The best things to do in Melbourne this weekend

Merri-bek dwellers are spoiled for choice when it comes to musical talent, never more than during the annual Brunswick Music Festival, when international and local acts come together for a celebration of great music. This year, you can look forward to nine jam-packed days, featuring more than 40 gigs across the suburb and surrounds. Everything kicks off with the famous Sydney Road Street Party on Sunday, March 2. This mammoth, free one-day festival takes over Brunswick’s main road (which happens to be the longest continuous shopping strip in the southern hemisphere). Last year, the party caused absolute scenes on social media when multiple dance parties randomly erupted. So, who knows what will unfold at this year's edition. Over two huge nights at Gilpin Park, expect to see the powerhouse First Nations rapper that is Miss Kaninna co-headlining with Kenyan singer-songwriter and rapper Elsy Wameyo on March 7. Dream team, if you ask us. Then on March 8, hip-hop royalty Bahamadia hailing from the United States. What an honour to catch this legend in the Northern 'burbs.  For some free entertainment you can't go wrong with Bulleke-bek Journey, a day of live music across some of Brunswick's most beloved venues like Beast, the Lomond, Rubix, Stay Gold and the Moldy Fig. From bass-heavy beats to punk, hardcore, bluegrass, alt-country and New Orleans jazz, there is a rich variety of sounds to explore. For the first time, Brunswick Uniting Church will also be hosting an unexpected...

It's officially that time of year again when the Moonlight Cinema returns to Melbourne for the summer. There's just something special about snuggling into a bean bag and catching a film under the stars in the Royal Botanic Gardens – with an ice cream or wine in hand, of course.  Australia's favourite outdoor cinema has dropped its summer screening schedule, with blockbusters, nostalgic favourites and comedies on the program. Highlights include Gladiator II, The Substance, Better Man, A Complete Unknown and Wicked (and yes, there's even a sing-along session). Starting from February 11 to coincide with Valentine's Day, there will be a string of romcoms that are guaranteed to warm your heart. Grab your beloved or your bestie and catch everything from classics like Notting Hill and The Notebook to new releases We Live in Time and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.  Those looking to splurge can opt for either the Platinum Experience, which includes a deluxe double bean bed (including a blanket you can take home!) for two with waiter service or the Singapore Airlines Gold Grass, with a prime position in front of the screen and an exclusive menu of delicious treats. The Official Aperol Spritz Bar is also returning, so you can sip on that iconic orange cocktail all summer long. Screenings kick off at sundown and even your pooch is welcome. Tickets are now available via the website. Want more fun in the sun? Here are the best things to do in Melbourne this December.

Australia's largest free festival is back this Labour Day weekend, and it's the perfect opportunity to make the most of Melbourne's still-warm March weather. From March 6 to 10, enjoy a jam-packed and mostly free program of family-friendly fun, including events like dance workshops, skate competitions, face painting and so much more.  Across the whole five epic days of festivities, stacked program of events will include the much-loved Moomba Parade; the hilarious Birdman Rally, where competitors hurtle themselves over the Yarra River in homemade flying devices; the Moomba Masters water sports competition; the Moomba Carnival; the Moomba Skate Park Program; and a variety of entertainers, performers, play zones, feature films and food and drinks experiences, plus so much more. There are more than 30 thrilling carnival rides this year, including one that launches riders 60 metres into the air. Plus, more than 60 performers and entertainers will keep the good vibes going all weeend. Top it all off with nightly fireworks across the Melbourne skyline and you've got yourself one helluva party.  To find out more, visit the Moomba website.  Planning out your weekend? Here's our guide to things to do over the Labour Day long weekend.

From the story’s origins hundreds of years ago, to its transformation into the classic 1991 Disney film, Beauty and the Beast really is a tale as old as time. In its musical form, the production hasn’t been seen in Melbourne since the ’90s, when Hugh Jackman famously performed as Gaston in his first professional role. Fast forward three decades and we’re once again seeing a Melbourne stage transformed into the provincial town and Baroque castle we know so well. Only this time round, the lavish set design is augmented with cleverly integrated digital screens. It’s just one of several updates that ensure this reimagined production of the beloved fairytale keeps up with the times. From the moment the curtain rises, it’s clear this is a large-scale musical with all the belles, whistles and big bucks. Visual splendour is the MO here – think kaleidoscopic costumes, gasp-inducing illusions and spectacular lighting – and it’s easy to see why this show broke box office records at Brisbane’s QPAC.  However, all that Disney investment would be useless without the gifted cast. Shubshri Kandiah exudes whimsy-with-a-backbone as bookworm Belle, charming us with her sweet songs and sassy moments – though the folks in her provincial town just don’t get it.  Brendan Xavier’s beast is alternately ferocious and boyish. His startled squeals and hair-twirling moments help make Belle’s dramatic change in feelings a touch more believable. Both leads shine in their solo numbers, with Xavier’s ‘If...

The younger sister festival to December's much-loved Meredith Music Festival, Golden Plains is also held at the Supernatural Amphitheatre in Meredith. You can expect no commercial sponsors, free range camping, BYO, and a 'No Dickhead' policy over two days and two nights.  The full line-up for 2025 is absolutely stacked with in-demand international artists as well as local favourites. The headliners for this year are revered singer-songwriter PJ Harvey and breakout post-punk Irish band Fontaines DC. Across the three day program, they'll be joined by 2ManyDJs (otherwise known as Soulwax), rising popstar Magdalena Bay, beloved Aussie Thelma Plum, Sofia Kourtesis, Hermanos Gutiérrez, dance music royalty Robin S and heaps more. You can see the full-line-up in all its glory here.  Golden Plains will run over the long weekend of March 8-10, 2025. To find out more about the festival, head to the website.  Want to know what other festivals are happening soon? Check out our guide to the best music festivals happening in or around Melbourne.

Are you free the first two weekends in March? No? Well, cancel your plans, chuck a sickie, flake on your friends – do whatever you must to attend these two free gigs. This summer, Fed Square is putting on two unmissable nights of live music, featuring three all-star acts each. On Saturday, March 1, Fed Square will become a kaleidoscopic soundscape of Afro-futurism, electronica and cosmic jazz, with local legends Wax'o Paradiso up first to get the good times grooving. Next, 70+ year-old Chicago-born, Grammy-nominated band Sun Ra Arkestra take the stage to fill the space with their big-band, free-jazz energy.  Mildlife are set to bring this awesome night of music home with their euphoric,  jazz-funk fuelled sound. The very next weekend, on Sunday, March 9, three high-energy Australian pop acts will take over the stage to deliver a free, all-ages dance party that’ll thrill pop fans and have sceptics dancing despite themselves.  Indie guitar-pop artist Carla Wehbe will kick off the night, teleporting you straight to the ’80s with her nostalgia-filled melodies.  Former Triple J Unearthed High-winner George Alice is next, taking the night to dreamy, alt-pop heights, before the Moomba fireworks light up the sky just in time for TikTok sensation and pop icon Peach PRC to take the stage. So, clear your calendars for these two free open-air gigs this summer, and find out more about each one here and here. Need to feel the bass now? Here are the best gigs happening this month.

Arrive at the corner of Flinders Lane and Hosier Lane on pretty much any day of the week and you’ll run into a throng of tourists jostling to get ‘the shot’ of Melbourne’s ever-evolving street art hotspot. No two visits to this spray can alley are ever the same, but from December 12 there’ll be another more stable artistic delight to enjoy on the famous corner. To those in the know, Sandra Powell and Andrew King have become shining lights of the Aussie street art scene, known for supporting up-and-coming artists through acquisitions for their extensive private collection 15 years in the making.  Street art legend Rone says the pair, often known as ‘Sandrew’, have been “champions of Melbourne’s street art community for over a decade”. Now, they’re drawing on their personal collection to create a ripper of a free exhibition, running from December 12 until May 2025 at 167 Flinders Lane (right on the aforementioned iconic corner).  The Outsiders Melbourne will feature more than 100 works from Sandrew’s collection, including art never before displayed in public. Expect gems from local names like Rone, Adnate, Sofles, Vexta, Fintan Magee, Meggs, Kaff-eine and more.  On the international side, feast your eyes on art from Barry McGee, Vhils, Swoon, Invader, Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Elle and an entire room dedicated to Banksy himself. Fans of the mystery artist will be pleased to know that this exhibition will also see his new work ‘Firework’ on display in Australia for the...

Melburnians, it’s time to get dotty, because NGV International is playing host to the largest collection of Yayoi Kusama’s work ever seen in Australia. The exhibition (aptly named Yayoi Kusama) will take over the entire ground floor of the gallery, with works from the artist best known for her unique use of dots. Opening on December 15, this world-premiere exhibition will feature more than 180 works, including an NGV-specific piece transforming the iconic Waterwall and an installation of giant balloons in the Great Hall called 'Dots Obsession'. Many of the works coming to Melbourne for this impressive exhibition have never been seen locally before, including the Australian debut of 'Dancing Pumpkin', a towering five-metre-tall bronze sculpture that visitors can view by walking underneath. As if five metres wasn’t tall enough, Melbourne will also score the Aussie premiere of Kusama’s six-metre-tall tentacle-esque sculpture, named 'The Hope of the Polkadots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe'.  We’re particularly excited about the global premiere of a brand new Yayoi Kusama infinity room work, which will be part of a collection of immersive spaces included in the exhibition. Kusama’s infinity rooms employ the clever use of mirrors to create an illusion of never-ending space, making for a fun and mind-bending experience for visitors of all ages. Lucky for us, the artist has created a new room just for Melbourne!  Even more fortunately for Melburnians, it...

 After its debut in 2017, Pitch Music & Arts Festival quickly became one of the most exciting and hotly anticipated events on the music circuit. Held at the tranquil foothills of the Grampian Plains, it aims to deliver a distinct blend of sonic soundscapes across three architecturally designed stages. Dust off your doof sticks, because the festival will return in 2025 for its eighth edition. Across four days from March 7-11, Pitch will be headlined by Colombian-born, Berlin-based Fuunk Tribu, Chicago house icon Honey Dijon, electro duo 2manydjs, Italy’s self-described “rave demolition crew" 999999999, and a back-to-back set from Daria Kolosova and SPFDJ.  Other highlights include the Australian debut of Joy Orbison, Shanti Celeste, a live set debut from Fjaak, and Gabber Eleganza performing with multiple gabber dancers.  Local talent also features heavily on Pitch’s 2025 line-up, including Moopie back-to-back with DJ PGZ, Osmosis Jones, Mabel, Stev Zar, Jennifer Loveless and many more.  For those looking for a moment of reprieve, the Pitch Pavilion will re-appear in 2025. The tranquil sanctuary is where festivalgoers can participate in wellbeing workshops and mindful activities, listen to talks and interact with tangible artworks. Pitch Precinct will also act as a safe space away from the main area, hosted by forward-thinking crews like Luna Blessings and Urban Analytics. Edition eight sees the addition of Club Serra, named for the Serra Range in the Grampians and designed...

Did you know that Ballarat is home to thousands of begonias, including more than 500 unique varieties? In fact, the impressive collection is the rarest in the Southern Hemisphere. They're all housed in the city's historic botanical gardens, and to celebrate this floral feat, the city has hosted the Ballarat Begonia Festival annually since 1953.  When is the Begonia Festival happening in Ballarat?  If you're keen to see the colourful (and highly 'grammable) flower fest in full bloom, make your way to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens on the Labour Day long weekend from March 8-10. How long is the Begonia Festival on for?  The floral festivities run across three jam-packed days, so you'll have ample opportunity to explore the vibrant floral displays that fill the historic botanic gardens.  What's on at the 2025 Ballarat Begonia Festival?  Alongside the colourful blooms, there will be a line-up of demonstrations, live entertainment, market stalls and food trucks. This year's headline act is 'The Last Numbat' – a large-scale, interactive performance installation that uses puppetry to explore connection, community and collaboration. Created by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, it's the first time magical creation has been seen on Australia's East Coast. A roster of celebrity presenters and industry experts – including Costa Georgiadis, Liam Downes, Mindy Woods and Millie Ross – will host talks on the main stage, and there will be plenty of activities to keep the kids busy. Plus, there...