The Vault: A baby-friendly rave, cheese and wine market, roller disco and “the sexiest party you’ve ever been to”

Posted on 10 May, 2024

The Vault is winter’s hottest new venue – and you’ve probably walked right by it.

That’s because The Vault, a 1000-person capacity multi-use space that promises a wild calendar of events and festivals this winter, is located in an unassuming concrete and steel warehouse in the main car park of Fyshwick’s Dairy Road precinct, behind Capital Brewing Co.

Previously a storage facility for the brewery and the Royal Australian Mint, The Vault will be used for much more festive things this winter, with a program announced last night featuring Canberra’s first cheese and wine market, a baby-friendly rave, roller discos and a weekend packed with 36 hours of parties and international acts.

Promising to heat up Canberra’s winter, The Vault’s packed lineup has been curated by cultural development company Dionysus (the creative minds behind Art! Not Apart) to deliver an all-weather, heated venue that will offer something for everyone from next week until early September.

“We want to support the cultural landscape – not with events that are ‘good enough for Canberra’, but good for any city in the world,” says Dave Caffery, Curator and Founder of Dionysus. “The Vault has been curated with world-class experiences.”

“Hidden in the Dairy Road precinct, The Vault will heat Canberra’s Winter with markets, performances and warehouse parties until it is demolished. We are hoping it will be a highlight in Canberra’s cultural memory, and inform future programs.”

Can’t wait? Neither can we. Here’s what you can look forward to at The Vault this winter.

Skate of Mind by Big hART (18 May)

Credit: Big hART.

Skate of Mind takes Australia’s best skateboarders to regional and remote communities around Australia, generating unique environmental content and celebrating the positive mental health benefits of skateboarding for individuals and communities.

Young people are invited to skate The Vault and explore the nexus between skateboarding, animated image, music and environmentally threatened locations.

Saturday 18 May from 7 – 9 pm | Non-ticketed event, more info here

Tjaabi by Big HART (24 May)

Tjaabi. Credit: Big hART.

To finish their residency, Big hART presents Tjaabi on May 24, a contemporary intercultural music and theatre performance led by Ngarluma man Patrick Churnside.

Ten years in the making in the Pilbara, Tjaabi – Flood Country captures the urgencies of the 21st Century as the globe warms and the climate changes.

Patrick captures the many cultural and ecological pressures facing Aboriginal people in places like the Pilbara in the face of ever increasing pressures for new minerals, rare earth, and more ore. He does so through breathtaking music, profoundly personal narrative, and humour that cuts to the bone.

Friday 24 May from 6.30 – 8 pm | Tickets here | More info here

Too Many Crews (Saturday 25 May)

On Saturday 25 May, Canberra’s DJ crews descend into a warehouse of chaos for Too Many Crews, a wild party of 20-minute sets by 20+ DJ crews.

Reviving a party idea from 2013, when Literally Too Many DJs asked 20 DJs to mix 120 songs in two hours, this concept party has evolved into crew showcases where quick mixing is the game but anything goes.

The live music scene has often turned its nose up at our doof doof ‘noise’, and this is a tough time for the whole industry, so here’s a little remedy: all the crews coming together to put on a warehouse party, where everyone is welcome.

Saturday 25 May from 7 pm – 1 am | Tickets here | More info here

Oozy Boozy Cheese and Wine Market (7-9 June)

A cheese and wine market…where have you been all our lives!? A winter event to dive into nose first and presented in partnership with Le Cheeserie the Oozy Boozy Cheese and Wine Market will deliver a marketplace of sensory delights from 7-10 June.

Roam the stalls filled with waxy, vintage goods all from local cheese and wine merchants. Nibble on some sharp local feta and churn your way through some gooey camembert. And while you’re there, sip on and bottle up some grape wine selections.

You cheddar believe we’ll be there.

Friday 7 June from 5.30 pm until Sunday 9 June at 5.30 pm | Tickets here | More info here

Sound and Fury: Carnal. Art. Party. (Saturday 15 June)

Credit: Sound and Fury.

Prepare to feast your senses as Canberra’s dark and wild adults-only performance art party Sound and Fury returns on Saturday 15 June.

This isn’t just a party, it’s a full-blown sensory experience where you get to move through a non-traditional venue bathed in high-quality production and intimate artistic direction and where the audience is “encouraged to explore, imbibe, and become part of the magic”.

The theme is ‘carnal’ and the dress code is ‘dark as midnight’ so get ready to engage, dance, celebrate and party.

Saturday 15 June from 8 pm until 1 am | Tickets here | More info here

Roller Disco (5-6 June)

Then slide right back on into the 70s in the July school holidays with the Roller Disco.

Hosted by Rollerfit, The Vault’s Roller Disco will cater for shaky starters and smooth gliders with disco parties, group lessons, and kids holiday specials. Day or night, opt for a rolling boogie or sip on something at the candy bar.

5-6 June | Tickets here 

Australian Dance Party Presents The Dataset (28-29 June)

Credit: O+J Wikner Photography.

Modern dance fused with AI comes to life in The Dataset, a bold new contemporary dance work by Canberra’s award-winning Australian Dance Party. A dance between two bodies, light, sound, and AI, The Dataset imagines a world where we physicalise the data that forms us and interrogate its purpose and power.

What happens when the system rules us? What happens when the system is broken? The Dataset highlights our adaptability as humans in the face of adversity.

27-29 June | Tickets here

Stay On Sight and Decibel Creative present Skin On Skin (Friday 12 July)

The weekend of 12-14 July will see an epic (and we mean epic) lineup of gigs, with a whopping 36 hours of party across the weekend.

Kick off the weekend on Friday 12 July with Skin On Skin, one of the strongest names to emerge in underground dance music over the past five years – recently playing on Coachella’s main stage.

There’s even a return bus that you can book for $10 per person to take you from Canberra city to The Vault and back again at the end of the night.

Friday 12 July from 8pm until 11.55 pm | Tickets here

Bangin’ Beats and Bubbles (Saturday 13 July)

Are you a parent who misses partying? Do we have the event for you!

Meet Bangin’ Beats and Bubbles – designed for little ones and their parents who miss a dance!  Timed between two big parties in The Vault, this fun celebration uses world-class projectors, lighting and sound systems (with little ears in mind) for families to have a rare collision of big drops with innocent joy.

Three hours of banging beats will be sprinkled with a balloon drop, beach balls, bubbles, interactive activities, a soft baby area, a cosy wood fire and a real – that’s right old raver parents – a real bar (also slinging red cordial and skittles).

This gentle but outrageous party is ideal for ages 10 and under and their parents. There’s just one safety trick: you must have a kid to get in. Headline DJ to be announced, but get in quick.

Saturday 13 July from 2-5 pm | Tickets here 

Escape Ferocity presents Max Cooper (Saturday 13 July)

Credit: Alex Kozobolis.

Finally, experience a party from the future when underground powerhouses Escape Ferocity presents Max Cooper from the UK.

Max Cooper is a DJ but also holds a doctorate in genetics, both these passions feeding into his immersive audio-visual shows, the most recent of which was held at none other than The Acropolis in Athens. As you do.

Saturday 13 July 9 pm – Sunday 14 July 5 am | Tickets here

Winter Market (Sunday 28 July)

It’s harvest time! Rug up in your winter woollies for the Winter Market on Sunday 28 July, which will see the entire Dairy Road precinct turn into a giant market in collaboration with Southern Harvest Festival and the Truffle Festival.

Peruse the huge number of food stalls packed with artisan condiments, local wines, smooth olive oils and winter favourite – truffles.

More details coming soon

Heaps Gay (Saturday 10 August)

Sydney party starters Heaps Gay are bringing their “bougie and debauched hot mess party” to The Vault for a “messy, indulgent and inclusive art party” to Canberra this August.

Expect live music, performances and dancing to warm you up this winter with a lineup coming soon. Dress code? Hot Mess.

More details coming soon

turn&burn (Saturday 17 August)

Sunburn and Turning Tables, two eager collectives promoting Ngunnawal/Canberra’s unique music and arts scene, join forces for the first time to present a multi-sensory experience for one night only at The Vault.

With shifting environments that “complement and amplify emotions, intense moments of suspense and ecstasy aim to create a unique experience for all”, don’t miss this huge night of local talent.

Saturday 17 August at 5 pm | Tickets here

Dragon Dreaming Party (Saturday 24 August)

Love Dragon Dreaming Festival? Get ready to pre-party at The Vault’s Dragon Dreaming pre-festival event.

Think: a warehouse party of epic music with “incredible local and interstate DJs, show-stopping roving performers, captivating live visual artists, interactive art spaces, and top-notch production.”

Saturday 24 August at 7.30 pm | Tickets here