The Weekend Edit
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What’s on in Canberra this weekend? Our Weekend Edit has you covered.
As we enter a COVID-normal era, we’re fortunate to enjoy most of the things that make our life in Canberra so wonderful.
Help keep Canberra safe and strong by checking in with Check In CBR, physically distancing, practising good hand and respiratory hygiene, staying home if unwell and getting tested if you have symptoms.
Enlighten Festival 2021
Canberra will shine bright with culture and creativity as the Enlighten Festival brings together the best autumn events. Held over 17 days from 26 February to 14 March, the city will come alive with a range of free and ticketed events.
Kick off the festival with Enlighten Illuminations as architectural projections light up some of Canberra’s most iconic national attractions in the Parliamentary Triangle from 26 February to 8 March. Use the CheckIn CBR app as you view the projections, register now to indulge your inner foodie at Bentspoke Beer Garden and Enlighten Alley and book your tickets for exclusive access to explore the national attractions after dark.
Register now to enjoy all the Festival offerings, starting with having your mornings brightened when the Canberra Balloon Spectacular returns from 6 to 14 March as hot air balloons fill the sky. Grab yourself a spot to celebrate local creativity as Lights! Canberra! Action! (5 March) shines a light on local film-makers and Symphony in the Park (7 March) provides the perfect soundtrack to your sunset picnic. Celebrate the city’s birthday at Canberra Day (8 March) and enjoy the attractions, venues, and community that make Canberra a wonderful place to live, work and play.
Happening 26 February-14 March across various venues.
To see the full program for the Enlighten Festival and to register for all events, visit enlightencanberra.com for more information.
Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion
Seedpods dress, 2019, Grace Rosendale, silk organza, elastic and sequinned fabric, Hopevale Arts and Cultural Centre and Queensland University of Technology. Model: Magnolia Maymuru. Photo: Bronwyn Kidd.
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 until 8 August 2021 at the National Museum of Australia.
See nma.gov.au/exhibitions/piinpi-contemporary-indigenous-fashion for more information.
Fiona O’Loughlin: The Unreliable Witness
Fiona’s searingly honest book, Truths from an Unreliable Witness, is already a stage show. Fiona has always known the power of a great story and a good joke to show us a truth about ourselves. It is why she is one of our most loved comedians.
Fiona lays bare her life and does not spare herself as she details the ugly reality of living with addiction and the harsh truth that recovery is not easy. She shows the spark of strength that kept her alive.
This is not only an unforgettable show, it is an inspiration to anyone who has lost the way. In sharing her story, Fiona shows that there is always the promise of better days.
Don’t miss The Unreliable Witness herself as she regales you with a brand new show with even bolder content than ever before. Expect to be surprised by some hidden talents of this laconic story-telling Queen.
Happening Saturday 27 February at Canberra Theatre Centre.
See canberratheatrecentre.com.au/show/fiona-oloughlin for more information.
Magic of Marion: 150 Years of Marion Mahony Griffin
Happy Birthday Marion Mahony Griffin! Join the National Capital Authority and other National Cultural Partners as they celebrate a year of Marion Mahony Griffin in the national capital.
This year marks Marion’s 150th Birthday, a woman that played such in integral part in architectural designs across two continents.
Marion is known to have produced some of the finest architectural drawings in Australia and America but was also instrumental in the award-winning design plans with her husband Walter for the design of Australia’s Capital, Canberra.
From walks to lectures, launches to talks, see the full program at nca.gov.au/marion.
Various events happening until 13 March.
See nca.gov.au/marion for more information.
Chinese Lantern Festival 2021
Image: VisitCanberra.com.au
The Australia China Friendship Society will hold a Lantern Festival at the Beijing Garden.
There will be performances of music, folk dancing, lion dance, and martial arts, followed by the lantern parade along the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.
Bring a picnic and enjoy an evening by the Lake, with fun for the whole family. Water and lanterns will be available for purchase. In case of rain the festival will be cancelled.
Happening Saturday 27 February from 6-8.30 pm at the Beijing Garden, Flynn Drive, Yarralumla.
See acfs.org.au 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.
Tommy Balogh: Dark Side of the Moon
From his humble beginnings in a Canberra underground carpark, where he first created and then sold his artworks, to international exhibitions and representation, Tommy Balogh is a Canberra success story who is about to unveil his latest body of work created during the COVID pandemic.
Balogh’s carpark environment, despite its limitations, allowed him to move from painting smaller pieces to larger artworks, including his 12-metre, luminous ‘Voyage’ piece that was installed at the Nishi gallery, Canberra.
No stranger to unusual display spaces for his work, Tommy is staging his post-COVID exhibition in Canberra’s largest video production studio, Digital Content Studios.
A unique and, for many, very attractive feature of Balogh’s artworks is that they change colour and form with the light.
Happening Saturday 26 February from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 27 February from 10 am to 4 pm at DCS Studios, 11 Bedford Street, Queanbeyan West.
See Facebook and tommybalogh.com for more information.
Plus500 Brumbies vs Waratahs
After winning the 2020 Super Rugby AU Championship, the Plus500 Brumbies will kick off their title defence against arch rivals the NSW Waratahs on February 27 at GIO Stadium.
The last time the two teams played the Brumbies stormed home with six tries to set up a 27 point victory. With a star-studded squad featuring over ten Wallabies, the Brumbies will again be looking for a big win this time around.
Happening Saturday 27 February from 6.45–9.30 pm at GIO Stadium, Bruce.
See brumbies.rugby for more information.
Make Your Own at Canberra Glassworks
Create your own artwork with one-on-one guidance from a highly skilled Teaching Artist at the Canberra Glassworks.
Make your own paperweight, bird, tumbler or vase in a short one-on-one session from 20 to 40 minutes long.
Saturday or Sunday sessions available at Canberra Glassworks. Book online at canberraglassworks.com/create/myo
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.
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 until 6 March at Canberra REP Theatre, 3 Repertory Lane, Acton.
See canberrarep.org.au/content/cat-hot-tin-roof for more information.
ONE TO POP IN THE DIARY…
LUMINOUS at Canberra Glassworks, Enlighten Festival 2021
Canberra Glassworks welcome you after hours as we bring you a luminous experience for one night only as part of the 2021 Enlighten Festival.
As part of the Glassworks’ LUMINOUS program, we will be hosting a Floor Talk and Hotshop Demonstration, LUMINOUS Make Your Own experience, Neon Bending and Lights, Camera, Paint!
The Enlighten Festival is illuminating the capital with culture and creativity from 26 February to 14 March.
Happening Thursday 11 March 2021 from 5 – 8pm at Canberra Glassworks.
See canberraglassworks.com/visit/enlighten-festival-2021 for more information.
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.
