18 April 2019

Nine things to around Canberra this Easter long weekend (19–22 April)

| Zoe Pleasants
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Funny Easter rabbit ears decoration . Panoramic multiple image stich.

Have a great Easter long weekend!

If you are spending Easter in Canberra there is plenty to distract you from those gardening and house projects you promised yourself you’d tackle.

The National Folk Festival is on at Exhibition Park with over 750 events to enjoy. It is the last weekend for Spiegeltent—catch Life: The Show on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm and 6 pm and comedian Peter Helliar on Saturday at 6:30 pm. The Canberra and Region Heritage Festival continues with opportunities to learn about Canberra’s natural, historic and Aboriginal heritage. If you haven’t already seen it, it would be a good weekend to see the National Gallery’s Love & Desire exhibition before it closes next weekend. Easter-themed activities include eating fish at Contentious Character Winery on Good Friday, an Easter Family Fun and Food Day at Pialligo Estate on Saturday, the Great Easter Egg Hunt at Old Parliament House on Easter Sunday and bear-making at Southpoint Shopping Centre on Monday. And finally, it is the grand launch of Canberra’s Light Rail this weekend! Ride the tram for free all weekend and enjoy some live music and roving entertainment while you’re at it.

All weekend

National Folk Festival

Where: Exhibition Park
When: 18–22 April
The National Folk Festival is back at Exhibition Park over Easter. With over 750 events, the Festival’s program is dense and diverse and is designed to inspire, enliven and entertain you. There will be plenty of music, especially of the acoustic, bluegrass, roots, blues, Celtic, country, world and gypsy varieties; dance workshops and classes; events celebrating the culture of First Peoples; quirky performance art; a Kids Festival; and mind, body and spirit events such as yoga classes, inspiring talks and community singing sessions. Check out the full program here and ticket options here which include season passes and single day tickets.

Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate

Where: National Gallery of Australia
When: 10 am – 5 pm
The National Gallery’s summer blockbuster exhibition—Love and Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate—is closing on Sunday, 28 April, so if you haven’t seen it yet, the Easter long weekend is a good opportunity to do so. The Pre-Raphaelite art movement was started in the mid-1800s by a group of painters including John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt and Dante Rossetti who were inspired by the art of the early Renaissance. Pre-Raphaelite art is characterised by naturalism, lots of colour and detail, and subjects that are poignant, melancholic or morbid. Love and Desire features 40 paintings from the Tate and 40 paintings loaned from other British and Australian collections. The exhibition includes John Everett Millais’ Ophelia and William Holman Hunt’s The Awakening Conscience. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22.50 for concession and free for kids under 17 accompanying an adult, book here.

The Dressmaker Costume Exhibition

Where: National Film and Sound Archive
When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday 10 am – 4 pm
The National Film and Sound Archive’s latest exhibition opens this weekend and features a selection of haute couture costumes worn by Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Sarah Snook, Hugo Weaving, Judy Davis, Rebecca Gibney, and other members of the cast of the 2015 film The Dressmaker. The costumes were designed by Australian designer Marion Boyce and are straight from the streets of 1950s Dungatar. Tickets for the exhibition are $13 for adults, $10 for concession and $7 for kids aged five and over. The exhibition runs until 18 August, book tickets here.

Good Friday

Good Friday Fish ‘n’ Chips

Where: Contentious Character Winery
When: 10 am – 10 pm
Looking for a Fish ‘n’ Chips feed this Friday? Contentious Character Winery near Wamboin will be serving up seafood pizzas, fish and chips and salads for Good Friday from 10 am. Happy Hour will be on from 5 – 7 pm with $5 beer and wine. Book a table here.

Easter Saturday

AFL—Giants vs Fremantle

Where: Manuka Oval
When: From 1:45 pm
Men’s AFL returns to Manuka Oval for the 2019 season with the Western Sydney Giants taking on the Fremantle Dockers this Saturday afternoon. There will be a Fan Zone, inflatables, merchandise, G-Man and Gigi as well as Easter celebrations and an opportunity to Kick to Kick at fulltime. Tickets from $10, book here.

Canberra Light Rail Launch

Where: City and Gungahlin terminals
When: 9 am – 4 pm
The Light Rail is finally launching this weekend with free travel on the trams both Saturday and Sunday! All 13 stops will be operating but it will be easiest to get on the tram at either the City (Alinga Street) or Gungahlin (Hibberson Street) terminals where there will live music, roving entertainment and kids’ activities to keep you entertained. Support charity partner Hands Across Canberra with a gold-coin donation or by visiting their barbecue in the city, and visit the Transport Canberra Information Tent to learn more about light rail and Canberra’s new transport network. Check out more details here.

Easter Family Fun and Food Day

Where: Pialligo Estate
When: 10 am – 3 pm
Pialligo Estate is having an Easter Family Fun and Food Day this Saturday. There will be a jumping castle, face painting, Easter craft and a treasure hunt! And for the adults—champagne, wine, beer and delicious food. As well as food from the Estate available for purchase there will be food trucks including La Empanada, LePetit Breton, Cracking Corn, Cannoli Brothers and Remy’s Bakery. Or you could order a Pialligo Estate Picnic Box in advance packed with smokehouse cured meats, Estate-grown produce including fruit, pickled vegetables and marinated olives, crackers, and cheese and dips. There are large and small boxes available for $45 or $15, order here.

Easter Sunday

Great Easter Egg Hunt

Where: Museum of Australian Democracy, Old Parliament House
When: 8 am – 1:30 pm
MoAD’s Great Easter Egg Trail at Old Parliament House is back for another year. This egg-citing Easter adventure will take you on a journey through Old Parliament House. Choose one of four new trails and explore the exhibitions and heritage spaces as you follow the clues and solve the riddle to find chocolate. Tickets are $5 for adults, kids are free, book here.

Easter Monday

Bear Making Event

Where: South Point Shopping Centre, Tuggeranong
When: 9:30 am – 4 pm
Make a teddy bear for $8 with Stufflers at South Point Shopping Centre. Choose from up to 12 types of teddys to make, and use the Fluffenstuff Machine to bring your creation to life. If you can’t make it on Monday, this activity continues for the school holidays. Register here.

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