Things to do in Melbourne in November

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in Melbourne, and to help us ring in the festive season, the City of Melbourne has announced the return of its epic, month-long Christmas Festival. From November 25 to December 25, our city will come alive with family-friendly (and mostly free!) events that are sure to turn any Grinch into a believer.  This year, you can look forward to exciting attractions like a Christmas-themed roller-skating rink in Carlton's Argyle Square; a full-size maze filled with giant presents and interactive games in Docklands; sound and light shows nightly from 9pm at Christmas Square; and a festive line-up of flicks showing at the Capitol Theatre. You won't want to miss the inaugural Christmas River Show, which will illuminate Southbank every night, dazzling onlookers with water fountains, lasers, lights and projections set to a soundtrack of festive tunes. Howey Place will be transformed into Santa's Workshop where you can snap plenty of jolly pics, while the Christmas Carnival will return to the banks of the Yarra River with treats, rides and arcade-style games. The Christmas Quest and Treasure Hunt is also back (and there are plenty of prizes to be won), and there will be mesmerising projections illuminating buildings like Melbourne Town Hall and the State Library Victoria. And it wouldn't be the Christmas Festival without the return of the iconic 17.5 metre Christmas tree at Fed Square, so rest assured that it'll be lit up and on display.  Oh,

There's a certain charm to awkward family photos – the crying baby, the couple who are forcing smiles after a tiff mere seconds before the snap, the grandpa who just can't seem to stop blinking – they're candid moments immortalised forever. Now, you can recreate this magic with festive flair at a photography studio in Melbourne's south, which has a niche for awkward Christmas portraits.  If you're not mad keen on queuing up for yonks at your local shopping centre to see Santa for all of three minutes, Studio Hampton has an alternative offering. It's running awkward Christmas portrait sessions right up until the big day, complete with kooky '80s-style hairdos and the ugliest of festive jumpers.  You can pose for a holiday portrait with a twist with the whole fam (even your fur babies!) at Studio on Hampton, where photographer Charlotte Thompson will capture the awkward snaps, embracing the chaos and imperfection while having fun along the way.  Thompson's aim is to take the stress out of capturing a perfect shot by encouraging families to be a bit silly and create unique memories, rather than forcing their kids to sit on a stranger's lap and hoping for the best. After each 30-minute session, there are three instant photo prints to take home, ready to go straight on the fridge.  The Awkward Christmas Portraits pop-up runs at Studio on Hampton from November 16 to December 24, located at 564 Hampton Street, Hampton. Bookings are available online, so rally the troops and lock in

If you had 30 minutes to spend with yourself surrounded by nothing but darkness and the rain, what would you do? This is something the Rain Room by luxe hotel Jackalope and London-based collective Random International wants us to consider. The exhibition has reopened its sliding doors for its third season and invites us to all take a moment for ourselves to practice mindfulness and embrace the present in the rain. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the Rain Room is an immersive artwork by Random International that fills the ceiling of a darkened room with motion sensors and little droplets of recycled water that imitate rain. The result? An experience that you can walk through slowly without getting a single drop of water on you, even though you’re surrounded by what feels like a storm. The experience stimulates your senses and if you’ve ever been caught in the rain in Southeast Asia, this evokes a similar feeling. It’s slightly warm as the sound of falling rain crescendos but if you walk an inch too quickly you’ll feel the sensation of getting tapped on the head by water.  ‘Rain Room’ is one of Random International’s most famous works and has previously been shown at the Barbican in London, MoMA in New York and at the Yuz Museum in Shanghai.  Also, a word to the wise: make sure not to wear heels or shoes that you will slip in or you might end up wearing a pair of Crocs that the team hands to you instead.   Rain Room will be open until the end of January, 2024. Book your

You’ve likely seen the ‘Temple of Boom’ standing tall in the NGV Garden, but now there’s a new architectural work set to take shape in the gallery’s outdoor space. Building on a series of annual commissions including the much-loved Pink Pond and the aforementioned colourful Greek-style temple, this year’s NGV Architecture Commission has been announced and it’s sure to be just as breathtaking as its predecessors. However, unlike previous installations, this one will actually be doing the breathing. Opening on November 23, ‘(This is) Air’ will see a giant inflatable sphere that literally inhales and exhales throughout the day become the centrepiece of the garden. The balloon-like structure will morph throughout the day as it draws in and releases air in a natural rhythm. If you get close enough, you may even get to feel a gust as the sphere ‘exhales’.  The work will be created by award-winning Australian architect Nic Brunsdon in conjunction with Eness, a St Kilda-based art installation studio. At more than 14 metres tall, ‘(This is) Air’ seeks to make the invisible visible, drawing attention to the significance of the air we breathe. By making air seen, heard and felt, the work will encourage visitors to consider their connection with and dependency on air as a finite resource.  “The idea for the project was conceived by the architect during the global pandemic, when the air we breathed was suddenly at the forefront of everyone’s mind”, says Ewan McEoin, NGV’s senior curator o

Picture this: a balmy summer night spent filling your belly and quenching your thirst from a selection of global street food stalls, carts, trucks and festival bars. If that sounds right up your alley, then mark November 22 in your calendar, because that's when the Queen Vic Market's much-loved Summer Night Market returns.  This year, more than 100 shops, stalls and bars will light up the open-air market sheds across a bumper 16-week season. Highlights include the famed chocolate covered strawberries from It's Off Tap, That’s Amore Cheese launching their indulgent new 'Mozzaburgers’, hearty dishes from Nepal Dining Room, Filipino feasts from Hoy Pinoy and delicious serves of Aussie dessert fave, pavlova – with topping choices!  When you get thirsty, head to the Happiness is Mojito bar for refreshing mojitos in loads of different fruity flavours or chill out in the Brick Lane Beer Garden and soak up the sun with an ice cold Lagerita or alcoholic Ginger Beer Slushie in hand. As always, you can expect roving performers and a rotating line-up of homegrown talent playing live music on the market's main stage. After sipping and snacking, be sure to explore the dozens of stalls selling locally-sourced and handmade products including jewellery, art, skincare, books and homewares.  The first four weeks of the market will be a festive wonderland to spread the holiday season cheer, with a Christmas tree forest, a roving Santa Claus, festive entertainment including carollers and of cours

Can you believe it? It's almost that holly jolly time of year again, and all of the early Christmas news is making us want to set up our trees already – and start packing out our calendars with fun things to do ASAP. There's a ton of bangin' (and boozy) yuletide activities in the weeks ahead, but at the top of our list is this magical Christmas-themed bar coming to District Docklands on November 22.  Until December 30, the adults-only pop-up will immerse you in a holiday wonderland of end-of-the-year cheers, tinsel, glitter and an exciting program of merry-making activities to get you in the holiday spirit. Brought to you by the creators of The Wizard's Den and The Alice: An Immersive Cocktail Experience, this bar boasts halls that are more than decked, with a sleigh load of baubles, trees, bows, wreaths and all manner of festive paraphernalia filling every nook and cranny. It’s like a Christmas store threw up on a bar – and with themed cocktails, seasonal tunes, bites to eat and appearances from Santa and his elves to boot, it would be hard to leave this twinkling den without feeling at least a touch wistful.  You'll be able to get boozy on seriously Christmassy cocktails – with mocktails also on offer if you want a head start on your New Year's health resolutions. If you're wanting to bring the kids and make it a whole family affair, under 18 sessions will be made available soon. Stay tuned for when they're announced.  Tickets are required to enter and can be purchased here

One of the defining aspects of Christmas that delights and frustrates, depending on your inclination, is its inexorability; it comes around again and again, like the white horse on a carousal. Maybe this will also be the case with the Old Vic production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which proved a great success last year and is back to spread its Yuletide cheer around the Comedy Theatre once more. The central change – in fact, the only significant change – is the casting of the villain who becomes a hero. Last year it was David Wenham playing Ebenezer Scrooge; this year it’s Welsh character actor and Game of Thrones alumnus Owen Teale. In some ways, Teale (who only last year played Scrooge in London) slots effortlessly into the role, the cogs around him clicking pleasingly into place. He’s a natural fit, with an irascible visage and weary gait. He’s the right age and temperament. It’s almost too easy. But Teale’s performance, as solid and affecting as it is, pales when compared with Wenham’s – who brought an unexpected emotional intensity and mercurial physicality to the role – which in turn shifts the focus of the show onto the ensemble. With Teale playing a more quintessential Scrooge, one we recognise and expect, the production as a whole better achieves its aim, which is to charm and delight. I miss Wenham’s swirling morbidity and keening tragic mien, but Teale’s moody old Grinch works perfectly well. Adapted by Jack Thorne (who co-wrote Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Open your eyes, ears and mind when you visit the Works of Nature exhibition from London-based experimental art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. The world premiere immersive exhibition challenges visitors to see the world from a new standpoint by highlighting the hidden connections between ourselves and nature, beyond our everyday perception.  Pay a visit to Fed Square’s ACMI from November 23 until April 14 to experience Marshmallow Laser Feast’s first major exhibition in Australia, running for a limited season only. Previously, the group has wowed audiences around the globe, from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. The collective has made use of its two creative technology specialties, digital art and virtual reality, to create an experience designed to spark renewed wonder in nature, space, science and even the simple act of breathing.  Works of Nature consists of five awe-inspiring artworks incorporating interactive elements of meditation to add to the mesmerising experience. Marshmallow Laser Feast partner and director Ersin Han Ersin says each artwork is inspired by the collective’s passion for “ecology, astronomy and technology”. “[Our passion has] driven us to collect tree data in the Amazon, explore the sound of black holes, and scan the entirety of the human body in microscopic detail, then transforming these explorations into transcendent, immersive experiences.” Marshmallow Laser Feast is led by artists and directors Ro

Expect a magical night out at this cocktail bar popping up in Chinatown — not just metaphorically, but an actual magic-filled evening featuring a line-up of magician superstars direct from Japan.  Stepping into the neon-lit Maho Magic Bar will whisk you away to Tokyo, with up-close-and-personal experiences with expert magicians alongside delicious cocktails. There's no stage for the performers here as the intimate show will take place right at your table, where you'll be just inches away from the bamboozling sleight-of-hand magic.  Japan’s best magicians will suprise and delight visitors, incorporating debonair storytelling, illusions and even hyponotism. While you enjoy the show, you'll sip on bespoke cocktails mixed by a Japanese master mixologist. Or if you're after a more traditional libation, try authentic Japanese sake, whisky, shochu and rare spirits like umeshu. On the 'special menu' the magic of performance and mixology will combine, with those who are daring enough to order a special drink receiving a surprise magic trick in return.  “I wanted to showcase Japan’s electric energy here in Australia and give audiences an experience unlike anything they have had before," says Broad Encounters creative director Kirsten Siddle. "Seeing close-up magic really does inspire awe. The sheer skill, finesse and charisma of these master magicians is intoxicating. People can indulge in the ultimate hedonistic night out in Tokyo without even leaving Melbourne.” If you're prepa

Pass us the bright orange hair dye, because the ‘Hard Times’ are officially over: Paramore is coming to Melbourne in November, and our little emo hearts have a ‘Crushcrushcrush’. The Grammy Award-winning US trio – Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York – will touch down in Australia and New Zealand this November, following their most recent visit in 2018 when they played sold-out East Coast dates. Did someone say Riot?! After all this time, we’re ‘Still Into You’.  Currently taking their mammoth live show across North America, Paramore has had a whirlwind start to 2023: they embarked on a South American tour in March, joined Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour for two nights in Arizona, played two sold-out Madison Square Garden shows in June, and last week achieved a career-high, blowing crowds away at Bonnaroo with Hayley Williams jumping on stage with the Foo Fighters for a surprise rendition of ‘My Hero’. The band’s highly anticipated sixth studio album This Is Why was released in February to incredible support from fans and critics alike, topping charts in Australia and the UK. Joined by special guest Remi Wolf, Paramore will head through Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney before landing at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on November 27, 28 and 30. It's expected to be their biggest Australian headline show to date. ​ A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to leading food rescue organisations OzHarvest (Australia) and KiwiHarvest (New Zealand) to help reduce food waste and crea