The National Folk Festival is celebrating 55 years this year. Photo: National Folk Festival.
There’s nothing like a gorgeous autumn long weekend in Canberra. Following a couple of weeks of festivals, here’s a more relaxed schedule with the Folkie, exhibitions and an outdoor party to keep the habit fresh.
Our museums have intriguing shows and there is a classic rock band saying goodbye to live concerts. For the most up-to-date information on each event, please check the official sites.
National Folk Festival
When: 14 to 18 April 2022
Where: Exhibition Park in Canberra, Flemington Road, Mitchell
Cost: Various prices, available from IWannaTicket.
The National Folk Festival has returned for another year.
Over five days, audiences will get to see their favourite folk legends with more than 200 bands and artists performing across more than a dozen stages, spoken word sessions, dancing, food, circus, street performers, workshops, a kids’ program and heaps more.
Hayley Millar Baker, Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung peoples, Nyctinasty, 2021, commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia. Photo: NGA.
Fourth National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony
When: Daily, 10 am to 5 pm
Where: National Gallery of Australia
Cost: Free. Get your tickets here
The National Gallery’s Triennial is a showcase of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, ceremonies are central to their creative process. The exhibition and program of events will animate and heal to show how ceremony is the nexus between country, culture, and community. Ceremony manifests itself through visual art, film, music and dance, from the intimate to the collective.
The Cat in the Hat (Eleanor Graham) leads the audience through the world of Dr Seuss with Jojo (Sara Peereboom) who has a large imagination. Photo: Pied Piper Productions.
Seussical Jr – The Musical
When: 14 to 23 April
Where: Canberra College Performing Arts Centre
Cost: Single tickets are $25, family passes (includes 2 adults, 2 children) are $92, groups of 10 or more pay $20 each. Tickets are available here.
Oh the thinks you can think when Dr Seuss’s best-loved characters collide and cavort in an unforgettable caper. With toe-tapping music, animated scenery, colourful costumes and a cast of talented local young performers to equal the best, there is something in this show for everyone from the very young to the very grandparent.
Through the use of materials, this exhibition explores how users can feel safe, warm, and familiar. Photo: Megan Kamei.
Nestings
When: Runs until Saturday 16 April, 10 am to 4:30 pm
Where: Gorman Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Ave, Braddon
Cost: Free.
Nestings explains how comfort and need are universal. The exhibition explores how users can evoke feelings of safety, warmth, and familiarity through the use of materials, social and habitual rituals that reflect multicultural experiences and personal struggles.
Through their work, the artists compare these domestic tendencies to show the variety of what home comfort can be. This is the last week of this exhibition. Curated by Alexander Sarsfield, it features works by Jessica Tanto, Megan Kamei, Ashley Lavoynne Silaen and Alexander Sarsfield.
Decoded is an immersive exhibition experience. Photo: Supplied.
Decoded: 75 Years of the Australian Signals Directorate
When: Daily, 9 am to 5 pm
Where: National Museum of Australia
Cost: Free.
Australia’s oldest national intelligence is revealed in Decoded: 75 Years of the Australian Signals Directorate.
From its origins during the Second World War to today’s cyber challenges, the new Decoded exhibition explores the exploits and achievements of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
Decoded visitors can test their cyber security skills in a multiplayer game. Complete a mission before the time runs out. You can scan code words to find out who collected intelligence on foreign adversaries and how the ASD kept Australian secrets safe. There are also interactive sound and light displays and an Enigma cipher machine.
Escape Ferocity wants to create a culture in Canberra where techno will flourish and become a permanent part of the electronic music scene. Photo: Martin Ollman.
Escape Ferocity presents Bebetta (DE) + Grouch in Dub ft. Dub Princess (NZ/UK)
When: Friday 15 April, from 1 pm to 8 pm
Where: Black Mountain Peninsula
Cost: $40 – $65. Get your tickets here.
Escape Ferocity is a series of melodic and straight-up techno in unique spaces. This one is a day-party.
With a double international headliner, deep-tech sorceress Bebetta (Germany) and Kiwi bush king Grouch in Dub, bringing with him Dub Princess (UK), this edition of Escape Ferocity will be a picnic-style techno party outside, with a stunning view of the Lake, good music, and a chance to dance on the grass.
It starts with bass yoga (BYO mat) and then features stellar beats all afternoon by Doppel, Fabio Leal and more.
The Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory is bringing its delicious half-filled chocolate eggs to Old Bus Depot Markets on Sunday 17 April. Photo: Junee Liquorice and Chocolate Factory.
Portobello Road on Easter Sunday
When: Sunday 17 April, 9:30 am to 2:30 pm
Where: Old Bus Depot Markets, 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston
Cost: Free entry. Find out more at Old Bus Depot Markets.
Portobello Road brings high-quality antiques to Old Bus Depot Markets every third Sunday of the month, and this month they’re coming with the Easter Bunny! There’ll be a hunt for chocolate eggs as well as a hunt for original antiques, jewellery and collectables.
Experience the high-quality antiques from several different stalls, along with all the market favourites including Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory’s decadent half chocolate eggs filled with all manner of flavours.
Join Canberra Miniature Railway for their Easter night run on Sunday 17 April. Photo: CSMEE.
Canberra Miniature Railway – Night Run + Easter Egg Hunt
When: Sunday 17 April, 5 pm to 9 pm
Where: End of Jerrabomberra Avenue, Symonston
Cost: Pre-purchase for $15 online at TryBooking, or $18 at the gate. Includes unlimited rides.
All aboard the Canberra Miniature Railway! Take a ride around the park on one of their three tracks and see the tracks light up as the trains ride under the starry sky.
There are canteen facilities onsite (proper coffee too!) and free parking. Discounted tickets are available online at TryBooking, or buy at the gate on the day (unless sold out beforehand). Children aged two or under are free.
Plus, join in the Easter Egg Hunts, from 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm.
Professor Brian Schmidt and Professor Peter Doherty talk about the mysteries of the Universe at Llewellyn Hall on Tuesday 19 April. Photo: File.
Planets, plagues and power of science: an evening with ANU Nobel Laureates
When: Tuesday 19 April, 6 pm to 7 pm
Where: Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music
Cost: Free. Get your tickets here.
Two of Australia’s most recent Nobel prizewinners, Professor Brian Schmidt and Professor Peter Doherty, talk about the mysteries of the universe, how the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping our society, the state of science today and how scientific research and expertise can save us all. The scientists will discuss how they, as individuals and world-leading scientists, perceive some of the most pressing challenges we face today.
Held as part of the Australian National University’s 75th-anniversary celebrations, this event will welcome back the wider community to the campus.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
When: Tuesday 19 April, 10:30 am
Where: National Film And Sound Archive of Australia
Cost: $10/free for four years and below. Get your tickets here.
The citizens of Bricksburg face a dangerous new threat when LEGO Duplo invaders from outer space start to wreck everything in their path. The battle to defeat the enemy and restore harmony to the LEGO universe takes Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett) and the rest of their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds that test their courage and creativity.
Midnight Oil is saying goodbye to stages but will continue to work in the studio. Photo: Supplied.
Midnight Oil
When: Tuesday 19 April, 4:30 pm
Where: Stage 88
Cost: From $129. Get your tickets here.
The band’s latest chapter of their iconic career will close with the release of a new album and a series of massive gigs. Both are aptly titled Resist.
This will be the band’s final concert tour although they remain very open to recording new music together in future and supporting causes in which they believe, like climate action.
This tour will embrace best practices for emission reductions and offsetting. A portion of proceeds will also be set aside to support organisations seeking to elevate the existential threat posed by the climate crisis.
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