Anyone else in a holidaze? Here’s how to pass the time until New Year’s
Posted on
It’s the day after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. Unless you’re keen to head out and enjoy everything Canberra has to offer.
While we’re all enjoying the start of the holidays (is anyone else counting down to New Year’s Eve?), here are a few fun things to do around town.
Special events + festivals
New Year’s Eve Canberra
Get excited!
The official Canberra NYE celebration, this family-friendly, all-ages, accessible event is the perfect way to end the year on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.
Pack a picnic and enjoy food trucks, live music and more ahead of the 9 pm fireworks.
31 December, 6 pm – 9 pm (DJs), with fireworks at 9 pm and midnight | Lake Burley Griffin | visitcanberra.com.au
PS Advisory Canberra International
It’s a summer full of tennis—and it’s in full swing (get it?) when the top players from across the globe arrive in the capital to compete in the Canberra International.
Get ready to witness some of the worlds best tennis players battle it out for a total prize pool of USD $190,000.
Sunday 1 until Saturday 7 January | Canberra Tennis Centre, 3 Riggall Place, Lyneham | Book here.
Food + wine
Live music Fridays at Blackbird
Every Friday night a different artist will play. Drop in for amazing cocktails in a great cosy and candlelit atmosphere, with some amazing talent on stage!
Friday 30 December | 114 Alinga Street, Canberra City | blackbirdbar.com.au
End of week celebrations in the garden at Hyatt Hotel
Did someone say a luxurious garden party to celebrate the end of the week? Head to the Hyatt Hotel to experience the best of summer evenings with delicious food from live food stations and refreshing drinks, including cocktails, G&T, beers, wines, and spirits, served every Thursday and Friday. There will also be live music!
No booking is required, walk-ins only.
Thursday 29 and Friday 30 December | Hyatt Hotel Canberra, 120 Commonwealth Avenue, Parkes | hyatt.com
The Wizard’s Den
Witches and wizards of Canberra, behold! Get ready to unleash your inner magical being as you brew potions, cast spells, and drink more mead than you can shake a wand at—at this pop-up bar, you’ll concoct devilish brews for good (or evil), all under the watchful eye of their wise potions master.
Until Tuesday 31 January 2023 | Zoo Bar, London Circuit, Canberra City | Tickets here.
Cressida Campbell: Grazing by the Garden
Inspired by Cressida Campbell’s love of gardens and shared food between friends, the National Gallery is hosting Grazing by the Garden. Design your own grazing experience and choose from a selection of delicious scones with ribbon sandwiches, local grazing boards or a rustic pizza flatbread prepared daily. Espresso coffee, specialty tea or wine and beer will also be available, perfect for a light lunch in the Gallery’s dining room with scenic views of the Sculpture Garden and Lake Burley Griffin.
Until Sunday 19 February 2023 | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
Exhibitions
Blueprint
A ballot box designed to be carried 500km on the back of a camel. A ball gown hand-sewn to celebrate the peaceful achievement of Federation. A boomerang-shaped petition calling for constitutional recognition in 2013. These objects speak to what makes Australia’s democracy so, well… Australian.
Blueprint at the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD) is a new exhibition that shares the blueprint upon which our distinctive democracy has been built. Head along today!
Ongoing | 18 King George Terrace, Parkes | moadoph.gov.au
Disrupt, persist, invent
Australia, home of the ‘fair go’. But is it really the free and fair place you’d hope for? What can we change? From noisy protest to quiet persistence, Disrupt, persist, invent explores the many ways people have achieved social change in Australia.
Pop into the National Archives of Australia to discover powerful stories of people and their actions, from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Until Monday 12 June 2023 | National Archives of Australia | naa.gov.au
Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages
Celebrating the power and diversity of female spiritual beings in cultural traditions and beliefs across the globe, this exhibition explores how goddesses, demons, witches, spirits and saints have shaped our understanding of the world.
Featuring more than 160 objects from the British Museum’s exceptional collection, this is a timely exhibition that explores and questions feminine power, authority and identity.
Until Sunday 27 August 2023 | National Museum of Australia | nma.gov.au
Small Works 2022
This collection sees over eighty small-scale artworks across a range of mediums—paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, glass, ceramics and weaving—and it’s the perfect opportunity to take home an affordable piece by an artist that you’ve always loved or just discovered.
Until Friday 23 December | Beaver Galleries, 81 Denison Street, Deakin | beavergalleries.com.au
Pictures of You
Have you ever tried to explain it is to be YOU? To a friend, a partner, your family, a professional – even to yourself? Now imagine having a disability; of the prejudices that come with that, and the challenges of engaging people to look beyond the disability to the whole of your personality. This is the focus of the Pictures of You exhibition, which explores a unique approach to self-portrayals of people with lived experience of physical and mental health disabilities – collaborating as equals with a professional photographer to produce a portrait honestly reflecting the whole person.
Until Sunday 5 February 2023 | Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s to Now
Featuring 125 images from the last 50 years, all uniquely captured by celebrated documentary photographers, Viewfinder is an exhibition that provides a fascinating glimpse into the changing face of Australia.
Walk through the exhibition and you’ll see the faces and stories of migrants, shearers, dancers, miners, gardeners, surfers, and bronzed bodies at the beach—but it also reveals how much photography has evolved over the years, from black and white captures to the vibrant high-definition images of today.
This is a reflective exhibition that can be enjoyed by all ages. Read more here.
Until Sunday 30 April 2023 | National Library of Australia | nla.gov.au
Stage + screen
Sunset Cinema
Sunset cinema is back for summer and with even more screening nights, and food options (hello popcorn and burgers from the Hungry Brown Cow) you better be excited. Screening weekly Wednesday to Saturday until February 2023, it’s the perfect opportunity for movie lovers to bask in the warm nights while enjoying some of their favourite films.
Until Saturday 25 February 2023 | Australian National Botanic Gardens | sunsetcinema.com.au/canberra
