Around Melbourne

As far as shopping sprees go, there’s nothing quite like rummaging through pre-loved goodies at a garage sale. Part of the joy is never knowing what bargain you’ll find – and not realising how badly you wanted a pair of neon pink parachute pants until you rescue them from a cardboard box. These days, a good garage sale is as rare as an original 1960s troll doll – which is where the Garage Sale Trail comes in. What started on the front lawns of Bondi in 2010 is now a nationwide campaign during which thousands of garage sales run across the country for two massive weekends. The aim is to reduce waste and encourage reusing among local communities, to stop tonnes of perfectly good stuff from ending up in landfill. To run your own garage sale, it's totally free to register. The Garage Sale Trail team will then send you promo materials to help put the word out, plus they’ll list your sale on the official website. If you're looking to score a pre-loved bargain, you can then use the website as a guide to all the sales in their area. So far, it looks like there's almost 300 garage sales registered in Melbourne alone, which is a whole lotta shopping. Plus, there are also group sales where multiple stallholders band together to make a one-stop-shop mega sale. Whether you're selling or buying, it's truly a win-win: finally declutter your wardrobe and make some extra moola, or get your hands on some new-to-you, sustainable treasures.  This year, there will be garage sales across...

The Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) returns to shine the spotlight on LGBTQIA+ people throughout history with a line-up full of hysterical comedy, campy horror and deliciously juicy drama.  The largest queer film festival in the Southern Hemisphere is back for its 35th outing, and this year's theme is 'Searching for Queer Utopias'. Captured through film’s immortalising lens, MQFF's 2025 program is a celebration of queer joy, connection and liberation, while also showcasing spaces where the LGBTQIA+ community and allies can be themselves. Running from November 13-23, audiences can expect more than 130 feature films, documentaries and short films (including 35 Australian premieres) to be shown at iconic city venues like Collins Place, Melbourne Town Hall and the Capitol Theatre. “There’s an incredible line-up of award-winning and premiere cinema for the audience for our milestone 35th season,” says MQFF Chief Executive Officer, David Martin Harris. “We’re bringing back premium events for our opening and closing night in what is a purely contemporary program that looks at the current and future for LGBTQIA+ communities in Australia and globally.”  MQFF will kick off with an opening night screening of Queens of the Dead, a queer apocalyptic survival comedy with a stacked ensemble cast that's been directed by Tina Romero. The festival will close with Plainclothes, a 1990s romantic thriller directed by Carmen Emmi.  In between, you can catch everything from in-conversation...