Port Phillip Mussel and Jazz Festival
We hope you're hungry, because the Port Phillip Mussel and Jazz Festival is back after a two-year hiatus for a celebration of music and molluscs. On March 9 and 10 from 11am to 9pm, South Melbourne Market will come alive as some of the market's best loved restaurants shell out (see what we did there?) plenty of seafood dishes showcasing mussels. Last year's eateries that got involved include Claypots Evening Star, Simply Spanish, Bambu, Claw and Tail, Mike's Mussels and Gem Pier Seafood. Cecil Street will be closed to traffic, and there'll also be free cooking demonstrations, workshops, roving performers, giveaways and fun activities for the kids. And the festival is once again teaming up with the Nature Conservatory and supporting the 'Shuck Don't Chuck' campaign. Festival-goers are encouraged to dispose of their mussel shells in special bins so that they can be turned into habitats for baby mussels and oysters to grow on. On the music front, it's all about the city's best jazz and soul musicians, with the full festival program to be announced in January. For more details, head to the website. Wanna get involved? You can apply to be a stallholder here. Starry-eyed for seafood? These are the best fish and chips in Melbourne. We've also rounded up a list of our fave sushi trains.