Christmas markets, a Candlelight Christmas special, and more – here’s your guide to what’s on in Canberra
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Christmas markets, food, a Candlelight Christmas special, and more – here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Canberra this week.
Helping you to fill your days with fun, read on!
Special Events and Festivals
TLC Co Store Online Pop Up!
the TLC Co Store knows this time of year can get hectic. Between school runs, holiday prep, and everything in between, finding time to pop into the store can be tricky.
That’s why they’re thrilled to announce the launch of their online pop-up shop, filled teeth the cutest outfits for your little ones. The shop will be open from Black Friday (8 am, Friday 29 November) until they close for the year on Friday 20 December, giving you plenty of time to browse and shop at your convenience.
Until Friday 20 December | Online | More information here.
Tick, Tick…Boom!
Before there was Andrew Garfield on the screen, there were other greats on the stage playing Jonathan Larson – and this is your chance for the true experience of Tick, Tick…Boom!
Three of Canberra’s best performers are taking the stage under the direction of Nikki Fitzgerald to bring Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical musical to life, exploring the challenges of artistic ambition and personal fulfilment. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be singing along long into the night.
Until Saturday 21 December | 14 Spinifex Street, Kingston | Book here.
Markets
Month of Merry at The Little Burley Market
Take your Christmas shopping lakeside with three Christmas-themed markets!
The Little Burley Markets are embracing the silly season with their ‘Month of Merry’ – three days filled with festive entertainment, activities, and more. Bringing together over 70 stallholders, you’ll find culinary creations, handcrafted jewellery, artwork, candles, and even puppy couture. Who needs to hit the shops when you can do your Christmas shopping then amongst the beautiful backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin?
Saturday 21 December, 9 am – 2 pm | Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes | More information here.
Christmas at Haig Park Village Markets
The ultimate Christmas experience awaits this December, and you can find it in Haig Park.
Taking place across four fun-filled Sundays, the Haig Park Village Markets will be helping you sleigh the gift game with their festive extravaganza. Expect gift shopping, culinary delights (hello Christmas puddings), free photos with Santa, gingerbread making, carols, and more!
Until Sunday 22 December, 8 am – 2 pm | Haig Park, 14 Girrahween Street, Braddon | More information here.
Christmas at Old Bus Depot Markets
Hold onto your Santa hat, because every Sunday throughout December, the Old Bus Depot Markets will be selling holiday-themed high-quality handcrafts.
From fresh Christmas trees to decorations, and family photos with Santa (including a session for your four-legged friends), you’ll be sure to discover a festive find. After all, ‘tis the season to do some last-minute shopping…
Until Sunday 22 December, 9,30 am – 2.30 pm | 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | More information here.
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
Food and Wine
The Canberra Distillery Pop-Up Bar
Who doesn’t love gin? Local Gin distillery, The Canberra Distillery, are showcasing their wonderful range of gin’s at Westfield Woden with an exclusive Christmas pop-up at Westfield Woden.
Westfield members can visit The Canberra Distillery Pop Up Bar Friday to Sunday to redeem a free drink! You potentially could get some Christmas gifts sorted as well!
Until Sunday 22 December | Westfield Woden, Keltie Street, Phillip | More information here.
High Tea at Louis
Looking for a sophisticated and refined experience high tea experience? Nestled within the elegant confines of Hotel Realm, you can’t go past high tea at Louis.
Offering a meticulously curated array of delicate finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones, and an exquisite selection of pastries and desserts that showcase the finest craftsmanship (along with an impressive tea menu) it will be an occasion to remember.
Every Saturday, 2 pm – 4 pm | Louis, 18 National Circuit, Barton | Book here.
QTea High Tea x Space Kitchen
There’s no cucumber sandwich in sight at this high tea experience. And you better get excited because QT has partnered with Space Kitchen in what be the most delicious collaboration ever.
Taking their high tea offering to the next level, the QTea High Tea x Space Kitchen experience is all about indulgence – from the sweet to the savoury. Lock eyes with Canberra’s first cake trolley featuring Space Kitchen cakes, choose from 28 teas (along with the prettiest of cocktails featuring special brews) and dig into tiers of treats that include Wagyu bresaola bites and picture-perfect serves of duck liver parfait for a decadent dining experience.
Every Saturday, with sittings at 12 pm and 12.30 pm | 1 London Circuit, City | Book here.
Stage and Screen
Canberra Comedy Club Christmas Special
Wrap up the year with some laughs with the Canberra Comedy Club Christmas Special.
Presenting the 12 comics of Christmas – with short sets from some of your favourite local region acts including Hamish Hudson, Tom Gibson, Sue Stanic, Laura Johnston, Chris Marlton, Joe Kinnish and more – it promises to be a night of Christmas merriment.
Wednesday 18 December, 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm | Fun Time Pony, 122 Alinga Street, City | Book here.
Christmas Stories with R.A. Spratt
Best-selling children’s author R.A. Spratt is coming to the stage to perform her favourite Christmas tales.
The bestselling author of Friday Barnes and Nanny Piggins will be bringing high energy, action-packed, side-splittingly, hilarious storytelling at its festive best, and featuring Christmas carols written by Nanny Piggins herself. Take the whole family along for a holiday season giggle!
Thursday 19 December, 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm | The Theatre, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | Book here.
Sunset Cinema
Your favourite outdoor cinema is back for the summer with their signature mix of new releases, all-time classics and family favourites.
Catch new summer blockbusters like Gladiator 2, the latest superhero action Venom: The Last Dance and don’t miss the brand new dark comedy sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in the stunning Australian National Botanic Gardens. Grab yourself a bean bag, some snacks and enjoy!
Until Sunday 22 February 2025, 6.30 pm – 11.30 pm | The Australian National Botanic Gardens, Clunies Ross Street, Acton | Book here.
Music
Candlelight Christmas Special: Christmas Movie Soundtracks
Fever’s Candlelight Concert Series will transform the James Fairfax Theatre at the National Gallery of Australia with thousands of candles, bringing special holiday-themed shows to Canberra. The unique musical programming features classic Christmas carols, promising an unforgettable evening!
Friday 20 December, from 7.30 pm | James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia, Parkes | Book here.
Exhibitions
Pattern Recognition
Pattern Recognition celebrates female and non-binary artists from the ACT region who use abstraction and design principles to explore colour perception and spatial relationships, highlighting the ways artists approach colour, geometry, and form.
While the artists in the exhibition explore similar visual terrain, embracing non-objective abstraction, repetition and pattern, their underlying conceptual investigations and influences vary and include post-colonial and feminist frameworks, climate activism, architecture, memory, extended pictorial space, mindfulness, and sensory engagement with the materials. The exhibition investigates regeneration, exploring the influence of traditional craft disciplines on contemporary art practice.
A collaborative project presented as part of the 2024 Craft + Design Canberra Festival
Until 25 January 2025 | Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 44 Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes | ccas.com.au/current
Oikos by Peter McLean
Peter McLean is an artist with a deep affinity for nature and the environment. In this exhibition, he explores the ‘oikos‘.
In ancient Greece oikos referred to both a house and members of a family/household. The modern English prefix of eco derives from oikos, as in the terms ecology and economy. In drawings and prints, he emphasises the relational aspect of nature: the landscape as home, and all earth’s species as family.
Until February 2025 | Pivot Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | More information here.
Grounded by Robyn Evans, Sabina Moore, Amanda Andlee Poland
The Grounded Collective is three artists researching place, time and memory. Through drawing and sculpture, the act of making is amplified by each artist in a three-way conversation to produce site-specific works, both collaborative and individual, that overlaps ideas and practice.
Head along to see the works of drawing practitioner Robyn Evans, sculptor and educator Sabina Moore and ceramics artist Amanda Andlee Poland.
Until February 2025 | Pivot Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | More information here.
Echoes of Absence by Rebecca Tapscott
Rebecca Tapscott’s cyanotype print wall installation, Echoes of Absence, is a poignant exploration of loss and interconnectedness, drawing from personal and environmental experiences.
Crafted from the remains of animals lost due to human impacts, these prints symbolise the absences in the tapestry of life and the installation vividly portrays the profound impact of our actions on interrelated habitats, forming a collective image of ecological fragility.
Until February 2025 | Pivot Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | More information here.
Dear Forests…
This is an open postcard exhibition.
Artists have been invited from throughout Australia to share in bringing a lens of focus on the world’s forests, the need for their safe keeping and preservation inclusive of the wildlife within. Asking artists to embrace their imagination to raise awareness, and provoke dialogue, political activism, boldness, experimentation, thoughtfulness, playfulness, or deep contemplation, all works are eligible for consideration of the AUD500 People’s Choice Award.
Until February 2025 | Pivot Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | More information here.
Ethel Carrick
Apart of a National Gallery initiative celebrating the work of all women artists to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life, you can head along to the NGA to see the work of Ethel Carrick (1872–1952).
A pioneering artist who forged new ground in the early twentieth century with her bold and vibrant post-impressionist works, this will be the first retrospective of Carrick’s work for nearly half a century and an opportunity to assess her work in a new light.
Until April 2025 | National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place East, Parkes | Book here.
Anne Dangar
Coming to the NGA as part of a summer double bill with Ethel Carrick, don’t miss seeing retrospectives from Anne Dangar (1885–1951).
One of Australia’s most important, yet underacknowledged modern artists, the exhibition will explore Dangar’s life and practice, as well as her important position in French modern art as one of most dedicated and truly modern Australian artists of the twentieth century.
Until April 2025 | National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place East, Parkes | Book here.
Sport
Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers
The Big Bash is back in Canberra this summer!
Get ready for huge hits, classic catches and an electric atmosphere, with some of the best players in the world going head-to-head as the Sydney Thunder take on the Adelaide Strikers to open the BBL season.
Tuesday 17 December, 7.15 pm – 10. 15 pm | Manuka Oval, Manuka Circle, Griffith | Book here.
Canberra United v Melbourne Victory
Get behind your team at McKellar Park this December!
Playing against the Melbourne Victory, head along to watch Canberra United in an unmissable game.
Saturday 21 December, 4 pm – 8 pm | McKellar Park, Walkley Place, Mckellar | Book here.
Workshops, Tours and Talks
Adopt-a-Reindeer Workshop at Westfield Woden
Create and take home your very own Christmas companion at exclusive Adopt-a-Reindeer Workshops!
Taking place near Cotton On, bookings are essential because there limited spots available. This event is exclusive to Westfield members!
Wednesday 18 until Sunday 22 December, 11 am – 1 pm | Keltie Street, Phillip | More information here.
Sweet Christmas Workshops at Marketplace Gungahlin
Looking for something the little ones will enjoy? These sweet seasonal workshops will keep them busy (and full). All running from 11 am until 2 pm outside Big W, book the kids into a free session to make Christmas Candy Wreaths, Christmas treat jars, and more!
Until Friday 20 December, 11 am – 2 pm | 30 & 33 Hibberson Street, Gungahlin| Book here.
