- Join in the Chanukah Fest Beach Party at Elwood Bathers on 30 December
- Chanukah in Fun Land is on at the Glen Eira Town Hall on 30 December
- There’s a Chanukah Festival Celebration in Packer Park Murrumbeena on 30 December
- Enjoy BBQ dinner, latkes, hot chips and donuts at the Chanukah Celebration in Balaclava on 30 December.
- There are free burritos and bowls on offer at the grand opening of Zambrero’s new Vermont South store on Monday 30 December.
- The City of Melbourne’s New Years Eve celebrations will feature food, family entertainment, fireworks and the Southern Hemisphere’s largest laser show on 31 December.
- Ring in 2025 with free movie screenings, including a special early film for kids at the Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North on 31 December.
- This year celebrate New Year’s Eve on The Esplanade at Cowes and bring your family along to enjoy a family friendly fireworks display, starting at 9:30pm.
- The Island Summer Carnival returns to Cowes on Philip Island from 31 December to 26 January
- Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Wilson Oval, Dandenong Park from 6pm to 9.30pm. There will be live entertainment followed by the Optus firework display at 9.25pm
- Head to Footscray Park to ring in the New Year with the City of Maribyrnong’s spectacular fireworks display.
- Ring in the New Year and enjoy a night filled with free kid’s rides and activities, neon light display by artist Carla O’Brien and fireworks at the Melton Entertainment Park.
- There are fireworks in Nagambie for New Years Eve on 31 December
- There are free fireworks displays at the Geelong Waterfront this New Year’s Eve as we say farewell to 2024 and welcome in the new year, 2025.
- Grab your picnics and head on down to the Paynesville foreshore this New Year’s Eve for an amazing night of live music on the floating tin shed and a spectacular fireworks display at 10pm.
- Watch the sky light up as Inverloch comes alive to celebrate the New Year with a spectacular display of fireworks the whole family can enjoy on 31 December
- New Year’s Eve at the Coronet Bay Foreshore will once again be lit up with a firework display at the family friendly time of 9:30pm.
- Mildura Rural City Council’s New Year’s Eve celebration at Nowingi Place will have fireworks displays at 9.30pm and midnight, with activities, food trucks and much more!
- New Year’s Eve at Flagstaff Hill is the best place in Warrnambool to see out the year. From 5:30pm on 31 December enjoy a fun, safe, family friendly event. Relax on the green or the wharf and listen to live music while enjoying delicious food and drink. Soak up the atmosphere before heading to the top of the hill for the best view of the Breakwater fireworks at 9.30pm
- The Greater Shepparton and Mooroopna New Year’s Eve Festival will feature entertainment on stage, stalls, bar, rides, and fireworks.
- Celebrate New Year’s Eve with a family-friendly early fireworks display and Bendigo’s annual midnight firework display erupts at the Rosalind Park Poppet Head! .
- Ballarat’s biggest firework display is back with a bang this New Year’s Eve with the Firework Spectacular at Lake Wendouree.
- The 78th Australian Jazz Convention is on in Mildura on 31 December
- The Daylesford New Years Eve Parade and Gala is on 31 December
- There’s fireworks on the Port Albert Foreshore on 31 December
- Celebrate the New Year in style at the biggest free street party event in regional Victoria at the Portland Foreshore.
- The Lakes Entrance New Years Eve celebration will feature vibrant market stalls, live entertainment and fireworks.
- The Metung Hotel proudly presents ‘New Years Eve’ Fireworks at Metung on 31 December,
- The City of Geelong will be delivering two fireworks displays on Tuesday 31 December from 9.30pm for families and those who prefer an early night and at the traditional time of midnight.
- Get ready for a spectacular New Year’s Eve at the Wangaratta Showgrounds on Tuesday, 31 December 2024. Headlining the event will be the legendary Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows.
- Dance in 2025 on 1 January at Let Them Eat Cake, Melbourne’s longest-running arts and dance music festival! Massive lineup of local and international acts like DJ JNETT, and more at the stunning Werribee Park Mansion
- Since 1911, the Anglesea Regatta has been a social, community event held on 1 January.
- Maryborough Highland Gathering, Australia’s longest-running cultural event, ia celebrating its 162nd year on 1 January.
- The Loch Sport annual community carnival runs until 2 January
- The 2025 Bells Beach Surf Film Festival will screen 10 amazing films over 3 nights from 2-4 January.
- The Vegan Veg Out Northside edition is on at Welcome to Thornbury on 2 January.
- Experience mesmerizing performances from incredible musicians, vibrant art installations, and a celebration of diverse cultures at the Nightjar Festival in Torquay on 3 and 10 January
- The 2025 Shipwreck Coast Fishing Classic is on in Warrnambool on 3-5 January
- The Silvers Circus Spectacular will be at Mornington from 3-26 January
- Enjoy a curated program of free outdoor cinema on the Big Screen at Federation Square from 3 January to 25 March including major blockbusters, Kung Fu classics, silent cinema with live scores, and film festival screenings.
- The Summertime Fling Cellar Door Festival is a month-long celebration of wine, summer and good times in the scenic Macedon Ranges wine region from 3-27 January
- The Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society is holding a stargazing night on 4 January.
- The Bright and Sunny Summer Carnival is on in Bright until 4 January.
- The Bass Coast-Wonthaggi Show is on 4 January
- Pearl Park Music Festival on 4 January is an all-day community event in Foster featuring live music from 10am-10pm, market stalls, food vendors and children’s entertainment.
- The Portarlington Holistic and Psychic Expo is on 4 January.
- The Sea Days Festival is on 4-7 January at the Old Ferry Terminal on Lewis Street, Port Welshpool.
- BOX MACHINE! is a fantastic new large-scale and interactive exhibition for children and their adults at Abbotsford Convent from 4-25 January where giant heavy-duty cardboard machines, rollers, pipes, cogs and taps line the Magdalen Laundry ready for children to connect and deconstruct like giant building blocks.
- The Rye Psychic and Wellbeing Expo is on 5 January.
- The I Wore It Once market is a curated, high quality pre-loved fashion market being held at the Peninsula Community Theatre, in Mornington on 5 January.
- The Fitzroy Bowls Club record fair is on 5 January.
- The Melbourne Stars Family Day returns to Casey Fields on Sunday 5 January where cricket fans will be treated to a day filled with fun, free activities for all ages, including the opportunity to meet and greet the Melbourne Stars playing squad.
- The 69th Myer Christmas Windows and Christmas at the Crocoseum activation featuring the Irwin family are at 314–336 Bourke St Melbourne until Saturday 7 January 2025.
- Step back in time and experience the magic of a traditional 1880s Christmas at Como House in South Yarra. Wander through the beautifully decorated rooms, each brimming with festive charm, and immerse yourself in the Christmas preparations of a grand 1880s household until 8 January
The Warrnambool Summer Night Markets is series of five fabulous events at Lake Pertobe commencing until 24 January. - See the magic of Christmas and fairy tales brought to life in 3.3 million lights over 1000 dazzling light installations and displays, with theme park rides, Santa, and a spectacular drone lights show at Adventure Park Geelong’s Annual Christmas Festival of Lights until 25 January.
- The world’s largest galaxy collection of Star Wars fan items awaits at The District Docklands! Immerse yourself in the saga’s universe at The Fans Strike Back with an amazing setup and hundreds of official items including photos, posters, costumes, figures, and models, until 25 January.
- The Rye Summer Carnival returns to the Rye Foreshore until 26 January.
- Experience all the fun of the fair on Warrnambool’s Foreshore at the Warrnambool Summer Family Carnival untilto 26 January.
- The Apollo Bay Summer Carnival is on at the Apollo Bay Foreshore until 26 January.
- The Chants Summer Carnival is back in Lakes Entrance over four massive weekends until 26 January.
- Until 27 January, roll up for a celebration of all things round, bubbly and bouncy at Summersphere at Scienceworks.
- The Mordialloc Christmas Summer Carnival is on at Peter Scullin Reserve until 27 January presented by Smart Amusements.
- A new installation at Scienceworks called “Message in A Bottle” runs until 27 January 2025 featuring messages from Victorian primary students inside 320 recycled bottles that highlight the importance of recycling. and learn more about the process of recycling containers returned through Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme.
- Enjoy camel rides in Port Fairy until 27 January
- Until 27 January, beat the heat with misty strolls, underground adventures, icy treats, and more at Sovereign Hill!
- Gather your team for a two-hour adventure of pitch-black challenges and vibrant sensory workshops that push the limits of your five senses at SENSAS in South Yarra until 30 January.
- The TMNT: Heroes in a Half Shell Exhibition is an immersive experience that boasts five individual galleries that take visitors on a journey through the rich history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It’s now extended at District Docklands until 30 January.
- The St Kilda Affordable Art Show runs until 1 February and not only provides a forum for new and emerging artists but it allows the public to invest in some diverse affordable art.
- Medieval to Metal: The Art and Evolution of the Guitar makes its way to the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 2 February 2025. In this Australian exclusive, experience 40 guitars on loan from the National Guitar Museum (USA), alongside more than 100 spectacular works of art.
- The Koorie Art Show at Koorie Heritage Trust runs til 23 February andi s dedicated to showcasing the work of Koorie and Victorian-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists through a statewide call for entries.
- The Museum Of Desire is Melbourne’s new must-visit experience! Discover 20+ attractions celebrating all things desire, love and pleasure. Daring, fun, and a little bit cheeky — it’s totally your type. Until 28 February in Collingwood.
- Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street (HMLQS)’s rooftop pickleball court returns to the heart of Melbourne this summer, popping-up for an extended season until Friday 28 February.
- CLAW MONEY WORLD – a world-exclusive exhibition charting the career of trailblazing artist Claudia Gold is on at the Warrnambool Art Gallery until 6 March.
- Enter Antopia at Melbourne Museum where you shrink down to the size of ants to experience a day in the life of an ant colony. Discover a complex and fascinating superorganism in this immersive, interactive experience that digitally reinterprets a world of secrets we cannot see. It runs until 10 March 2025.
- The NGV’s blockbuster Yayoi Kusama exhibition runs until 21 April and includes many works never-before-seen by local audiences and is the largest ever exhibition of the artist’s work in Australia.
- The Blue Lotus Water Garden at Yarra Junction is one of Australia’s most spectacular seasonal gardens open to the public until 21 April 2025. The tropically themed water garden covers 14 acres featuring millions of beautiful lotus, waterlily and other flowers, stunning lakes, amazing vistas and wonderful facilities
- After leaving an indelible mark on Melbourne’s memory, Vincent van Gogh’s vibrant works will return to THE LUME Melbourne until 30 April 2025. Back by popular demand, Van Gogh is an enchanting experience that immerses you in a powerful multisensory symphony of light, colour, sound and aroma.
- Immerse yourself in the future worlds of screen culture. The Future & Other Fictions showcases the people and artworks imagining bright and bold futures through film, videogames, contemporary art and more at ACMI until 27 April.
- Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition is a new immersive exhibition that relives the spectacular history of the Notre-Dame de Paris in an augmented takeover of the Long Room at the Immigration Museum until 27 April.
- The ever-popular Skyline Ferris Wheel makes its return in St Kilda until 27 April. Take in the breath-taking views of the St Kilda foreshore and pier with unparalleled views!
- Hanging Rock Winery’s Art in the Vines Sculpture Exhibition is an opportunity wander a trail of discovery, glass-in-hand, through an extraordinary exhibition of contemporary outdoor sculpture, until 30 April 2025.
- The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition on loan from the Natural History Museum London is now on display at the National Wool Museum in Geelong until 18 May.
- From cattle dogs to lap dogs, divine felines to the black cats of superstition a new exhibition coming to the National Gallery of Victoria called Cats & Dogs, will explore humanity’s deep connection to the beloved companion animals through more than 250 works of art and design. Its on display from until 20 July 2025 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square.
What’s on in Melbourne and regional Victoria this week: 30 December 2024 – 5 January 2025
By Melbourning
