Max your summer in Melbourne

Strap those skates on, an all-weather ice skating rink has opened at Eastland.  This winter wonder is no doubt a trip down memory lane for eastside locals who once visited Ringwood’s Iceland, Australia’s first custom-built ice-skating rink, which sadly closed its doors in 2005.  Eastland's custom-built rink is back for its second year and this time there's more of it to enjoy. Due to last year's popularity Eastland has increased the rink's size to 250 metres, 20 per cent larger than in 2017. Guests of all skill levels are invited to glide around the larger rink while surrounded by snow-topped trees and twinkling lights. The rink is covered by a marquee so you can live out your winter wonderland fantasies during rain, hail or shine. New to the Eastland Ice Rink this year is a series of themed days and nights. Relive your favourite '80s, '90s and '00s tunes while skating up a storm with Eastland's Throwback Tuesdays, or bring your date down for the super cool R'n'B Fridays. The rink will also be hosting Sunday Family Fun days where families can not only skate, but enjoy face painting, children's entertainment and kid-friendly music. On Sunday mornings between 10am and 11am the rink will be open to children and adults with special needs – because everyone should be able to feel safe and secure (and have fun) on the ice. Bubs and toddlers can enjoy the rink as well with a 20-minute ice show and kids entertainment on Tiny Tots Thursdays. Adults who've never skated (but always

Melbourne Public will once again be getting an alpine-themed makeover this winter, offering all the fun of après-ski without hitting the slopes. The bar will be serving up spiced rum-spiked mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates. Cosy up in Ugg Australia sheepskin rugs or sit by one of the roaring fire pits. Snack-wise you can warm up with cheese fondue and German sausages.  You can join in on the Mont Plonk for free, or you can reserve a table by purchasing a Group Ski Pass for you and your mates. So rug up a get down for some alpine-themed fun. 

The vikings have dropped anchor at Melbourne Museum. The museum's major new exhibition, Vikings: Beyond the Legend, is the largest collection of viking artefacts ever in Australia, and it's the furthest the norse men have ever traveled from their hearths.  This international blockbuster (nearly two million people have visited the exhibition worldwide) features more than 400 artefacts from one of history’s most fascinating civilisations, as well as 40 replicas (including a huge replica viking longship). If you’ve seen an episode of the History Channel’s Vikings program (highly recommended for those who have a Game of Thrones shaped hole in their bingeing schedules) you’ll know that viking culture is one that’s quite misunderstood, having raided and traded themselves across Northern Europe from the 8th to the 11th century. Vikings isn't even the correct name for the group of people – vikings was a something people did, like farming or fishing, rather than the name for everyone who lived in Scandinavia at the time.  In addition to the viking weapons, jewellery and tools the exhibition has some hands-on activities too. Live out your archaeologist dreams and try to excavate a virtual viking ship, or challenge your mates to a viking board game. You can even see what it felt like to wield a viking sword. Make sure you also check out the skeletal remains of a viking ship, and some of the intricate viking metalwork (like Thor’s hammer pendants). Vikings: Beyond the Legend is on a

Melbourne’s west is getting its own little slice of White Night this August when West Projections Festival returns for its fifth year. West Projections Festival 2018 will feature more than 25 artists who will light up the west with large-scale projections, animation, performance, virtual reality and sound installations from August 3 to 26. The month-long festival of lights, sounds and art has expanded this year to include pop-up locations in West Footscray and Seddon, as well as in its home base of Footscray. A total of 36 locations will be lit up this year including laneways, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, art spaces and train stations. The theme for this year’s festival is non/Fiction, so you can expect the festival highlights to have a distinctly literary edge. West Projections encourages visitors to take self-guided tours, but this year it will also be running special events for those looking for something different. Highlights include This Will Be My Last Test (a multidisciplinary performance in an alleyway), a virtual reality dance party at Mr West and an immersive family disco. The official festival launch is happening Friday, August 17 at Nicholson Mall, Footscray. The free event will have live music, performance, virtual reality and lots of live projections to light up the night.

Burn City Smokers is making a return to the city center and taking over the Grand Hyatt's kitchen for a three-month stint. Due to the overwhelming support of 2017's pop-up, Burn City's three-month takeover was extended to a six-month residency, and this year's menu is tipped to be bigger and better than the last. In addition to their signature smoked brisket burger and jalapeno poppers, the team at Burn City Smokers have added wood-fired pippies, their take on the Chiko roll, a gut-busting, barbecue-lover's meat platter and fried camembert to their menu. Who said hotel dining peaked with the club sandwich?

Hop on the Melbourne Star observation wheel this winter, and you’ll be able to experience Melbourne’s CBD skyline with a few extra winter comforts. You’ll be able to take a 30-minute ride in a private, heated glass cabin and curl up on a comfy bean bag while you do it. Plus, you can sip on warm mulled wine and dig into a cheese platter complete with croutes, muscatel grapes and quince paste.   Melbourne Star’s floating winter chalet experience starts at $61 per person for a group of six ($370 in total) or $350 for an intimate two-person ride. It runs every day between 1pm and 5pm until August 31.

Melbourne's electronic music scene in the 1960s and '70s was groundbreaking and edgy, and at the heart of it all was the analogue synthesizer, produced by EMS (Electronic Music Systems).  The Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne was at the forefront of that musical experimentation, when composer Keith Humble returned from Paris to establish an avant-garde music studio there.  Synthesizers: Sound of the Future celebrates that period of musical history at the Grainger Museum with dozens of important instruments on display, incluidng the EMS VCS-1 – one of only three in the world – and an EMS VCS-3, which was used by Pink Floyd, Brian Eno and Jean-Michel Jarre.  In addition to the exhibition display, Synthesizers also includes live performances in association with the composition and interactive composition programs at Melbourne Uni, as well as experimental sound group Liquid Architecture. One piece that will be performed is a take on Keith Humble's 'Music for Moments' improvisatory piece.

After the success of their summer gin bar pop-up, Brunswick bar Howler has decided to turn their sights towards whisky for three months.   From Scottish varieties to American, Japanese and Australian, there are 50 different flavours of whisky to explore at Howler’s pop-up winter whisky bar. Whether you like your dark smokey drams or smoother malts, or whether you like yours neat, on the rocks, in a boilermaker or as a cocktail, you’ll be well looked after here. Weather be damned, too. Howler will have their roaring fireplace and heaters cranking and there’ll be a selection of hot drinks on roster – think hot toddies, Irish coffee, spiced mead and a lovely whisky and apple toddy. The pop-up winter whisky bar is open every day from 7pm. Love whisky? We’ve rounded up the best whisky bars in Melbourne.

What’s better than gorging yourself on scones, finger sandwiches and Champagne at a regular high tea? Gorging yourself on piles and piles of cheese at the Westin’s un-brie-lievable new High Cheese event. Westin executive chef Michael Greenlaw has teamed up with Anthony Demia from Maker and Monger for the event, which will bring a series of cheeses together in both sweet and savoury dishes. Running throughout winter, High Cheese will swap out the traditional scones and cream for scones with creamed Giorgio Cravero reggiano (which, no big deal, is the best reggiano affineur, or cheese ager, in the world). There will also be tiramisu with a cheesy twist, cannoli with a ricotta filling, fresh figs stuffed with gorgonzola and drizzled with honeycomb, the rare Carles Roquefort with cognac and pain d’épices and even a Holy Goat organic strawberry and thyme mille-feuille. The coup de gras (pun intended) will be a whole baked Normandy camembert served with mini baguettes that you can rip apart and dip into the cheese, like your very own cheese fondue. Holy cheesus. The Westin's High Cheese is priced at $70 per person and is available every day from 4pm. Guests can also match their cheese with wine by the glass, with varieties available from the likes of Ten Minutes by Tractor, Shaw and Smith and Penfolds.

How much do you know about your body, really? You know how it feels and acts, but what's going on beneath your skin? How do muscles, tendons and bone connect, how do they work together to help you move, and what happens when illness or injury prevents your body from working as it should? Body Worlds: Vital is an exhibition that will help you better understand your body and the way it works. An educational exhibit about human anatomy, it features 150 real human bodies, which have been 'plastinated' and put on display. There are whole bodies, individual organs and transparent 'body slices' that demonstrate the human body in all its forms – healthy, diseased and everywhere in between.  All of the specimens have been voluntarily donated for this express purpose, and the process of donation has been thoroughly documented.  The exhibition also includes an 'anatomical mirror', where visitors can see where organs are positioned within their own bodies. Visitors can also learn tips as to how to keep their bodies in alignment, see detailed brain scans to better understand diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and read detailed infographics explaining systems of the body. The exhibition has travelled the world, having been seen by more than 40 million people in 130 countries. 

You might know Apollo Bay as a summer seaside haven, but in winter, things are very different in the town where the wild forests of the Otway National Park meet the Southern Ocean. The Winter Wild festival launched in 2017 in response to the 2015 Colac Otway bushfires, which had a lasting impact on the region's coastal communities. It's Victoria's answer to Dark Mofo and well worth traveling down the Great Ocean Road for. This year's festival takes place over two weekends in August. The first weekend, August 10-12, will focus on the theme of death. There will be live music from the likes of Adalita, Tropical Fuck Storm and Mike Elrington, live art featuring fire, water, sound and performance, spoken word poetry and guided audio tours on the meaning of human existence. Two weeks later the WinterWild festival will return to Apollo Bay for a weekend of events themed around birth. Food will take a starring role with the Hungry Gentleman (Max Allen and Richard Cornish) hosting a tasting session where you'll gain a greater appreciation of why we eat what we eat, while conservationist and Yuin man Jack Pascoe will explore the history of Australian Indigenous food and drink.  There will be gutsy rock 'n' roll from NUTSACK and The Refuge playing at the Brewhouse, while at the Moksha event you can dance the night away with an electronic dance party. Controversial satire film Terror Nullius will also be screened over both of WinterWild's weekends.  Events at WinterWild are separatel

The NGV's Friday Nights series is back for another round, and this time they’re pairing a string of gigs alongside masterpieces from the Big Apple in MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art. Few things go hand-in-hand like music and art, and NGV Friday Nights’ set-up is the best way to take in the latest NGV exhibition while enjoying the best in local and international acts. This season’s line-up kicks off on June 15 with hammond organ trio Cookin' on 3 Burners and Stella Angelico. The program also boasts sets from the smooth, gospel-tinged Barney McAll, the uber cool powerhouse vocalist Thando, rising hip hop star REMI as well as many more.  NGV Friday Nights includes after-hours entry to the MoMA exhibition, local DJs and access to food and drinks.

Strap those skates on, an all-weather ice skating rink has opened at Eastland.  This winter wonder is no doubt a trip down memory lane for eastside locals who once visited Ringwood’s Iceland, Australia’s first custom-built ice-skating rink, which sadly closed its doors in 2005.  Eastland's custom-built rink is back for its second year and this time there's more of it to enjoy. Due to last year's popularity Eastland has increased the rink's size to 250 metres, 20 per cent larger than in 2017. Guests of all skill levels are invited to glide around the larger rink while surrounded by snow-topped trees and twinkling lights. The rink is covered by a marquee so you can live out your winter wonderland fantasies during rain, hail or shine. New to the Eastland Ice Rink this year is a series of themed days and nights. Relive your favourite '80s, '90s and '00s tunes while skating up a storm with Eastland's Throwback Tuesdays, or bring your date down for the super cool R'n'B Fridays. The rink will also be hosting Sunday Family Fun days where families can not only skate, but enjoy face painting, children's entertainment and kid-friendly music. On Sunday mornings between 10am and 11am the rink will be open to children and adults with special needs – because everyone should be able to feel safe and secure (and have fun) on the ice. Bubs and toddlers can enjoy the rink as well with a 20-minute ice show and kids entertainment on Tiny Tots Thursdays. Adults who've never skated (but always

Melbourne Public will once again be getting an alpine-themed makeover this winter, offering all the fun of après-ski without hitting the slopes. The bar will be serving up spiced rum-spiked mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates. Cosy up in Ugg Australia sheepskin rugs or sit by one of the roaring fire pits. Snack-wise you can warm up with cheese fondue and German sausages.  You can join in on the Mont Plonk for free, or you can reserve a table by purchasing a Group Ski Pass for you and your mates. So rug up a get down for some alpine-themed fun. 

The famous weekly Fed Square book market shut up shop in 2017, much to the despair of Melbourne's bibliophile community. But the closure was only a temporary one, with the free market reopening at Abbotsford Convent in 2018. Whether you eat, sleep and breath books or are just curious, the market has a vast selection of new and second-hand titles to browse from. From sci fi to non-fiction, the Melbourne Book Market has every genre presented by a revolving cast of veteran Melbourne booksellers. Tweed jackets are encouraged, but not compulsory. After deciding on your next bedtime read take some time to stroll around the convent's picture-book perfect gardens or fill up with a pay-what-you-feel meal at Lentil As Anything. For more information on the next market visit the Abbotsford Convent website or the Melbourne Book Market Facebook page.  

Beneath the grey spires of the historic Abbotsford Convent is a market that champions an era when you know the farmer who grew your potatoes, and when tomatoes tasted like real tomatoes (not overly acidic and/or bland balls of mush). Open the fourth Saturday of each month, seasonal, organic food is king here, and learning about the origins of your produce is half the fun. Pope Joan's Matt Wilkinson can't get enough of the Warialda sausages and Jim's pork pies, and we fell hard for Take Me Home's Gippsland-made gnocchi.

Arts Centre Melbourne isn't only great for the odd show or even for a meal and a tipple at The Barre, every Sunday the grounds of the arts precinct's hub comes alive with market stalls selling everything from handmade leather wallet to locally made art by the city's designers and small business owners.  Situated a short walk away from Flinders Street Station, everything on offer at the market has been locally made, and the market also features a great range of food stalls if you want to shake up your Sunday brunch. Head over to the Arslan gozleme stall for some Turkish pastry layered with delicious spicy lamb or cheese and spinach, or make a stop at the poffertjes stall for some  Dutch pancakes.

We’re all guilty of being a little too frivolous with our plastic and the Youth Food Movement is offering up the chance to help us fix that over mulled wine and delicious savoury bites. This Saturday, August 25, Youth Food Movement Melbourne will be hosting a masterclass on reducing plastic waste in our daily lives. On the night guests will be joined by the author of Waste Not, Erin Rhoads, the sustainable wine merchants at Rewine, and the fabulous fighters of youth homelessness Home One, meaning you’ll pick up some handy tips and tricks to help you improve your sustainability. You can also take a picture with ‘Plastic Extinction’ installation art piece, which will be featured at the event. The afternoon will run from 1pm to 5pm. Tickets for the masterclass start at $20.

This joyful celebration will set the tone for the festival and will kick things off in style. The evening is a toast to survival, joy, resilience and pure existence.  Popular children's book author Andy Griffiths (of the Treehouse series) will be on the decks DJing the party, and the night will include performances from soul singer Mojo Juju, spoken word artist Sukhjit Kaur and rapper Fablice Manirakiza, who came to Australia as a refugee from war-torn Burundi in 2007.   Australia’s first gay and lesbian youth chorus, shOUT Choir, will be providing tunes, and art collective the Boon Companions will also be performing. American singer-songwriter Andrew WK will be giving a keynote address, and the whole night is hosted by Sista Zai Zanda. This is not your mother's book club party. 

The vikings have dropped anchor at Melbourne Museum. The museum's major new exhibition, Vikings: Beyond the Legend, is the largest collection of viking artefacts ever in Australia, and it's the furthest the norse men have ever traveled from their hearths.  This international blockbuster (nearly two million people have visited the exhibition worldwide) features more than 400 artefacts from one of history’s most fascinating civilisations, as well as 40 replicas (including a huge replica viking longship). If you’ve seen an episode of the History Channel’s Vikings program (highly recommended for those who have a Game of Thrones shaped hole in their bingeing schedules) you’ll know that viking culture is one that’s quite misunderstood, having raided and traded themselves across Northern Europe from the 8th to the 11th century. Vikings isn't even the correct name for the group of people – vikings was a something people did, like farming or fishing, rather than the name for everyone who lived in Scandinavia at the time.  In addition to the viking weapons, jewellery and tools the exhibition has some hands-on activities too. Live out your archaeologist dreams and try to excavate a virtual viking ship, or challenge your mates to a viking board game. You can even see what it felt like to wield a viking sword. Make sure you also check out the skeletal remains of a viking ship, and some of the intricate viking metalwork (like Thor’s hammer pendants). Vikings: Beyond the Legend is on a