The Weekend Edit

Posted on 12 October, 2018

Your essential guide to what’s on in Canberra this weekend!

Every Monday for more than seven years, we’ve published This Week in The Can, our comprehensive guide to everything happening around the city this week – but sometimes it’s just too epic to get through!

That’s why each Friday we publish our Weekend Edit… Here are the things you shouldn’t miss!

FLORIADE 

Developed in 1988 as a grand, one off floral tribute to mark Australia’s Bicentenary and Canberra’s 75th anniversary, Floriade has become Canberra’s most iconic annual tourism event and Australia’s premier spring festival. 

The floral display of more than a million bulbs and annuals planted across 8,000 square meters of inner city parkland is more than just a flower show. Floriade is a diverse, ever expanding program of music, cultural celebrations, food and wine, horticultural workshops, market traders, artistic displays, entertainment and recreational activities. 

Happening 15 September – 16 October at Commonwealth Park, Regatta Place, Parkes 

See website for more information.

THE MRS FRAY POP UP

The Mrs Fray pop up is a four-day event generously sponsored by Ovolo Nishi Hotel and the Molonglo Group, hosted within the Nishi Gallery space.

For four days only, Mrs Fray will make her appearance by bringing the best possible wardrobe pieces to make your wedding day unique and special to you: dresses, jumpsuits and two-piece sets, alongside slip dresses/robes, organza shirting, nail varnishes, fragrances and statement jewellery all supplied by some of our favourite and most well-loved Australian and International designers. Similar to a trunk show of sorts, but with less fluff and more good product you actually love.

The first pop up will feature Australian bridal designers Karen Willis Holmes, L’eto Bridal, and Prea James. As well as adornments from By Nye Jewellery, EOD shoes, locally made wardrobe essentials from NATALIJA and Millicent Elizabeth, organic underwear and seperates from Baserange, luxury lingerie from Porte-à-Vie and feel good products from OLO Fragrance and Kester Black. The Mrs Fray library will also be stocked with essential reading from Hello May Magazine and accompanying copies of their Wedding Notebook and Planner – the Wedding Field Guide.

Over the course of the four days, brides will be able to browse the collection of wares within the Nishi Gallery and book themselves in for a private appointment to try anything on. After Sunday the 14th of October, the Mrs Fray pop up will disappear from the space. Following the event, the online community will remain and brides will be able to purchase anything they viewed or tried on through the website. Mrs Fray is providing a fresh and modern take on wedding style that the nation’s capital has never seen before.

Happening 11-14 October at Nishi Gallery, Phillip Law Street, NewActon.

Click here to join the waitlist for private fittings or click here for more information on the pop-up.

BELL SHAKESPEARE’S JULIUS CAESAR 

Credit: Credit: Kenneth Ransom.

Interested in ancient Greek drama? Love a good stage show? Look no further! Bell Shakespeare is here in Canberra for 8 days in October presenting Julius Caesar. Loved by the people, Caesar’s power is growing – which is dangerous in a world driven by ego and idealism. Those that rise too fast must be dealt with. For the good of the country. For the good of those who wish to be rulers themselves.

Julius Caesar is Shakespeare’s political thriller, a masterpiece of intrigue and treachery. Stand witness to the assassination that leads to a life and death struggle for power in the Republic. Citizens mutiny, Mark Antony schemes, and the fate of Rome hangs in the balance. Experience the tension between aspiration and ambition, the triumphal entrances and brutal exits, as it is all laid on the line for Rome.

Bell Shakespeare’s Associate Director, James Evans, will direct a production that’s seething with rage, leaving audiences breathless at how quickly violence reveals the fragility of democracy.

Happening 12-20 October at Canberra Theatre Centre,

Tickets from $78.50 via the Canberra Theatre Centre website.

CANDLE MAKING WITH COCOLUX

Cocolux’s creator Meisha Strykowski will host a candle making workshop, exploring her aesthetic behind candle making, natural ingredients and handmade quality. Attendees will get to take home their candle at the end of the masterclass.

Enjoy sparkling wine and an indulgent grazing platter from Woodbrook Canberra on arrival.

The event is being held on 13^th October from 2 pm-3 pm within Canberra centre on level 1, near Country Road.

Tickets are $30 and are available through Eventbrite.

Find out more about the Cocolux range from the cocoluxaustralia website.

BREAKING THROUGH: 75 YEARS OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT

Why did it take so long for women to get elected? And once they were there, what was their experience within the parliament?

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first women elected to Australian Federal Parliament, Breaking Through exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy explores the journeys of 11 trailblazers who were the first to hold particular parliamentary positions.

These are stories of resilience, perseverance and ground-breaking achievements.

From 1943 when Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons were the first women elected to parliament through to today where woman have held the highest positions in all areas of parliament, including Prime Minister.

Breaking Through exhibition, recognises the significant contribution these women made in Australia’s democracy. Look back on their lives, uncover their motivations and what they view as their greatest achievements.

Told through never before seen portraits, each a unique representation by a young artist, and powerful stories of change-makers breaking through, this exhibition will inspire visitors to think about the role of women in parliament, what it took to get there and whether we’ve come far enough.

Showing until 28 August 2019 from 9 am – 5 pm daily at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.

See the website for more information.

BLUNDELLS COTTAGE GALA DAY

Blundells Cottage has had a facelift! New, sympathetic landscaping, new displays and conservation works on both the stone and the slab buildings are now complete.

Join us for a day of family activities, including live music, food and drink, lawn games, storytelling and making seed bombs to welcome everyone back to this tiny workers home that tells the stories of the families that lived there over a period of 100 years.

Help create the biggest paper chain Canberra has ever seen to celebrate the re-opening!

All display areas will be open to view as well.

Happening Saturday 13 October from 10 am – 2 pm at Blundells Cottage, Wendouree Drive, Parkes.

See website for more information.

AFTER WORK | WINE & DINE

Lanterne Rooms if offering a fantastic ‘After Work | Wine & Dine’ special this Spring. With the choice of four small plates and one large plate to share for just $50 per person, this grazing style dinner is the perfect opportunity to come out of hibernation and have those long overdue catch ups!

Get your first glass of house wine for just $5, and any additional glasses of house wine after that for just $10. Eat at your leisure and affordably order more if you feel like it, by adding any additional small plate for $6pp extra or any large plate for $9pp extra.

Available from Tuesday to Friday only (until 7 15PM on Fridays).
Minimum of 2 persons, maximum of six.
Conditions apply and seating is limited, so be sure to book.

Happening until 31 October Lanterne Rooms, Shop 3, Blamey Place, Campbell

See website for more information

3 DAYS OF DESIGN

Image: facebook.com/1oftwelve

3 Days of Design is an event featuring 5 local Canberra designers, makers & curators. A mini pop up in the Nation’s Capital celebrating contemporary homewares, furniture, jewellery and wearable art. Hosted at the new BDA custom made furniture showroom in Manuka, this Pop Up is full to the brim of objects to inspire and delight.

Happening 12-14 October at Beyond Design Australia, 25 Franklin Street, Manuka.

See the website for more information.

POD’S 8TH BIRTHDAY BREKKY

Indulge at Pod Food’s breakfast degustation series.

On Sunday 14 October, Pod Food will be showcasing four of their favourite breakfast dishes throughout the years.

Two sweet and two savoury, for their regulars or for the first timer, this is a brekky not to be missed.

$50 per person for four courses with matching beverages starting from $20 per person.

Happening Sunday 14 October from 9 am at Pod Food, 12 Beltana Road, Pialligo.

See the website to book and for more details.

S.A.D

Mental Health is often marginalised and kept behind closed doors. S.A.D brings it into the light without stigma; a show full of laughter, tears, truth and most importantly of all hope and healing.

S.A.D is a journey through the Seasons of Mental Illness. The foreboding Autumn of History and Trauma, the sometimes isolating and cold Winter of Symptoms, the hopeful Spring that is Recognition and Diagnosis and finally into the beautiful warmth of the Summer of Healing and Acceptance.

Experience a show like no other that meets the demons that we all face head on and rather than doing so with anger and fear, instead embraces them with understanding. Written and choreographed by UK producer Charlie Wan, who’s inspiration for the show has been drawn from not only her own experiences, but those around her and their journey of healing. The show uses classical clowning and movement, with an entirely original score composed by New Zealand composer Teresa Wojcik, to move, entertain and engage without dialogue.

Content Warning: This show explores themes of mental illness (PTSD, depression and anxiety), grooming, childhood abuse, toxic masculinity, addiction and trauma.

Happening 9-13 October at Canberra Theatre Centre.

For more information see the Canberra Theatre Centre website.

PENICILLIN TO WI-FI AND BEYOND: HOW AUSTRALIA SHAPES THE WORLD

Australia is a continent of creators – firestick farming, cochlear implants, Federation wheat, penicillin, wi-fi and spray-on skin are just some of the Australian inventions to have had a global impact. What are the challenges and opportunities that will inspire Australian innovators in the 21st century?

Join ABC RN’s Big Ideas presenter Paul Barclay in conversation with an expert panel as they discuss Australia’s inventive past and imagine its innovative future.

The panel features Professor Michelle Simmons, quantum physicist and 2018 Australian of the Year; Professor Genevieve Bell, cultural anthropologist, technologist and futurist; Dr Rod Lamberts, Deputy Director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science; and Geoff McNamara, recipient of the 2014 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching.

This event is part of the Defining Moments in Australian history project.

Developed in collaboration ABC Radio National.Cost: $15 adult, $10 concession, $7.50 Friends Bookings essential: Eventbrite (fees apply)

Happening Wednesday 10 October from 5-6.30pm at Visions Theatre, National Museum of Australia.

A WILD NIGHT OUT AT TIDBINBILLA

Experience Canberra’s premier wildlife sanctuary like never before with the ultimate family sleepover – A Wild Night Out at Tidbinbilla.

Explore this vast 54.5 square kilometre Nature Reserve with specially designed ranger-guided activities that offer NEW ways to learn about the diversity of wildlife in this unique landscape, understand the culture of the traditional country of the Ngunnawal people and see the history of European settlement in the Tidbinbilla Valley.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve has koalas, wombats and kangaroos which we all love but we also want to introduce some of the lesser known animals to our guests – bettongs, corroboree frogs and potoroos amongst them. And on World Animal Day – 4 Oct – we have a special guest Brian the Bettong visiting our glampers.

Time to get wild and stay at Tidbinbilla.

Happening until 13 October at Tidbinbilla. See website for more information.

HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL

Credit: Captured Moments.

Heathers is the super charged, laugh-out-loud, rock musical about the students of Westerberg High, as they navigate raging hormones, bullying from jocks, scorn from the popular girls, all the while just trying to stay alive!

Veronica Sawyer, a brainy and repressed misfit, is dying to get in with the popular girls, but when she finally gets her chance, her new boyfriend, the mysterious new kid in school, J.D. has other plans.

Based on the greatest teen comedy of all time, this heart felt and homicidal teen musical pulls no punches, as it explores the highs, lows and traps of being a teenager in High School.

Happening 12-27 October at Gungahlin Theatre, 23 Gozzard Street, Gungahlin.

See website for more information.

American Masters

Jackson Pollock. Blue poles 1952. Oil, enamel, aluminium paint, glass on canvas. National Gallery of Australia. © Pollock-Krasner Foundation/ARS/Copyright Agency.

Drawn exclusively from the National Gallery of Australia’s (NGA) outstanding collection of American art, American Masters celebrates that nation’s artists from the 1940s to the 1980s. When the NGA acquired Jackson Pollock’s Blue poles in 1973, at the time the most expensive American painting ever sold, our emerging collection hit the global headlines. This exhibition tells the story of the formation of our incredible American collection and includes many major works not seen together for a long time.

From Abstract Expressionism, Colour Field, Pop, Neo-Dada and Photo-Realism, to Conceptual, Land and Performance Art, American Masters examines how a generation of young Americans, inspired by European émigrés, challenged local traditions and reinvented modern art. The sensational international impact of the era’s major artists is captured in masterpieces by Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Chuck Close, Donald Judd, Eva Hesse and Louise Bourgeois.

Highlights include paintings and works on paper by the New York School; Sol LeWitt’s huge Wall drawing No. 380 a-d 1982, specially re-made for this exhibition; and a selection of spectacular light works by Dan Flavin, Bruce Nauman, Keith Sonnier and James Turrell.

Showing daily until 11 November at the National Gallery of Australia.

Democracy. Are you in?

Your voice, your hands and even your feet have the power to be heard. Our freedoms and our way of life have been built on the foundation of democracy. This living system is sustained through the participation of each and all of us. Democracy is sustained by you. Australian democracy is a work in progress. Curiously, at a time of stability and unparalleled economic growth, confidence in our political and social institutions is at its lowest point in decades. But giving up on them is not the answer. Our democracy needs us. Are you in?

Open daily at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Find out more at moadoph.gov.au.

ROME: CITY + EMPIRE

Medallion of Constantine the Great minted in Thessalonica, Greece, 335 CE gold © Trustees of the British Museum Media credit line © Trustees of the British Museum, 2018. All rights reserved. Image supplied.

Stories of Rome and its vast empire continue to captivate and intrigue people almost 3000 years after their foundation.

Rome: City and Empire brings to Canberra more than 200 of the British Museum’s most engaging and beautiful Roman objects. They tell the story of how Rome grew from a series of small villages to become a mighty empire.

Explore how the empire was won and held, witness the grandeur of Rome and appreciate the rich diversity of its peoples.

Happening until 3 February from 9 am – 5 pm daily at the National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton.

See the website for more information.

CELLAR DOOR

Image via facebook.com/pg/CellarDoorCBR

Cellar Door is a new wine market for Canberra’s wonderful wine scene. Buy wines from local makers every Saturday afternoon in the iconic Nishi Grand Stair, NewActon Precinct.

Grab a souvenir glass, taste the latest drops, and buy at cellar door prices.

Wine stalls rotate each week with complementing stalls like flowers, cheese, chocolate and books. Capital City Soul Club are the resident DJs.

Make a day of it with a film at Palace Electric Cinema and NewActon’s leading food and drink destinations.

Happening Saturday 13 October from 2-5 pm on the Nishi Grand Stair, inside the Nishi Building, Philip Law Street, NewActon.

See Facebook for more details.

HEATH LEDGER: A LIFE IN PICTURES

Heath Ledger. Credit: Karin Catt.

Audiences around the world know and love Heath Ledger as a charismatic movie star who pushed boundaries and created iconic roles. Now they have a chance to discover Heath’s creative process and deep passion for the film industry and the visual arts, in a unique exhibition curated in collaboration with his family.

Explore a selection of film costumes and props, Heath’s own character research journals, celebrity portraits and acting awards and more. A Life in Pictures offers a rare insight into the man behind the camera.

A program of special screenings and talks will complement the exhibition

Happening until 10 Feb 2019, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Acton.

See the website for more information.

LOCALJINNI – LAKESIDE STORIES TWILIGHT VIDEO WALKS

Projections along the foreshore as part of Localjinni’s Lakeside Stories – Twilight Video Walks.

Do you want to hear stories about Lake Burley Griffin only the locals know?

A new art tourism initiative titled Localjinnni, led by Fiona Hooton and Catrina Vignando, is making that possible. Their first participatory – place-making experience, Lakeside Stories brings visual artists, filmmakers, writers, oral historians and animators together to tell hidden stories of place.

Held around Lake Burley Griffin’s northern foreshore their Lakeside stories –twilight video walks, take storytelling to the streets. Transforming footpaths and walls into screens using video, sound and light projections.

Included in Lakeside Stories – twilight video walks are works by: Caren Florance (text artist), Melinda Smith (poet), Megan Watson (filmmaker), Matchbox Pictures (film and TV production), Ros Lemoh (visual artist), Dr Kirsty Guster (Acton Walkways place-maker), Roslyn Russell (historian), ANU’s School of Art animation students as well as collection content from the National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia and the National Film and Sound Archive.

Localjinni has a cultural and environmental mission – to make our public spaces more fun, more functional, more of the time. Take a cultural dip into Lake Burley Griffin’s many fluid identities through film, animation, poetry, visual art and oral history. Join us on an illuminating walk as we screen stories onto footpaths and walls around the Lake’s foreshore.

Discover why Canberra begins and ends at the Lake through an immersive experience, shared ideas and social yarning. Designed for artful, urban adventurers.

Held in association with Contour 556 / Canberra’s Public Art Biennial. (Supported by YWCA creativity grant)

7.45pm Saturday and Sundays 6-27 October

7.45pm Wednesday 17 October, Lake Burley Griffin’s B’day

Meet Henry Roland Park, Acton. Free – numbers limited

Eventbrite bookings essential.

PIALLIGO URBAN HIGH TEA @ FLORIADE 

Showcasing a range of sweet and savoury treats alongside an impeccable range of teas by Canberra based Tea Garden Co. Unwind with High Tea at Floriade – set amongst the tulip gardens, treat yourself to an afternoon delight in the Pialligo Urban Café including pastries, cakes, finger sandwiches and scones.

Gluten-free dietaries can be accommodated, just let the staff know when booking tickets.

Tickets cost $42 pp, and booking is essential

Happening until 14 October, Friday –  Sunday, 2.30pm and 3.30pm at Pialligo Urban Cafe at Floriade, Commonwealth Avenue, City

See website for more information.

So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Credit: The Girls, Zoe Davis and Linde Ivimey, 2018 by Linde Ivimey. Steel armatures, acrylic resin, cast and natural human, sheep turkey, fox, chicken and snake bones, earth, paper, natural fibre, dyed cotton, dyed and sewn viscera. Courtesy of Linde Ivimey.

BRICKMAN EXPERIENCE

Ryan McNaught’s Brickman Experience is one of the largest touring exhibitions of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Arriving in the capital these school holidays, the interactive exhibition is suitable for little and big kids (LEGO® code for adults!). It will be at Exhibition Park in Canberra from 28 September through to 14 October 2018.

Made with over five million LEGO® bricks, this epic exhibition will showcase some of the world’s largest and most detailed LEGO® models including Ryan’s biggest ever Star Wars LEGO® build, a model Airbus A380, a quarter scale LEGO® Ferrari and the world’s largest LEGO® flower.

Brickman Experience features a collection of over 60 individual works by Ryan McNaught – the only LEGO® Certified Professional in the Southern Hemisphere and one of only 14 in the world. Ryan and his team’s award-winning creations have featured in locations around the world, and now Canberra for the first time.

Canberra’s budding brickies will also have the opportunity to build their own LEGO® creations in the interactive master builder zones.

Happening until Sunday 14 October at Fitzroy Pavillion, EPIC, Flemington Road, Mitchell.

See the website for more information.