Your curated guide to what’s on in Canberra this weekend
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This weekend, we’re booked and busy.
Because from the Forage to the Winter German Markets, the Science of Whisky at Questacon, the Canberra Roller Derby League Pride Round, Momenta at the Canberra Theatre Centre, and more, there’s plenty happening around town.
Here’s your curated guide – the only question is, how much can you fit in?
Whisky Business: The Science of Whisky at Questacon
Have you ever wondered how the smokiness in your whisky links to climate change? Or what happens when whisky meets liquid nitrogen? And just who is Bog Man? This is a night where the magic of whisky and the marvels of science come together.
Head to Questacon to explore the science of whisky. Whether you are a seasoned connoisseur or a curious novice, their experts will share the secrets and fascinating science behind whisky production and aging.
Saturday 22 June, 7 pm – 9 pm | Questacon, King Edward Terrace, Parkes | Book here.
Canberra Roller Derby League Pride Round
The annual Canberra Roller Derby League Pride Round is back again at Evelyn Scott School in Denman Prospect.
Want to get along and join in the fun? Tickets are just $17.38 for adults and $9.71 for kids aged 5 to 15 and there will even be a spectacular halftime show from groundbreaking drag artist Etcetera Etcetera (aka The Glamour Bug), one of Australia’s most well-known and visually striking drag artists – seen on big and small stages internationally and locally including Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under.
Saturday 22 June from 6 pm | Evelyn Scott School, Denman Prospect | Book here.
National Photographic Portrait Prize
The much-anticipated NPPP is back for another year! Providing a powerful visual record of the year that was, reflecting a particular time in Australian culture, both socially and artistically, don’t miss it as the exhbition opens on Saturday 22 June alongside The Darling Prize – the prestigious biennial prize for portrait painting, established to honour the legacy of National Portrait Gallery founding patron L Gordon Darling AC CMG.
From Saturday 22 June | National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes | More information here.
Type 1 Diabetes Winter Gala
Get ready for a fun and entertaining evening in support of raising funds and awareness for type 1 diabetes. With all funds going towards JDRF Australia (the leading supporter of type one diabetes research in Australia and around the world), tickets to the Type 1 Diabetes Winter Gala includes a delicious three course meal and drinks, entertainment by the Iconics and DJ Stav and a long list of amazing auction items to bid for!
Helping to transform the lives of Australian families by alleviating the fear and anxiety that accompanies a type 1 diabetes diagnosis every day, it promises to be a good night for a good cause.
Saturday 22 June, from 6 pm | Hellenic Club Woden, 1 Matilda Street, Phillip | Get tickets here.
The Forage
Popping up at the Acton Waterfront to celebrate their 10th birthday, this local food festival is back with a bang.
Expect your old favourites and some exciting new announcements.
Saturday 22 June | Acton Waterfront | More information here.
2024 National Library Bookshop Pre-Stocktake Sale
Calling all bookworms! The National Library of Australia holding a massive pre-stocktake sale!
There will be discounts up to 50 percent*, perfect for picking up some Australian literature and unique gifts at reduced prices! Shop in-store to receive a 10 percent discount storewide and up to 50 percent off selected items. Their knowledgeable team will be available to assist you with their specialist range of Australian books and gifts.
Until Sunday 23 June, 9 am – 5 pm | National Library of Australia Bookshop, Parkes Place West, Parkes | More information here.
And if you feel like road trip…
Birdsnest Market Day Sale
Birdsnest are hosting their biggest Preloved Market Day Sale ever!
Explore over four thousand preloved styles, samples, and seconds ranging from sizes eight to 22, all at unbeatable prices starting from just $2! 10 percent of sales will be donated to Save the Children Gaza Appeal, to help provide support to those in crisis. Just a new things to note: it’s Eftpos only, BYO shopping bag and coffee and donuts will be available to purchase.
Saturday 22 June, 8 am – 1 pm | 232 Sharp Street, Cooma | More information here.
Fungi Feastival 2024
The Fungi Feastival is back for 2024 with a full month of workshops, and decadent dinners and honestly? It sounds delicious. We’re talking over 15 restaurants, cafes and makers offering fungi-themed dinners, cooking classes, menu items and take-home goodies.
Offering Canberrans an educational and delicious excuse for a winter weekend somewhere warm(er), foodies can delight in a culinary tour of the coast, with offerings like truffle and fungi dinners, classes in cooking mushrooms with Asian flavours, truffle hunts and locally-made truffle cheese for purchase. Road trip, anyone?
Friday 21 June until Sunday 21 July | Various locations between Batemans Bay and Eden, NSW South Coast | fungifeastival.com.au
Markets
Winter German Markets
Don’t miss out on the Harmonie German Club’s Winter markets! There will be lots of boutique stalls, German deli delights, live entertainment, German cake and coffee, warm Gluhwein and our their German sausages.
Raising funds for the Canberra Hospital Foundation, entry is free and it promises to be a spectacular way to spend the Sunday morning!
Sunday 23 June, 9 am | 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah | More information here.
Three Sixty Fashion Market
Get your fashion fix with this niche Canberra market dedicated to sustainable fashion. Selling high end designer and vintage clothing and accessories, you never know what you’ll find!
Sunday 23 June | Fitter’s Workshop, Printers Way, Kingston | More information here.
Capital Region Farmers Market
Fresh produce, flowers and the ready-to-eat food and coffee. What more could you need? The Capital Region Farmers Market has everything you need.
7 am – 11.30 am Saturday | Exhibition Park in Canberra, Old Well Station Road, Mitchell | capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au
Little Burley Markets
Offering a diverse array of multicultural foods, much-loved beverages and brunchables, beautiful blooms, locally made art, fashion, photography and homewares, artisanal bread, delectable pastries, seafood, smoked charcuterie, truffles, meats, puppy treats, and much more, you’ll be able to find plenty of goodies at this bespoke lakeside market
8 am – 1 pm Saturday | Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes | thelittleburleymarket.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
Haig Park Markets
Moments away from Lonsdale street’s boutiques and cafes, the Haig Park Village Markets will delight your senses with delicious cuisines, tasty treats, beautiful blooms, fresh produce, delectable charcuterie and artisan products. It’s a lovely place to enjoy a picnic whilst feasting your senses on the culinary delights on offer or to browse the fabulous local handmade design stalls.
8.30 am – 2 pm Sundays | Haig Park, Girrahween Street, Braddon | haigparkvillagemarkets.com.au
Old Bus Depot Markets
Lovers of fine hand-crafted wares, clothing collectors, food fanatics and jewellery junkies are just a few of the people who head to Canberra’s award-winning Old Bus Depot Markets every Sunday. In a fabulous old industrial building you’ll experience the endless colour, tastes, sounds and atmosphere that is “Canberra’s Sunday Best”.
Not your average market, each week you’ll find over 200 stalls of exceptional quality, featuring items all hand-crafted by local and regional creatives. There’s simply no better way to spend your Sunday in Canberra.
Every Sunday | 21 Wentworth Ave, Kingston | obdm.com.au
Food and Wine
Truffle Infused Weekends at Mount Majura Vineyard
It’s finally truffle season and that means it’s time to book your favourite truffle and wine experience.
Enjoy truffle infused triple-cream brie-style cheese with a flight of three 80ml glasses that have been perfectly matched for $40 per person. With sessions available all day Saturday and Sunday, online bookings close the day prior.
Every weekend until Sunday 1 September, 10 am – 5 pm | Mount Majura Vineyard, 88 Lime Kiln Road, Majura | Book here.
Tipsy Sundaze
At “Tipsy Sundaze” the weekend doesn’t have to end on a flat note.
Come together with friends and elevate your Sunday at Amici. Unwind, sip, and savour while experiencing the very best Canberra’s music scene has to offer.
Every Sunday from 2.30-5.30 pm | Amici, Northbourne Avenue, City | Find out more here
Stage and Screen
Momenta
This is a journey into the poetry and physics of human connection by celebrated choreographer Rafael Bonachela.
Brimming with Bonachela’s distinct style, rich with rhythmical and spatial patterning and endlessly inventive partnering, watch as the dancers of Sydney Dance Company transcend physical limitations; exploring the full range of their bodies with grace, power and vulnerability.
Until Saturday 22 June, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm | Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, City | Book here.
Mike Goldstein – 45 Minutes To An Hour Of Comedy
Mike Goldstein is bringing his brand new solo show to Canberra! Fresh off another season of The Hundred with Andy Lee, supporting Shane Gillis on his recent tour of Australia and talking about himself in the third person, Mike is ready to sling some gags and do 45 minutes to an hour of stand-up comedy depending on how it’s going. See you there?
Saturday 22 June, 7 pm | 122 Alinga Street, City | Book here.
BIRRARANGGA Film Festival
The National Film and Sound Archive is partnering with BIRRARANGGA Film Festival to celebrate global Indigenous films that explore the curatorial themes of ‘strength, resilience and the environment’.
Don’t miss a selection of 15 outstanding feature-length and short films from First Nations creatives around the world, as well as a panel conversation with international screen leaders who will explore the idea of Story Sovereignty and examine the age-old question of who gets to tell Indigenous stories.
Until Sunday 23 June | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, McCoy Circuit, Acton | Book here.
A Street Car Named Desire
It’s a classic story that’s been loved for decades. And now, (following their acclaimed production of Speaking in Tongues) Free-Rain Theatre Company returns in 2024 with one of the most influential plays of the twentieth century.
Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1947 – the same year the play was written – when Blanche unexpectedly visits her estranged sister Stella, she brings with her a past that will threaten their future. Reality and illusion collide and a violent conflict changes their lives forever in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire.
Until Saturday 29 June | ACT Hub, 14 Spinifex Street, Kingston | Book here.
Crime and Punishment
Often referred to as the greatest crime story ever written, you don’t want to miss this live adaption of Crime and Punishment as it comes to the stage. A tale of murder, motive and the search for redemption that plumbs the fundamental questions of existence, Caroline Stacey directs Christopher Carroll, PJ Williams and Josephine Gazard in a richly dark, suspenseful production about the forces that disconnect humans from each other in this thrilling detective story of the
soul.
Compressing all the tension and pathos of the novel into a powerful 90 minutes of theatre that is at once fresh and faithful to the original, don’t miss this thrilling award-winning adaptation by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus.
Until Saturday 29 June | The Street Theatre, City | Book here.
Music
Chamber Classics: Reverie
The Canberra Symphony Orchestra is presenting a program that pairs Classical icon Joseph Haydn with Norwegian Romantic composer Edvard Grieg.
Opening with Grieg’s light-footed First String Quartet in G minor, you’ll also hear the fifth quartet from Haydn’s String Quartet in F major, nicknamed ‘The Dream’.
Saturday 22 June, 7 pm – 9:30 pm | Albert Hall, Yarralumla, 100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla | Book here.
Vanguard
Head along to Gandel Hall to hear groundbreaking works from Beethoven and Korngold. Performed by the Australian String Quartet, don’t miss the work of Australian composer Harry Sdraulig.
Sunday 23 June | Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place East, Parkes | Book tickets here.
Exhibitions
Winter Feast
Featuring sixteen artists from Canberra and interstate, this month’s group show at Grainger Gallery is all about indulging an in a decadent Winter Feast.
Enjoy tasty morsels of oysters and dragonfruit by Garth Nicholl and Vanessa stockard, ontbijtjes (Dutch breakfast paintings) by Fiona Cotton and Matilda Michel, bodegones by Lauren Starr, contemporary fusion by Naomi Zouwer, Lucilla Zwentner and Bethany Saab, or some more refined natura morta by Gatya Kelly and Anne Smerdon. The menu is sure to delight, a feast for the eyes where, in the words of Cezanne, it is about the artists “realising one’s sensations.”
Until Sunday 14 July | Address Bldg 3.3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick | More information here.
Gardens of Academe
All inspired and created on the grounds of the Australian National University, don’t miss the latest watercolour and charcoal artworks by Elizabeth Truswell.
Showing at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, the exhibition reflects the landscaped gardens from the lower slopes of Black Mountain and Sullivans creek.
Until Sunday 30 June | Australian National Botanic Gardens, Visitor Centre Gallery, Clunies Ross Street, Acton | More information here.
Temple at the NFSA
Created by Australian artists Leila Jeffreys and Melvin J. Montalban, this contemplative artwork celebrates the awe-inspiring beauty of native cockatoos.
Temple invites us to reflect on the wonder of nature and our place within it.
Until Sunday 30 June | NFSA Acton | nfsa.gov.au
Women Who Rendered Blind
This is a solo exhibition by Sepideh Farzam. Based the ongoing challenges faced by women in Iran, Sepideh has been deeply inspired to develop a new body of work serving as a testament to the courage, resilience, and struggles of women who have stood up against oppression and fought for their rights.
In the form of textile and installation, she uses various materials such as uncoated canvas, waxed thread, marbles, plaster, steel plate, plexiglas, cotton bandage fabric and hand-woven carpet as well as symbolic imagery, to shed light on the experiences of Iranian women, giving voice to their stories and advocating for change.
Until Sunday 7 July | M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.
On Show – Sustainability
This is a group exhibition by the members of the Canberra Art Workshop (CAW).
It focuses on the theme of creating a world that sustains both us and future generations, alongside our natural environment.
Until Sunday 7 July | M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.
Life in the System
A solo exhibition by Melanie Olde, this represents her ongoing exploration of hand-woven three-dimensional fabric forms that mimic living tissue, life-like structures and functions.
Using weaving as a metaphor for complexity within life systems, the works challenge weaving as a medium for questioning how cloth can mimic a living system.
Until Sunday 7 July | M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith | More information here.
Futures Exhibition
Presenting ongoing research from the Australian National University School of Art & Design, this exhibition explores everything from climate change, to digital heritage, maternal health, and the emerging arts of metabolism and digestion.
Until Friday 5 July, 10:30 am – 3 pm | ANU School of Art & Design Gallery, Building 105, Corner Liversidge Street & Ellery Crescent, Acton | More information here.
Canberra Potters’ Student | Teacher Exhibition
This annual exhbition is an opportunity to celebrate the skills and creativity of the many students who attend classes at Canberra Potters!
Giving students a welcoming environment to publicly display their work, participation is open to all students – adults and children – who have attended classes at Canberra Potters in the previous 12 months. All Canberra Potters teachers are excellent potters in their own right and their work is exhibited alongside the students’.
Until Sunday 7 July, 10 am – 4 pm | Canberra Potters, 1 Aspinall Street, Watson Arts Centre, Watson | More information here.
NYARU
This is an exhibition of new works in glass by Yankunytjatjara / Western Arrernte artist, Robert Fielding. Co-curated by Erin Vink and Aimee Frodsham, the works challenges the perception of Central Desert artwork in the medium of glass with the artist combining strong cultural roots with contemporary views on the tensions between community life and global concerns.
Until Sunday 21 July | 11 Wentworth Avenue Kingston | More information here.
Sisters Interwoven
From Wiradjuri artist Rechelle Turner and Ngunnawal Wiradjuri artist Megan Daley comes Sisters Interwoven, a new exhbition exploring their culture and connection to Country.
Created using a variety of media, these works were produced during Megan Rechelle’s residency at Megalo Print Studios
Until Saturday 10 August | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street, Greenway | More information here.
All Guns Blazing
All Guns Blazing is a body of work of artist Jamie-Lea Trindall, a Wiradjuri woman who explores the ancient traditions of carving and string making.
Described as “a voyage of discovery”, the exhbition uncovers the depths of intrinsic connections, where generations of brave trailblazers have carved winding paths through the outback country and how deeply connected her own bold life experiences are to the stories.
Until Saturday 10 August | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street, Greenway | More information here.
Breaking Ground
In Breaking Ground, Michele England and Heidi Smith have responded to significant Tuggeranong Valley sites by creating experimental mixed media artworks highlighting changes to urban and natural spaces.
Place, material, and contemplative conversations transform the mundane into the unexpected in this collaboration by incorporating found objects, creating pigments, using drawing apparatus and repurposing discarded items to create Breaking Ground: Chaos Theory and the Valley.
Until Saturday 10 August | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street, Greenway | More information here.
Workshops, Tours and Talks
Smith England: Wall Hangings and Mobiles Workshop
Do you have a faded, much-loved garment that can never be thrown away? Do you wait for the bus and spy the glitter of a smashed taillight or marvel at the angelic curve of a cabbage leaf, laying limp in the shopping trolley? This is for you.
Go and experiment with Michele England and Heidi Smith as they guide and support you in the construction of a repurposed wall hanging or mobile.
Saturday 22 June, 1:30 pm | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street North, Greenway | Book here.
Winter Tales Presents Dr Liz Allen
Join Dr Liz Allen as she delivers the presentation ‘From accommodating to accommodated: How can Australia best support people from disadvantaged backgrounds?’ for The National Foundation for Australian Women and the Australian Women’s Archives Program (AWAP).
This is a unique opportunity to hear a senior lecturer at ANU Centre for Social Policy Research talk about fairness and equality.
Sunday 23 June | National Library of Australia, Parkes Place West, Parkes | More information here.
Feature image: Momenta. Credit: Pedro Greig.
