All posts filed under: culture

Australia Day Festival

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Australia Day is a significant celebration for the Greater Dandenong community with over 11,000 local residents expected to enjoy the festival with family, neighbours and friends. Australia Day presents a great opportunity for people of different backgrounds and experiences to gather together and reflect on what it means to be Australian, and to celebrate the things we have in common. The award winning Australia Day Festival will be held in Dandenong Park, corner of Pultney and Foster streets on Saturday 26 January 2019, from 3pm to 9.30pm. This all-ages event will include a Flag Raising Ceremony and the presentation of the Australia Day Awards on the main stage. This free family friendly event will feature two stages with live entertainment, roving performers, a dedicated food court, community and market stalls, exciting rides ($2-$6), free family activities, and will conclude with a grand fireworks finale at 9.25pm. For extra fun, ride your bike to the event and receive two free ride tokens and valet bike parking. Event highlights: Australia Day Award Ceremony Cultural performances on the Main Stage …

Village Market comes to Werribee Zoo

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Werribee Open Range Zoo’s lawns will come to life this February and March with the Village Market. Stalls, performances, food, drink and craft activities will infuse each Sunday with all the colours and flavours of Africa in this brand-new experience. What: Village Market is a new Sunday experience at Werribee Open Range Zoo featuring stalls, musical performances, food, drink and craft activities. When: 11am – 3pm each Sunday in February and March 2019. Cost: Free with a general admission ticket (kids under 16 free on weekends). Food, drink and wares available for purchase.

Unveiling of the biggest rhino sculpture in Melbourne

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On 2nd February 2019, the Melbourne public will be bewildered by the unveiling of The Wonderful Two, which will offer the creation of lifelong memories through a unique and interactive sculpture experience. The bronze immortalization of Najin and Fatu by Australian eco-warrior artists Gillie and Marc will be instrumental in bringing hope to the survival of rhinos! The sculpture will be proudly launched at Republica, St. Kilda Sea Baths, right on the St Kilda foreshore, on Melbourne’s second most visited destination, St Kilda Beach. This is an incredible location that will give visibility and create awareness for this very important cause, so Gillie and Marc are extremely grateful for this opportunity. The sculpture is set to be aligned with the hashtag #LoveTheLast. Visitors will be asked to take a photo with the artwork and share it with the hashtag, jump starting efforts to spread critical awareness. Signage will also educate, and direct the public to a donations page set-up for Najin and Fatu, so they can live out their much-deserved final days in peace at Ol …

Kidchella & Summer Nights

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Dust off your fringed crops and denim cut offs! An internationally-inspired, Summer music and crafts festival is coming to Melbourne’s West and you don’t need to camp out for tickets or drive to the desert. Designed for both the young and young at heart, and for the first time ever, Highpoint Shopping Centre is hosting Kidchella from Monday 21 – Friday 25 January, followed by Summer Nights from Friday 1 – Sunday 3 February 2019. Highpoint’s youngest partygoers are invited to Kidchella, commencing on Monday 21 January. One for the school holidays’ bucket list, Kidchella will include hands-on craft activities where little ones can create their very own flower crown, tote bag, dream catcher or bracelet. The event week will end with a big finale, where kids can hit the dancefloor at the ultimate silent disco on Friday 25 January. An Instagrammer’s heaven, Summer Nights will be headlined by a Coachella-inspired labyrinth and walkthrough cactus garden, alongside tent-shaped dressing rooms for Festival Makeovers by Mecca Maxima. In addition to the Instagram-worthy photo moments, festivalgoers can get involved in ‘crafternoons’ to create their very own beaded …

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

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Pack your picnic and score a spot on the lawn to enjoy the perfect summer soundtrack to the city this February when the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performs its free concert series at Melbourne’s favourite outdoor venue, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The free concerts will take place on Friday 8, Saturday 16 and Wednesday 20 February at 7.30pm. Gates open from 4.30pm. With 10,000 people expected to attend each concert, be early as entry is on a first in, best dressed basis. Presented in association with the University of Melbourne and Arts Centre Melbourne, supported by the Sidney Myer MSO Trust Fund. More info : here

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert

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The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns to Melbourne in January with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert, the fourth film in the Harry Potter series performed live to picture by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Nicholas Buc will conduct the MSO across four special concerts at Hamer Hall from 31 January to 3 February, performing the magical score live from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire while the entire film plays in high-definition on the big screen. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,  Harry Potter is mysteriously entered into the Triwizard Tournament, a gruelling contest among three wizarding schools in which he confronts a dragon, water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in Lord Voldemort’s grasp. All will change when Harry, Ron and Hermione leave childhood forever and face challenges beyond their imagining. Tickets for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert are on sale now via mso.com.au. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert Thu 31 Jan 7.30pm, Fri 1 Feb 7.30pm, Sat 2 Feb 1pm, Sun 3 Feb 1pm Hamer Hall, Arts Centre …

The Big HOO-HAA!

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Fast, furious and funny, The Big HOO-HAA! is the show that began the burgeoning careers of Tim Minchin and Claire Hooper.Flying by the seat of their pants there’s no script and no stopping them as The Big HOO-HAA!ensemble fuses quick-witted improvisation with live music to create an original comedy show based entirely on your suggestions. Hosted by The Butterfly Club in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, two teams, The Hearts and The Bones, battle for comedic supremacy before your very eyes. Armed with only a handful of props, they leave no song unsung, no joke undelivered and no pun unpunished in their mad dash for the punch line. Running in Perth since its creation by impro guru Sam Longley back in 2002, The Big HOO HAA! arrived in Melbourne in July 2010 where it quickly became the go-to for audiences seeking a riotous alternative to traditional comedy nights. Now in its eighth year and firmly established as a prime-time, city-centre fixture, The Big HOO HAA! is on a sell-out streak with packed houses laughing it up every Friday night. Come …

THE FANTABULOUS SUMMER CARNIVAL OF FUN AT LUNA PARK!

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This Summer Holidays get ready to squeal yourselves silly on three new rides at Melbourne’s Luna Park! -Moon Balloons generates a lovely gentle motion as each balloon lifts up to the skies! A smaller rendition of the classic ferris wheel, doesn’t matter what age you are, sit back and enjoy the smooth glide to the top. -Speedy Beetle’s moves change with every ride as it spins and slides on a twisting roller coaster track. Make sure to hang on to your beetle as you twirl and turn, backwards and forwards and side-to-side. -Betty Choo Choo is perfect for a quick tour of the Park; the little Lunies will especially love hopping into this train to snuggle alongside their grown-up. As well as this trio of terrific rides there will be plenty of other Summer Carnival action for families from 22 December to 3 February. Visit http://www.lunapark.com.au for all info.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAG

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 The UK’s queen of live vocal drag, Velma Celli, is bringing her showstopping cabaret, A Brief History of Drag, to Australia in January and February.  Following a successful UK tour and a smash hit run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, A Brief History of Drag is a heartfelt, camp journey through some of the best moments in drag history including music, pop culture, film and theatre.  Velma’s killer vocals will have audiences dancing along to songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kinky Boots, David Bowie, RuPaul and more.  Intercutting the musical performances are stories from drag history which shine a light on political decisions that affected gay culture and historical moments like the infamous Stonewall riots.  Velma has played almost every venue in London including an impressive two-year residency at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, as well as the legendary Birdland and 54 Below in New York City. She has performed with pop icon Anastasia and musical theatre legends including Ruthie Henshall, Kerry Ellis and Francis Ruffelle, and …

MLIVE 2019

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Following a critically acclaimed inaugural year, the MLIVE 2019 season has launched. Monash Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA) has curated a sensational program of Australian and international live music, theatre and dance that is certain excite.  Commencing in March and running until October 2019, the season is broken up into five program themes: Progress, Weightless, Family Fiesta, Symphonic and Wood, Metal & Vibrating Air, each offering a series of carefully curated events suitable for all ages and tastes.  Created with the aim of making the performing arts accessible to Melbourne’s diverse communities, MLIVE is a year-round program of events spanning across a range of genres including theatre, jazz, classical music, dance, musicals, and children’s theatre. Tickets to the 2019 season of MLIVE are on sale now. For more information, the full program and to book, visit http://www.monash.edu/mlive.