Nine things to do in Canberra this week (12 - 18 March)

It’s a good week to be in the capital if you’re an arts, music and culture lover. From The Queanbeyan Players’ take on The Sound of Music to Midnight Oil’s award-winning album at Stage 88, and Indigenous voices performing Songs from a Stolen Senate, there’s something for everyone.

Then, if listening to all this music gets you excited to be on stage, 88mph is running live karaoke on Wednesday evening.

If you’re an arts and movies buff, you can head to the National Gallery to see masterpieces from Botticelli to Van Gogh or to the Canberra Short Film Festival’s second instalment. MoAD’s also offering a behind-the-scenes look at the Press Gallery at Old Parliament House.

If you need to keep the family busy for the weekend, the annual Convoy for Cancer is back, travelling from Beard Industrial Estate to Exhibition Park.

Another great charity event to get involved with is Canberra’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service’s Shave for the Brave.

Have a great week, Canberra!

All Week

Botticelli to Van Gogh

When: Daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Where: National Gallery of Australia, Parkes
Cost: $28 general admission, $25 concessions and students, members $22, children $10. Tickets available through the National Gallery of Australia website.

With its 55 paintings spanning 500 years of art, Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London presents works from some of Europe’s most revered and admired artists, including Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velázquez, Goya, Turner, Renoir, Cézanne and Gauguin.

Exclusive to Canberra, it comprises the largest group of works to travel outside the United Kingdom in the 192-year history of the National Gallery, London.

Queanbeyan Players present: The Sound of Music

When: From Friday 12 March to Sunday 21 March, 7:30 pm and 1:30 pm (excluding 15 and 16 March)
Where: The Q, 251 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan
Cost: Adults $55, Concession $45, Under 25 $45, Under 16 $30. Tickets at The Q’s Box Office.

Don’t miss The Queanbeyan Players’ The Sound of Music as they bring the much-beloved story of Maria and the Von Trapp family to life.

After finding she is a little too free-spirited for convent life, Maria Rainer is sent to be governess to the seven children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp. Upon arrival, she finds the children living under a regimented routine set by a father who has forgotten how to love. Her zest for life and love for music soon infects the whole family, including the Captain.

Set against the lush backdrop of the Austrian hills, the timeless musical will have the entire family singing along to classics like “My Favourite Things” and “So Long, Farewell”.

Canberra Short Film Festival

When: 4 to 28 March, from 6:30 pm onwards
Where: Dendy Cinemas and various other locations. See the full program for details.
Cost: Standard tickets $20 for Dendy, $15 for adults and $13 concession at Tuggeranong Arts Centre, free at Dickson Pool. See the website for full details.

Coming in hot for its second instalment, the Canberra Short Film Festival is back for 2021. From a record number of submissions (700), 216 of these films are set to be shown over 12 nights at various locations in Canberra, including a free showing at Dickson Pool and themed nights at Smith’s Alternative and Tuggeranong Arts Centre.

Special features this year include themed nights such as Fright Night (horror), Environment & the World Around Us, Identity: Sexuality & Gender Politics and 2020: The Year That Was.

Meet the Press Tour at Old Parliament House

When: Daily from 11:00 am and 2:00 pm
Where: Museum of Australian Democracy, Old Parliament House, Parkes
Cost: Free, book your free ticket here.

This unmissable tour at the Museum of Australian Democracy offers some remarkable insights into the media’s role in a healthy democracy by examining their operations at Old Parliament House between 1928 and 1988.

By shining a light on this history, it prompts visitors to consider their own responsibilities as we digest and disseminate information.

The 20-minute tour explores the former Press Gallery, the Parliamentary Broadcasting Studio and the current exhibition ‘Truth, Power and a Free Press’.

Saturday

Songs from a Stolen Senate

When: 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm Saturday 13 March 2021
Where: Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen
Cost: $45 for Adults, $35 concessions. Tickets available online.

Songs from a Stolen Senate is the first instalment in a series from the Griffyn Ensemble set to challenge or redefine how Australian identity has been created since European settlement.

For this landmark occasion, five of Australia’s most prominent First Nation composers have come together to travel through the history of the Australian parliament – stealing parliamentary voices and reworking them as song and storytelling to offer their own perspectives on everything from the Stolen Generations to climate change.

It’s a unique collaboration between Arrernte country music icon Warren Williams; inspirational Noongar singer-songwriters Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse; Norah Bagiri from Mua Island in the Torres Straits; and Canberra based Christopher Sainsbury from the Dharug nation and Yuin composer Brenda Gifford.

Sunday

The Rise Above Convoy for Cancer

When: Sunday 14 March 2021, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Starting at Beard and finishing at Exhibition Park
Cost: Free to watch, donations welcome. Drivers can bid for the lead position.

The annual event raising money and awareness for Rise Above – Capital Region Cancer Relief is back for 2021. The charity provides support to families in the capital region struggling with cancer. Hundreds of trucks and motorbikes will journey from Beard Industrial Estate near Queanbeyan to Canberra’s Exhibition Park.

There are a number of spots along the way where families can sit and enjoy the roar of engines.

Monday

DVCS Shave for the Brave

When: 6:00 am to 9:00 am, Monday 15 March
Where: Garema Place, Canberra City
Cost: Donations welcome, and can be made at the event or online.

In support of their organisation’s cause, Canberra’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service frontline staff are having an early start to shave their heads. The event will be broadcast by Kristen & Nige on Mix 106.3.

They are hoping to raise $2000 as a team and appreciate all donations. A contribution of $10 can pay for dinner and breakfast for a person in emergency accommodation, while $30 can pay for mobile phone credit for someone who doesn’t have any.

DVCS supports over 4000 clients a year impacted by domestic and family violence – including those who use violence and are seeking to change.

Wednesday

Midnight Oil at Stage 88

When: Wednesday, 17 March, 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Where: Stage 88, Commonwealth Park, Parkes
Cost: Tickets from $112, available through TicketMaster.

Midnight Oil will bring their mini-album The Makarrata (Truth-telling) Project to Canberra after it topped the ARIA charts last year. The album and live tour are a powerful call to action for Australia to take real political steps towards a First Nations treaty.

The band will be joined by Indigenous collaborators, including Dan Sultan and Leah Flanagan.

Take me on Live Karaoke at 88mph

When: Every Wednesday night from 8:00 pm
Where: 88mph, Basement, 8-10 Hobart Place, Canberra City
Cost: Free, bookings essential, book online.

Budding singers and performers better pencil this one in the diary as 88mph is bringing their beloved karaoke out to the main bar so Canberra’s next Mariah Carey can have their moment in the spotlight.

Their songbook spans all the great decades, so there’s sure to be something to suit everybody’s vocal abilities.

There will also be spot prizes throughout the night and plenty of great drinks and pizza on offer. Happy Hour runs from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm if you’re keen to get warmed up.