It is time to celebrate our national capital’s 11th birthday this Canberra Day long weekend, 8-11 March.
While the Enlighten Festival continues to brighten our evenings, the Canberra Balloon Spectacular brings colour to our mornings from Saturday – rise early and watch the display (weather permitting) while enjoying breakfast from one of the gourmet food stalls.
The community comes together in a family fun day with tunes, entertainment and good food at the Canberra Day event at Commonwealth Park, including the inaugural Canberra Day Appeal Fun Run raising funds for local charities.
Don’t wait until spring to soak up the beauty of flowers. Visit Dahlicious – a festival of colour, design and dahlias with morning tours and yoga with the blooms.
EVENTS
French Film Festival: Alliance Française presents an extensive program of some of the best films that capture French culture and storytelling. Palace Electric Cinema, 7 March – 2 April; affrenchfilmfestival.org
Paddlesport Extravaganza: Burley Griffin Canoe Club is hosting the 2024 ACT/NSW State Marathon Championships on the Molonglo River from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 March. The Short Course starts on Friday at 7.15pm at Molonglo Reach. Racing on Saturday starts at 8am and 1pm, and on Sunday at 8am and 12 noon; bgcc.org.au/joom4/ or email [email protected]
Canberra Balloon Spectacular: Incredible hot air balloons float across our skies, inflating from 6am each morning, weather permitting, alongside a selection of breakfast treats for sale. Lakeside at Patrick White Lawns, 9-17 March; enlightencanberra.com
Street Art Mural and Workshop: Join Canberra Street artists Houl and BRT as they create a mural, or take part in a workshop, listen to some tunes and grab a bite. The Creative Element, Fyshwick, Saturday 9 March 9am; eventbrite.com.au
Brumbies vs Force: The Brumbies will be looking to get back on track as they play their first home match of the Super Rugby season against the Western Force on Saturday afternoon. Don’t miss any of the action, with tickets starting from $15 for a junior and $25 for an adult. GIO Stadium, 9 March 2.35pm; ticketek.com.au
Canberra Day: A day of community fun with the Canberra Day Appeal Fun Run, live entertainment, family activities, great eats and more. Commonwealth Park, 10am-5pm.
Nai Palm + Friends Live at the NFSA: A unique and intimate performance from the three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, live in the NFSA Courtyard. National Film and Sound Archive, Sunday 10 March 3pm; nfsa.gov.au/events
Enlighten Festival: The beloved autumn evening entertainment spectacular continues with incredible art illuminating our iconic buildings, plus entertainment, food, film and more. National Triangle and City Square, until 11 March; enlightencanberra.com
Enlighten Up Late: An evening of art, live music and family activities before seeing the incredible Vincent Namatjira: Indigenous All Stars projected on the building. Musicians this weekend include Dan Sultan, 8 March 7pm, and Briggs, 9 March 7pm. National Gallery of Australia, until 11 March; nga.gov.au
Dahlicious: A festival of design, colour and dahlias jam packed with exciting events such as workshops on growing and displaying the blooms, yoga in the field, and a guided morning tour. Beltana Road, Pialligo, until 31 March; bisonhome.com
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Happy Meals, Happy Kids: Q The Locals season kicks off with a play exploring a dystopian future where a school assignment may hold all the power. The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 7-9 March; theq.net.au
National Opera: Presents the Puccini classic Suor Angelica in Italian with English notes, and supper following the performance. Albert Hall, Yarralumla, 7-10 March; trybooking.com
Curtis Eller: The banjo-playing rock & rock singer songwriter treats the audience to an intimate, acoustic performance at Smith’s Alternative, City West, Friday 8 March 6.30pm; smithsalternative.com
Luka Bloom: The folk singer returns to Australian shores with a celebration of his long-lasting career in 50 Songs in 50 Years. The Street Theatre, City West, Friday 8 March 8pm; thestreet.org.au
The Animals: The influential ‘British invasion’ band celebrate their 60th anniversary by bringing The Farewell Tour to Australia. Canberra Theatre Centre, 8 March 8pm; canberratheatrecentre.com.au
ELIXIR: Music powerhouses Katie Noonan, Zach Hurren and Ben Hauptmann bring their trio to the intimate setting of Tallagandra Hill Winery, Saturday 9 March 7pm; tallagandrahill.com.au
CANcophony: Canberra’s best artists perform their original music backed by Canberra’s 32-piece premier Jazz Orchestra Spectrum Big Band. UC Refectory, University of Canberra, 9 March 7.30pm; humanitix.com
Leaving Jackson: The Johnny Cash and June Carter tribute show captures the soul of all our favourites. The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 9 March 7.30pm; theq.net.au
Symphony in the Park: The Canberra Symphony Orchestra performs with special guests Hoodoo Gurus as part of the Enlighten Festival line-up, grab a bite and enjoy the great tunes, Commonwealth Park, 10 March 7.30pm; cso.org.au
Bring It On the Musical: Canberra Philo presents this musical inspired by the beloved film franchise that sees rival high schools battle it out at the national championships. Erindale College Theatre, until 16 March; philo.org.au
EXHIBITIONS
Kyeema Gallery: Presents a collection of stunning images in Birds and Nature – A Photographer’s Perspective by Le Thanh. Capital Wines, 7 March – 7 April; capitalwines.com.au
Loose Ends: Nine studio artists present a collection of the works they had been meaning to get around to, completed for the exhibition deadline. ANCA, Dickson, until 10 March; anca.net.au
CCAS Manuka: Presents Glitch City – The Glimmers, an exhibition of abstract paintings by artist Scott Franks. Until 10 March; ccas.com.au
Megalo Print Studio: Celebrates our history of political and social activism with Cause and Effect: Politics and Protest from the Megalo Archives, until 16 March; megalo.org
Craft + Design Canberra: Presents three exhibitions – Seeing and Knowing: New Perspective in Furniture, Wilding Whitlam, and 2024 Emerging Contemporaries. Until 16 March; craftanddesigncanberra.org
The Bald Archy Prize 2024: The whimsical take on the more serious competition invites artists of all kinds to unleash creativity on portraits with humour, dark satire, light comedy or caricature. Canberra Potters, until 17 March; canberrapotters.com.au
M16 Artspace: Presents five exhibitions – New Work by Martin Paull, Absurd Frontier by Nathan Hughes, CAPTCHA by Matthew Francis, Cold Collations by Susan Chancellor, and Pixel Panel III by Karen Milder. Until 17 March; m16artspace.com.au
Alchemy Exhibition: The final coming together of the 15 Project Alchemy artists presents a series of cross disciplinary art projects in response to the Black Summer fires. The Queanbeyan Hive Gallery, until 17 March; rebustheatre.com
Endangered…: The Artists Society of Canberra presents a number of works with a portion of sales to go to working with threatened species. Wildbark, Mulligans Flat, until 24 March; wildbark.org
Beaver Galleries: Welcomes two exhibitions – Crispin Akerman’s paintings and Ulrica Trulsson’s Midwinter Echoes ceramics. Until 26 March; beavergalleries.com.au
Tuggeranong Arts Centre: Showcases three exhibitions – Josephine Townsend’s Seeing the Forest and the Trees, Prints From Studio One: The Collection of Basil Hall, and Jeremy Barrett’s Recent Paintings and Monoprints. Tuggeranong Arts Centre, until 28 March; tuggeranongarts.com
Belconnen Arts Centre: Presents four new exhibitions – Lines of Sight by Patsy Payne and John Pratt; Interwoven 7 by Basketry and Textile Artists; atmo-sphere by Francis Kenna; The Benefit of Doubt by Fran Romano and Zoe Slee. Until 28 March; belcoarts.com.au
Emily Kam Kngwarray: The NGA’s blockbuster exhibition celebrates the timeless art of the pre-eminent Anmatyerr artist who devoted her final years to painting and creating work capturing the experience of her extraordinary life. National Gallery of Australia, until 28 April; nga.gov.au
Jordan Wolfson: Body Sculpture: A commissioned piece that evokes emotional and physical responses from the viewer through the movements of an animatronic sculpture; contains mature themes. National Gallery of Australia, until 28 April; nga.gov.au
Told. Retold. Untold.: A site-specific exhibition from artist Rosalind Lemoh that highlights the rich history of the historic Kingston building that is Canberra Glassworks, until 28 April; canberraglassworks.com
Deep Inside My Heart: Bringing together sculptures, drawings and other works from the national collection by female artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. National Gallery of Australia, until 19 May; nga.gov.au
Focus: Australian Government Photographers: Undertake a journey spanning six decades of Australian life with works from some of the government photographers working between 1939 and 1996. National Archives of Australia, until 10 June; naa.gov.au
Vincent Namatjira: Australia in colour: The first survey exhibition of the Western Aranda artist, showcasing paintings, works on paper and moving images from worldwide collections. National Gallery of Australia, until 21 July; nga.gov.au
Change: Stories from your pocket: The Royal Australian Mint curates an exhibition exploring the stories our coins tell about our history. Canberra Museum and Gallery, Civic, until 31 August; cmag.com.au
Discovering Ancient Egypt: On loan from the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities is a deep dive into the culture of the ancient society with more than 220 objects, spanning more than 3,000 years. National Museum of Australia, until 8 September; nma.gov.au
