Your ultimate guide to Melbourne
Discover the city's best things to do, culture, dining, nightlife, bars and theatre
What to do in Melbourne
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Time Out Food Awards
Melbourne, it’s time to mark Monday September 18 in your calendar because the annual Time Out Food Awards are upon us. Join us as we toast the city’s best fine dining restaurants and casual diners; degustations and sensational takeaways; top chefs and rising stars. Expect delicious drinks, sweet tunes brought to you by Flex Mami, and great food by Pontoon St Kilda Beach – not to mention all the suspense of the awards as we give back to those venues and talent that make feasting in Melbourne superb. Tickets are $70 + BF and include food, drink, fun and a copy of the annual Time Out Food Awards issue ($4.95 value), hot off the presses before it hits newsstands. Limited first release tickets go on sale Thursday July 20.You can also have your say by voting in the People's Choice awards. Powered by Eventbrite in association with
Seeking out Creatures on the road from Melbourne to Geelong
Apart from an open-range zoo, the freeway between Melbourne and Geelong is there to take you where you want to go, not to inspire you. But it’s just one hour’s drive to get to the city that’s the gateway to the Bellarine Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road. Drive straight to the waterfront to find the Geelong of today and the Geelong of yesteryear merging thanks to the presence of more than 100 bollards painted in the likeness of local identities. Created by late local artist Jan Mitchell, the figures nod to Geelong’s maritime heritage, with sea captains, sad clowns and dart-smoking broads of days gone by all represented. There’s also a dog called Timmy who loves digging up rocks from the seabed. This classic slice of beachside Australiana is found amid the sunshine and seagulls in hot chip search-and-destroy mode. Down in South Geelong, another great Australian tradition lives on. Taking an old wool mill and spinning it into a multipurpose space, Little Creatures Brewery is an ode to the fine art of brewing. It’s also a cinema, canteen, pizzeria, and on the weekend an arts market too. This is Little Creatures Geelong head brewer Warren. With a look of contentment on his face that could only come from working in the beer industry his whole life, Warren has travelled around the world helping thirsty people out with craft ales since before craft brewing was cool – from the Cook Islands to the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, Arizona, Sydney, Melbourne and now Geelong. Warr
All you can eat carvery at Wayside Inn
South Melbourne’s Wayside Inn is serving up all-you-can-eat carvery roast all day every Saturday. This sleek gastropub, located in between Southbank and South Melbourne, is known for its quality food and a huge selection of boutique beers on tap. Here you can relax in Wayside’s cosy bar and enjoy a counter lunch, or dig into a hearty meal in their leafy outdoor courtyard. They use locally sourced, seasonal produce and have a constantly evolving wine list with both local and international drops. Pop down on Saturday and you can score all you can eat carvery roasts for only $25. Simply flip your coaster to the green side to show the staff you’re ready for more meat, or flip it to the red side when you’re full. Plus, you can get $10 cocktail jugs and $2 oysters. You’re going to want to wear your stretchiest pants for this one. This brand new offer includes all meats and sides and is available every Saturday.
Win a double pass to attend Creative Innovation 2017 Asia Pacific (Ci2017)
Learn from a who’s who of global thinkers and innovators at the 7th Creative Innovation 2017 Asia Pacific Global event (Ci2017). Creative Innovation 2017 Asia Pacific is titled Human Intelligence 2.0 – Thriving in the Age of Acceleration and will help attendees understand and make the most of the exponential advances that are coming: in robotics, artificial intelligence, automation of jobs and vehicles, health care, energy, workplaces of the future and other major trends. To be in the draw to win masterclass tickets to Creative Innovation 2017 Asia Pacific (a prize worth $600), simply enter your details below before 10am, Thursday August 24. Name: Email: Gender: Female Male Non-binary Year of Birth: Postcode: Do you have a lot of opinions? We're keen to know what our readers think, so we've created an insider's club to find out. Join, and we'll email you surveys and questions from time to time. It's a great chance to have your thoughts heard, and we'll reward you with treats too. Tick this box if you'd like to join our insider's club. Enter now! Terms and conditions in full. By entering this competition you agree to receive relevant communications from Time Out including news, events, offers and competitions.
The Gruffalo
Written by playwright Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, The Gruffalo is a children’s book about a mouse who goes for a walk in the forest one day. To scare away other dangerous animals, the mouse cunningly invents the Gruffalo, an imaginary monster-like being with terrible tusks, terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws. Join Mouse and head on a daring adventure filled with songs, laughter and scary fun when this magical musical adaptation returns to Australia this November.
Our top picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival
‘Out of the Echo Chamber’ is the overarching theme that Fringe’s creative director and CEO Simon Abrahams uses to describe this year’s festival (Sep 14-Oct 1), which is packed with more than 400 performances, exhibitions and events. “We are continually listening to people in our own Facebook feeds, and we’re curating the voices that we hear to an extent that we are becoming cushioned,” says Abrahams. “The provocation to the people of Melbourne is to get out of the echo chamber… to look at the world in a different way, to extend your thinking to hear the marginalised voices.” You can check out the full program on the website. Only into comedy? Sort by section on the site and you'll find big-name comedians alongside emerging talent. For school holiday ideas, sort by 'Kids Events' and start planning your trip to the Fringe Kids Club at ArtPlay.
