Coming Up in 2014 #4

Judging by the number of people asking when I’m going to do another one of these, I’m well overdue to let you know what’s coming up in Canberra (when you’re not snuggling up at home from the cold!). You can read my previous posts at #1, #2 and #3.

Of things I mentioned in the last post, I’ve been lucky enough to get along to the following (ie: yes, I follow my own recommendations!):

• A local production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• Canberra’s excellent Craft Beer and Cider Festival
• Auto Italia, where for the third year I salivated over the cars and bikes on display
• The region’s wine harvest festival – I’ve now almost got to every winery in the region that has a cellar door!
• Sage’s innovative Taste and Test, where I got to taste some genuinely inventive dishes
• The extraordinary production of Love Letters at Queanbeyan’s performing arts centre, The Q

Life changing food at Sage’s Taste and Test

Here’s what’s got my attention over the next few months (all events you’ve got a good chance of seeing me at!)… yes, there’s a lot of theatre and indoor activities but hey, it’s cold!

• Friday night (4 July) is the final of Impro ACT’s Northside vs Southside competition Battle for Canberra. Want to see theatre where they’re acting entirely without scripts or feel passionately about your side of town (Belco represent!)? Come along to Casino Canberra – tickets are just $20. (Check the Facebook event page here for more details.)

• Saturday (5 July) is going to be massive. The Forage and the Hustle and Scout market have joined forces to bring the funky New Acton precinct alive with food and fashion (a winning combination!). The Forage promotes Canberra’s food and cafes and you are guaranteed I’ll be at the Cake Club stall, feeling healthy at The Muesli Bar, eating fresh cheese from The Cheese Project, and getting an extra dessert fix from Sweet Bones. Hustle and Scout will have 43 designers and collectors on display. When I’m not eating, you’ll find me at the Honeybee Goods stand (I love their jewellery and own quite a few pieces!) and I can’t wait to check out Sarah Bourke’s stall.

• And then there’s Sunday. On 6 July there’s the Taste of Two Regions Festival (that’s Rutherglen and King Valley for the uninitiated) at QT Canberra. We went to this festival last year, and had such a good time (and bought so much wine) that we planned an entire holiday around the Rutherglen and King Valley regions this Easter where – amongst dining out and visiting two breweries, and going for long drives – we managed to visit 20 wineries in the region.  In that post, I’ve starred all the wineries coming to Canberra this weekend, and given a recommendation regarding wines which really stood out for me.  In addition to the $25 tasting (oh – it’s not just wineries – Myrtleford Butter Factory is one of the many other stall holders!), there are wine masterclasses on the day, as well as a dinner or a lunch (for a bit more than $25). I’m obviously a big fan of the wines and the region, but I reckon we’re pretty lucky to have them coming to Canberra!

Full Butter Factory range

• From 2 to 12 July, the Canberra Theatre Centre is hosting a Tuggeranong Arts Centre initiative: Touch. Eight blind and vision-impaired Canberrans have created an experience to give you insight into their worlds. Touch has all the connotations of doing something and it’s exactly that: a participatory experience rather than spectating. Tickets are just $10.

• The Scandinavian Film Festival is on at Palace Electric in New Acton from 8 to 20 July. Home, Remake and Metalhead have caught my attention. You can view the full program here.

• From 10 to 26 July, the Canberra Philharmonic Society is presenting their production of Cabaret at the Erindale Theatre. Tickets range from $25-49 and can be purchased here.

• For the young (or young at heart) crowd, the Child Players ACT is putting on a production of Roald Dahl’s classic The Witches at the Belconnen Theatre (in the Belconnen Community Centre) from 10 to 19 July. Tickets are just $17, the times are school holidays friendly (10.30am and 2pm) and – come on – it’s The Witches!

• Truffle Festival! has begun in earnest, and is on until late August. That means there’s plenty of time to get your truffle fix. This link is a great place to start. I had the pleasure of attending the Boathouse Truffle Degustation on Friday night and it was divine (review coming soon!). There are plenty of other truffle experiences on the cards, including numerous degustations. But if you’re after something a little easier on the wallet, there’s the divine Mt Majura truffled brie experience and Frugii ice cream is doing his divine truffle ice cream at the EPIC and Old Bus Depot Markets. Something that’s also caught my attention is Sage restaurant’s Pauper to Prince truffle experience – $75 for three courses at lunch time.

Truffle ice cream ($4) from Frugii

• Did my earlier mention of totally improvised theatre pique your interest? You’re in luck. Wednesday 16 July to Sunday 20 July is Improvention. It’s essentially a conference for improvisers from around Australia (and the world), but – even better – each night they put on shows (no costs apparent as yet)! The Impro Theatre Challenge is my favourite. I reported on the 2011 grand finale when this blog was a wee infant!

• From 31 July to 10 August there’s The Burning at The Q in Queanbeyan. It’s by Canberra playwright Duncan Ley about the largest witch hunt the world has ever seen. I really like The Q as a venue (and drinks are cheap!) and I’ll be looking to purchase tix ($39-44) to this quick smart.

• In August there’s also the Short + Sweet Theatre at the Canberra Theatre Centre, where 30 10-minute plays – many written and/or directed by locals – are presented over a few weeks, and voted on – culminating in a gala night on Saturday, 16 August. Tickets are $30-35.

• Like the Truffle Festival, there’s so much on during the Fireside Festival throughout August that I strongly advise you head to the website now and start planning! I had a brilliant time last year. This year, Robyn Rowe will again be doing her assiette ($18), while Poachers Pantry will have a 100 mile degustation (everything served will be sourced from within 100 miles) – among many, many other activities!

• In September/October, there’s a production of Equus directed by Barb Barnett (Nurse Ratched in this year’s production of One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest) which I’m keen on seeing ($35-40), and on 6 September the Street Theatre is helping The Ellis Collective launch their new album ($30-35).

• Finally, there’s SNOW. All around Canberra (if you haven’t noticed). Obviously if you’re keen, head west to the ranges. I had a great experience back in 2011 (again, when this blog was an infant!) up near Piccadilly Circus (on the way to Mt Coree or Mt Gingera) but you do need a 4WD. The folks out at Corin Forest have been doing a superb job keeping everyone updated about road conditions on their Facebook page, and they have a helluva lot of snow (both falling and created with their snow machine), including for tobogganing!.

Up at Mt Ginini

Phew!

101 Humans enjoying Four Winds Vineyard (photo courtesy of Jonathan McFeat)

Finally, if you’re still looking for things to do, you might have heard of a little thing called Human Brochure. Some of Canberra’s greatest social media content creators (including some of the most extraordinary photographers around) have been brought together in one space to promote things to do in and around our great city. The official site has a live wall of posts featuring what these 101 people recommend (and many of them have their own blogs). Check it out!

Tell me – will you be heading along to any of these? Or – what have I missed?

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