Things to do in Melbourne this weekend

The best part about food trucks can also be their most irritating feature – they move around. That can mean your favourite meal on wheels might be in Footscray one week but in St Kilda the next.  But lucky for us, a huge food truck festival is bringing trucks from all over Melbourne together in one central location. Held at Birrarung Marr, the Food Truck Festival allows you to sample some old favourites and try new tastes from across the city.  There are more than 40 food trucks to choose from – get ready for cheese, fried chicken, tacos, vegan food and heaps more. And yes, you can buy booze – beer and wine will also be on offer. There is a district devoted to all things sweet, so you can also get your just desserts. The line-up this year includes tacos from Poncho Mexican; greek eats from Mary and a Little Lamb; pillowy bao from Nem n Nem; spicy Sri Lankan curry from Taka Taka Kottu and the all time food truck and festival favourite the Gozleme Station. There will also be meaty eats from the Rib Crib, Philly Cheese Please, Real O.G Burgers and Loaded Gourmet Hotdogs. Craving sweets? The Food Truck Festival will be slinging desserts from Icy Donuts Melbourne, Honey Dee Loukoumades, Country Fair Poffertjes, Mobile Ice Creams and the adorable fairy floss creations of Som Som Candy.  You can also expect roving performers and live entertainment, including plenty of family-friendly acts to keep the kids entertained.  Festivities kick off on Wednesday, April 24th from 5-10pm,

Fantastical lights, projections, installations and performances are illuminating Melbourne Zoo this autumn. For two weeks in April the historic zoo is hosting Neon Playground, a new after dark event where guests can enjoy enchanting projections, meet giant glowing puppets, witness bedazzling laser art and explore a neon maze. Brush up on your low-light photography because this is an event that will and truly attract the Insta-crowd. Dazzling projections are lighting up the art deco facade at the main gate, while inside laser and neon artworks can be enjoyed along the zoo’s main drive (where you can also learn how Zoos Victoria are fighting extinction). The intricate illustrations of children’s author Graeme Base will be brought to life during Neon Playground. Characters from his 2001 picture book The Waterhole are being transformed into glowing puppets for the event for you to take a snap with. For the daring, Neon Playground also features a neon maze with 600 metres of LED neon lighting suspended from the ground. You may get lost, but we bet you’ll still come out glowing. Conservation is key to Melbourne Zoo so it’s no surprise that Neon Playground is being held for a good cause. The event hopes to raise awareness and funds for the critically endangered southern corroboree frog, with all proceeds from the event going towards its conservation. There are only around 100 of the distinctive yellow and black amphibians left in the wild so every bit of help makes a difference.

We know and love the Tesselaar farm’s annual tulip festival but now there’s something new to enjoy at this regional floral farm. The Tesselaar KaBloom festival combines circus arts and flowers for a new autumn festival in the Dandenongs. Artists from Melbourne’s CircaNICA will be performing stunning circus acts every day at the Tesselaar farm. Throughout the festival, you might be able to see contortionists in the marigolds, acrobats in the snapdragons and even jugglers wandering through the petunias. This family-friendly festival also features a crate maze, fairy folklore storytelling, Easter egg hunts over the Easter long weekend and even an obstacle course. Kids under 16 get free entry into the festival, while adult tickets start at $22. The farm is open every day from 10am to 5pm until Sunday, April 28.

These days everyone from your local PE teacher to your grandma is getting inked. And you can join the tattoo tribe on April 26-28 when the Rites of Passage Tattoo Festival rolls into Melbourne. More than 350 local and international tattoo artists will attend Rites of Passage over the weekend, with guests able to discover new trends, the next big artist and even get an impromptu tatt (or two). There's a bunch of giveaways and prizes to be won across the weekend, plus a bunch of retail vendors selling tattoo-related gear as well.  While you're waiting to get inked, catch some of the festival entertainment which will include live acoustic sets, circus performers, DJs and tattoo competitions. And for a post-tatt pick-me-up, you can grab something tasty from the selection of food trucks that will be keeping punters fed all day.

When is the last time you really considered your gut health? Or thanked the tiny microbes that live your intestinal track and digest your food, boost your immunity and keep you healthy? Scientists are learning more every day about the fascinating community of microbes that live inside each and every one of us. There are more microbes inside the human body than there are stars in the Milky Way, and they weigh up to 2kg.  Melbourne Museum's Gut Feelings exhibition will change your mind about the tiny creatures (yes, they're alive!) that you share your body with. The interactive exhibition is a multi-sensory experience, with things to touch, hear and see.

These dinosaurs are large-scale models of these ancient beasts, and they will be roaming around at Healesville, Werribee and Melbourne zoos for 100 days. If you're lucky, you might see a keeper waking a sleeping dinosaur, or come face to face with a moving prehistoric creature. At Melbourne Zoo you can experience Dino Park, where dinosaurs made by Erth Visual & Physical Inc come to life. At Werribee Open Range Zoo, you calk walk through the new Zoorassic river trail. There are nine life-sized dinosaurs to see. The wide open plains will also be opening after dark for an adults-only dino experience. Over three nights Werribee is opening its gates for Dino Files, an evening event for over 18s who want to walk, eat and drink with dinosaurs.

Living in the city sure is convenient, but sometimes we all need to trade the concrete jungle for an actual jungle. During autumn the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens are giving you the chance to experience the restorative powers of nature by offering forest therapy (or forest bathing) classes for city stress-heads. Just what is forest therapy? The idea began in Japan, where it’s called ‘shinrin-yoku’ and is said to improve your wellbeing by immersing yourself in nature. It’s since been recognised as an effective (and cheap) way to improve public health. The Royal Botanic Garden’s forest therapy walk includes a guided tour through the gardens designed to lower your blood pressure, pulse and stress levels through a series of activities. There are four sessions you can book into, two in April and two in May.

The Westin is putting a nautical twist on the concept of high tea with an all-seafood high tea. Savoury treats include oysters three ways, lobster rolls and fish tacos. High tea favourites have been given a seafood makeover, such as savoury seaweed scones with whipped miso butter and furikake instead of the traditional cream and jam.  Skip the sparkling wine and do as sailors do, with a Navy Strength Four Pillars Gin and Tonic as your libation. And insetad of fussy French sweets, there is a Four Pillars frozen gin marmelade custard for dessert. The tide will roll out on April 30, so make sure you hit the deck before then. 

This April, Federation Square is playing host to Dream Big, Princess, a photo exhibition showcasing the stories of inspirational women and girls kicking goals across the world. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Walt Disney Company and Girl Up, the United Nations Foundation’s global initiative to promote leadership development for young women. The photographs and videos presented in Dream Big, Princess are on display for the first time outside the United States. Women and girls feature both behind and in front of the camera with contributions from across the US, China, Germany, Russia and India. There are also works from Aussie photographers and shots of girls from Byron Bay, Western Australia and the Gold Coast. All the imagery showcased falls under four themes that have been inspired by Disney princesses like Snow White, Rapunzel from Tangled, Moana and Merida from Brave. Dream Big, Princess is on at Federation Square's Atrium and Fracture Gallery until Saturday, April 27.

We’re not surprised Espresso Martinis are popular in Melbourne. After all, the cocktail combines two of the city’s favourite pastimes (coffee and bars) and is a sure-fire way to start your night on the right foot. While you can find the drink in most bars in the city, the Ascot Lot is really leaning into the craze. On Saturday, April 27  the food truck park is launching five types of Espresso Martini and is hosting a mini festival to celebrate. While you’ll still be able to score the classic version (it’s just vodka, Kahlua and coffee) you’ll probably want to give some of the zanier flavours a spin too. There’s the Cherry Bite (think a Cherry Ripe but alcoholic), the Mint Like You (for those worried about bad breath), the Bounty Hunter (coffee meets coconut) and the Jaffa Smasher (a sweet and citrusy take on the Espresso Martini). All of the Espresso Martinis on offer are available for $10 each, or the hardcore fans can purchase an “Espresso Yourself pass”, which lets you try all five flavours for $40. 

Think you can’t see the Moon indoors? Think again. Scienceworks has announced an exciting new exhibition for December, which lets visitors take in a replica of the Moon close up. Museum of the Moon is essentially a seven-metre diameter spherical sculpture that features large-scale NASA imagery of the lunar surface. It’s shown at a scale of 1:500,000, which means each centimetre of the sculpture represents five kilometres of the Moon’s actual surface. Created by UK artist Luke Jerram, Museum of the Moon has travelled over the world in recent years. What’s cool about the installation is that it blends detailed lunar imagery, internally illuminated “moonlight” and a specially designed soundtrack created by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones. Entrance into the exhibition is included with museum entry (free for children and concession and $15 for adults). 

Now I don’t know about you, but I would personally like to be well-informed when aliens invade earth and claim their place as our overlords. In this regard, the Planetarium at Scienceworks might be able to help. This autumn, the Planetarium will be offering guests the chance to explore the cosmos with a series of after-hours and adults-only film screenings on the huge planetarium dome. Every Friday night (except Good Friday) those over 18 can explore everything from black holes to fluorescent coral. You won’t go spacing out with these shows, either, as they’re loaded with amazing visuals and stellar content. Each night features two screenings, one at 7.30pm and the other at 9pm, with films varying from month to month. Some of the films being screened include Moon: Worlds of Mystery, Distant Worlds – Alien Life, DARK, Einstein's Gravity Playlist and Journey to the Centre of the Milky Way. Plus the bar will be open if you fancy a drink with your trip into space. Planetarium Nights are on every Friday until May 31.

If there’s one Melbourne suburb that doesn’t like being neatly assigned to a box, it’s Fitzroy. And that's why the team behind the Fitzroy Market are polevaulting over to the CBD and launching a pop-up market in the heart of Chinatown. For seven weeks starting April 25, the Fitzroy Market will be popping up in the vacant block of land on Little Bourke Street (between Russell and Exhibition streets). As with the regular northside market, the Chinatown pop-up will have a mix of food, artisan crafts, vintage wares, second-hand goodies and top-notch local products. Unlike the OG market, however, the new pop-up will be on four days a week from Thursday to Sunday. 

Last winter, a pop-up museum dedicated to all things sweet landed on Smith Street. Open for only eight weeks, Sugar Republic eventually sold more than 25,000 tickets – but for those who missed out, never fear. Sugar Republic is back!  This Instagrammable event has arrived at Myer in Bourke Street Mall. Several different sensory rooms will be taking over Myer's sixth floor, and we can guarantee they will satisfy every kind of candy lover.  The Sugar Republic team are expecting to build on their previous pop-up with a host of new rooms and interactive installations to play with. There will be a giant bubblegum pink ball pit, a cookie house to relax in, a licorice playroom and plenty of candy to enjoy as you wander through (including some old-school favourites including Wizz Fizz, Hubba Bubba and Arnott's biccies).

If you've ever wanted to make your own cheese, this is the masterclass for you. Henry and the Fox is offering a series of masterclasses to teach you how to make all kinds of cheese from around the world – and yes, tasting is encouraged.  Classes offered include everything from brie to tallegio to peccorino, halloumi and mozzarella, and each class is marked with a level of difficulty.  Each class is $89 per person, and they run for three hours. The classes include a glass of chardonnay or pinot noir on arrival, plus a shared cheese board. You'll also get to take home your cheesy creations at the end. 

It’s a universal feeling. It’s in the air. It lifts us up where we belong. It’s all we need. So what’s your love story? Melbourne’s Immigration Museum is putting the spotlight on love this summer with an exhibition that will combine visual art, historic and contemporary artefacts and a few personal reflections from the general public. The museum will present all kinds of Australian love stories which will cover demographics of time, gender, ethnicity, orientation, age and distance. Head into the Immigration Museum’s recently renovated Long Room, where you’ll hear first-person storytelling about love through a tailored digital guide, with an all-Australian soundtrack of love songs playing throughout. There will be purpose-built “love shacks” to hang out in, and you can commit your own love story to the exhibition’s central Heart Garden installation.

If you've ever spent time in London, you know the Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park is kind of a big deal. The Presidential Suite there is more than £5,000 a night. That's pounds, you guys.  So when the executive pastry chef of the Mandarin Oriental comes down to Melbourne for a residency, you know he's cooking up something good.  Paul Thiéblemont has created an English-style high tea menu for Conservatory, including a twist on a Yorkshire tart, Battenberg bake, Braeburn apple tart and plum Bakewell slice. The prettiest and most Instagrammable dessert on offer looks like a perfect peach, with an ombré red-gold exterior and a little leaf at the top. Slice it open and you'll discover the exterior is made of coloured white chocolate, and it's filled with a cream and jelly. 

We imagine being a woke fashionista is hard. The clothes manufacturing industry is notorious for exploiting workers, a large number of which are paid tiny wages and work in terrible conditions. But it’s going to be a little easier to buy well made, ethically sourced clothes for one day when Melbourne’s first ethical and sustainable fashion market rolls into town. The Slow Fashion Market is taking over Coburg Town Hall on Saturday, April 27. The market features 40 independent designers who produce new items that are durable, made with sustainable and non-toxic materials, and who pay their workers a fair wage (or make the items themselves). Shoppers can pick up everything from women’s, men’s and children’s clothing to accessories while also knowing their fashion habit is supporting ethical and sustainable practices. The Slow Fashion Market is part of Fashion Revolution, an international movement that calls for greater transparency in how clothes are mass produced. Entry is $2.

The Wheeler Centre has announced the line-up of its annual Mayhem event series which will feature some of the world’s best writers. The series will run from Tuesday, April 23 to Tuesday, May 14, and will showcase Pulitzer-winners, eminent historians, poets, rappers and more.

The definitive Melbourne bucket list: knock off these 50 activities and you'll really, properly know our great city.