- The Whittlesea Monday Market’s Mega Australia Day Market is on 27 January
- Get ready to be mesmerised by the breathtaking beauty of our blue planet at the Ocean Photographer of the Year Exhibition, hosted at Seaworks Williamstown opening on 29 January.
- The 2025 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is on in Torquay from 29 January to 2 February.
- The Other Art Fair is on at the Timer Yard, Port Melbourne, from 30 January to 2 February
- Join Dr Judith Buckrich as she investigates the Yarra River’s 200 years of cultural significance in an enlightening Author Talk on 30 January at the Richmond Library.
- Explore the timeless elegance of Women’s Ao Dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress commonly worn by Vietnamese women at an exhibition in Sunshine from 30 January to 27 March
- Extend your summer nights and experience the magic of World Fare @ Night – Dandenong Market’s signature event! Back for its fourth year, this free family-friendly celebration is bringing together food, culture, and entertainment from 30 January – 1 February.
- See Australia and England make history in the first day-night test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from 30 January – 2 February. Don’t miss the highlight of the CommBank Women’s Ashes Series and the ultimate decider as Australia strives to retain the trophy.
- The Mansfield OzCarFest will celebrate all things that iconic Australia classics represent on 30 January.
- The Queenscliff Harbour Twilight Market is on 31 January.
- The Melbourne Pool Spa Life Expo at MCEC from 31 January to 2 February helps you turn your pool and spa dreams into a reality, offering the latest information, innovative products, design inspiration and expert advice…all under one roof.
- The Preston Lions Macedonian Community Festival is happening in Reservoir from 31 January to 2 February.
- There’s a 30th anniversary screening of To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar at Bunjil Place in Narre Warren as part of Midsumma on 31 January.
- Sealife aquarium is having a party to celebrate its famous penguin Pesto’s first birthday on 31 January.
- The annual Dome Under Film Festival returns to the Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks for its fifth year, offering 3 days of back-to-back fulldome films from 31 January to 2 February.
- Celebrate 25 years of country music at the Whittlesea Country Music Festival on 1 February – it’s gonna be a boot-scootin’ good time!
- The Pakenham Psychic an Holistic Market is on 1 February.
- BMW Opera for All presented by Opera Australia and Fed Square, is a global concert series that returns to Australia for its third year on 1 February 2025, exclusive to Melbourne.
- Park Lounge on 1 February is the biggest celebration of the vibrant and colourful community in Melbourne’s west with unforgettable night of music, dance, and performance at Kelly Park in Werribee.
- Aquanation in Ringwood is rolling out the rainbow carpet to host the LGBTIQA+ community for a pride-filled pool party extravaganza on 1 February.
- The Richmond Urban Wine Walk is on 1 February.
- Celebrate the Year of the Snake with Melbourne’s biggest Lunar New Year event in Box Hill on 1 February.
- The Derrimut Weelam Gathering Place St Kilda Football Club First Nations Peoples Family Day is taking place at RSEA Park Moorabbin on 1 February.
- Step into the joy of Lunar New Year as Melbourne Museum transforms into a vibrant hub of celebration, with traditional performances, activities and captivating experiences for all ages on 1 February
- The Tuff Streeters Festival is back—bigger, louder, and better than ever at Calder Park Raceway on 1 February.
- Celebrate Lunar New Year on 1 February with traditional Dragon and Lion Dancers as they dance around the South Melbourne Market, bringing in the Year of the Snake.
- On 1 February don’t miss the grand finale of the Lunar New Year celebrations at Koornang Road in Carnegie —a spectacular Lion and Dragon Dance performance!
- Welcome to Brunswick is hosting a hot dog festival and hot dog eating competition on 1 February.
- The Bohemian Market Bulla is on 1 February.
- The Herbert Cafe in Northcote is hosting a Flea Market on 1 February.
- Celebrate the Lunar New Year at Century City in Glen Waverley with a spectacular Lion Dance performance on Saturday 1 February
- The 5K Foam Fest event in Wandin North on 1 February 2025 is a one-of-a-kind obstacle course-based fun run. It includes some of the most exciting obstacles in the world, including the world’s largest inflatable waterslide, mud pits and 2.5 million cubic feet of foam.
- Kyabram Tastes + Tunes on 1 February promises to be a fun filled night for the whole family with free entry, local food vendors, street dining, kids activities and more.
- Celebrate the Year of the Snake with a weekend of music, food, crafts, and cultural activities at Sovereign Hill on 1-2 February.
- Celebrate Lunar New Year with multi-cultural food and entertainment at the Lunar New Year Festival at the Dai Gum San precinct in Bendigo on 1 February
- The annual Midsumma Pride March will take place on Sunday 2 February in St Kilda.
- The Croydon Show is on 2 February.
- Pride Night is a free celebration with a DJ, drag artists, fun activities, fitness classes and access to pool facilities on 2 February at Aquarena in Lower Templestowe.
- The Lunar New Year Festival in Victoria Street Richmond is on 2 February.
- Eat, discover and celebrate Lunar New Year in Springvale on 2 February
- The Melbourne Chinese Lunar New Year Festival is on in Chinatown on 2 February
- Join the Sun Theatre in Yarraville for a special dog friendly screening of Black Dog on Sunday 2 February.
- The Crate Digger Record Fair returns to The Corner Hotel in Richmond on 2 February.
- Burwood Brickworks is hosting a Lunar New Year Festival on 2 February with with an exciting lineup of events.
- The Brighton Art Society’s Open Day is on 2 February.
- There’s a Japanese Sunday Market on at Ezistreat in North Melbourne on 2 February.
- Stonnington Leisure’s Summer Pool Party is on at the Harold Holt Swim Centre in Glen Iris on 2 February.
- M-City in Clayton is hosting festivities to celebrate Lunar New Year on 2 February.
- Melbourne’s premier LGBTQIA+ cultural celebration, the Midsumma Festival, is set to illuminate the city until Sunday, 9 February 2025.
- Until 9 February, QV Melbourne will celebrate Lunar New Year with an interactive Snakes & Ladders experience. The playful and architectural twist on the classic game of snakes and ladders will take over QV Square, in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD.
- This Lunar New Year, join the celebrations at The Glen and Box Hill Central shopping centres and take part in a vibrant cultural experience. Until 12 February, both centres will host a variety of free and family-friendly activities to mark the Year of the Snake.
- 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.
- Until 3 March 2025, Rooftop at QT is hosting the Red Bull Rally Rooftop Pickleball Court, set against the breathtaking Melbourne skyline.
- 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.
- Get ready for unforgettable summer evenings when the Summer Night Market returns to Queen Victoria Market until 12 March 2025 (excluding 25 December and 1 January).
- Enjoy a curated program of free outdoor cinema on the Big Screen at Federation Square until 25 March including major blockbusters, Kung Fu classics, silent cinema with live scores, and film festival screenings.
- Explore the timeless elegance of Women’s Ao Dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress commonly worn by Vietnamese women at an exhibition in Sunshine until 27 March
- On display for the first time outside of Europe, Underground: The Hidden Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM) until 30 March with rare artefacts from the hidden archive of the Warsaw Ghetto.
- Moonlight Cinema is back at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens with a stellar line-up of some of 2024’s best releases, plus two weeks of classic ‘Christmas Favourites’ until 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.
- Get ready to be mesmerised by the breathtaking beauty of our blue planet at the Ocean Photographer of the Year Exhibition, hosted at Seaworks Williamstown until 6 July.
- 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: 27 January to 2 February 2025
By Melbourning
