This Week in the Can

Posted on 15 February, 2021

While restrictions are lifting, we strongly encourage you to keep physical distance between each other when you leave the house and be mindful of the current restrictions.

WHAT NOT TO MISS

Pop Inn’s Fourth Birthday Community Party

The Pop Inn is turning four, and they have a brand new verve to celebrate!

Join them all weekend in Bowen Park for a celebration to remember with tastings, giveaways, entertainment and more.

Bring a picnic rug and a friend and join the fun at Bowen Park on February 20 and 21.

Happening 20-21 February from 2 pm each day at Bowen Park, Kingston.

See Facebook for more information.

The 2021 Jewish International Film Festival

The Jewish International Film Festival is returning to Dendy Cinemas.

From star-studded features, gripping historical dramas, and stories of iconic Jewish trailblazers and innovators, the festival returns for another year of spectacular Jewish cinema from around the world.

Happening 17-28 February at Dendy Canberra.

See jiff.com.au for more information.

Burlesque Idol Canberra

Get ready for feathers to fly as Australia’s only ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ burlesque competition returns to Canberra.

Just like a ‘choose your own adventure’, Burlesque Idol is the only show where Canberrans have a say in how the shows ends.

The ACT’s fastest rising burlesque stars will tease, shake, shimmy and tassel-twirl their way to being crowned the 2021 Canberra Burlesque Idol. But they will have to battle it out for the audiences vote first. 10 primped and primed performers will bring their most entertaining burlesque to the stage in the hopes of winning over the judges, including the most important judge—you.

Audience members should dress to the nines and come with an expectation of an exciting and thrilling show full of frivolity. Every member of the crowd will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite act of the night, an all-important decision, so remember to bring a fully charged device to take advantage of this year’s new online voting system!

Joining the judges table will be Canberra Business Award winner for the most outstanding Performing Arts, Jazida, along with Founder of Unicorn Spirits Ben Osborne, and local show stopping Kokoloco. 2020 Canberra winner Doe Dantalion to wow the crowds before the big announcement.

Happening Friday 19 February from 7-11 pm at Harmonie German Club, 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah.

See burlesqueidolaustralia.com for more information.

Canberra Wedding Fair—Weddings, Events, Travel and Lifestyle

Welcome to the Canberra Wedding Fair. Designed to help create your perfect occasion, you will experience and explore the regions market leaders in Weddings, Events, Travel and Lifestyle with an array of exhibitors on show and a Fashion Runway presentation not to be missed!

The Foodie Fair will treat you to tasty delights, live entertainment and a big white jumping castle in the park.

Whether you’re newly engaged, preparing for an event, looking for a getaway, love food & live music or just have a passion for fashion, come along for all the fun of the Fair!

Happening 20-21 February at Thoroughbred Park, 1 Randwick Road, Lyneham.

See canberrafair.com.au for more information.

Haig Park Village Markets

The Haig Park Village Markets are about creating a vibrant farmers market filled with fresh, nutritious, quality produce and products at reasonable prices, with the added bonus of supporting and promoting our regional farmers and businesses.

Rosie and Alex are born and raised Canberrans who love all things markets. Their markets will be an evolving collaboration of many farmers, bakers, artisans and talented people, seeking to share their crafted specialties. They want to support local creative talent and nurture local businesses.

Working together with regional growers and local business they can create a lively and community-driven market that seeks to become a destination for locals and visitors alike.

Happening Sundays from 8 am at Haig Park, Braddon.

See Facebook for more information.

The 5.30 Club Canberra

Inspired by The 5:30 am Club in Sydney, Emily Davidson has started her own for us here in Canberra.

Join her for your Power Hour on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6 am-7 am at Eighty/Twenty Food in Braddon Canberra

Everyone is welcome and there is no cost involved. If you want to start your morning off on the right foot, come and join The 5.30 am Club Canberra! Bring along a book, your laptop or pen and paper—anything to work on for your Power Hour!

What could you do with an hour to yourself in your day? Start writing a book, smash your email inbox, journal, brainstorm ideas for your next project or plan your day…the sky is the limit!

All while soaking up the sunrise over a morning brew, and all before peak hour!

The Club’s motto is ‘Win the morning, win the day!’ Emily says her day is better when it starts with The 5:30 am Club. “After we meet in the morning I’m on a high—feeling fresh, inspired and ready to start the day!”

Join us at The 5.30 am Club! Look for the blonde-haired girl with the llama on her table.

See sites.google.com/view/the530club for more information.

Local Yoga’s free fundraising yoga classes at Gorman Arts Centre

Local Yoga and Gorman Arts Centre are offering free fundraising yoga classes all through the upcoming summer months.

Classes will be held in the tranquil courtyard gardens of Gorman Arts Centre every Sunday morning at 9 am until March 2021. Classes are provided free of charge to encourage awareness and donations towards Canberra’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service.

If ever there was a year for Canberrans to embrace the physical and mental benefits of modern yoga, it’s been the rollercoaster ride of 2020.

Local Yoga is a brand new Canberra-based initiative committed to socially conscious yoga—not only making yoga more accessible for all Canberrans, but also raising support and awareness for Canberra’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service.

Happening Sundays from 9 am until 28 March 2021 at Gorman Arts Centre, Batman Street, Braddon.

See localyogaproject.com for more information.

FOOD & DRINK

Wine Club at POP Canberra

Wine Club is a monthly event held at Workshop POP, led by wine aficionados Freddie Raimbaud and Emma Shaw.

Freddie is a French sommelier and wine educator, and Emma is a student winemaker working in the local Canberra wine region. Together they bring their knowledge, experience and love of European and local wine to POP. Join us as we gather monthly to sit back, snack on cheese and chat wine!

Freddie and Emma will bring one bottle of wine each to share and discuss—one European, one local. We’ll notify you of the wines beforehand, and where to get them, so you can purchase them ahead of time and try them at home. Or you can just turn up and taste the wines with us on the night.

The conversation will be relaxed and we’ll be guided by the questions and topics people want to explore. It’s just like a book club—but for wine!

Happening Thursday 18 February from 6-8.30 pm at POP Canberra, 27 Lonsdale Street, Braddon.

See classbento.com.au/wine-club-canberra for more information.

STAGE AND SCREEN

Burlesque Idol Canberra

Get ready for feathers to fly as Australia’s only ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ burlesque competition returns to Canberra.

Just like a ‘choose your own adventure’, Burlesque Idol is the only show where Canberrans have a say in how the shows ends.

The ACT’s fastest rising burlesque stars will tease, shake, shimmy and tassel-twirl their way to being crowned the 2021 Canberra Burlesque Idol. But they will have to battle it out for the audiences vote first. 10 primped and primed performers will bring their most entertaining burlesque to the stage in the hopes of winning over the judges, including the most important judge—you.

Audience members should dress to the nines and come with an expectation of an exciting and thrilling show full of frivolity. Every member of the crowd will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite act of the night, an all-important decision, so remember to bring a fully charged device to take advantage of this year’s new online voting system!

Joining the judges table will be Canberra Business Award winner for the most outstanding Performing Arts, Jazida, along with Founder of Unicorn Spirits Ben Osborne, and local show stopping Kokoloco. 2020 Canberra winner Doe Dantalion to wow the crowds before the big announcement.

Happening Friday 19 February from 7-11 pm at Harmonie German Club, 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah.

See burlesqueidolaustralia.com for more information.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Join REP as they present Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning tale about the dysfunctional but wealthy Pollitt family, be entranced by this powerful portrayal as they gather to celebrate aging patriarch Big Daddy’s birthday.

For the Pollitts, the truth is as hazy as the late summer sun in Mississippi, and sometimes the only way to find it is to journey through the lies.

Happening 18 February–6 March at Canberra REP Theatre, 3 Repertory Lane, Acton.

See canberrarep.org.au/content/cat-hot-tin-roof for more information.

Drag Takeover at Boardwalk Bar

Every Drag Takeover is bringing you a bevy of local Canberran Drag Queens, Drag Kings and queer talent with and multiple stunning performers appearing at every show.

What sickening tricks will the stunning kings, queens, and deities pull to celebrate? Well, you’ll have to come and see for yourself!

Happening Saturday 20 February from 8-11.30 pm at Boardwalk Bar and Nightclub, 114 Emu Bank, Belconnen.

See phishandphreak.com for more information.

The 2021 Jewish International Film Festival

The Jewish International Film Festival is returning to Dendy Cinemas.

From star-studded features, gripping historical dramas, and stories of iconic Jewish trailblazers and innovators, the festival returns for another year of spectacular Jewish cinema from around the world.

Happening 17-28 February at Dendy Canberra.

See jiff.com.au for more information.

Carl Barron

When Carl Barron was a small boy at school, he asked the teacher how Ants feel. He never got an answer all those years ago, but he still wants to know.

Voted number one comedian two years running, come along and see Carl’s brand new show – Skating Rink for Flies. A night where he ponders things we all think about but never mention. Things like plastic bags, peanut butter and the possible emotions of an ant.

Happening 19-21 February at Royal Theatre Canberra, 31 Constitution Avenue, City.

See carlbarron.com for more information.

Kambri Film Festival

As a part of HERE I AM: Art By Great Women, Kambri Film Fest is back in the Kambri Cinema family-friendly segment with films starring female heroines, and an ‘after hours’ session with films directed and written by women.

Kambri Film Fest will run from 21 Jan to 7 Feb over three weekends. The free film programming will include 3pm sessions for the whole family to enjoy with a selection of kids film that celebrates female heroes.

Friday and Sunday sessions at 7:00 pm will showcase recent movie releases that have female directors. Saturday nights will be for 2020 blockbusters that you may have missed in cinemas this year.

Visit the website for the full program.

Happening at daily from 21 January–7 March at Kambri, ANU campus, Acton.

See kambri.com.au/event/here-i-am-art-by-great-women for more information.

MUSIC

An Intimate Evening with Steve Kilbey

Enjoy an intimate evening with Steve Kilbey, the charismatic leader of iconic Australian band The Church, as he performs their first two albums Of Skins and Heart and The Blurred Crusade acoustically and in entirety.

Steve’s musical career began in Canberra over forty years ago. The show will include stories and anecdotes connected to that time and The Church’s history, supported by local act The Dalmatians, comprised of Jonny DC Bolan and Wil Allen.

The Dalmatians love Australian music and use vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, bouzouki and harmonica to create a warm groove with their mix of toe-tapping classics, pop songs and woody ballads.

Happening Saturday 20 February from 7­­-10 pm at Belco Arts, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen.

See belcoarts.com.au for more information.

Drag Takeover at Boardwalk Bar

Every Drag Takeover is bringing you a bevy of local Canberran Drag Queens, Drag Kings and queer talent with and multiple stunning performers appearing at every show.

What sickening tricks will the stunning kings, queens, and deities pull to celebrate? Well, you’ll have to come and see for yourself!

Happening Saturday 20 February from 8-11.30 pm at Boardwalk Bar and Nightclub, 114 Emu Bank, Belconnen.

See phishandphreak.com for more information.

WORKSHOPS, TOURS AND FAIRS

Canberra Wedding Fair—Weddings, Events, Travel and Lifestyle

Welcome to the Canberra Wedding Fair. Designed to help create your perfect occasion, you will experience and explore the regions market leaders in Weddings, Events, Travel and Lifestyle with an array of exhibitors on show and a Fashion Runway presentation not to be missed!

The Foodie Fair will treat you to tasty delights, live entertainment and a big white jumping castle in the park.

Whether you’re newly engaged, preparing for an event, looking for a getaway, love food & live music or just have a passion for fashion, come along for all the fun of the Fair!

Happening 20-21 February at Thoroughbred Park, 1 Randwick Road, Lyneham.

See canberrafair.com.au for more information.

Wine Club at POP Canberra

Wine Club is a monthly event held at Workshop POP, led by wine aficionados Freddie Raimbaud and Emma Shaw.

Freddie is a French sommelier and wine educator, and Emma is a student winemaker working in the local Canberra wine region. Together they bring their knowledge, experience and love of European and local wine to POP. Join us as we gather monthly to sit back, snack on cheese and chat wine!

Freddie and Emma will bring one bottle of wine each to share and discuss—one European, one local. We’ll notify you of the wines beforehand, and where to get them, so you can purchase them ahead of time and try them at home. Or you can just turn up and taste the wines with us on the night.

The conversation will be relaxed and we’ll be guided by the questions and topics people want to explore. It’s just like a book club—but for wine!

Happening Thursday 18 February from 6-8.30 pm at POP Canberra, 27 Lonsdale Street, Braddon.

See classbento.com.au/wine-club-canberra for more information.

Passata Day

Join the Canberra Environment Centre for a group passata making day. Learn how simple it is to preserve your tomatoes to be enjoyed later in pastas, soups or as a pizza topping.

Bring along a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid to take away your share of passata. Get inspired to get into preserving at home with our simple recipe included in the handout.

Cost: $15 per person

Happening Saturday 20 February from 10 am-12 pm at The Link Ginninderry, McClymont Way, Holt.

See Eventbrite for more information

MARKETS

Haig Park Village Markets

The Haig Park Village Markets are about creating a vibrant farmers market filled with fresh, nutritious, quality produce and products at reasonable prices, with the added bonus of supporting and promoting our regional farmers and businesses.

Rosie and Alex are born and raised Canberrans who love all things markets. Their markets will be an evolving collaboration of many farmers, bakers, artisans and talented people, seeking to share their crafted specialties. They want to support local creative talent and nurture local businesses.

Working together with regional growers and local business they can create a lively and community-driven market that seeks to become a destination for locals and visitors alike.

Happening Sundays from 7 February from 8 am at Haig Park, Braddon.

See Facebook for more information.

Capital Region Farmers Market

Sample the region’s freshest produce at the Capital region farmers market

The Market is a community project run by the Rotary Club of Hall, the only rural Rotary Club in the ACT.

Find your way to the Market with our directions to EPIC. We have over 100 stallholders each week who bring their freshly picked, grown and handcrafted produce to the Market.

Speak to a stallholder and ask them where their produce comes from—you’ll be surprised what you’ll learn and pick up cooking, storage and usage tips. Find your favourite stallholder in the directory.

Happening every Saturday from 7 am– 11.30 am at Exhibition Park in Canberra.

See capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au for more information.

SPORT + ACTIVE

Local Yoga. Credit: Ashley St George.

Local Yoga’s free fundraising yoga classes at Gorman Arts Centre

Local Yoga and Gorman Arts Centre are offering free fundraising yoga classes all through the upcoming summer months.

Classes will be held in the tranquil courtyard gardens of Gorman Arts Centre every Sunday morning at 9 am until March 2021. Classes are provided free of charge to encourage awareness and donations towards Canberra’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service.

If ever there was a year for Canberrans to embrace the physical and mental benefits of modern yoga, it’s been the rollercoaster ride of 2020.

Local Yoga is a brand new Canberra-based initiative committed to socially conscious yoga—not only making yoga more accessible for all Canberrans, but also raising support and awareness for Canberra’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service.

Happening Sundays from 9 am until 28 March 2021 at Gorman Arts Centre, Batman Street, Braddon.

See localyogaproject.com for more information.

OUTDOORS

Canberra Aqua Park

That’s right, Canberra Aqua Park will return for another summer of blow-up obstacle fun in the heart of Canberra on Saturday 28 November.

The 1,600 square metre inflatable obstacle course is located at the Tarcoola Reach swimming area (park at Black Mountain Peninsula).

Canberra Aqua Park will run through the warmer months and we bet it will be a popular spot for getting the kids out of the house over the school holidays, with 50-minute sessions starting from just $20 per person.

But don’t fret—those of you that are young at heart are most definitely welcome to partake in all the fun too as there is no age limit—although there is a minimum age of five.

Happening until March 2021 at the Tarcoola Reach swimming area adjacent to Black Mountain Peninsula.

See canberraaquapark.com/tickets for more information.

EXHIBITIONS

Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion

This stunning exhibition shines a light on Australia’s leading First Nations creatives and a design movement that is fast becoming a national fashion phenomenon.

Featuring the work of Indigenous artists and designers from the inner city to remote desert art centres, Piinpi highlights the strength and diversity of the rapidly epanding Indigenous fashion and textile industry.

Exhibition organised by Bendigo Art Gallery.

Showing 20 February–8 August 2021 at the National Museum of Australia.

See nma.gov.au/exhibitions/piinpi-contemporary-indigenous-fashion for more information.

OutsideIn | InsideOut Exhibition

Artists from the Lime Flamingo Collective,  a networking group for emerging professional artists from the Canberra region, have worked together to create this group exhibition, OutsideIn | InsideOut.

In such uncertain and challenging times, it is focusing on the small and ordinary things, the light ‘within the cracks’ and our internal world that give us hope and solace.

Lime Flamingo Collective artists reflect on the current COVID-19 crisis, life in quarantine, the recent bushfire disasters and the climate emergency, and respond to these large challenges through the lens of both vulnerability and strength; through diverse perspectives and artistic practice; looking at our collective experiences of looking from the ‘outside-in’ during the bushfire and climate crisis and the ‘inside-out’ during COVID-19 shutdown.

The exhibition will include a small body of work from each artist including drawing, painting, printmaking, video, textiles, photography and sculpture.

For more info on the Lime Flamingo Collective, visit their website and Instagram.

Showing until 21 March 2021 at West Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank Belconnen.

Matisse’s Harem: A behind-the-scenes journey into a secret world

In her latest solo show, Sydney artist Jane Gerrish takes us to the glamourous Côte d’Azur of the 1920s and beyond.

In her highly researched, exquisite drawings, we see and learn about the women Matisse chose to work alongside him in his studios. Treated with the utmost respect and admiration, Matisse often plucked his models from their lives as actresses and dancers in vibrant Nice and would pose them in amazing costumes in wildly theatrical harem stage sets.

We see examples of Matisse’s use of sumptuous tasselled cushions; huge gilded mirrors; tarnished pewter pitchers; carved Moorish screens; inlaid Turkish daybeds; pottery from Fez; porcelain from China; Persian carpets and his familiar, richly patterned textiles.

This unique exhibition, entitled “Observe”, Jane Gerrish’s third solo show, makes full use of her fashion design background, giving us highly sensitive renderings of drapery and precise detailing of patterns and textures.

Showing until Sunday 21 March at Suki & Hugh Gallery from 38A Gibraltar Street, Bungendore, NSW.

See sukihugh.com.au for more information.

JamFactory ICON Angela Valamanesh: About being here

JamFactory’s Icon series celebrates the achievements of South Australia’s most influential artists working in craft-based media.

Inspired by the symbiosis between science and poetry Angela Valamanesh’s artworks elicit intrigue and a strong sense of personal investigation as she manipulates seemingly familiar anatomical, botanical and parasitic forms in beguiling and unusual ways.

Primarily known for her biomorphic ceramic sculptures, this exhibition also celebrates the artist’s evocative drawings, watercolours, and mixed media works from her developing style of the late 1990s until present.

Historically, links have been made between the human form and plant species, not only structurally but also through language: the family tree, our roots, or a severed limb, while early medicine made connections between plants that resembled parts of our bodies and their therapeutic effects on those body parts.

Showing until 12 March 2021 at the ANU School of Art & Design Gallery, Cnr Ellery Cres and, Liversidge St, Acton.

See soad.cass.anu.edu.au/events/jamfactory-icon-angela-valamanesh-about-being-here for more information.

Sign of the Times

Sign of the Times is an exhibition of Canberra signs representing a history of life in the capital, from the early 1900s to the present day.

See signs and hear stories from some of our most recognisable and fondly remembered establishments and places including the Brickworks, Electric Shadows, the Cotter, Impact Records and many more.

Showing until 20 February 2021 at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Civic Square, City.

See cmag.com.au/exhibitions/sign-of-the-times for more information.

Seeing Canberra

As a city initiated as an imagined capital for the new Australian nation, Canberra has been a place that quickly invited visual representation.

As it developed, artists have seen Canberra through different lenses, and these have shaped the way they understood and interpreted the evolving landscape.

In this exhibition, drawn primarily from CMAG’s collection, visitors will journey through four key periods of the city’s development and for each, will encounter an object that represents a prism to understand a way of seeing at that time.

Showing until 17 July 2021 at Canberra Museum and Gallery.

See origin.cmag.com.au/exhibitions/seeing-canberra for more information.

This is My Place

There is one thing that most people have in common after the year that has been: spending a lot of time at home. As a bit of an antidote to the current times, the National Portrait Gallery have unveiled their newest collection This is My Place.

Expanding across three galleries, the collection is made up of over 100 works that cultivate the narrative of the places that define who we are – our spiritual homes, habitats and workspaces. Spanning the continent via the rivers, streets, mountains, studios and sportsgrounds the exhibition highlights space and its relevance to portraiture.

The collection encompasses pieces that date back 250 years including painting, photography, drawing, printmaking and sculpture.

Showing until 22 February 2021 at the National Portrait Gallery.