What’s on in Melbourne and Victoria in winter 2019
As tempting as it may be to hibernate indoors over winter, there are plenty of good reasons to get out and brave the cold. Here are our picks for the top things to do in the cooler months.
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There’s something enchanting about winter in Victoria.
It’s a time when nature is at its most dramatic; mountains are blanketed in white and coastlines display the power of the elements.
Regional townships shrug off dropping temperatures with cultural and food events that highlight all the delights of the season.
Winter is also a perfect time to reconnect with nature through the state’s many walks and trails, or to rejuvenate in natural hot springs.
From music and arts festivals to winery weekends and an infamously icy alpine plunge, Victoria has it all going on this winter.
Here are our picks of the best places to play (and stay) in the cooler months.
WINTER EVENTS
FALLS CREEK ICE PLUNGE
Celebrate the first official day of winter with Falls Creek locals, and pay homage to the snow gods for a stellar season with an icy plunge into Rocky Valley Lake.
At 1650m above sea level, the lake is Australia’s highest significant body of water and often freezes over in July and August — don your fancy dress and take a dip.
Falls Creek Ice Plunge, June 1.
WINE AND WILDLIFE 2019
Healesville Sanctuary’s popular Wine and Wildlife celebration is back, teaming wild animals with Yarra Valley producers.
This year brings an even bigger event space offering warming winter foods, drinks (including local wine, craft beer and cider) and entertainment across the entire Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
And, best of all, proceeds from ticket sales goes towards helping Zoos Victoria save the endangered Tasmanian devil from extinction.
Wine and Wildlife, Healesville Sanctuary, June 8-10.
WINTER LIGHT AT PORTSEA HOTEL
Renowned visual artist Carla O’Brien will light up Portsea Hotel on the Mornington Peninsula for its inaugural Winter Light pop-up over the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
The pop-up will feature O’Brien’s signature Neon Angel Wings and a pooch-friendly neon dog park.
Grab a spot in the pub’s beer garden and take in the view with a housemade mulled wine or cider.
Kids can get their sugar fix with a warm chocolate foutnain and marshmellows.
Winter Light, Portsea Hotel, June 7-10.
DINOSAURS AT THE ZOOS
Get your prehistoric fix with three very different Zoos Victoria dinosaur experiences.
Wander Werribee Open Range Zoo’s Zoorassic trail, get up close to the dinosaurs at Melbourne Zoo’s Dino Park, or check out the woolly mammoth and other megafauna on show at Healesville Sanctuary’s MegaBeasts exhibit.
Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Open Range Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary, until July 14.
WINTER WONDERLIGHTS
Sovereign Hill’s Main Street comes alive with light shows and festive decorations as part of the Ballarat Winter Festival.
There will be kids’ activities, faux snowfalls and Christmas trees during the day, and grand light projections on the historic building facades after dark.
Winter Wonderlights, Sovereign Hill, June 29-July 21
SLED DOG CHALLENGE
They’re off and racing down the tree-lined trails of Dinner Plain once again for Australia’s oldest and most prestigious sled dog race.
Cheer on the nation’s best “mushers” and dog teams as they line-up against some stiff international competition.
Sled Dog Challenge, Dinner Plain, August 10-11
WONDERLAND RUN
Winding its way through some of Victoria’s most scenic landscape, this two-day trail running event starts at Halls Gap and sends competitors off through the Grampians on five different routes ranging from 2km of flat terrain to the new 60km hill climb.
Wonderland Run, Halls Gap, August 24-25
ENTERTAINMENT
COME FROM AWAY
Hit Broadway musical Come From Away makes its Australian debut in Melbourne in July.
The show, from Australian producer Rodney Rigby, charts the grounding of flights in a Canadian town in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
The arrival of 38 planes, carrying almost 7000 people from all over the world, doubled the population of tiny Gander.
Come From Away, Comedy Theatre, from July.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
First it came to life on screen, now Roald Dahl’s famous tale has hit the stage.
Charlie, Willy Wonka and his magnificent chocolate factory land in Melbourne in August.
Make sure you snap up your golden ticket to what is sure to be a memorable musical.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Her Majesty’s Theatre, from August 9.
WINTER EXHIBITIONS
TERRACOTTA WARRIORS & CAI GUO-QIANG
The National Gallery of Victoria’s winter blockbuster exhibition brings together China’s mighty Terracotta Warriors and Qin Dynasty artefacts alongside works by one of the world’s biggest contemporary artists, Cai Guo-Qiang.
Make sure you make room for these five must-see works in your visiting schedule, including Guo-Qiang’s incredible 10,000 birds installation, Murmuration.
Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality & Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape, NGV, until October 13.
GOING ROUND IN SQUARES
Ararat’s Textile Art Museum of Australia is home to contemporary textile and fibre art collections, including works by artist Sera Waters, whose exhibition Going Round in Squares explores boundary lines that govern Australian life.
Going Round in Squares, Ararat Gallery TAMA, Until June 30.
TUDORS TO WINDSORS
This 150-strong collection of British royal portraits, is the latest exhibition win for Bendigo Art Gallery.
Tudors to Windsors, Bendigo Art Gallery, until July 14.
THE MOON
Famed for its permanent collection of early images of the city, Geelong Gallery embarks on a space odyssey this winter with The Moon, an exhibition of historical and contemporary artistic interpretations of the celestial body.
The Moon, Geelong Gallery, June 15 to September 1.
NO PICNIC AT NGANNELONG
If you ever doubted the breadth of Australia’s oldest and largest regional art gallery, check out its recent back catalogue of exhibitions, spanning 19-century French masterpieces to Picasso’s prints.
Next up is No Picnic at Ngannelong, artist Nana Ohnesorge’s look at the myth of Picnic at Hanging Rock.
No Picnic at Ngannelong, Art Gallery of Ballarat, until August 25.
COUNTRY FESTIVALS
PORT FAIRY WINTER WEEKENDS
From light shows to workshops and live music, the community festival celebrates the seaside town.
And you won’t want to miss the Dachshund Dash, now in its 14th year.
Port Fairy Winter Weekends, June 7-9, June 21-23, July 5-7, July 19-21
KING VALLEY BALLOON FESTIVAL
Held over the Queen’s Birthday break, every morning up to 20 balloons will launch from Brown Brothers Milawa Airfield during the Mass Ascensions.
In the evening, just after sunset, the Night Glow captures imaginations as tethered balloons glow in time to music.
This year’s festival also includes the van Gogh balloon — a 3D version of the Dutch painter’s Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat faithfully reproduced from the original artwork.
King Valley Balloon Festival, June 7-10
ISLAND WHALE FESTIVAL
Every year, thousands of whales leave Antarctica, migrating to the warmer waters of North Queensland to give birth, before returning to Antarctica for food.
The waters off Phillip Island are among the first stops on their journey north, and the Island Whale Festival celebrates the arrival of humpback and southern right whales, as well as the occasional orca — or killer whale.
The festival hub is at the Cowes Cultural Centre, with immersive activities and events hosted across San Remo and Phillip Island.
Grab your binoculars and walk, ride or drive to one of the island’s many whale-watching lookouts along the Bass Coast Whale Discovery Trail.
Cape Woolamai, Surf Beach, Pyramid Rock, The Nobbies or the Summerlands area are prime vantage points.
Island Whale Festival, Phillip Island, July 5-7
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ARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVALS
WOODEND WINTER ARTS FESTIVAL
Established 15 years ago as a baroque music festival to entertain locals during a dreary winter, the Woodend Winter Arts Festival program has expanded to include classical music, jazz, world music, literary talks and visual arts.
Author Toni Jordan and oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros headline this year’s event.
Woodend Winter Arts Festival, June 7-10
CASTLEMAINE JAZZ FESTIVAL
This volunteer-run, grassroots festival is only five years old but has already attracted some big-name talent, such as British-Australian vocalist Hetty Kate, to Castlemaine’s classic music and theatre venues.
Castlemaine Jazz Festival, June 7-10
NATIONAL CELTIC FOLK FESTIVAL
Held annually at Portarlington, this festive extravaganza showcases all that is wonderful about the world of folk music.
The program also offers a diverse range of art forms including masterclasses and workshops, theatre/spoken word events and community projects and markets.
National Celtic Folk Festival, June 7-10
LOW LIGHT
Discover Queenscliff in a different light as public spaces, galleries, bars and restaurants come alive with exhibitions, film screenings, literary readings, live music and gourmet produce in this boutique fringe festival.
Low Light, Queenscliff, June 22-24, June 29-July 1, July 6-8, July 13-15
MILDURA WRITERS FESTIVAL
Homegrown authors Helen Garner and Moreno Giovannoni have been confirmed as the headliners for this celebration of the written word.
The program features readings, workshops and talks with top literary talent.
Mildura Writers Festival, July 18-21
WINTER BLUES FESTIVAL
Rocking bluegrass boogie band 19-Twenty, singer and slide guitarist 8 Ball Aitken and folksy swamp blues outfit Jess Parker & The Troubled Waters are among the first artists revealed in the line-up for Echuca-Moama’s free blues festival.
Winter Blues Festival, Echuca-Moama, July 25-28
BALLARAT INTERNATIONAL FOTO BIENNALE
The photography festival has cemented its status as one of Australia’s best, with exhibitions in more than 100 buildings and laneways drawing record crowds. See it in the Union Bank building, its new permanent home.
Ballarat International Foto Biennale, August 23-October 20
BEST PLACES FOR SOME WINTER R & R
THE SPA BEECHWORTH
Reconnect with Mother Nature without leaving the comfort of this luxury wellness retreat with The Spa’s bush body treatment, featuring a rich wattle seed scrub and a full body massage with peppermint gum-infused lotion.
The Spa Beechworth, 9 Warner Rd, Beechworth.
PENINSULA HOT SPRINGS
Victoria’s first natural thermal mineral springs has evolved into more than 20 bathing experiences from Turkish steam baths (hammams) to a hilltop pool with 360-degree views of the Mornington Peninsula.
The new wellness program brings movement into the mix, with yoga, pilates and mindfulness walks.
Peninsula Hot Springs, 140 Springs Lane, Fingal.
ONSEN RETREAT AND SPA
Soak those ski-sore muscles in a Japanese-inspired, 38C outdoor onsen in the heart of Dinner Plain Village.
If that doesn’t cure what ails you, there is a full menu of massage therapies to relieve aches and pains.
Onsen Retreat and Spa, Big Muster Drive, Dinner Plain.
HEPBURN BATHHOUSE AND SPA
Hepburn Springs came in at No.4 on TripAdvisor’s list of the world’s best wellness destinations for 2019, but its flagship mineral bath house has been perfecting its offering since 1895.
Relax with a hydromassage in an underwater spa couch, restore in the aroma steam room, then rejuvenate with a mineral hammam.
Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, Mineral Springs Reserve Road, Hepburn Springs.
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