Public listings checked 25/10/2026. Dates use each event’s local time. Check organiser details before travelling.
Explore the region
Explore Melbourne and its surrounding neighbourhoods, from Carlton and Fitzroy to St Kilda, Footscray and Dandenong. Listings show their suburb so you can plan beyond the CBD.
Listings across Carlton, Collingwood, Dandenong, Docklands, East Melbourne, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Northcote, Richmond, Southbank, St Kilda, Williamstown.
Free things to do
48 matching events listed in the next 60 days. Admission prices are shown where supplied.
This November, Lifelike makes its world premiere at ACMI: a major new exhibition celebrating the magic of movie puppetry in all its forms.
Beloved, eerie and unforgettable characters, from Pinocchio and E.T. to the wild imagination of Jim Henson's workshop, have shaped how people experience movies. These iconic hand-crafted creatures spark wonder, joy, nostalgia, fear and fascination.
Explore the craft, performance and invention that bring unforgettable screen characters to life, from ingenious handmade mechanisms and animatronics to contemporary digital wizardry.
Explore original puppets, concept art and behind-the-scenes materials from iconic films including Pinocchio, Anomalisa, Jurassic Park, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, plus Australian television classics. Get up close to rarely seen sketches and uncover the craft and creative ingenuity behind some of cinema's most memorable puppets and creatures.
Roll up your sleeves and try your hand at puppetry: recreate a Muppets-inspired sequence or bring an animatronic Alien Facehugger to life.
The bravest visitors can venture inside a nightmarish encounter with The Babadook, Annabelle and Chucky, where familiar figures twist into something darker and the line between screen and reality thrillingly blurs.
Joyful, surprising and deeply human, Lifelike invites you to rediscover the wonder of puppets and why you can't help believing they're alive.
Cachivaches Latin Market is a celebration of Latin American culture, bringing together food, music, art and more than 50 Latin-owned businesses. The event provides Melburnians and visitors with the opportunity to discover authentic products and flavours, support local entrepreneurs and experience the diversity, creativity and community spirit of Latin America in a welcoming and family-friendly environment.
Visitors will enjoy a wide variety of authentic Latin American food and drinks, including Colombian, Brazilian, Mexican, Argentinian, Venezuelan and other regional specialties. Featuring traditional street food, barbecue, pastries, desserts, specialty coffee, tropical beverages and handcrafted products. The event will feature a diverse mix of food vendors and small businesses, showcasing the rich flavours and culinary traditions of Latin America.
Merry Ugly is a two-day Melbourne art market bringing together more than 130 independent artists and makers under one roof at Crown Conference Centre.
Visitors can discover original art, small-batch objects, handmade characters, ceramics, accessories and unexpected gifts from Melbourne and overseas. Several participating artists are exhibiting in Melbourne for the first time, offering a rare chance to meet the people behind the work and find pieces not usually available locally. Every entry includes an Ugly Cutie tote bag.
Visitors can also enjoy a free photo booth and pin exchange, complimentary gift wrapping, special artist activities including Do-It-Yourself Daisy's walk-in bag charm station, and a quieter entry option for visitors who prefer a lower-sensory experience. Merry Ugly is designed for people who love art with personality, thoughtful handmade gifts and meeting independent creators.
Williamstown Beer and Cider Festival will showcase more than 20 independent breweries and cideries complemented with its biggest line up yet.
With a stack of entertainment and free activities for the kids – Williamstown Beer and Cider Festival is set to provide a whole lot of good times on tap yet again.
The festival will be held at the historic Seaworks Precinct.
Over 20,000 new and used records from Melbourne's best vinyl dealers, with something for every music lover. As always there will be plenty of food and beverage options to enjoy at the market. Plus there will be vinyl DJs spinning tunes all day while you dig.
Don't miss this special event celebrating music and Melbourne's love for vinyl, set against the backdrop of one of the city's most beloved locations – the Queen Victoria Market. Bring your friends, family, and a tote bag for all your finds.
Melbourne's most iconic festive shopping extravaganza is back at the Royal Exhibition Building, bringing together over 280 of Australia's most exciting independent designers and makers, all under one very beautiful roof.
From contemporary Australian fashion and statement jewellery to sculptural ceramics, beautiful homewares, original art, colourful accessories, innovative lifestyle products, designer stationery, beauty, kids, pet wares and so much more, discover an incredible lineup of returning favourites and exciting new brands.
Step inside a spectacular large-scale art installation by celebrated Australian artist Em Hatton, whose bold, colourful and wonderfully playful world will come to life beneath the iconic dome of the Royal Exhibition Building.
Indulge in gourmet feasts, sip on boutique wines and artisanal cocktails, and kick off the weekend in style with vibrant Friday Night Drinks. Plus, snap up the legendary Designer Showbags, enter the major prize draw, discover the all-new Curl Club, and let the little ones get creative in a dedicated kids' space.
It's the ultimate festive shopping experience - bursting with creativity, delicious discoveries and seriously good design. Just in time to tick off your Christmas list (or completely forget about it and treat yourself).
Save the date, gather your shopping crew and get ready for three big days of festive fun.
Can an inner-city garden become a haven for biodiversity? Bent Street Garden makes a compelling case. Set on a 372-square-metre block in Northcote, this young garden demonstrates how naturalistic planting, sustainability and wildlife habitat can flourish in an ordinary suburban setting.
Owners Andrew and Rose have lived here since 2004. As their family's needs evolved, they reimagined their Edwardian home and garden, placing sustainability at the heart of the project. In 2025, they engaged naturalistic landscape designer and plantsman Tim Pilgrim to create a garden where plants, people and wildlife thrive together.
The design unfolds across three connected spaces: a pollinator-friendly nature strip, welcoming front garden and secluded rear sanctuary. Nearly one-third of the planting is Australian native, complemented by hardy, drought-tolerant perennials and grasses selected for habitat value, movement and resilience. Crushed granite and brick paths lead through layered planting that attracts birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife.
Every plant is catalogued in an online directory, while photographer Martina Gemmola is documenting the garden as it matures. Recently featured in Home Beautiful and The Design Files, Bent Street Garden offers inspiration for creating beautiful, biodiverse gardens at any scale.
Tim Pilgrim will speak and sign copies of his book, Wild by Design. Timed-entry tickets are required, and a portion of gate takings will support CERES. Visit the website for more information on timings.
As part of the 2026 NGV Triennial, a new children's exhibition by artist Mika Rottenberg will take kids on a surreal journey. At the heart of the exhibition is Cosmic Generator, 2017, a video work by Rottenberg that travels through brightly lit underground tunnels, where viewers happen upon people dressed as tacos and in business suits, women working in market stalls filled with sparkly decorations and plastic goods, and rickety food carts ambling along the border between Mexico and the United States. By linking seemingly unrelated places and materials together, Rottenberg is suggesting that everything in our world may be more connected than it appears.
Extending beyond the screen, Squish, Twist, Fizz invites children into a hands-on environment inspired by the film's textures, colours and movement. Highlighting Rottenberg's interest in sensory experiences and tactile materials and processes, young participants can take part in drawing activities, play with light and sound, and make sculptures using twistable stems and forms made from plastic waste collected from the streets of New York City.
Boho Luxe Market is no ordinary market. An event full of good vibes, visitors can take part in creative workshops, invest in a psychic reading and enjoy live music.
Proudly showcasing sustainable and ethically sourced brands. These brands are the creatives, the makers, the artists, the designers, the foodies, the adventurers, the musicians and the wanderers and they are all part of the Boho Luxe Tribe.
The Market has searched the unique, the cool, the different. Those earthy tones, the beachy feels, the bohemian approach. Creating beautiful events that reflect the ethos of bohemian style and sustainability.
Boho Luxe Market believes that nothing promotes community spirit like real-life interactions, which is why they are passionate about creating a unique experience for both creatives and visitors.
Featuring more than eighty ambitious and thought-provoking projects, including major new commissions, the 2026 NGV Triennial offers a global journey through contemporary art and design.
Unfolding across all four levels of the National Gallery of Victoria International, the fourth NGV Triennial brings together the work of some of the most respected artists and designers from around the world, while amplifying the voices of emerging talents. Spanning painting, photography, video, sculpture, installation, fashion, textiles, ceramics and design, the exhibition places contemporary works in dialogue with the NGV's historical collections.
Across the exhibition, artists and designers explore transformation in its many forms – material, cultural, technological, personal, political and societal – revealing the present as a site of continuous change. These works invite you to slow down, participate and sharpen your attention.
There is magic afoot in the gardens this summer as Glenn Elston's famous and much adored flagship production of A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to dazzle and delight audiences of all ages.
Filled with feuding fairies, eloping lovers and an amateur troupe of actors; this jewel in the Shakespeare comedy crown promises to leave you reeling with laughter as mischief, mayhem and meddling take hold of this enchanted forest.
See the gardens sparkle and glow as this beguiling and hilarious play is brought to life in a magical dream-like woodland under the stars.
So pack a picnic, pop the cork and join in for the most spectacular evening summer has to offer.
Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens presents four seasonal Community Open Days that offer new ways to experience local heritage.
As the gardens come alive in spring, this Open Day celebrates the exhibition The Secret Life of Gardens and the changing role gardens play in everyday life.
Families can follow a trail through the historic gardens and learn how gardens have evolved over time, from kitchen gardens that produced food to ornamental landscapes and today's sustainable backyard spaces.
Children can take part in bug hunts, seed planting and nature based art activities. Visitors of all ages are also invited to share stories about plants that connect them to culture, family and home.
This spring celebration highlights gardens as living history. It explores the ways nature, culture and community continue to grow together.
