The Weekend Edit

Posted on 19 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!

HANDMADE MARKETS

Canberra’s award-winning Handmade Market is turning 10 and there are lots of special surprises in store!

Handmade brings together talented artists, designers & producers from all over Australia to showcase their handmade designs.

The Handmade Market is an indoor event to showcase over 260 Australian creative businesses. All products on sale are Australian made and designed. Shop with the markets to support Australian designers and find something unique, well priced, where you can meet the maker. They have everything from fashion, furniture, sculpture, ceramics, children’s toys and clothing, jewellery and accessories and including a indoor gourmet food & wine pavilion.

To celebrate their birthday, they are giving away a $100 gift Card to spend at Handmade every hour!

The market is held at EPIC, Exhibition Park in Canberra. You can drive to the venue, there is lots of free parking plus a very large disabled area. There is also public transport to the event.

ATMs are located on site.

Entry to the market is FREE but please support the door greeters with a gold coin donation if you can.

Find out more at handmadecanberra.com.au.

FASHFEST 2018 LAUNCH SHOW

On 19 October, three designers will present collections showcasing cocktail glam and elegant bespoke gowns during the first of a series of rolling shows by FASHFEST, Canberra’s annual fashion event.

The high-end show will be held at the National Gallery of Australia. Models wearing voluminous, multi-layered details couture gowns will turn the Gallery’s massive escalators in the main foyer into towering runways.

Haja Gala Couture, one of Australia’s most elegant couturiers, will showcase gowns not seen before in the capital. Megan Cannings Designs will showcase the collection she has just presented at New York Fashion Week. Charly Thorn Designs will showcase her new cocktail and evening luxe collection. Two shows will take place 19 October (same show repeated twice).

Happening Friday 19 October at the National Gallery of Australia, Parkes.

Tickets on sale now at www.fashfest.com.au.

OKTOBERFEST PARKLANDS 2018

The Parliamentary Triangle will be transformed into Bavaria on Saturday 20 October when Oktoberfest Parklands returns to Canberra after its huge debut in 2017.

Last year more than 4,000 people dressed in lederhosen and dirndls descended upon the lakeside parklands of Patrick White Lawns, and once again Oktoberfest Parklands will bring the very best in bier, kultur, kostümes and cuisine to this one-day festival!

And much more than just beer and pork knuckles, patrons will blow dein mind with a huge craft beer hall, Oompah bands, DJs and the return of the hugely popular silent disco.

Tickets to Oktoberfest Parklands includes entry, a commemorative Oktoberfest Parklands stein and the first beer is on the house. PROST!

Discounted pre-sale tickets sold out in under 24 hours last year. Sign up to oktoberfestparklands.com.au to access cheaper pre-sale tickets to the most wunderbar day in the Canberra calendar.

Pre-sale tickets will be available Tuesday 14 August at 12 pm, with general admission on sale at 12 pm Thursday 16 August.

Happening Saturday 20 October at Patrick White Lawns, Parkes.

See the website for ticketing information and more details.

PIALLIGO ESTATE CELLAR DOOR SESSIONS

Bring a picnic blanket and settle in for an intimate showcasing of local and interstate musicians at Pialligo Estate for the Cellar Door Sessions.

Wine, beer and nibbles menu available all night.

Happening Friday 19 October 2018 from 6 pm – 9 pm on the Pialligo Estate Lawns, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.

$25 per person, Purchase Tickets here.

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.

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.

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

VERTIKAL INDOOR SNOW SPORTS FREE SPRING CARNIVAL

Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports, newly opened in Canberra, is excited to announce its Free Spring Carnival to be held on October 21st, 2018 from 11am-3pm.

To continue celebrating its foundation in Canberra, Vertikal is opening its doors to the public to showcase indoor skiing and snowboarding.

The Carnival Day will feature live DJ sets, a sausage sizzle, an interactive magic mirror photo booth, face painting, raffle prizes, snow cones, a snow machine, demonstrations, and a variety of children’s games and crafts, among other activities.

Happening Sunday 21 October from 11 am – 3 pm at Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports, Dairy Road, Fyshwick.

See the Facebook event 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 until 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 20 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 until 27 October

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

Meet Henry Roland Park, Acton. Free – numbers limited

Eventbrite bookings essential.