Explore new parts of The Australian National Botanic Gardens. Photo: Deb Melaluca.
As we hurtle towards our next long weekend for the Queen’s Birthday, Canberra will come alive with things to do whether you’re a nature, music, arts, film, comedy or wine lover.
The Australian National Botanic Gardens will kick off a week of guided walks to take visitors beyond where they can usually venture.
Into your wine? Contentious Character is mixing art and wine with a festival to get all things creative happening while Mount Majura Vineyard is offering a special truffle, cheese and paired wine tasting.
See a special screening of The Witch of Kings Cross at the NSFA or let the Fundamentals entertain you at Smith’s Alternative.
Head out to Binalong for the markets, or celebrate Pride Month with the LGBTIQ+ Elders Dance Club.
Keen to reduce your waste? The Canberra Environment Collective is hosting a Repair Cafe so you can fix things you own that need a little TLC.
The Dragon Boat Festival celebrates old and new and will be a fantastic day out for all of the family, while Ehran Jade & Her High Standards will be on stage at Molly (if you can find it).
Have a great week, Canberra!
All week
Off the beaten track guided walks
When: Monday 14 to Sunday 20 June, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Where: Australian National Botanic Gardens
Cost: Free.
Venture with a volunteer guide into parts of the Gardens not frequently visited.
Each walk will feature some examples of work done by Gardens staff to conserve our vulnerable, threatened and endangered native plants, as well as plants in flower.
The walks take one hour, and no bookings are required.
All weekend
Contentious Character wants you to get creative this June long weekend. Photo: Contentious Character.
Creative Juices Festival at Contentious Character
When: Friday 11 to Monday 14 June, various times
Where: Contentious Character, 810 Norton Road, Wamboin, NSW
Cost: Varies, see the program online.
Get your juices flowing with an exciting long weekend of creative arts, with beautiful local food & wines – featuring performances from Australian Dance Party, Somebody’s Aunt, Dianna Nixon, a kids workshop from Kulture Break, and a Sparkling Perfect long table lunch with The Street Theatre.
Name a better combination than truffles, wine and cheese for a good cause. Photo: Mount Majura Vineyard.
Truffle Infused Weekends
When: Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 June, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (last entry recommended at 3:30 pm)
Where: 88 Lime Kiln Road, Majura
Cost: $40, book online.
Walk through the cellar door at Mount Majura Vineyard to taste a flight of wines matched with truffled brie.
And as a bonus, $10 from each tasting will go to Raw Potential Canberra, originally known as Youthcare Canberra.
Friday
The Witch of Kings Cross is a genre-bending documentary. Image: NFSA.
The Witch of Kings Cross and Q+A
When: Friday 11 June, 6:00 pm
Where: Arc Cinema, 1 McCoy Circuit, Acton
Cost: $12, $10 commission, tickets online.
The Witch of Kings Cross is a genre-bending documentary set in the occult subculture of 1950s Sydney.
The film explores the life, work and beliefs of the most persecuted, prosecuted and daring female artist in Australian history – Rosaleen Norton.
Presented like a ‘rock doco’, it’s a collage of art, artefacts, archive, interviews and expressionistic drama.
A Q&A session with director Sonia Bible will be held after the screening.
Saturday
Come along and learn what you can repair. Photo: Canberra Environment Centre.
Canberra Repair Cafe 2021
When: Saturday 12 June, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Where: Canberra Environment Centre
Cost: Free, see Facebook for more details.
Bring along your broken items and volunteers will help you learn how to repair them. Whether it’s jewellery, clothing, small appliances, wooden objects or bicycles or more, if it deserves a new lease on life, the Repair Cafe can help you out.
Sunday
Binalong Community Markets are on every second Sunday of the month. Photo: Visit Yass Valley.
Binalong Community Markets
When: Every second Sunday of the month, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Where: Cafe on Queen, 13 Queen Street, Binalong
Cost: Free entry. For more information, visit the Yass Valley event page.
If you haven’t been to Binalong for a while, why not stop by and check out their beautiful town and the unique and create markets held on every second Sunday of the month?
Located at the Cafe on Queen with great stalls to keep you busy!
LGBTIQ+ Elders Dance Club by All The Queens Men. Photo: Bryony Jackson.
LGBTIQ+ Elders Dance Club
When: Sunday 13 June, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Where: Ainslie Arts Centre, Braddon
Cost: Free, RSVP via Humanitix.
The LGBTIQ+ elders dance club is on again! Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres in partnership with All The Queens Men and Meridian present the June Winter Edition of the LGBTIQ+ Elders Dance Club.
The Dragon Boat Festival celebrates old and new. Photo: Ice Dragons.
2021 Dragon Boat Festival
When: Sunday 13 June, 10:30 am to 3:30 pm
Where: Beijing Garden, Yarralumla
Cost: Free.
Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival 2021 with a dragon boating competition, a traditional performance and cultural game games.
The Dragon Boat Festival is an annual event that brings families, friends, and communities together to enjoy food, sport and entertainment.
It’s a celebration of both dragon boating as a sport in Canberra today, as well as its cultural significance for the Chinese community.
Ehran Jade & Her High Standards will be on stage at Molly this long weekend. Photo: David Rowley.
Razzle Dazzle Long Weekend – Live Jazz
When: Sunday 13 June, 8:30 pm
Where: 35°16’44.5?S 149°07’42.0?E
Cost: $15, book online.
The lucky guests at Molly’s Razzle Dazzle Long Weekend are in for a night of, well, razzle-dazzle! Ehran Jade & Her High Standards will take to Miss Molly’s stage once again after their last sold-out show.And after you’ve been entranced by their glamorous mix of jazz and blues, wrap up the night with Motown.
The drinks will be flowing and the music will be swinging this June Long Weekend with Ehran Jade & Her High Standards taking Miss Molly’s stage once again after their last SOLD OUT show.
Be entranced by their glamorous mix of jazz and blues before finishing off your night with some Motown flavour.
Thursday
The Fundamentals are back with a fantastic line-up. Image: Smith’s Alternative.
Fundamentals at Smith’s Alternative
When: Thursday 17 June, 7:00 pm
Where: Smith’s Alternative
Cost: $15/$10 concession, book online.
Fundamentals is back at Smith’s Alternative with a fresh lineup consisting of Canberra’s finest comedians. This month’s lineup features ACT Raw Finalists Scott Hawkins and Danny Mahreheb making their Fundamentals debut.
Canberra raconteur extraordinaire Felix McCarthy makes his return to Fundamentals. Joining in on the fun is Canberra’s favourite Upstate New Yorker, Kelsey Bullis. MC is Canberra’s favourite musical middle-class mess, Jeffrey Charles.
