[ 1 May, 2013; 7:30 pm; ] This just in:

Three well-known Canberra poets, Geoff Page, Charlotte Clutterbuck and P.S. Cottier will be reading at Manning Clark House next week, on Wednesday 1st May. The reading starts at 7.30pm, but get there early for a glass of wine and a snack included in your $10 entry fee.

Warning: one of the [...]

Hey, we’re all invited to Jerrabomberra Wetlands for their open day!
Warren Nicholls, Chair, Capital Woodland and Wetlands Trust, today encouraged Canberrans to
attend the Jerrabomberra Wetlands Open Day on Sunday 28 April 2013.
“This free event will be held on Sunday 28 April, from 9.30 am to 2 pm. It will be a great way to spend
time [...]

In Canberra Tonight was totally a thing that was apparently fantastic. I was out having dinner with my Mum and missed it.
Fortunately CIT are filming all of it, so I can catch up.
For those of you who were absent, our Commander in Chief Johnboy was given 5 minutes to recount the top stories of the [...]

[ 24 April, 2013; ] Awesome Melbourne band and Oz rock stalwarts ‘King of the North’ are heading our way to The Basement on 24th April.

Catch these guys before their rock explosion goes viral.

Following on from supporting ‘Cold Chisel’ last year and many residencies including the iconic Esplanade Hotel (home of RocKwiz), this surprisingly huge-sounding 2-piece are on an Australian [...]

When I started these Unearthed Reviews I was given very simple instructions.
Go look though the ACT artists alphabetically. If you see an artist or group with a green or red drum next to their name that we haven’t reviewed, review them.
Simple. Except I’ve now done a full loop.
I’m gonna need a new way to pick [...]

[ 4 May, 2013; ]

May the Fourth is International Star Wars Day, as all good Star Wars fans should know.

Apparently Mooseheads is holding a Star Wars party to celebrate.

Allow me to comment on this via the medium of meme:

Trust me fellow geeks, the second you walk through those doors in your Jedi robe a bunch of meathead jocks are [...]

Record store day came and went, I celebrated with a visit to Songland at Cooleman Court. The vinyl on offer was all donated and was generally what you would expect.
I picked up some groovy tunes (6 records for $10) and now just need to work out how to play them; otherwise I will [...]

Tara from In the Taratory has sent in these pictures of the weekend’s Morris 100 extravaganza.
Got images of Canberra you want to share with the world? Email them in to images@the-riotact.com .
Here’s the slideshow:

Joshua Eversham has sent this video in with this note:
Over the last year I have had the opportunity to travel around the Australian Alps, from Mt Gingera down to Kosciusko National Park, through each season, through waist deep snow, torrential rain, sub zero temperatures, perfect summer days where the sky seems to extended into [...]

[ 24 May, 2013; 7:30 pm; ]

This sounds pretty cool. An awesome looking gig/zine launch/panel/ep launch? That’s just so crazy it might work. I’m in.

Jeremy Staples, the editor and creator of the final and free retrospective book of Bizoo titled ‘The Best, the Worst & the Trash that never made it’ is excited to be launching the massive book in Canberra [...]

Why I haven’t done an Unearthed Review in 4 days! How on Earth have you all been coping?
It’s ok, we’ll get you your fix with Kempsey.
Here’s what they have to say about themselves:
Kempsey draws it’s life from a broad world of influences. From the guitar driven riff-rock of Television, to the mood-filled hangover of [...]

YouTube user anj mariner has just posted a rather nice video of the Diner en Blanc that occured during the Enlighten Festival.
Randomly wandered into this “diner” party in Canberra while I was there for the Enlightenment Festival. Needless to say it was a great opportunity to capture people living in the moment.
This timeless guaranteed [...]

[ 27 April, 2013; 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm. ]

The Invisible Thread is a publication of 75 Canberran writers.

To celebrate its release, NewActon is combining the words of three authors with the music of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

Alex Miller, Alan Gould and Sara Dowse have each chosen two musical compositions to bookend their poem or prose works. These will be performed by an [...]

Andrew Galan is a poet. He runs writing workshops in Canberra’s food courts, co-founded Bad!Slam!No!Biscuit!, harasses people in the civic interchange as a part of the Tragic Troubadours, and has his hands in just about everything poetry related that goes on in Canberra.
He also has a blog, if you like those kind of things.
At any [...]

LifeCircle ACT presents a Life Matters Event Final Gifts: understanding the special awareness and needs of the dying.
A one-day gathering of speakers, community organisations and business specialising in palliative care, advanced care planning and end of life care.
Southern Cross Club
9:00-2:30pm
Saturday, July 6 2013
MC: Clair Hochstetler, Head Chaplain, Pastoral Care, Canberra Hospital
Program :
- Welcome to Country [...]

[ 18 April, 2013 to 21 April, 2013. ]

Thursday:

– Jane Austen Festival Australia @ St John’s Church Hall (until 21 April)

– History @ M16 Artspace, 12pm-5pm (Wed-Sun) (until 5 May)

Friday:

– Rugby League Test – Australia V New Zealand @ Canberra Stadium, 7:45pm

Sat:

– Morris 100 @ Langton Crescent car park in front of the Treasury building, 10am-3pm

– The National Dinosaur Museum’s 20th Birthday [...]

Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens have just released their new film clip Adeleine.
As you probably know I’m a bit of a fan of JDSS, so I was rather surprised to discover there is in fact two Julia Johnsons. Also, food fight!
We have of course added it to the Canberra Playlist.

[ 18 May, 2013; 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 19 May, 2013; 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. ]

The Canberra Bonsai Society is letting us know about their upcoming exhibition as party of the 26th Association of Australian Bonsai Clubs National Bonsai Convention.

Over the last sixty years the Australian bonsai community has grown from enthusiasts working alone or in small, unconnected groups to a national community that is connected to the international bonsai [...]

The ACT Artists in Schools Program gives young people access to artists as a resource and artists access to a community they might otherwise never reach.
Both of those things sound pretty good, anyone here keen to give it a go?
2013 Artists-in-Schools Program
artsACT is now seeking applications from experienced ACT-based artists from all art forms for [...]

[ 19 April, 2013 to 21 April, 2013. ]

The unstoppable tide that is 2013 continues to roll over us (and we’d be alarmed if it were otherwise).

But like it or not the weekend is nearly here.

What’s worth seeing and doing around Canberra?

Just leave your brilliant suggestions in the comments.

The Australia Institute is inviting us to a conversation between Richard Denniss and Bob Brown.
Since the last time Bob Brown spoke to Politics in the Pub he has resigned from Parliament, created the Bob Brown Foundation which aims to help front-line environmentalists, as well as led a Sea Shepherd anti-whaling mission.
In an election year [...]

[ 18 April, 2013; 7:30 pm; ]

There’s a new local variety show kicking off at the O’Connor Polish Club tomorrow night.

It’s so awesome they’re even getting us to do a segment on local news which will feature all of you (in a way).

Here’s the details as received from Maestro Chris Endrey:

In Canberra Tonight is a spanking new live variety show to [...]

This week, Canberra Youth Theatre’s 35 Degrees 17 South is showing in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Australia – you can watch it unfold on ABC TV.

On 15 May, Boho Interactive’s Word Play opens at CSIRO Discovery. Word Play is a ‘live cinema’ work about the outbreak of a new disease that [...]

[ 19 April, 2013 to 22 April, 2013. ]

There’s more than one centenary to celebrate this year, with the Morris 100 Canberra Celebration and Tour set to mark 100 years since the first Morris car left the factory In Oxford, England.

This weekend, anyone with an interest in cars built by William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, can celebrate not only the Centenary of Canberra [...]

So it’s not exactly Canberran (or even Australian) news, however arguing about cyclists on the road is one of Canberra’s favourite hobbys, so we think it fits.
Carlton Reid is releasing a free e-book later this year called “Roads Were Not Built for Cars“.
I expect all of us to pick up a copy when it’s released [...]

[ 19 April, 2013; 6:00 pm; ]

Facebook brings word of a magnificent shindig:

Way back in the year 2012, the Polish Club played host to a night of old-fashioned shuckin’, jivin’, hootin’, hollerin’ and other apostrophed verbs: The Old Timey Music Revue.

It’s now time to be nostalgic for the last time we were nostalgic, and to do it all over again with [...]

Autumn is a beautiful time in Canberra, and what better way to appreciate it then with an afternoon of tree planting in the Cotter Catchment?
Join Jindii EcoSpa, SEE-Change Woden and Greening Australia at our second tree planting event to support the Jindii Sustainability Fund – a program of activities that includes planting trees and fund [...]

The National Trust are hosting an afternoon lecture “Thinking Differently About Heritage”. Former Commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission Tony Powell will be the guest speaker at the event.
In addition to his role as the NCDC Commissioner, Mr Powell was Chairman of the Darwin Reconstruction Commission post Cyclone Tracy (1975) and a leading town [...]

[ 20 April, 2013; ]

The Feldon’s have written us to let us know that a whole stack of great music is hitting the Pot Belly this on the 20th of April.

This Saturday at the Pot Belly, LIVE, LOCAL and ORIGINAL.

From the laid back blues influenced Chris and Shedea, to the madness that is the Magic Rob Universe (think Through [...]

ACT Law Week is running from the 13-18 May and will feature a variety of different events.
Law Week’s goal is to promote public understanding of the law and its role in society. Law Week events are developed to include people from diverse backgrounds, organisations and perspectives.
Locally, Law Week is sponsored by LawCover, and seeks [...]

The Canberra Archaeological Society has been active in local archaeology and heritage protection for most of its 50 years.
At this presentation, Helen Cook will start with a panoramic view of Canberra Archaeological Society involvement in identifying, recording, excavating, conserving and promoting cultural heritage in Gungahlin, including embarrassing photos, the ghosts of history past and [...]

[ 8 May, 2013 to 9 May, 2013. ]

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra is putting word out on the next concert they’re putting on:

The second concert in the popular Llewellyn Series is proudly supported by the Embassy of the Russian Federation as a Centenary gift to Canberra. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Commonwealth of Australia Mr Vladimir Morozov expressed [...]