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Night Feast, Oktoberfest and more: The best things to do in Brisbane this week
By Nick Dent
How do you deal with a grand final comedown in Brisbane? With an abundance of eating and drinking, of course.
This week, Brisbane Powerhouse brings back its fine food and booze extravaganza, Night Feast, for spring.
Elsewhere, Oktoberfest celebrations mean schnitzel, pork knuckles and very large steins of Bavarian beer.
While you’re living it up at the Powerhouse, be sure to check out the famous faces in the Brisbane Portrait Prize. Also on the arts front, Queensland Ballet is reviving its toe-tapping Strictly Gershwin, and the Japanese Film Festival kicks off with free screenings at the GOMA.
From horticultural fairs to horror movie sequels, Delta to Weezer, there’s something exciting for any taste to see and do around town.
Monday, October 2
Lightscape is a ticketed night-time experience in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens.Credit: Lightscape
Festivals: Lightscape
Wander through a dazzling world of light and colour with this illuminated experience showcasing the gardens as you’ve never seen them before.
Brisbane Botanic Gardens, until Oct 8, 5.45-8.30pm, $28-$55. Buy tickets.
Food & Drink: Lagerpalooza
Felons is the scene for Queensland’s largest outdoor lager festival running for the whole long weekend, with tastings, food, live music and family-friendly entertainment.
Felons, Howard Smith Wharves, Sep 30-Oct 2, $20-$90. Buy tickets.
Tuesday, October 3
Artist Nicola Hooper is a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize with her unusual lithograph of her son Declan Hooper.Credit: Nick Dent
Art: Brisbane Portrait Prize
The 70 finalists in the main competition – plus the 14 finalists in the under-18 Next Gen competition – display incredible artistry in their portraits of people with a connection to Brisbane.
Brisbane Powerhouse, Sep 28-Oct 29, 10.30am-4.30pm, free.
Music: Delta Goodrem
Goodrem’s Innocent Eyes is the highest-selling debut album in Australian music history – she’ll play the album live in this intimate concert event to mark its 20th anniversary.
Concert Hall, QPAC, Oct 3-4, $99-$599. Buy tickets.
Wednesday, October 4
Night Feast will feature pop-up eats from leading Brisbane chefs along with immersive art and music.Credit: Lachlan Douglas
Food & Drink: Night Feast
Chefs from 25 top restaurants and bars will showcase their signature dishes from pop-up kitchens in the Brisbane Powerhouse forecourt and surrounds. Entry is free; food and drinks are not.
Brisbane Powerhouse, Oct 4-29.
Dance: Strictly Gershwin
Interpreting the great songs and music of George and Ira Gershwin, Strictly Gershwin has become a favourite of Queensland Ballet repertoire, with toe-tapping hits of the art deco era and debonair dance routines.
Lyric Theatre, QPAC, Sep 28-Oct 7, various times, $84-$163. Buy tickets.
Thursday, October 5
Leslie Odom jnr and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist: Believer, directed by David Gordon Green.Credit: © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Film: The Exorcist: Believer
Fifty years after the original horror masterpiece turned heads, that film’s star, Ellen Burstyn, makes a belated return for a sixth in the franchise that hopefully will buck the trend of underwhelming Satanic sequels.
In cinemas.
Theatre: Every Brilliant Thing
This crowd-pleasing interactive comedy has a young boy attempting to bring his mother out of depression by making her a list of every brilliant thing in the world.
Metro Arts, Oct 4-21, 7.30pm, $39-$45. Buy tickets.
Friday, October 6
Ko Nakahira’s 1956 film Juvenile Jungle screens in a retrospective at QAGOMA as part of the Japanese Film Festival.Credit: ©1956 Nikkatsu
Film: Ko Nakahira retrospective
Enjoy free screenings today of new wave classics Juvenile Jungle (1956) at 6pm and Danger’s Where The Money Is (1962) at 8pm – as part of the Japanese Film Festival.
QAGOMA, Oct 6-11, free.
Music: Flight Facilities
The Down to Earth and Forever mix masters are embarking on a new DJ tour, digging deep into vinyl from the 1970s to today.
Fortitude Music Hall, 7pm, $69.90-$79.90. Buy tickets.
Saturday, October 7
Plantapalooza at the Rocklea Markets this Saturday is an opportunity to stock up on plants and attend gardening workshops.Credit: Saturday Fresh Market
Markets: Plantapalooza
Expect thousands of indoor and outdoor plants, flowers and succulents, demonstrations from stallholders and horticulture experts, and activities for the kids.
Saturday Fresh Market Rocklea, 385 Sherwood Road, Rocklea, 6am-1pm, $2 pedestrian entry, $6 with premium parking.
Art: Northshore Sculpture by the River
Prominent Queensland sculptors will be displaying their work along the riverfront and at an indoor location, and all work is for sale.
Hamilton Northshore Walkway & The Shed, Hamilton. Oct 7-Dec 3, free.
Sunday, October 8
Valley Hops Brewing is serving slow-cooked pork knuckle, smoked garlic kraut, brioche buns, fries and condiments for Oktoberfest.Credit: Axis Productions
Food & Drink: Oktoberfest Sunday Sesh
If you love Bavarian beer, bratwurst and pork knuckle, then this is the month for you to be on the rooftop at Cloudland with food specials, oom-pah bands and lederhosen as far as the eye can see.
Valley Hops Brewing, Oct 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 12pm to 3pm.
Music: Weezer
Whether you look like Buddy Holly or Mary Tyler Moore, or feel like running away to an island in the sun, the nerd-rock superstars will play all the hits from 30 years of bespectacled greatness. Their Brissie contemporaries Regurgitator are in support.
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 8pm, $101.75-$132.30. Buy tickets.
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