I subscribe to all the things so you don’t have to. This is a curated list of what’s been announced over the past week so you can save the date, or swoop on tickets, and also a list of what’s coming up soon if you’re looking to make last-minute plans.
What’s new?
Blockbuster Tina Turner musical headed to Melbourne in 2024
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical has been announced for the Princess Theatre in Melbourne from September 2024 with Melbourne performer Ruva Ngwenya in the lead role.
The BBC Earth Experience is coming to Melbourne
Melbourne will be the second city in the world to host the BBC Earth Experience when the immersive experience with narration by Sir David Attenborough opens from 27 October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery announces Archibald Prize exhibition dates
The Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery is the exclusive Victorian venue for the 2023 Archibald Prize. The gallery has launched its Archibald program this week with a range of activities you can participate in alongside viewing the paintings from 15 September to 5 November.
Chaka Khan to headline the Melbourne International Jazz Festival
In her only Australian performance, 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chaka Khan celebrates an extraordinary 50 years in music and will play a one-off show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on 21 October as part of this year’s Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
The Chemical Brothers to play A Day on The Green 2024
Acclaimed electronic duo The Chemical Brothers will bring their act to Mount Duneed Estate at A Day on the Green on 2 March 2024. Tickets go on sale this week.
Fridayz Live returns to Rod Laver on 10 November
For its sixth edition, Fridayz Live brings you 10 of the biggest household names of old-school and contemporary RNB and hip-hop. Combining rich nostalgia with all the current hits from the 90s to now, it’s set to be the party of the year. Tickets go on sale on 12 September.
Book a rare behind-the-scenes tour of the Australian Performing Arts Collection
For the first time Arts Centre Melbourne is able to share unprecedented access to its collections via behind-the-scenes tours of the Australian Performing Arts Collection (APAC). You now have the opportunity to get up close and personal to some of the 850,000 items that make up APAC. Tours are on Sundays until the end of the year, bookings are a must.
Save the date for these:
- The Cruel Sea’s 30th anniversary tour of The Honeymoon is Over is landing at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Saturday 2 December.
- Get Rhythm: The Johnny Cash and June Carter Show will be at the Thornbury Theatre on 24 November.
- Tickets are now on sale to Geelong’s ultimate wine festival, Toast to the Coast, which returns this year on 7 October.
- Tickets are now on sale to the Italian Film Festival which is on at Palace Cinemas from 21 September to 18 October.
- The beloved children’s book dog Hairy Maclary is turning 40 and Robinson’s bookshops will be hosting the birthday celebrations during the school holidays from 20-28 September at Airport West, Fountain Gate, Greensborough, Frankston, Glen Waverley, Maribrynong and Werribee.
- Take a historic walking tour of Sydney Road Brunswick on 9 or 16 September. Teaming up with the Brunswick Community History Group, and led by their local experts, you’ll take a leisurely and incredibly insightful walk along Sydney Road focussing on the buildings between Victoria Street and Albion Street.
- Meander through the hidden gems of the Yarra Valley with two days of wine-tasting, live music, delicious bites and stunning scenery over a dozen participating family-run wineries at the Yarra Valley Smaller Wineries Shed Fest, on 14 and 15 October.
- The Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors’ 114th Annual Exhibition Changing Perspectives will be on at the Frater, McCubbin and Hammond Galleries from 29 September until 9 October.
- The Castlemaine Art Museum will present an exhibition of the finalists in the 2023 Experimental Print Prize, opening on 15 September and running until 28 January 2024.
- Elvis: A Musical Revolution opens at the Athenaeum Theatre on 30 September and runs until 26 November, celebrating the life and music of Elvis Presley and featuring more than 40 iconic songs.
What to do?
Never mind the naysayers, Melbourne is not dead! Here’s a round-up of things happening in and around Melbourne this weekend and over the next few weeks:
- The Eltham Art Show is on until 10 September.
- “Developers Make Shit Neighbours” – a new stage show about a couple of battlers feeling the pressure of living across the road from a noisy high-rise construction site. Playing at La Mama HQ in Carlton from 6 to 17 September.
- The Snuff Puppets have announced a brand-new puppet festival – Snuffest – is event presenting mesmerising large-scale theatre, film, installations, workshops and unmissable parties. On at the Footscray Drill from 6 September to 7 October.
- The 2023 Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) presents a stellar program of films from Korea’s top filmmakers. On from 7 to 11 September at ACMI in Federation Square.
- The Diamond Creek Rotary Town Fair takes place on Saturday 9 September.
- The Puffing Billy Running Festival is on in Belgrave on 9-10 September. Can you beat a steam train?
- The Warratina Lavender farm in Wandin North is hosting a woodworking expo from 9-17 September. Featuring stunning woodwork including furniture, toys, boards, platters and more. On Saturdays during the expo you can watch wood-turning demonstrations by local woodworkers.
- The Footscray First Annual Community Fun Day is being held on Sunday 10 September at the Footscray Bowls Club.
- Steam Rail Victoria will be operating a heritage “red rattler” on the Alamein Line on Sunday 10 September. These are 55 minute round trips from Ashburton to Flinders Street.
- A Heritage Family Day is on at Schwerkolt Cottage Museum Complex in Mitcham on Sunday 10 September with lots of free activities for the kids.
- The One Fine Day Baby Expo returns to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on 10 and 11 September. With over 100 boutique pregnancy, maternity, baby and toddler brands for you to try and buy from, expert advice and hands-on courses, beautiful facilities and plenty of entertainment for the little ones including meet & greets with CoComelon.
- Have an out of this world time at the IMAX Spacetember Film Festival, screening a range of space related cult classics on the 7-storey screen from 14-30 September.
- The Italian Cultural Institute of Melbourne presents Tools For After, a Festival of Ideas (14 September – 10 October) bringing the brightest minds in design, architecture and climate science from Italy to Melbourne across multiple venues io celebrate Italian ingenuity through programs of design, architecture, science, food, cinema, and literature, through the mediums of film, visual art, design, workshops, talks, and tasting.
- The TIDAL Seafood Festival is on 15 to 17 September at San Remo. Go along and celebrate their history, quality local seafood, demonstrations and family activities.
- The Viva Mexico Festival is on from 1pm to 1am on Saturday 16 September at Retropolis in Preston. Organised by Mexicans for Melbourne, this fiesta features mariachis, tacos, street food, folk dance, kids activities, pinatas, a tequila masterclass, Mexican market and more.
- The Footscray Community Arts Makers Market is on Saturday 16 September.
- The Multicultural Festival in Ardeer on Saturday 16 September will be a kaleidoscope of traditions, fashions and foods from multicultural stalls showcasing crafts, clothing and artwork as well as flavours from around the world.
- The Waverley Gem Club Gem Craft and Mineral Show will take place over two days at Brandon Park on 16-17 September and includes displays of gemstones and minerals from work of members and their collections.
- Head up to Silvan for the annual Tesselaar Tulip Festival, on from 16 September to 15 October. More than a million flowering spring bulbs are on show. There’s also live entertainment, delicious food and more.
- The Indian Performing Arts Convention is headed to the Alexander Theatre at Monash University on 16-17 September, celebrating creativity and featuring acclaimed artists from India, Singapore and Australia.
- Carnival of the Animals is a circus escapade stage show for the whole family, on at the Playhouse in the Arts Centre from 16-23 September.
- Explore 85 acres of flowering cherry trees at the annual Blossom Festival at Cherryhill Orchards over two weeks from 16 September to 1 October. There are a range of additional experiences for the cherry lovers, including high teas and wine and dine packages.
- The Stonnington Arts Festival is on Saturday 16 September at the Malvern Town Hall. It’s an annual celebration bringing together the vibrant and diverse arts community of Stonnigton.
- Abbotsford Convent’s Wine and Vine Fest is back this year on 16 September – bringing together some of Australia’s best and boutique wine makers and customers under one roof.
- The Ikebana International Melbourne Annual Exhibition, a celebration of Japanese traditional floral art, is coming to Labassa Mansion in Caulfield North on 16-17 September.
- Head to the Box Hill Miniature Steam Railway for a ride on their 1.2km long track on Sunday 17 September.
- The Doveton Show is on 17 September – an affordable alternative to the Melbourne Royal SHow.
- Mambo Mania – a series of events where “dance and art collide” is happening at the District Docklands until 29 September.
- Art Lovers Australia’s More is More exhibition celebrates maximalists who love more colour, more texture and more layers. It’s on at their Collingwood Gallery until 30 September.
- ACMI’s winter blockbuster exhibition Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion celebrates women and gender-transcending superstars from more than 120 years of moving image history. You can catch it until 1 October.
- Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature is running at the Melbourne Museum until 8 October.
- Shantaram: the Journey from Punishment to Peace is a free immersive exhibition at Pentridge Prison until 15 October. Experience the captivating story of Gregory David Roberts, the renowned author of Shantaram and former inmate who transformed his life from punishment to peace.
- nightshifts – a contemporary art exhibition that considers the importance of solitude is on display at the Buxton Contemporary Art Museum until 29 October. The exhibition shifts in and out of focus like a dreamscape and features works from the Michael Buxton and University of Melbourne collections alongside new commissions.
- “Smells Like A Song” an improvised musical performed by the Impro Melbourne players who pull an entire musical together out of thin air and audience suggestions. Playing various Friday nights until 10 November.
- The immersive Friends experience is on in Docklands until 26 November. Recreate your favourite scenes and celebrate some of the most iconic moments from the beloved sitcom at this truly unique interactive experience.
- Relics: A New World Rises at the Melbourne Museum runs until 28 January. Set in a future long after humanity’s reign, RELICS tells the story of a world where LEGO® minifigures have risen from the debris to craft intricate civilisations in discarded human artefacts, each one inspired by the object they now call home.
- Moulin Rouge the Musical has returned to the Regent Theatre, running until 24 December. Get your tickets here.
