Things to do in Canberra this week (2 - 8 October)

There’s so much to do across Canberra in the days ahead, with a great schedule of kid-friendly events like bug exhibitions at the Botanic Gardens, nature workshops, photo exhibitions, weekend markets, live music and more.

Head to the Botanic Gardens for the Bugs Alive Exhibition, which brings you and your family up close with amazing members of the insect world, from butterflies and slugs to spiders and scorpions.

Other family-friendly events this week include a choose-your-own-adventure at the National Museum, where kids and teens can test their planning skills on a mock expedition to the South Pole and back.

It’s also a big week for live music, with the Canberra Bach Ensemble playing a special concert over two days and the National Opera Canberra presenting The Heroines.

All this and more in our weekly guide to the best to see and do across the capital.

Multiple Days

Bugs Alive at the Australian National Botanic Gardens

When: Various sessions from 2 October to 8 October
Where: Australian National Botanic Gardens, Clunies Ross St, Acton
Cost: Tickets from $10 to $15 | Book online.

Bugs Alive is Australia’s largest live invertebrate exhibition, showcasing more than 100 species of amazing insects and arachnids across interactive shows, expert talks, hands-on workshops and other activities.

Check out the venom room and come face-to-face with scorpions, funnel-web spiders, and tarantulas.

Or check out the Critters of the Night exhibition, featuring nocturnal animals like wolf spiders, centipedes, semi-slugs, and more. And don’t miss out on the butterfly dome, which invites you to walk among Queensland butterflies while learning about their amazing life cycle.

National Photographic Portrait Prize at the NPG

When: From 2 October to 8 October, during normal gallery hours
Where: National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Cost: Tickets from $10 to $15 | Book online.

The National Photographic Portrait Prize is coming to an end, but there’s still time to see some of the best contemporary portrait photos from around the nation. Images display everything from joy to playfulness, intimacy and vulnerability, telling stories through visuals of people and places.

Celebrate Australian artistic talent at the NPG in some of the prize’s final days.

National Opera Canberra presents The Heroines

When: 2 October to 4 October
Where: 15 Childers St, City West Canberra, The Street Theatre
Cost: Tickets from $20 to $55 | Book online.

Featuring Canberra’s leading operatic voices and supported by the National Opera Chorus, the production blends individual artistry with the collective force of ensemble storytelling.

The chorus amplifies each heroine’s journey, underscoring both the grandeur and intimacy of these unforgettable stories.

Heroines is an operatic celebration of strength, courage, and renewal. It showcases characters whose power, sacrifice, resilience, defiance, and rebirth continue to captivate and inspire audiences.

Canberra Bach Ensemble: Trauerode BWV 198 at St Christopher’s Cathedral

When: 3 October, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm and 4 October, 2 pm to 4 pm
Where: St Christopher’s Cathedral, 55 Franklin Street, Forrest
Cost: Tickets from $24.5 to $79 | Book online.

Bach’s Trauerode BWV 198 is one of his most remarkable works, written in memory of Christiane Eberhardine, Electress of Saxony. This piece combines choral writing with a rich instrumental palette, including flutes, oboes, violas and lutes.

The program will also include the cantatas Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin BWV 125 and Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht BWV 55.

You may know Bach’s celebrated setting in the St Matthew Passion. In his tenor cantata BWV 55, those same words lead to another remarkable aria: Sally Walker’s flauto traverso and Timothy Reynolds’ tenor meet in a closely woven musical dialogue.

Hear Sally and Tim live with the Canberra Bach Ensemble. The concert also includes Bach’s Trauerode BWV 198 and Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin BWV 125.

Queanbeyan Arts Trail – Braidwood

When: 3 October to 4 October
Where: Various locations around Braidwood
Cost: Prices may vary | More information online.

Celebrating 20 years of showcasing the region’s artistic side, the Queanbeyan Arts Trail is finding creative new ways to appreciate art – with wineries and motorcycle meet-ups added to the map this year.

The Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) Arts Trail will take place over three weekends in October across Braidwood, Captains Flat, Bungendore and Queanbeyan.

Over 40 venues and activations will participate in an itinerary as broad as the creative disciplines on display.

Starting in Braidwood on 3 and 4 October, several local artists will open their home studios to visitors. A collective of around 20 artists will exhibit at the Braidwood Regional Arts Group Gallery with an array of works on paper on sale for under $150.

After securing a great bargain, visitors can enjoy a music performance at the historic Braidwood District Historical Society Museum ‘Oddfellows’ Hall’ or meet artist-in-residence Jo Parsons over a gin at Hold Fast Distillery at Trooper’s Rest.

Wildflower Seed Spheres Workshop at the National Arboretum

When: 7 October and 8 October, 10 am to 11:15 am and 1 pm to 2:15 pm
Where: National Arboretum Canberra, Forest Drive
Cost: Tickets $20 | Book online.

Head to the National Arboretum for a hands-on kids’ adventure, where kids can discover the beauty of native plants and the critical role flowers play in supporting biodiversity.

Kids will explore the Arboretum’s STEP garden, discover unique plants and trees, then take the magic home by creating their own native seed spheres with clay, compost and wildflower seeds, so they can plant flowers at home.

Friday

Choose Your Own Antarctic Adventure at the NMA

When: 2 October, 10 am to 12:30 pm
Where: National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula, Acton
Cost: Tickets from $15 to 18 | Book online.

As part of the National Museum’s Antarctic exhibition, step into a choose-your-own-role-playing adventure where you’re pitted against the elements of the frozen South to see if you can survive.

Players will step into the shoes of an explorer in the early 1900s, on a polar expedition with limited resources. You’ll have to look after your precious sled dogs, consult with your navigator, chart a course to the South Pole, and if you’re lucky, make it back home.

Saturday

The Little Burley Market

When: 3 October, 9 am to 2 pm
Where: Queen Elizabeth Terrace, between the flags
Cost: Free entry.

The Little Burley Market is held on Queen Elizabeth Terrace on the first Saturday of each month.

Market visitors are invited to soak up the sunshine and enjoy a wide range of stalls selling handmade goods, artisanal crafts, pastries, cuisine from around the world, plus live music throughout the day and free arts and crafts events for the kids.

National Guitar Show

When: 3 October, 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Harmonie German Club, Narrabundah
Cost: Tickets are $20 online and $25 at the gate | Book online.

Held each year in Canberra, the National Guitar Show celebrates Australian music, with a wide range of vintage, rare, boutique and collectible acoustic and electric guitars, amplifiers and accessories on display.

This show brings together dealers, collectors, guitar makers, musicians and enthusiasts from around the nation, with a great range of gear to checkout, live demonstrations and plenty of opportunities to purchase some rare pieces.

Sunday

Hartley Hall Markets

When: 4 October, 9 am to 2 pm
Where: Hall Showgrounds, Gladstone St, Hall
Cost: Entry by gold coin donation.

Hartley Hall Markets are held on the first Sunday of the month. Open between 9 am and 2 pm, you will find stalls offering a variety of products including food, locally grown vegetables and fresh produce, baked goods, plants, furniture, clothing, pottery, children’s toys, arts and crafts, unique gifts and more.

Stroll among the trees, stay for lunch and enjoy the fresh air, live entertainment and children’s activities.

This family- and dog-friendly market is proudly organised and operated by Hartley Lifecare to assist people with disability to live their best lives.

Tuesday

Signature Series: Za Górami at Tuggeranong Arts Centre

When: 6 October, 7 pm, bar open from 6 pm
Where: Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street North
Tickets: Tickets from $40 to $45 | Book online.

This London-based trio of longtime collaborators and friends invite audiences into a musical world where folk, chamber music, jazz and ancient melodic traditions intertwine at Tuggeranong Arts Centre. Vocalist Alice Zawadzki is described as a folk oracle whose voice effortlessly shifts between whispered intimacy and feral power.

This performance brings to life the music of their critically acclaimed album, offering richly textured music performed with breathtaking sensitivity and dynamic power—shifting effortlessly from the most delicate moments to sweeping intensity. Audiences can expect an intimate, immersive concert featuring folk tales, improvisation, and songs gathered from Argentina, France, Venezuela, and Poland.

Upcoming Events

• Archduke Trio – 11 October.
• Echoes of Twenty Springs: ANU Chinese Classical Music Ensemble concert – 11 October.
• The Canberra Writers Festival 2026 – 15 October.

Submit your event here for consideration in our weekly What’s On guide.