Sport, art, dance and satire. It’s all on for you this coming week in Canberra. Photo: Canberra Youth Theatre.
There’s heaps to be keen for in Canberra this coming week, for all ages and all interests. Struggling to find something to keep the kids going these school holidays? We have theatre workshops, interactive dinosaur festivals, ballet shows and live encounters with reptiles to keep them entertained. For adults, there’s the best of 2024’s political satire, summer cricket, and films at the NFSA. Let us bring you the best of the week to come in the Capital.
Multiple Days
Dinosaur-obsessed kids will love seeing their favourite reptiles up close in terrifying detail. Photo: Events Canberra.
DinoFest
When: 17 January to 21 January
Where: Black Mountain Peninsula, Garryowen Drive, Acton
Cost: Tickets from $24 to $26.
DinoFest started in 2016 with the mission to educate kids about the age of reptiles, when the T-Rex roamed and ruled the land. Get up close and personal with more than 30 dinosaur statues and animatronics and let the kids show off their enthusiasm with some dinosaur tats (temporary, of course). There will also be educational activities on the evolution of everyone’s favourite dinosaur, the T-Rex, as well as activities about how fossils are formed. There’s something for all ages of Dino-obsessed young ones, with DinoFest sure to spark their imagination and prompt a scientific interest in history’s greatest beasts.
Escape the heat in the cool glow of the cinema screen. Image: NFSA.
Summer films at the NFSA
When: 17 January to 18 January
Where: Arc Cinema, 1 McCoy Circuit, Acton
Cost: Tickets from $10 to $16.
Kids’ comedies, sultry neo-noir and classic Hollywood romance are on offer at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) this week. The mercury is rising in Canberra, so head somewhere cooler with George Miller’s 2011 Antarctic comedy Happy Feet 2, or stick with the warmth in 1981’s Body Heat, a noir film set in the oppressive sticky heat of Florida, where a small-town lawyer falls for a femme fatale. If you’re in the mood for some old-school Hollywood, you can’t go wrong with Audrey Hepburn’s Roman Holiday, about a princess on her Grand Tour of Europe who decides that she must experience Rome as a commoner.
Indulge your kids’ theatrical side with the Glimmer and Gloom workshop. Photo: Events Canberra.
Glimmer and Gloom Workshop at Canberra Youth Theatre
When: 20 January to 23 January, 9 am to 3 pm
Where: Gorman Arts Centre, Braddon
Cost: $470.
This workshop put on by the Canberra Youth Theatre is an opportunity for your child to up their theatrical game. The focus is on stagecraft and lighting, all in pursuit of the goal of every theatre person: telling a creative and compelling story. Under the expert guidance of a theatre director, kids will become instant artists and create a mini theatrical piece, with the theme of light and dark at the core of their original creation. As well as creating their own original piece, participants will attend a live performance on Monday to gain some inspiration for their creations. Theatre is about more than just acting and the spoken word, it’s about telling a story visually and creating a feeling through light and colour. Your theatrical kids will love this chance to learn at the knee of the best.
Youngsters can enjoy an interactive ballet experience telling the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty. Image: Canberra Theatre Centre.
Storytime Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty
When: 16 January to 19 January, 11 am and 2 pm, AUSLAN show on 17 January at 2 pm
Where: Canberra Theatre Centre
Cost: Tickets from $43 to $65.
An interactive ballet experience for kids three and older, Storytime Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty tells the beloved tale of a princess destined to a century of sleep, only to be awoken by true love’s kiss. With shining costumes, effects and music by the inimitable Tchaikovsky, it will be a show sure to excite any young aspiring dancers. Storytime Ballet encourages kids to dress up in their favourite ballet-inspired outfit and to buy a magic wand from the merchandise counter, allowing youngsters to interact and play along while they watch.
Please note that flashing wands and smoke will be used in the show.
Cold-blooded creatures will fascinate kids at Snakes Alive! Photo: Australian National Botanical Gardens.
Snakes Alive!
When: 17 January to 19 January, sessions at 10 am, 11:30 am, 1 pm and 2:30 pm
Where: Banksia Centre
Cost: Tickets from $8.72 to $10.84.
Get up close and personal with some fascinating reptiles, frogs, turtles and crocodiles at Snakes Alive! Many of these amazing animals are endangered and are a rare thing to see in either the wild or captivity. Displays, handling and feeding are all on the agenda. It’s a great opportunity if you’re an enthusiast of scaly animals or just looking to experience something new with some of Australia’s amazing wildlife.
Explore the idea of photography as art and a method of seeing. Photo: National Portrait Gallery.
If only we could take the time – National Portrait Gallery
When: 17 January to 23 January, during regular gallery hours
Where: National Portrait Gallery
Cost: Free, bookings not required.
This exhibition seeks to explore how photography captures intimate moments and shares them, making the viewer consider how a moment is mediated through the camera and how times and places in one’s life, such as becoming a parent or the bedroom of a family home, become something shared once photographed. The works by three Australian artists expand on the idea that photography is not just a way of capturing but a way of seeing.
Look back on the political thrills and spills of 2024 through the insightful cartoons at Behind the Lines. Image: Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.
Behind the Lines 2024
When: 17 January to 23 January
Where: Lower floor, Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
Cost: Free.
Reflect on the political year of 2024 with the Museum of Australian Democracy’s annual retrospective. See how cartoonists, sculptors and artists have satirised the cultural and political zeitgeist. This year saw the Paris Olympics, as well as a host of political gaffes, blunders and faux pas. Check out how artists saw the political world through the lens of the athletics world. It’s always fun to see how Australia’s new and established political satirists have prodded our leaders.
Wednesday
Get ready to party with the Vengaboys! Image: Canberra Southern Cross Club.
Vengaboys at Southern Cross Club
When: 22 January, 7:30 pm, please arrive at 6:30 pm
Where: Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden
Cost: Tickets from $109.90 to $169.90.
Get ready for a night of ’90s nostalgia at the Woden Southern Cross Club with MG Live, Frontier Touring, and Arena Touring presenting Europe’s No 1 touring musical act, the Vengaboys. A night of dance awaits as the Vengaboys are joined on stage by musical sister acts like DJ Sash, Alex Party and Livin’ Joy. Live it up like it’s 1999 on what is set to be a night of nostalgia, with a great atmosphere and that Euro sound you’ve been missing.
Thursday
Old rivals (bat)tle it out. Photo: Cricket Australia.
CommBank Women’s Ashes 2nd T20I v England
When: 23 January, 7:15 pm
Where: Manuka Oval, Manuka Cir, Griffith
Cost: Tickets from $15 to $25.
Don’t miss the second Women’s Ashes clash between England and Australia this Thursday. The national pastime (beating the English) is the best way to spend a summer day or night, so turn up to Manuka Oval and cheer on the best cricketing talent we can muster.
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