Nine things to do in Canberra this week (2 - 8 April)

The Easter break offers plenty of things to choose from this week, with music and chocolate galore. There are three (yes, three!) festival events to enjoy: the reimagined National Folk Festival in Queanbeyan, the Heritage Festival at venues across Canberra, and the Four Winds Festival down the coast near beautiful Bermagui.

Take the kids for an Easter egg hunt in Corin Forest or a miniature train ride or, if you are a budding entrepreneur, pitch your business idea at the Canberra Innovation Network First Wednesday Connect.

Have a great Easter!

All weekend

Four Winds Festival

When: Easter weekend, 2 to 4 April at various times (view the program for details)
Where: Four Winds, Bermagui
Cost: $0 – $415 + booking fees, book at IWannaTicket.

If you like your culture served outdoors, immersed in nature, with lashings of exquisitely played music, song, contemporary dance and theatre, then join an inimitable celebration of cultural life on the beautiful South Coast – the Four Winds Festival 2021.

Local and national artists will gather at the beautiful Sound Shell, including the Goldner String Quartet, Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows, the Djinama Yilaga Choir, William Zappa and his ‘The Iliad Out Loud”, singer Lior with Nigel Westlake, gorgeous Baroque Music, a swathe of Candelo Musicians, the Sydney Dance Company and more.

Good Folk – A folk experience in Queanbeyan

When: Saturday 3 April, 10:30 am to 10:45 pm and Sunday 4 April, 11:00 am to 10:45 pm
Where: Various locations around Queanbeyan:

• The Royal Hotel
• The Q Performing Arts Centre
• Queanbeyan Bicentennial Hall
• Campbell and Georgel.

Cost: $10 – $45 , visit Folk Festival.

Infectious riffs and soulful stories will fill the venues of Queanbeyan this Easter weekend as the National Folk Festival presents Good Folk – A Folk Experience in Queanbeyan. This is a vibrant two-day concert series presented throughout historic Queanbeyan venues. A dedicated session venue will be located on the shady lawns of the Campbell and George – for those who play and those who enjoy folk music to come together once again.

The Great Corin Forest Easter Egg Hunt

When: 2 to 5 April, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Where: Corin Forest, Corin Road
Cost: Free Easter Eggs with every Snowplay or Alpine Slide Booking – tickets available online.

We are so excited to see the Easter Bunny return to Corin Forest this year after his trip in 2020 was cancelled! Families visiting Corin Forest for the Alpine Slide or some snow play this year will be able to stage their own Easter Egg hunt in a socially distanced way.

Guests who book tickets for the Alpine Slide, Snowplay, or both, between 2 and 5 April will receive a free bag of Easter eggs upon arrival.

These eggs can be used to set up your own socially distanced Easter egg hunt either before or after your Snowplay or Alpine Slide sessions. Our picnic area will be available for all guests to enjoy and has plenty of great egg hiding spots. Tickets are strictly limited so be sure to book early to avoid missing out.

Benjamin Shine – Defining Moments

When: Wednesday to Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, until 12 April
Where: Grainger Gallery, Building 3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick
Cost: Free.

Art lovers worldwide have watched British artist Benjamin Shine create humanity out of tulle, and now Canberrans will be able to view his latest exhibition, ‘Defining Moments’ at the Grainger Gallery in Fyshwick.

The show will run until Tuesday, 12 April and presents new works from Benjamin’s ongoing Flow series where a single length of tulle is manipulated to literally and metaphorically represent mindfulness and meditation. In these sculptural works, the notion of finding clarity within chaos is reflected in the abstracted and anonymous faces that are formed from the folds of a single length of tulle.

‘Defining Moments’ is Benjamin’s first gallery exhibition in Canberra. The Canberra Centre commissioned him in 2015 to create a large-scale installation entitled ‘The Dance’.

Friday

Oh my Goth at Reload

When: Friday 2 April, 7:00 pm
Where: Reload Bar and Games, 38 Northbourne Ave, Canberra
Cost: Free.

Join DJs Black Temple, Robot Citizen, and Xyberjunk at a free evening dedicated to the very best Alternative/Punk/Goth/Industrial and Synthpop music.

Reload Bar has video and board games – also a great selection of cocktails and a rocking sound system belting out music from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s from such artists as The Cure, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Depeche Mode, Rammstein and more.

Sunday

Canberra Miniature Railway Easter twilight rides

When: Sunday 4 April, 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: Canberra Miniature Railway, Symonston
Cost: $10 per person, children under-3 free.

Canberra Miniature Railway are holding one of their last twilight runs for the season, and because it’s Easter, they’ll be putting on TWO Easter egg hunts for the kids.

From 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, enjoy unlimited rides on one of the miniature trains as they chug along the tracks of the Railway. As the sun goes down, you’ll see the Railway light up with bright neon lights.

You can also join in the hunt for Easter eggs at 5:30 pm or 6:30 pm. There’ll be 2000 eggs up for grabs.

Entry is $10 per person and includes unlimited train rides until closing. Free entry for children aged 3 and under.

Tuesday

Canberra’s Reimagined Heritage Festival

When: 6 to 26 April, various times.
Where: Various locations around Canberra, some events are virtual
Cost: Varies, view the full program for more details.

This year’s aptly themed Heritage Festival is back from 6 April.

Themed ‘REIMAGINE’, as many event holders have had to completely redesign and reconfigure their usual offerings in line with COVID-19 requirements.

Our heritage is irreplaceable, say festival organisers, and continues to form who and what we are as a community. It represents our legacy, informs our present and shapes the future.

Nonetheless, over 150 diverse events will take place across the Canberra region, including workshops, tours, talk, suburban walks, virtual events and more. Now in its 38th year, the Festival raises awareness of the ongoing need to celebrate and highlight our natural, historic and Aboriginal heritage.

Wednesday

First Wednesday Connect

When: Wednesday 7 April, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Where: Constitution Place, 1 Constitution Avenue, Canberra
Cost: Free – registrations essential. Register at CBRIN.

Join the community of creative business people, innovators and entrepreneurs at First Wednesday Connect!

A regular monthly get-together aiming to energise, share stories and encourage collaboration between entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and innovators of all sorts. Hear from Canberra’s budding entrepreneurs in our high-intensity 60-second pitching format and meet new people over drinks and nibbles.

It is free to come along, although registrations are essential.

Thursday

Canberra Symphony Orchestra – Sharing the Sky

When: Thursday 8 April, 6:30 pm
Where: Atrium, National Museum of Australia
Tickets: Adult $60, Concession $55, under-30 $30, book at Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

The first concert in the Canberra Symphony Orchestra 2021 Australian Series opens with Brenda Gifford’s Miriwa (Sky), a contemplation of the vast canopy spoken in the ancient beauty of the Yuin language. This is followed by The Moon by Peggy Polias, which charts an enigmatic course across the night sky, from new moon to waning crescent.

The program also features Deborah Cheetham’s Song for Dulka Warngiid, the fourth work in the composer’s Woven Song series. Inspired by the painting and tapestry of the same name and sung in the language of the Kayaldild people, the work transports us to the tiny Bentinck Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This concert culminates in a world premiere from Moya Henderson.