The best things to do in Melbourne this weekend

It's officially that time of year again when the Moonlight Cinema returns to Melbourne for the summer. There's just something special about snuggling into a bean bag and catching a film under the stars in the Royal Botanic Gardens – with an ice cream or a wine in hand, of course.  Australia's favourite outdoor cinema has dropped its summer screening schedule, with tons of  blockbusters, nostalgic favourites and comedies on the program. Catch Christmas highlights like Love Actually, Elf, Home Alone and The Holiday on the big screen from December 9-23, or enjoy a summer blockbuster like Wicked: For Good and special screenings of Eternity and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. Kids will love Zootopia 2, Moana 2 and How to Train Your Dragon. To celebrate turning 30, Moonlight Cinema wants you to vote now for your favourite classics like Shrek, Dirty Dancing, The Castle and Jurassic Park – the top picks will star in The People’s Program from January to March. Those looking to splurge can opt for Singapore Airlines' Gold Grass that comes with prime viewing, express entry and food and drinks delivered to your seat. Anothere cool option is the Connoisseur Lounge ticket that includes a bean bed plus a yum Connoisseur ice cream. Screenings kick off at sundown and even your pooch is welcome, so bring your picnic rug, your snacks and your friends. Tickets are now available via the website. Want more fun in the sun? Here are the best things to do in Melbourne this December.

Whether you’re a cheery Who from Whoville or a self-proclaimed Grinch, there’s no denying the festive season is upon us. And to kick things off in true Christmas spirit, Dr. Seuss’ most memorable villain is set to steal the stage at Hamer Hall, as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra brings the holiday classic to life in concert from December 5-6. Across three special performances, revisit the iconic anti-hero on the big screen as Leonard Weiss conducts the sweeping score from James Horner, the Oscar-winning composer behind Titanic, Braveheart and Avatar. The music will be played live-to-picture, giving you the perfect excuse to swap your annual sofa watch for a night at one of Melbourne’s most magical venues.  Directed by Ron Howard, the 2000 live-action film of Dr. Seuss’ 1957 book stars Jim Carrey as the potbellied, green yeti with an attitude problem who ultimately learns the true meaning of Christmas in a wildly imaginative adaptation that honours the Seussian universe. Expect your heart to grow three sizes with a night at Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas in concert. Tickets range from $49 to $134. Get yours here. 

It's beginning to look 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 merry, month-long Christmas Festival. From November 28 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.  The Christmas cheer begins with the lighting of our beloved 17.5 metre tree in Fed Square on November 28. Wander around to see tons of baubles and decorations adorning everything from Bourke Street Mall to Melbourne Town Hall.  The festive fun includes the supersized Crown Christmas River Show lighting up Southbank each night; the iconic Myer Christmas Windows at Bourke Street Mall (with a Lego-themed display); Santa and a crew of stand-up paddleboarders making their way down the Yarra; Christmas films and bubble shows at the Capitol; and choirs at City Square every Thursday evening. Our tip: check out the 12 Days of Christmas, a new trail through our laneways with an Aussie twist on a classic carol. Oh, and the best part? Most of the attractions are free, aside from ticketed rides at the Christmas Carnival, the bubble show and Christmas Cinema. Find out more here.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. Looking for more festive activities? These are the best places to Christmas lights in Melbourne.

In exchange for legs, every step The Little Mermaid takes on land is agonising, like walking on broken glass. Too terrified to disappoint her father through failing to sell enough matchsticks, The Little Match Girl freezes to death in an alley. And in The Red Shoes, a girl must dance to her death for deigning to cherish the last gift bestowed by her late mother.  What, exactly, is revered fairytale-spinner Hans Christian Andersen’s beef with young women and their humble desire to merely exist in happiness and safety? Yeah, what's this guy's damage? An excellent question that cabaret goddess and all-round chimerical queen Meow Meow has pondered across a triptych of tantalising works. Each unpicks the thorny crown the dubious Dane imposed on the heart of his not-very-Disney fantasies.  Our voyage began with absurdly comic diva Meow Meow’s 2011 spin on The Little Match Girl. Continuing five years later with The Little Mermaid, it’s been a long road to reach the crowning glory, but by golly was it worth the inordinate, near-decade-long wait. What’s the gist and who’s involved in Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes? Directed by Kate Champion, whose work lives up to that sterling surname, Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes opens on a great big pile of trash. Heaped on the left-hand side of the Merlyn stage by whip-smart set and costume designer Dann Barber, the detritus of capitalism’s ghosts includes boxy TVs, old speakers, an abandoned fridge and a rubbery tyre, all ashen as if this is a...

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.

If you’re looking for a magical night out in the city, the neon-lit Maho Magic Bar is back after sold-out shows and rave reviews from their 2023 season in Chinatown, and this time it’s found a new home at Melbourne’s new entertainment hub, Spiegel Haus. Inspired by Japan’s rich history with magic, this immersive 60-minute experience comes from Broad Encounters (the team behind A Midnight Visit) and brings a line-up of magician superstars direct from Japan, performing a mix of brand-new tricks and audience favourites.  From November 25, step into the whimsical cocktail bar and be whisked away to Tokyo where expert magicians perform up-close magic 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 assist the magicians in their bamboozling sleight-of-hand magic. Japan’s best magicians will surprise and delight visitors, incorporating debonair storytelling, mind-blowing illusions and kawaii charm. While you enjoy the show, you can order from a menu of 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.  If you're prepared to be dazzled, this experience will surely do the trick. Maho Magic Bar is performing multiple shows a day between Tuesdays and Sundays with adult shows (recommended for ages 12+) in the evening and family-friendly matinees. Book a ticket, a...

Ho, ho, ho! Meblbourne's beloved Christmas Wonderland event is back, bigger and more festive than ever. This family-friendly event is running from November 28 to December 24 at Caulfield Racecourse. The tinsel-filled extravaganza will delight the littlies, with a line-up of fun activities to enjoy, including a roller skating rink, carnival games, jumping castles, a craft village, gingerbread house decorating, storytelling and even a live Care Bears show. Kids will also be able to write a letter to Santa, and post it at the North Pole Post Office. There will be all kinds of characters to meet and grab photos with, including elves, Rudolph, the Grinch, Mrs Claus and even the big man in red himself (so you better make sure you've been on his nice list!). This immersive, walk-through experience runs for three hours and refreshements (both hot and cold food) will be available on-site. For more information and to purchase tickets, 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. Looking for more ways to celebrate Christmas in Melbourne? Check out this festive guide. 

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...

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. 

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...