Place, 100, City | Book here.

SAFIA

Canberra trio SAFIA are touring! True to their reputation for theatrical performances, the band will unveil live show alongside the new album which features singles ’Today’ ‘Falling Down’ and ’The Thing About Love. As no strangers to the Australian music scene, supporting locals has never looked so fun.

Friday 27 October | Cultural Centre Kambri, Tanggney Road, 153, Acton | Book here.

Genevieve Lacey and James Crabb In Concert

Come along to the National Museum of Australia for a compelling program of music curated by musician Genevieve Lacey, composer of the Museum’s permanent sound installation, Breathing Space. Combing her talent with James Crabb’s mastery of the classical accordion, the program will trace the duo’s manifold interests in folk music, Western European classics and contemporary music, with pieces written especially for them.

Friday 27 October | National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton | Book here.

Will Todd’s Mass In Blue and Jazz Missa Brevis

Jazz lovers get excited! This is a rare opportunity to hear British composer Will Todd’s exciting Mass in Blue, presented by the Llewellyn Choir. This is a not-to-be-missed night.

Saturday 28 October | Yarralumla Uniting Church, Denman Street, Yarralumla | Book here.

Chamber Classics: All That Glitters

This program flies in the face of Shakespeare and revels in the sparkling effervescence of some of the most delightful chamber works for woodwinds. Opening with Beethoven’s Gassenhauer Trio, the program culminates in Louise Farrenc’s C minor wind sextet, an extraordinary piece of nineteenth-century chamber music.

Sunday 29 October | Albert Hall, 100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla | Book here.

Exhibitions

Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize

The National Portrait Gallery is hosting the Art Gallery of NSW’s touring exhibition Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize. Celebrating 100 years of Australia’s oldest and most-loved portrait award and reflects upon the changing face of the nation, this exhbition delves into the controversies and the commonplace, the triumphant and the thwarted, and honours the artists who have made the Archibald Prize the most sought-after accolade in Australian art today.

Until early 2024 | National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes | More information here.

Spoon Theory Exhbition

Spoon Theory is an exhibition of spoons crafted to abstractly represent some of the emotions and traits experienced and exhibited by a person living with an invisible illness. Highlighting autism and depression, spoon has been crafted from scratch and represents an emotion or trait faced by a specific individual, the artist herself.

Friday 27 October until Saturday 9 December | Craft + Design Canberra, 180 London Circuit, Level 1, North Building, Canberra City | More information here.

Testamur 5

Displaying artwork created in or inspired by the M16 Artspace CAW Workshops, this is the fifth iteration of the Testamur exhibition and something not to be missed. Head along to see works created 18 month period (and that have extended the participants in different directions from their everyday practice).

Thursday 26 October until Sunday 19 November | M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.

The Eddy and The Flow by Heidi Smith

Exploring resilience, survival and hanging onto anything that floats, this exhibition by Heidi Smith are memory drawings created to acknowledge moments in her life that have carried meaning into her subconscious. Using a mix of drawings and assemblages, she hopes that viewers see The eddy and the flow as an expression of the inundation of imagination, experience and purpose.

Friday 27 October until Sunday 19 November | | M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.

Semi-Rural by Lucy Stackpool

Examining semi-rural landscapes south of Canberra, focused around Mount Rob Roy and Mount Campbell, Lucy Stackpool has created a series of works that explore population growth in regional Australia (mostly due to the unique circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and the flow on rising costs of urban housing and lifestyles), referencing semi-rural infrastructure and services as markers of human life imposed on the landscapes.

Friday 27 October until Sunday 19 November | | M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.

Emerging Artist Support Scheme Exhbition

The Gallery of Small Things has brought back its 4th Emerging Artist Support Scheme show, presenting the works of Alicia Cox (Ceramics workshop), Janet Jeffs (Painting Workshop) and Jonathon Zalakos (Gold & Silversmithing workshop) from the ANU School of Art + Design. The exhibition runs every day, giving visitors longer to enjoy it’s small space (it’s less than 6 metres square!).

Until Sunday 29 October | 27 Wade Street, Watson | More information here.

Voyage

Showcasing animated watercolours from Southeast Asia, Voyage: Experience the William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings of Southeast Asia is a digital installation bringing to life a stunning selection of botanical and zoological watercolours from the National Museum of Singapore. The best part? This exhbition is free!

Until Sunday 5 November | National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton | nma.gov.au

Truth & Beauty by Penelope Boyd, Colleen Stapleton and Narelle Zeller.

From the colourist hues of Collen Stapleton’s alla prima portraits, to the hyper-realism of internationally acclaimed Narelle Zeller and the magical realism of Canberra artist Penelope Boyd’s mischievous beauties, this exhbition is a stunning display of works from adored figurative realists. Running until Sunday 5 November, make sure not to miss it!

Until Sunday 5 November | Grainger Gallery, Bldg 3.3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick | More information here.

Kaleidoscope II

Following the success of the inaugural Kaleidoscope exhibition in 2022, Belco Arts has once again invited LGBTQI+ artists in Canberra and throughout Australia to create and share what being queer means to them. A celebration of wonderful uniqueness, the diversity of perspectives, lived experiences and shared ambitions, the hope from Belco Arts is to promote positive dialogue and revel in the richness the LGBTQI+ Collective brings into the lives of everyone.