Your guide to what’s on in Melbourne this weekend
FROM festivals and fashion to art, exhibitions and family-friendly activities, we have your essential guide to all the events happening across Melbourne this weekend.
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FROM festivals and fashion to art, exhibitions and family-friendly activities, we have your essential guide to all the events happening across Melbourne this weekend.
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Concerts, gigs and theatre
Victorian State Schools Spectacular
Melbourne Arena — Saturday 1pm and 6.30pm. Tickets from $20.
MORE than 3000 students from 200 schools across Victoria will hit the stage for the 2018 Victorian State Schools Spectacular at Melbourne Arena this weekend.
This year’s extravaganza, With the Beat, is set for two shows on Saturday exploring identity and belonging. With a 75-piece orchestra and a choir of 1300 students performing hits from artists like Macklemore, Imagine Dragons and Hans Zimmer, the show is bound to please your ear drums.
Concert: Stand By Your Woman
Hamer Hall — Sunday 7.30pm. Tickets: $30 to $75.
One-off concerts feel different. You and a bunch of people are locked in an experience for which seven billion other people would wish admittance. Stand By Your Woman is a gig starring the SPIRE ensemble led by violin femme Xani Kolac and guests Kate Ceberano, Mantra, Clare Bowditch, Mojo Juju (below, flying), Rebecca Barnard, Tripod, Thando, Nkechi Anele and Powderfinger’s Darren Middleton.
Comedy Gig: John Safran
The Yarraville Club, 135 Stephen St — Saturday 6.30/8PM. $25 TO $99.
People forget John Safran came last on ABC documentary series Race Around The World. He’s gone on to roaring success as a writer, broadcaster and film maker. See his Yarraville Laughs debut in Jew Detective: Sarcasm is not a Crime. He’ll be sharing anecdotes from his encounters with bigots, religious extremists and online trolls.
Theatre: Vedic Vibe
Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St — Saturday 6.30-9.30pm $20/$25.
Vedic Vibe wants three hours of your time. Go on an adventure that will change
a child’s life and add great richness to yours. Vedic Vibe conducts soul-nourishing chants and raises money for Type 1 diabetes research. There’ll be live music, dance, poetry, and chanting.
Concert: Raul Midon
Birds Basement, 11 Singers Lane — Saturday and Sunday. $65/$85
The Grammy Award-nominated singer and virtuoso guitarist is midway through a riveting residency and has the wind in his sails. He’ll play Latin jazz cuts from his Bad Ass and Blind album. Very smooth. Support from J.R. Reyne.
Concert: Tex Perkins and Matt Walker
Upwey, Thursday, 8pm; Caravan Music Club, Bentleigh East, Friday, 8pm; The Toff in Town, city, Saturday, 8pm, Various prices.
If you want a job done right, go to the professionals. Tex Perkins and Matt Walker have played more gigs than you’ve had hot brunches. See the duo go deep.
Concert: A Feast of Music
Throughout Daylesford. Starts Friday until Sunday. Various times. $49 to $379.
Melbourne Chamber Orchestra goes regional with Singapore-based cellist Li-Wei Qin and Swiss guitarist Christoph Denoth. They’ll play five events across three days with Spanish, Italian and (yep) chamber music.
Opera: The Space Between
The Playhouse, The Arts Centre — All week until September 23rd. $35 to $70.
Created by Paul Grabowsky and Steve Vizard and starring Australia’s most highly awarded soprano Emma Matthews. It’s about the endless quest for meaning. Let’s hope she finds it.
Fun things to do
Madman Anime Festival
Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Wharf — Saturday and Sunday — Various times and prices
From kawaii to ka-razy, the Madman Anime Festival is Australia’s premier Japanese Culture festival. As a child of the ‘80s, I imitated Astro Boy’s robust flying and watched Akira and Ninja Scroll when I was old enough not to get freaked out by the ultraviolence. These characters are ready for our biggest Cosplay competition: Rai Kurosawa as EMIYA (Fate Unlimited Blade Works), Lionel Lim as Shirou Kotomine (Fate Apocrypha) and Tiaz Imtiaz as Krillin (Dragon Ball Super). Everyone can play Bandai Namco games Jump Force, My Hero: One’s Justice, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker and more. See exhibitions and shout “YOSH” as you get into it.
Fundraising Ride: Amy‘s Grand Fondo
Starts and finishes Mountjoy pde, Lorne — Saturday-Sunday 8.15am. Free. Donate.
This is a fundraising ride in memory of late cyclist Amy Gillett. Cheer on cyclists helping to gather cash for the Amy Gillett Foundation, to promote safe bike riding in Australia. Go along to the event village for music, food and entertainment.
More information and registration
Film: Ranger to Ranger documentary
Werribee Open Range Zoo — Saturday 5.15pm, $9.99.
Beautiful, tasteful documentary that follows a group of indigenous Australian rangers as they travel to Kenya to learn with Maasai community rangers.
The Fringe Festival’s Dog Show
North Melbourne Town Hall — Starts Friday. Various times. $20 to $25.
We believe in equal opportunities. What good is plugging a cat show if you can’t even it up with a puppy showcase? The Fringe Festival’s Dog Show is hybrid theatre, flea-free. There’s a live score by psychedelic rock drummer Cassandra Kumaschow and camp, best-in-showy performances by Simone French, Alex Roe and Adam Ibrahim. The show has clowning tangents, physical comedy and drag digressions. No dogs allowed.
Kids in Fashion
The Space Dance and Arts Centre, Level 2/1 Carlton St, Prahran. Saturday 4pm. FREE.
This is some tagline: “London, Paris, Rome. The City of Stonnington.” Adele Varcoe has gathered young, whipsmart collaborators: Jane, Lola, Ethan, Chelsie, Yarran, Poppy, Eva and Vu and helped them realise their dreams.
Doggie Picnic Adventures
Saturday 9.30am $10 to $125.
Take Bella, the dog-friendly bus, and eat a gourmet lunch at Hanging Rock.
Workshop: Queen of Chocolate
22 Wilson Ave, Brunswick. Saturday, 12-4pm. FREE
Kirsten Tibballs has decided it’s time to fling open the doors and let everyone savour the Savour. Next weekend she’ll be having an Open Day and showing classes how melt-in-your-mouth chocolates, macarons and petit fours are made.
Japan Weekend
Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort, 32 Currawong Rd — Saturday
Drumming by Wadaiko Rindo, dancing by Zen Yosakoi, Japanese cuisine and an all-day Yukigassen snowball fighting contest. Keep your ski goggles on.
Things to do with kids and family
African Dance Workshop
Queen Victoria Market — Various times. FREE.
Kwabo dance workshops for all ages and skill levels. I promise.
The Rain Garden
William Angliss Institute, 550 Little Lonsdale St — Saturday 10am-3.30pm $5/$8. UNDER 18S FREE.
Kids watch how young chefs cook and learn to make meals.
Jurassic Creatures
St Kilda Triangle — Saturday-Sunday until October 14 — 10am, 2pm $28.50.
Thirty life-size moving dinosaurs plus 3D jigsaw land and dinosaur inflatable activity lands.
Baby Story Time
Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries. Various times. FREE
Short session of rhymes, stories and fingerplay. Circuit-breaker.
Upunlimited
4/444 Warrigal Rd, Moorabbin. Various times and prices.
Thirty challenging obstacles, 85m of ultra-realistic caves for ages six and up.
Markets
Handmade Show
164 Neerim Rd, Glen Huntly — Saturday 10.30am-3.30pm.
Earth Care Botanicals, Let’s Eat Cake fudge and confectionery, Pretty Sparkle/Beadhub Creations.
Ivanhoe Markets
Livingstone St — Saturday 10am-3pm.
Paintings and cards by Stuart Dea, woodwork by Smiljin, Bev Manders Jewellery, candles, heat bags, handmade crafts.
Flemington
Epsom Rd — Sunday, 9am-2pm
Leila May candles, Carla Renee Art watercolours,
Nataliya Jewellery, Oh So Boho Knotted macramé,
Bones & Whiskers treats.
Prahran
Commercial rd — Saturday 7am-3pm and Sunday 10am-3pm
More than 70 stalls: vegies, meat, fish, poultry, eggs. Wilson & Market, Maker & Monger, Seoul Kitchen.
North Essendon
Lincoln Park — Sunday 8am-1pm
Farmers market. Heaps of regular stalls, plants, fresh produce, meats, Lockton Farm Gourmet Sausages. BYO reusable bags.
What’s on this week in Melbourne
Gertrude Street Projection Festival
Atherton Gardens, 119 Gertrude st Fitzroy — Fri.-next sat, 6-9pm. FREE.
Every year, the Gertrude Street Projection Festival pulls something new out of the bag. See projection artwork by Kate Geck and a special installation titled Ignite which shows swooping, observational projections on housing estates. That’s a bright idea.
The Best Medicine: Comedy Writing on screen
ACMI @ Fed Square. Tue, 6.30pm $15 to $22.
See an informative talk about comedy writing on screen with Alistair Baldwin (writer for The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, Get Krack! n), Nayuka Gorrie (writer for SBS comedy) and Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, co-writers of The Katering Show.
Hell Ship
750 Mount Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds. Wednesday, 8PM. $44
This ambitious theatre piece by comedian Michael Veitch about the journey of the emigrant ship Ticonderoga is the tale of one of the most tragic true and treacherous stories in our maritime history. He takes us back to 1852 and dashes us on the rocks.
Starting School
Festival Club, 521 Queensberry St. North Melbourne — Next Saturday, 2PM. FREE.
DJ Caity K plays Madonna, Michael Jackson, Jarvis Cocker and TLC.
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