All posts tagged: festivals

Mosaic Festival 2015

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If you don’t have anything planned for today, head to City Square in the CBD for the 2015 Mosaic Festival. Run by the Victorian Immigrant & Refugee Women’s Coalition (VIRWC), the festival celebrates our cultural diversity and encourages the participation of the whole community. There will be all kind of tasty cuisines — Filipino (GJ’s Grill), Afghan, Syrian, Malay, Indonesian (MiHUB Cafe) and Turkish (Alevi Community Council) — as well as live performances and stalls. If you need any more incentive to attend, the incredibly talented Ning Xue will be there doing one-minute portraits for lucky visitors. This is such a lovely initiative, and if I wasn’t house-bound with the flu I’d definitely be there. The festival will start at 11am and runs till 5pm. Show your support for these lovely ladies and our community’s cultural diversity today — and treat yourself to some tasty treats!   Mosaic Festival 2015   Date: 26 April 2015 Time: 11am–5pm Where: City Square, Melbourne CBD Damage: Free

Children’s Book Festival 2015

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This coming Sunday the kids of Melbourne (and the big kids at heart) are in for a treat. The Children’s Book Fair 2015 will take over the State Library and the Wheeler Centre from 10am till 4pm, featuring author talks, live performances, a picnic library, and a Monster Marquee where you can make a pair of horns to wear and keep — among other fun stuff. The entire event is free for all, but you will need to book seats for the ‘Meet the Authors and Illustrators’ sessions. Unfortunately a few of the big name author sessions — Shaun Tan, Andy Griffiths, Hazel Edwards — are already booked out, but there are still tickets available for the others. If your heart’s set on attending one of these booked out talks, it’s sometimes still worth turning up on the day to see if have been any cancellations or no-shows — but be prepared for disappointment. You can view the entire day’s programme here.   Children’s Book Festival 2015 Date: 22 March 2015 Time: 10am–4pm Venue: State Library …

Events: Melbourne Fringe, Muff and Mexfest 2014

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Melbourne loves its festivals, and as we head towards summer they’ll just keep coming. And coming. Here’s a few, to begin with. Starting tomorrow is the Melbourne underground Film Festival. Founded in 2000, MUFF celebrates ‘avant garde, cutting edge, and underground film from both local filmmakers and abroad’ and has drawn fire in the past for screening banned films. This Sunday, Federation Square will host the Mexican Festival, where you’ll find live music and dance performances, tasty food and the traditional ‘El Grito’ ceremony to mark Mexican Independence. And finally, next week will kick off the fabulous Melbourne Fringe Festival, showcasing a tonne of local artists from theatre, circus, music and cabaret to dance, visual art, live art, comedy and kids performers. Check out the full program here. Time to get festive, Melbourne!   Melbourne Underground Film Festival When: 12–19 September 2014 Where: The Backlot Studios Address: 65 Haig St, Southbank   Mexican Festival 2014 When: 11.30am–8pm, 14 September 2014 Where: Federation Square, Melbourne   Melbourne Fringe Festival 2014 When: 17 September — 5 October 2014 Where: various …

Melbourne Writers Festival 2014

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As we inch towards spring, we also approach another major event on Melbourne’s calendar: the annual Melbourne Writers Festival. This year brings a number of big names to Melbourne, including Booker-of-Bookers winner Salman Rushdie; astronaut, writer and social media phenomenon Chris (‘Good morning, Earth’) Hadfield; and Australian author Helen Garner (delivering the opening night address). There will be discussions, workshops, book launches, exhibitions and more happening over the festival’s ten days, with a bunch of free events in the mix. Check out the full programme here. MWF events often sell out fast, so if you’re keen on a particular event it’s a good idea to book early. I always get a bit huffy at the absurd cost of some of these events (if you want to see Rushdie do his thing you’ll have to fork out $130) — there’s no doubt these prices exclude an enormous section of the community. But most events are reasonably priced at around $22 (full) / $19 (concession). Ladies and gentlemen, the countdown is on. You’re in a City of …

Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival 2014

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Australia’s Indigenous cultures are the oldest continuing cultures in the world, stretching back at least 50,000 years. Unfortunately, we in the big cities are rarely treated to the these cultures as most Indigenous people live in rural areas — but for the next ten days all that will change. The Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival, which kicked off on the 5th, showcases the work of Indigenous musicians, dancers, actors, writers, visual artists and many more. This weekend, Federation Square and Birrarung Marr will be packed with free events, including performances by well-known Indigenous singers Archie Roach and Jessica Mauboy, dance performances, a Koorioboree, and the Koorie Night Market. For more details on these events and many more, check out the full online MIAF programme.   Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival 2014 Dates: 5–16 February, 2014 Times: 10am–late Where: Federation Square and Birrarung Marr, Melbourne  

Chinese New Year in Melbourne

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Happy Chinese New Year! Or 新年好! (I’ll pretend for a moment I translated that with no help whatsoever.) The Chinese New Year festivities kick off today, with celebrations continuing in various locations around Melbourne for the next two weeks. If you’re near the city, you can check out the special events happening in Federation Square on Friday (today) or Saturday (1 February), or join the traditional ceremonies in Chinatown in the CBD on Sunday, including the Dragon Awakening Ceremony. For more info on what’s on where, click here. Enjoy the Year of the Horse!  

Melbourne Music Week 2013

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If you love music, you’re in the right place. Not only is Melbourne the nation’s undoubted live music capital, with great live music happening all year round, but, for the next week, musicians from all over the world will converge on the city for Melbourne Music Week 2013. Starting today and winding up on the 24th, the festival includes acts from Norway, Germany, the UK, the USA and New Zealand, plus a tonne of home-grown talent.     On Saturday evening, Panthu Du Prince will work some magic on the Federation Bells at Birrarung Marr in the free event Panthu Du Prince vs Federation Bells. Another undoubtedly entertaining evening will be the free No Lights No Lycra dance class to be held in the art-deco Campbell Arcade on 21 November. (Read more about NLNL here.) For full line-up details, visit the MMW 2013 programme, which includes a bunch of free events.   Melbourne Music Week 2013 Dates: 15–24 November Tel: 9658 9658 Email: melbournemusic@melbourne.vic.gov.au  

Events: Indian today, Italian tomorrow

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A quick last-minute heads up for you all: two multicultural festivals will be happening in Melbourne this weekend — the Indian Diwali Festival of Light today, and the Carlton Italian Festa tomorrow. The Diwali Festival kicks off at noon in Federation Square and will finish up at 9.30pm. The festivities will include dance performances by an Indian folk dance troupe, food and craft stalls, and fireworks over the Yarra River this evening. Tomorrow, the Italian Festa starts at 11am and includes music performances (including a headline act by a suitably shiny-haired Italian import called Patrizio Buanne), food, pasta-making workshops and the inevitable line-up of gleaming cars and motorcycles. It all wraps up at 8pm. So, no excuses. Get out and get cultured, Melbourne!   Diwali Festival of Light 2013 Date: 26 October 2013 Time: 12pm–9.30pm Where: Federation Square, Melbourne   Carlton Italian Festa 2013 Date: 27 October 2013 Time: 11am–8pm Where: Piazza Italian, Lygon St, Carlton    

Antenna Documentary Festival 2013

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For the first time since its inception in Sydney three years ago, the Antenna Documentary Festival will this year come to Melbourne. The Melbourne tour will showcase twelve international feature-length documentaries, to be screened at ACMI in Federation Square from tomorrow (the 19th) until Monday. Among the collection are the critically well-received After Tiller by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, and Fire in the Blood by Dylan Mohan Gray (see the trailer below).     Tickets are $17 full / $15 concession, or you can buy a five- or three-session pass. Check the ACMI website for ticketing, times and booking info.   Antenna Documentary Festival 2013 Dates: 17–20 October 2013 Venue: ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne Damage: $17 full / $15 concession / $14 ACMI members  

melbourne writers festival 2013

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  To all the writers, poets, journalists, illustrators, critics, readers and other curious minds out there — drop what you’re doing and head to the Melbourne Writers Festival website because you’ll want to book tickets early this year. The festival program is divided into different categories including Identity & Politics; Journalism; Art, Music & Performance; Professional Development; and, of course, Literature. Click here to see a list of speakers appearing at this year’s MWF. There is also a range of great free events. Join the TV audience of the ABC’s ‘Book Club with Jennifer Byrne‘, listen to Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler talk about his new book Dark Lands, or see some of Australia’s most distinguished journalists discuss a myriad of issues confronting today’s media in the ‘New News‘ sessions — all for free. Tickets to most sessions are around $20, with a few high-profile sessions and professional development events costing more. Note that some of the free events require bookings — check the individual event pages for details.   Melbourne Writers Festival 2013 Dates: 22 August …