Things to do in Melbourne this week (Jul 22-Jul 28)

Fans of sneaky street art, rejoice! The acclaimed works of Banksy, the mysterious master of graffiti, are coming to Australia, and you won't even need to scour the city's laneways to see them for yourself.

The Art of Banksy: Without Limits is a blockbuster exhibition that will feature murals, sculptures, photos, mapping shows (aka images or animations projected onto irregularly shaped surfaces), installations (including an “infinity room” filled with mirrors) and a simulation of ‘Dismaland Bemusement Park’.

Open House Melbourne (OHM) is back, meaning it's that special time of year when we can have a peek inside some of Melbourne's most alluring buildings. But permissible prying aside, OHM serves as an important chance to reflect on the past, present and future of design and its role in binding the fabric of our dear city together. 

Taking place on Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, this year’s OHM theme is Re/discover Your City, which invites attendees to think about the place they call home in a new light. 

Every year, the Yarra City Council puts on a beloved music festival focussed on showcasing and supporting local artists and venues during the quieter winter season. It’s no secret that things are tough for Melburnian musicians at the moment, so this year’s festival is a great opportunity to get out and support the world-class music scene happening on our doorstep.

This year, Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is taking place across four days and nights from Thursday, July 25 until Sunday, July 28. Anticipate parties and performances to suit all ages and budgets, including plentiful free and family-friendly gigs. It all happens in Fitzroy, Collingwood, Fitzroy North, Abbotsford and Richmond – which are some of the suburbs that make up the City of Yarra area.

For keen fashion thrifters looking for their next 'fit, the search ends here. A hive of second-hand shopping and sustainable fashion is popping up in Thornbury, as well as an inaugural southside edition in Prahran, with the return of Revamp Market.

More than 50 stalls will be selling vintage and pre-loved clothing at the market, making for an unmissable thrifting extravaganza. The northside event will be held at Welcome to Thornbury and the following market is at Clifton Street Pop-Up. In addition to the plethora of shopping there'll be DJs, food trucks and a bar, so the event truly is a one-stop shop. 

After a popular national tour, Elvis: A Musical Revolution will return to Melbourne for an encore season this winter. Mainstage and television star Rob Mallett will continue to light up the stage as Elvis Presley, with other cast members soon to be announced. It all kicks off back at the Athenaeum Theatre for a limited season from July 27 until August 11, and tickets are already on sale over here.

Blanche DuBois is the fragile heart of Tennessee Williams’ 1947 masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire and the easiest character in the Western canon to do an impression of. Chuck on some pearls, a white debutante-like fit and throw back a whiskey before you try your hand at a Southern drawl and you’ve got her, or at least some of her.

If a classic, as the Italian writer Italo Calvino once defined, is a text that ‘has never finished saying what it has to say’ then Williams’ DuBois says more eighty years on with a string of pearls and a Mississippi accent than most of our classics ever could. 

Bendigo is one of 350 cities around the world, and six in Australia, that has been recognised by UNESCO as a Creative City. A Creative City might earn its title for one of seven reasons, but Bendigo takes the cake (quite literally) for the gastronomy field. The Ignite festival is a showcase of just what this regional city has to offer, and boy, is it a doozy. 

We’re talking wineries, distilleries, pubs, farms, and restaurants. You name any type of culinary venue and it’s bound to be in the line-up. Events range from long lunches and farmers markets to behind the scenes talks with makers and growers. 

It's the news we've all been waiting for: after being cut short last year due to flooding, the spectacular Moama Lights event is returning to the Echuca-Moama region bigger and brighter than ever.

Running from July 5-28 (across Thursday to Sunday nights), Moama Lights is an immersive sound and light trail comprising state-of-the-art installations, projections and cutting-edge moving light technology. 

It's baaack! After two hugely popular winter seasons, Melbourne's favourite illuminated event is returning in 2024. From June 14 to August 4, take a nighttime stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens and experience luminous pathways, lit-up tree canopies, soothing soundscapes and brand new installations.

Broad Encounters, the folks behind last year’s large-scale, free-roam production Love Lust Lost and 2019’s A Midnight Visit, have announced another immersive show opening this June. This time around, they’re embracing the immediacy of a smaller-scale space, with their latest show billed as an intimate soirée for small groups.

When Night Comes is a multi-sensory theatrical experience that promises to be intoxicating in more ways than one. Set across fantastical yet hedonistic spaces, those who dare to enter will be introduced to a dark, decadent and delicious den where the cocktails are as enticing as the gazes of the cast.