Lots of ways to spend your Easter long weekend in Canberra

Posted on 15 April, 2022

Got four glorious days of no work? Here’s how to fill your weekend in Canberra.

Heritage Festival

This year’s theme is Curiosity. The Heritage Festival will invite audiences to be curious about the tangible and intangible heritage that make our region unique. Discover our mid-century architecture, our engineering heritage, or join Ngunnawal custodians as they connect to Country.

Until 1 May | Various locations | environment.act.gov.au

National Folk Festival

The Easter long weekend will see a veritable feast of musical experiences and folk culture on offer at with more than 200 contemporary and traditional folk music acts across 12 venues, plus food and market stalls, workshops, roving entertainment and an engaging program of craft, dance and art.

14 – 18 April | Exhibition Park in Canberra | folkfestival.org.au

Easter Click ‘n’ Collect High Tea

Want to celebrate your Easter Sunday with fine dining at home or a picnic outdoors? Australian Parliament House is serving up takeaway high tea, with packages starting at $80 for two people.

Pre-order now to enjoy themed sweet and savoury selections infused with Indigenous ingredients. You can also choose to add a bottle of wine to enhance your high tea experience. Orders close 12pm Saturday 16 April.

Pick up between 11.30am and 3.30pm Sunday 17 April | Queen’s Terrace Cafe | Order from events.humanitix.com

Hamlet

Peter Evans’ critically acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet returns in 2022. It’s a story of revenge, passion and deception, where human desire for retribution quickly becomes a burden. Set against a classically timeless backdrop, family turns on family, friendships disintegrate and the ghost of his father pushes Hamlet’s entire world to its brink.

Until 16 April | Canberra Theatre Centre | canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Are you ready for magical (and chocolate-filled) fun these school holidays? Marketplace Gungahlin has rounded up your ultimate school holiday program to take the ease out of entertaining this April.

From an Easter Garden Party to craft activities and a hop-along Easter Egg Express trail, make sure your little one doesn’t miss out!

Until 24 April | Marketplace Gungahlin| hercanberra.com.au/event/hop-into-marketplace-gungahlin-for-easter-school-holiday-fun

The Picnic Train

Experience the excitement of a steam train trip behind former NSW Government Railways locomotive 5917 as The Picnic Train in conjunction with The Canberra Railway Museum presents special family round trips between Canberra and Bungendore over the Easter long weekend.

You will experience steam locomotive 5917 working hard as it climbs the steep grade by the spectacular Molongolo River Gorge, through long, dark tunnels and on through the beautiful rural countryside to Bungendore.

15 – 18 April | departing Canberra Railway Station three times each day | thepicnictrain.com

Pixar Putt

Pixar Putt arrives in Canberra this week! This open-air, pop-up mini-golf sensation is made up of interactive putt-putt holes inspired by the stories, characters, and icons from some of Pixar’s most beloved films including Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Soul, The Incredibles, Onward, Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E, Inside Out, Luca and more. This premiere Canberra season will also feature a new hole from Disney and Pixar’s latest hit movie, Turning Red, now streaming on Disney+.

The experience is perfect for players of all ages and is sure to become a popular destination through the school holiday season. And when the sun goes down, Pixar Putt After-Dark sessions will be available for adults 18+ from Thursday to Saturday nights from 7 pm–10 pm, where patrons can also enjoy all the local food and beverage offerings around the entertainment precinct.

Until Sunday 1 May | Civic Square | pixarputt.com.au

SPIN – Election 2022

Just in time for the federal election, Charles Firth (from The Chaser), James Schloeffel (from The Shovel) and Mark Humphries (from ABC’s 7:30) are joining forces to provide a masterclass in the ancient art of lying. From political messaging to corporate deception, they’ll show you how to bullsh*t your way through the trickiest situations life can throw at you.

13 April | Canberra Theatre Centre | canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Old Bus Depot Markets

With more than 100 stalls (including your old favourites), you’ll have the chance to shop for a brilliant variety of Australian-made, handcrafted and premium products. And this week it’s Portobello Road—a chance to hunt for original antiques, jewellery and collectables.

9.30 am – 2.30 pm Sunday | Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | obdm.com.au

Kaleidoscope: An exhibition celebrating LGBTQI+ pride

The LGBTQI+ community is so much more than six colours. Diversity and inclusion are the glue that binds the community; the common thread that makes connections and provokes dialogue. Everyone has their own ideas about what it means to be part of this diverse rainbow community. Belco Arts is celebrating the LGBTQI+ community, and all that makes up its diversity of perspectives, lived experiences and shared ambitions by inviting LGBTQI+ artists in Canberra and throughout Australia – at any level of artistic experience – to create and share what being queer and being part of the LGBTQI+ means to them.

Until 15 May | Belco Arts | belcoarts.com.au

Haig Park Village Markets

Taking place every Sunday rain, hail or shine, the Haig Park Village Markets has fresh produce, beautiful flowers, artisan breads, meats, treats and more. You can even enjoy a picnic in the park before grabbing your essentials for the week!

9 am – 2 pm Sunday | Haig Park, Braddon | haigparkvillagemarkets.com.au

Jeffrey Smart

The year 2021 marks one hundred years since the birth of acclaimed Australian artist Jeffrey Smart. This major exhibition celebrates and commemorates this significant centenary.

One of Australia’s most celebrated artists, Smart sought inspiration from the world around him – looking to the environment of urban and industrial modernity – which he transformed through his imaginative sense of theatre and intimate understanding of geometry and composition. These potent and intriguing images have become emblematic of 20th and 21st-century urban experience.

Until 15 May | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

From Shakespeare to Winehouse, Darwin to Dickens, the Beatles, Brontë sisters and Beckham, the National Portrait Gallery London holds the world’s most extensive collection of portraits. While they undergo the largest renovation of their building in 125 years, more than 80 treasures from their collection are on show in Canberra for this exclusive exhibition.

Until 17 July | National Portrait Gallery | portrait.gov.au

Fourth National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony

Ceremony remains central to the creative practice of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. From the intimate and personal to the collective and collaborative, ceremonies manifest through visual art, film, music and dance. This immersive exhibition and program of events will challenge and unsettle; animate and heal.

Through the work of 35 artists from around Australia, Ceremony reveals how the practice of ceremony is at the nexus of Country, culture and community.

Until 31 July | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au

On Stage: Spotlight On our Performing Arts

This exhibition brings Australia’s performing arts history into the limelight, also providing a backstage pass to the action behind the scenes, showcasing perspectives on stage direction, costume design, scripts, contracts and musical scores used by performers.

Presented together for the first time and drawing exclusively from the collections of the National Library, the exhibition features items that have never before been on display. Other highlights include the earliest surviving Australian printed document, selections from the JC Williamson theatre archives, and other contemporary live music and theatre posters.

Until 7 August | National Library of Australia | nla.gov.au

Capital Region Farmers Markets 

With more than 100 stallholders each week, the Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC Park has endless options when it comes to freshly picked, grown and handcrafted produce.

Fill the garden using their great selection of natives and landscape plants, fruit trees, seedlings and shrubs or fill your stomach with freshly baked bread, cakes, macarons and croissants.

7 am-11.30 am Saturday | Exhibition Park in Canberra | capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au

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