Things to do in Melbourne this week

Ballarat is bursting with colour this spring as a new art experience, Sunnyside, takes over the historic Mining Exchange and city streets from November 6-23.  Presented by The Social Crew, the centrepiece of the event is ‘Chasing Sunbeams’, a bold new art installation from London-based artist Morag Myerscough. Renowned for her playful interactive style and large-scale, fantastical works that have transformed public spaces around the globe, this marks her first ever major installation in regional Australia. And boy, is it colourful.  The program is packed with highlights – you can join the artist in conversation on November 8 and 15, or book into one of the many hands-on workshops, from neon block printing to stitching granny squares. In one of the workshops, budding artists will experiment with bold colours, patterns and forms as Wadawurrung Traditional Owner and Aboriginal artist Jenna Oldaker guides participants in creating their own artwork. Outside the walls of the Mining Exchange, Sunnyside spills into Ballarat’s laneways with the free Wandering experience. At the Unicorn Hotel, pick up a freshly made zine or pull up a chair and create your own. As you continue exploring, discover something surprising from local makers, vibrant artworks at Alfred Deakin Place and a colourful takeover of Hop Lane in collaboration between Myerscough, Oldaker and the Ballarat community. Ballarat is just a 90-minute drive or V/Line train from the city so why not turn it into a weekender?...

As fictional antiheroes go, Patricia Highsmith’s deliciously amoral Tom Ripley is simply irresistible. First crushing on, then crushing, sneering dilettante Dickie Greenleaf, Ripley casually assumes his identity (and careless wealth). We should be repulsed by such a repugnant character. Instead, we mentally egg him on. Why? A lot of his inexplicable appeal has to do with class. When we first meet Ripley in Highsmith’s 1955 novel, he’s cruising seedy New York bars, on the lam from cops and debtors pursuing him for petty theft and fraud charges. A man down on his luck, we understand his hustle. Jumping at shadows, the appearance of an impeccably dressed Greenleaf senior, Herbert, startles Ripley. Is the older man an unusually well-dressed detective, or even, *gasp*, a “pervert”? Crashing through the class barrier, Ripley seizes on Herbert’s presumptuous approach with an offer too good to resist: an impossibly well-paid gig, tasked with retrieving Herbert’s recalcitrant son from fictional Italian beach town, Mongibello How could Ripley say no? Once there, how could he let go? A provocation to seize a world well beyond his means. Better the devil we know, we’re on Ripley’s side as he claims his slice of this indulgent life from mean-spirited one percenters. After all, Highsmith borrows Mongibello from the Italian for active volcano Mount Etna, and Ripley’s here to blow shit up. Who’s involved in this latest adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley? The suspenseful, smoky...

We're just as sad as you are that cherry blossom season is over, but the good news is that it heralds the start of the cherry-picking season. And if you can't get enough of those sweet and juicy red morsels, then make your way to CherryHill Orchards this summer to pick and eat as many cherries as your heart desires. This year's cherry-picking season will kick off on November 10 at CherryHill's 40-hectare orchard in Coldstream. On November 24, CherryHill's original orchard in Wandin East will follow suit and open its gates to eager pickers.  Sessions last for two hours, and cherries are charged per kilogram – trust us when we say these are some of the largest, sweetest cherries going around. But as you're picking, feel free to eat as many as you like! The fun doesn't stop at picking cherries; the orchard will host on-site food trucks and stalls hawking food and cherry-flavoured products. On top of the famed cherry ice cream, you can also shop pantry goods like cherry vinaigrette, cherry syrup, cherry barbecue sauce and cherry glaze. You can also bring your own picnic, or pre-order a box of goodies to enjoy on the orchard grounds. And if you visit on a weekend or public holiday, you'll be treated to the sweet sounds of live tunes performed by a rotating line-up of local musos. The cherry-picking festival will run until late December at the Coldstream orchard, and until early January at the Wandin East orchard. For more information and to book your spot head to the CherryHill...

From November 21–23, the African Music and Cultural Festival (AMCF) will enliven Fed Square with everything from fashion parades and live non-stop music to a swag of stalls selling African street food.  This year is the twelfth iteration of the beloved festival and it's set to be bigger and better than ever, with a dynamic program representing over 40 African countries. Most excitingly, Evette Quoibia – a Guinness World Record holder who once cooked non-stop for 140 hours – is serving up her signature Liberian cuisine.  There will also be spoken word performances, screenings of African-Australian short films, drumming workshops, traditional dancing and plenty of stuff for the kids, like face painting and board games. And you won't want to miss the popular Jollof Rice Wars, where Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Liberia will go head-to-head in an attempt to win the crown for best jollof rice. Entry is free, and you can discover more about the African Music and Cultural Festival at the website here. Looking for more fun? Here are the best things to do in Melbourne this weekend.

While plenty of Melburnians have fond memories of school trips to Scienceworks, the interactive museum is proving science is just as fun for grown-ups. For the next few months, you can get a closer-to-home look at the stars at monthly after-hours sessions, complete with drinks and a Q&A with an expert astronomer.  Running from August to November, Scienceworks' Melbourne Planetarium is hosting four special events, each featuring two evening sessions. The first, from 7.30-9.30pm, includes an hour-long show followed by stargazing (weather permitting), where you can relax with a drink and watch the cosmos go by. The second session, from 8-10pm, flips the order, starting with stargazing and wrapping up with the show. Each month brings a new astronomical theme. In August, you'll learn about the upcoming lunar eclipse; September focuses on the giant ringed planet Saturn; October’s session explores discoveries from three years of observations using the James Webb Space Telescope; and finally, November rounds things out with a guided tour of the brightest stars in the night sky. While space travel is still a way off for us normal people, astronomer Dr. Tanya Hill will be on hand for all four sessions to offer a guided tour deep into the depths of the universe and answer all your burning questions – including what life beyond Earth might look like. There’ll also be light snacks and drinks on offer from 7pm at the Planetarium’s galaxy bar. Discover the Night Sky is 18+ with tickets...

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...

Returning for its tenth edition on November 23, the East Malvern Food and Wine Festival is shaping up to be a celebration of Victorian wine producers, brewers, growers and artisan makers. And best of all, entry is free! The festivities kick off at Central Park from 11am, and attendees can stroll through the open green spaces to wine, dine and recline in the picturesque surroundings. Expect to taste a vast range of vinos from 15 local wineries, including Sutherland Estate, St Hubert, Yering Farm, Trentham Estate and Mount Avoca Wines. For those who prefer a more distilled option, Mary Monica Gin, Original Spirit Co, Noble Bootleggers and Naught Distillery will also be in attendance. Peckish? The festival's set to be a globally inspired food truck paradise thanks to Bao Melbourne, Amazing Calamari, Spanish Paella, The Famous Sandwich, Flaming Skewers and more. Sweets include ice cream from Billy Van Creamy, Luvlee and 776 Loukoumades. And be sure to stock up on locally produced cheeses, gourmet condiments and plenty of other goodies from the market stalls before you leave. Admission is free, but you can also opt for a $39.50 wine tasting package that includes a branded wine glass and five tasting tickets.  For more info, head to the website. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. After more fun things to do in our city? Check out the best events happening in Melbourne this week.

It's been seen by more than a million people on Broadway and many more on the West End, and now the Tony Award-winning MJ the Musical is heading to Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne. Centred around the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, MJ the Musical features more than 25 of Michael Jackon’s biggest pop hits set to show-stopping dance numbers, including ‘Beat It’, ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Man In The Mirror’ and ‘Thriller’. MJ the Musical is showing at Her Majesty's Theatre until March 1, 2026. For more information and to book tickets, head to the website. *** Time Out Sydney reviewed MJ the Musical when it played at Sydney's Lyric Theatre in March. Read on for that three-star review:   If you’re of a certain age, you have history (HIStory, perhaps?) with Michael Jackson. I remember getting ‘Thriller’ on cassette as a kid. Dangerous was one of the first CDs I ever owned. I remember seeing the extended music video for ‘Thriller’ on VHS, which came packaged with a behind-the-scenes documentary. One woman, cornered for a quick vox pop at one of the filming locations, asserted that she loved Jackson because he was “down to earth”, which is darkly hilarious in hindsight.  Down to earth? The press called him “wacko Jacko” – we all did. He slept in a hyperbaric chamber. He owned the Elephant Man’s skeleton. His skin kept getting paler, his nose thinner. What a weird guy! Was any of it true? Hard to say. Even today, when a careless tweet is like a drop of blood in a shark tank...

Get your wands at the ready, because Melbourne is set to play host to the Australian premiere of Harry Potter: The Exhibition. This behind-the-scenes extravaganza will leave Potterheads spellbound, and features interactive recreations of famous film scenes, props and costumes from the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a multimedia experience featuring the Whomping Willow, dementors, the Marauder's Map and the chance to conjure a Patronus charm. Budding witches and wizards will be sorted into Hogwarts houses and earn points as they explore the exhibition – it could be through a potions class, predicting the future à la Professor Trelawney in Divination or defeating a boggart in Defence Against the Dark Arts. There will also be opportunities to practice spell casting and Quidditch skills, plus win golden snitch medallions to become a model student. Each experience comes with plenty of photo ops and, of course, magical interactive moments. There's even a recreation of the Great Hall for visitors to enjoy in all its splendour, complete with floating candles.  This official Harry Potter exhibition is part of a global tour, previously selling out in cities like Boston and Madrid. You can find out more about this enchanting experience via the website.  Looking for more family-friendly things to do? Here's our guide to the best activities for kids in Melbourne. 

Silly season is upon us – if you’re ready to pop the Champers, laugh ’til your belly hurts and revel in tricks you didn’t know were humanly possible, strap in for a glittering night at Blanc de Blanc Encore.  The cabaret spectacle lands at Melbourne’s brand-new Spiegel Haus in late October as the headline affair. The pop-up entertainment precinct has set up camp on the rooftop of the Golden Square Car Park on Lonsdale Street ready to dazzle Melburnians.  Blanc de Blanc Encore fuses a delectable mix of circus, cabaret, jazz and comedy (with a couple of bottles of bubbles for good measure) for an effervescent night out – leave the kids at home for this one. Blanc de Blanc Encore is the second instalment of, you guessed it, Blanc de Blanc, when it visited Melbourne in 2017. Don’t fret if you didn’t see the first one – you’ll enjoy the encore every bit as much as a standalone. It’s been a hit internationally, and arrives off the back of extended Brisbane and Sydney seasons. Watch Blanc de Blanc Encore at the Spiegel Haus Melbourne from October 31. Group and special events packages are available just in time for Chrissy party planning. Book your tickets here.