Every event ever surfaced, and where it is in its cycle. Updated Friday 30 October 2026.
Opening event of National Science Week at the Royal Society of Victoria, co-presented with Geography Victoria. 2026 edition is Julian O'Shea on maps.
National Science Week runs 15–23 Aug 2026. RSV publishes a cluster of events around it each year; check the events index in early July 2027.
Nine-day national program; the Victorian strand includes Museums Victoria behind-the-scenes events, RSV lectures and library programming across the north and west.
2026 dates 15–23 August. Education theme: Seeds of Science.
45-minute guided tour of Bundoora Homestead covering Wurundjeri custodianship, the Smith family house, the repatriation hospital era and the current gallery.
$10, or $20 with Devonshire tea. Alternates Wednesdays and Saturdays month to month. Confirmed still running via 11 Aug 2026 Darebin Arts calendar check (3 more dates listed). Re-confirmed 18 Aug 2026: next tour Wed 16 Sep 2026, 11.30am–12.15pm. UPDATE 12 Oct 2026: Sat 24 Oct 11.30am carded.
Volunteer repairers fix small appliances, textiles, bikes and electronics for free.
UPDATE 21 Aug 2026 via manual social sweep: the Facebook page's pinned '2026 Calendar' post (posted 2 Feb 2026) gives the full year schedule -- runs every 2 months on the 4th Sunday, no fixed venue: 25 Jan Span Community House | 22 Mar Reservoir Senior Citizens | 24 May East Preston Community Centre (nr Summerhill shops) | 26 Jul Span Community House | 27 Sep Jika Jika Community Centre, Northcote | 22 Nov East Preston Community Centre, Reservoir. This is now a known fixed pattern -- future runs don't need to re-check Facebook for the full-year shape, just confirm each date closer to the time. Skills available vary (electrical, mechanical, sewing/mending, gluing, test-and-tag; bicycle/jewellery/IT sometimes). Next: Sun 27 Sep 2026, 10am-1pm, Jika Jika Community Centre, Northcote. CORRECTION: Jika Jika Community Centre's actual address is 1B Plant Street (corner Union St), Northcote VIC 3070 -- not St Georges Road as previously assumed. No confident coordinate lookup this run, so the map pin is left off rather than guessed. Previous note about Preston Neighbourhood House as venue was wrong (that was a directory guess, not the organiser's own info) -- the group has no fixed venue at all, per the confirmed 2026 calendar above.
Monthly surplus-produce swap held at a local reserve — citrus, eggs, seedlings, preserves and cuttings on a common table, no money involved.
CORRECTION 14 Aug 2026: venue found via Local Food Connect's own directory entry (previously the general xtag listing page) — Parker Reserve, off Mathieson St, Coburg North (baseball club end of the reserve). Contact is Margaret via the Facebook group facebook.com/groups/1054765278321751. Distinct from Coburg Food and Garden Swap at Reynard Street Community Garden (2nd Saturday, separate directory entry). UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: advanced to next 3rd-Saturday date, Sat 19 Sep 2026. POLICY UPDATE 1 Sep 2026: per Mark's feedback, generic recurring swaps no longer auto-surface as a weekly card. Left off this week's page on that basis; still tracked here for continuity.
Backyard produce, seedling and preserve swap held at the Reynard Street Community Garden, which runs a working bee at the same time.
Found 12 Aug 2026 via Local Food Connect's directory; confirmed 14 Aug 2026 against Reynard Street Neighbourhood House's own site. 104A Reynard St, Coburg 3058 (Robinson Reserve Neighbourhood House). Garden working bee runs 9am–midday the same day, swap 10.30am–12.30pm. August's 2nd Saturday (8 Aug) has already passed; next standing date is Sat 12 Sep 2026. Distinct from North Coburg Food Swap (3rd Saturday, Parker Reserve). POLICY UPDATE 1 Sep 2026: per Mark's feedback, generic recurring swaps no longer auto-surface as a weekly card. Left off this week's page on that basis; still tracked here for continuity.
Chenturan Aran play about Sri Lankan adoption fraud, staged as family comedy.
Season runs to 23 Aug 2026. Watch the Speakeasy presentations index for the next season announcement.
Small guided field trips with researchers — 2025 did the Birrarung revival, 2026 does urban waterways.
CONFIRMED 18 Aug 2026: Sat 5 Sep, 9.30am, guided bus field trip, $25. Departs/returns RSV Hall, 8 La Trobe St, Melbourne, visiting five sites along Merri Creek, Moonee Ponds Creek and the Maribyrnong River. Led by academics from Monash and Melbourne Uni on urban waterway health, flooding, pollution and climate resilience.
Guided tours of the historic Melbourne Observatory with ASV volunteers, split into three groups rotating through the 12in Mercer refractor, the 8in Troughton & Simms, and hands-on telescope time on the Viewing Lawn.
CORRECTION 12 Aug 2026: previous note said ASV's own Calendar/ICS pages were unreadable — still true, but the RBG's own event page (found this run) has the full date list and is the reliable source going forward. 2026 sessions: Mondays 10/17/24/31 Aug 7.30pm, 7/14/21/28 Sep 7.30pm, 5/12/19/26 Oct 8pm, 9/16/23/30 Nov 8.30pm. $45 adult / $25 child, bookings essential, capped at 30 guests. Meet at Observatory Plaza outside the RBG Visitor Centre, Birdwood Ave. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: today's session (Mon 24 Aug, 7.30pm) is the next in the weekly Monday season. UPDATE 25 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Monday 24 Aug session has now passed and moved to Already Happened; next in the weekly Monday season is 31 Aug 2026, 7.30pm, same booking page. UPDATE 1 Sep 2026 (unattended run): Monday 31 Aug session has now passed and moved to Already Happened; next in the weekly Monday season is 7 Sep 2026, 7.30pm, same booking page.
Summer evening market in Coburg.
Borderline on the quality bar — logged for completeness, not recommended yet.
Merri-bek's outdoor moving-image program — nightly projections at Brunswick Town Hall (Counihan Gallery), plus Blak Dot Gallery, Next Wave and Michelle Guglielmo Park under the combined Around the Block banner. Free, best viewed after dark.
Found 11 Aug 2026. Winter Night Screen is titled with a year suffix (2026) and Merri-bek's winter outdoor-screening program appears to be a returning fixture, but this is the first run this watchlist has captured it — treat the annual cadence as provisional until a second year confirms it. 2026 run: 9 Jul–16 Aug (Town Hall screens) within the wider Around the Block program (9 Jul–20 Aug) across four Brunswick sites.
Independent not-for-profit gallery on Sydney Rd, Brunswick, supporting experimental art and emerging artists. Current series Back to the Unconscious explores unconscious and emotional responses to disempowerment and escapism.
Found 11 Aug 2026 via Merri-bek's public-event listings. Current show Back to the Unconscious runs 17 Jul–19 Nov 2026, 6–9pm, check website for exact opening days. Address is precise (864 Sydney Rd, Brunswick) but not confidently geocoded this run, so the map pin is left off rather than guessed.
Super-8 short films recreating the artist's family memories of Melbourne's western suburbs — housing estates, train stations, car trips — as a love letter rather than a critique.
Found 11 Aug 2026. Opening was Thu 6 Aug (already passed); public viewing runs Fri 7 Aug–Fri 21 Aug, Tue–Sat 11am–4pm, at Next Wave, 270 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Price for general viewing not stated (opening night required Humanitix registration).
Victorian Roller Derby League's home-team season — Toxic Avengers vs Dead Ringer Roses, five rounds through the year at the league's own venue in Preston.
Found 12 Aug 2026. The VRDL Factory, 2 Stott St, Preston — a five-minute drive or a longer bike ride from Northcote. Doors 3.30pm, exhibition/scrimmage 4pm, main game 6pm. $20 adult / $15 concession, under 5s free. Also worth noting: a Double Header on Sat 29 Aug 4–8pm at the same venue. UPDATE 12 Oct 2026: Sat 24 Oct round confirmed (doors 3.30pm, main game 6pm).
Panel of three music journalists on how criticism, authority and taste are being reshaped now that anyone can publish.
Found 12 Aug 2026. Wed 19 Aug, 6.30–7.30pm, $25.50, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne CBD. Exact event URL not confirmed this run — search result gave the date/time/price but not the direct booking page; use the Wheeler Centre's season 2026 listing to find it.
Collaborative exhibition by Gertrude Studio Artist Renee Cosgrave and Maia Kreisler, informed by Māori cosmologies and histories of passive resistance.
Found 12 Aug 2026. Runs 8 Aug–5 Sep 2026 at Gertrude Glasshouse, 44 Glasshouse Rd, Collingwood — a satellite space of Gertrude Contemporary, whose main gallery is now in Preston South. Address is specific but not confidently geocoded this run, so the map pin is left off.
New sound, material and gesture works by three artists at West Space, plus Jacquie Meng's 'I've got bells ringing in my big toe' in the West Space Window.
Found 12 Aug 2026. Runs 22 Aug – 24 Oct 2026, free entry, Level 1 Perry Street Building, Collingwood Yards. Open Wed–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat 12–4pm. Address is specific but not confidently geocoded this run, so the map pin is left off.
Victoria's premier chess championship — 10-player round robin Premier Division plus a Swiss-format Reserves Division, nine rounds on consecutive Saturday nights.
Found 12 Aug 2026. Round 1 Sat 22 Aug 7.15pm, Melbourne Chess Club, 62-66 Leicester St, Fitzroy. CORRECTION 28 Aug 2026: previous note claiming Round 2 was 29 Aug was wrong -- Humanitix's own listing (primary source) gives Round 2 as Sat 5 Sep, then weekly Saturdays 12, 19, 26 Sep, 3, 10, 17, 24 Oct (9 rounds total, to 24 Oct). There was no round on 29 Aug. Spectator access still not confirmed -- club premises tournaments are usually open to watch quietly, but confirm before turning up.
Untutored drop-in life drawing session with a model, all materials supplied — paper, boards, charcoal, graphite, coloured pencil, oil pastels, felt-tip.
Found 12 Aug 2026, added per Mark's specific interest in drawing. 75 Reid St, Fitzroy North. $25 including booking fee, materials free to use, bring your own easel/drink. Doors 6.45pm, starts 7pm sharp. Session runs today, Wed 19 Aug; next bookable date after that is Wed 26 Aug. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Wed 26 Aug session has passed; advanced to the next Wednesday, 2 Sep 2026, per the standing weekly pattern (runs to 30 Dec 2026).
Semi-contact bike polo on a hardcourt — bikes, mallets, a street-hockey-sized ball, played casually and competitively.
Found 12 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in weird/niche sports. Courts at Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne CBD (3053) — CBD tier, about 20–25 minutes by tram. Session start times weren't published this run; the club's Facebook page likely has the week's exact call time. Ran an Autumn Tournament 2026 earlier in the year. Re-checked 18 Aug 2026: club's own site (melbournebikepolo.org) is a 'come try' landing page with a contact form only, still no published session timetable. Secondary sources say Sundays and Tuesdays at Flagstaff Gardens, but this is unconfirmed on any fetchable organiser page — timetable appears to live on Instagram/Facebook. Needs manual social sweep. UPDATE 21 Aug 2026 via manual social sweep: confirmed via the club's public Facebook group's own description -- 'Pick-up Games: Typically Fridays at 7PM, occasionally Sundays at 3PM' at Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne CBD (https://goo.gl/maps/taekdDXbgUt confirms the court location). Group says to check their events or Instagram @melbournebikepolo for week-to-week confirmation -- this is a standing pattern, not a guarantee every single week. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: advanced to the next likely Friday session, 28 Aug 7pm -- per the standing 'Fridays 7pm, occasional Sundays 3pm' pattern; not individually confirmed for this exact date. UPDATE 30 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Fri 28 Aug session has passed; advanced to the next likely Friday, 4 Sep 2026 7pm, per the standing Fridays 7pm pattern -- not individually confirmed for this exact date (source remains social-only for week-to-week confirmation).
Two concurrent shows at an artist-run gallery in Brunswick: Kirsten Garner Lyttle on nineteenth-century visual technologies and colonial ways of seeing, and Yasuko Toda on how pop culture disconnects violent histories from their original contexts.
Found 14 Aug 2026. Both shows run Sat 1–Sun 23 Aug 2026 at 33 Saxon Street, Brunswick (Balam Balam Place, via Dawson St). Gallery generally open Thu–Sun; specific daily hours for this run weren't confirmed beyond the exhibition's overall opening/closing times published on the event pages. Free entry.
Expansive landscape paintings shaped by Papua New Guinea's environments and histories, exploring the meeting point between place, belonging and the sublime.
Found 14 Aug 2026. Runs Sat 29 Aug – Sun 20 Sep 2026 at 33 Saxon Street, Brunswick. Free entry.
Market at CERES environment park — local makers, growers and small producers, with live music and cafes on site.
CORRECTION 18 Aug 2026: previous entry assumed a simple fortnightly pattern from a single observed date. The market's own page states 'every first and third Saturday of the month' in its body text, which does NOT make 29 Aug (a fifth Saturday) a market day. Next confirmed market: Sat 5 Sep 2026, 12pm–6pm (September's first Saturday). Hours also corrected from '9am–2pm' to '12pm–6pm' per the same page. 271 Stewart St / corner Roberts & Stewart St, Brunswick East. Tram 96 to Blyth St, then a 2-minute walk; free parking off Stewart St if driving. POLICY UPDATE 1 Sep 2026: per Mark's feedback, generic recurring markets no longer auto-surface as a weekly card — only a specific instance with something distinctive about it. Left off this week's page on that basis.
Group show by Banyule's Open Studios artists at the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub, ahead of the full Open Studios weekend in October.
Found 15 Aug 2026. Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub, Loft Gallery, 275 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe. The organiser's own site is inconsistent about the viewing start date — the 'Related Events' block says open from 19 Aug, the 'EVENTS' list lower on the same page says 20 Aug – 13 Sept; opening night itself is unambiguous, Wed 19 Aug 6–8pm. Library open hours for general viewing. Free.
New sculpture, drawing and print work by Australian-Balinese artist Leyla Stevens, centred on material and architectural details from her family's temple in Kuta, south Bali.
Found 15 Aug 2026. Runs 22 Aug – 17 Oct 2026 at Gertrude Contemporary's main gallery, 21-31 High St, Preston South (distinct from Gertrude Glasshouse in Collingwood, already on the watchlist separately). Opening event Sat 22 Aug, 3–5pm. Free entry, Tue–Sat 11am–5pm.
Playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton in conversation about his debut novel Krank Fuss, an Animal-Farm-style allegory set on a Nazi Germany-era farm.
Found 15 Aug 2026. Wed 19 Aug, 6pm, Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St. Direct event-page URL wasn't found this run — search results confirm the date, time and venue but not a bookable link or price; check the Readings events page or krankfuss.com/author-tour before relying on it.
Fortnightly untutored life drawing session, short and medium poses, drop-in friendly — a standing club session rather than a one-off class.
Found 18 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in drawing and standing social/class formats. The Basement, Hawthorn Arts Centre, 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn. $25/session. Inner east (priority tier 2), about 25 minutes from Northcote. Next session after 22 Aug is Sat 5 Sep. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: 22 Aug session has run; advanced to the next fortnightly date, Sat 5 Sep.
Cult monthly residency at The Jazzlab with an ever-changing line-up each time — a genuine standing gig to build a habit around rather than a one-off ticket.
Found 18 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in jazz and standing social formats. The Jazzlab, 27 Leslie St, Brunswick East. $40–$45, doors 7.30pm, show 8pm. The Jazzlab runs jazz most nights — this residency specifically is worth tracking as a recurring fixture rather than listing every night on the page. UPDATE 30 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Sat 29 Aug session has passed; advanced to the next last-Saturday-of-the-month date, 26 Sep 2026, per the standing monthly pattern -- specific lineup for that date not yet published on thejazzlab.com.au, check nearer the time.
Weekly film-society screenings at ACMI, run in themed 2–3 week repertory seasons — exactly the small-cinema, retrospective programming Mark's after, distinct from mainstream new-release screenings.
Found 18 Aug 2026. Current season 'Haunted Worlds: Mario Bava, the Diabolical Magician of Cinecittà' — Wed 2, 9 and 16 Sep, 7pm, ACMI, Federation Square. Society was on its winter break through most of August. CBD (priority tier 2).
Guided walk around the Ornamental Lake spotting coots, cormorants, spinebills and swans, with a take-home bird guide — small-group, hands-on nature programming.
Found 18 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in nature/guided walks. Meets at the Visitor Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Birdwood Ave. $20 adult / $18 concession / $15 child, bookings essential, 9.45am, 1.5 hours. South of the river (priority tier 3) but included for the quality of the program. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: advanced to this week's Wednesday session, 26 Aug. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): 26 Aug session has passed; advanced to the next Wednesday session, 2 Sep 2026, per the standing weekly pattern through to 25 Nov 2026.
Standing Thursday/Friday live-music series in the 80-seat heritage courtroom-turned-theatre — a different small act most weeks, from folk and banjo trios to jazz and cabaret.
Found 19 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in small-venue live music and Kew being an under-surfaced suburb. 188 High St, Kew. $25–$40 depending on act, bar open from 7pm. This week's act: The Backyard Banjo Club, Fri 21 Aug. Kew (priority tier 2), about 25 minutes from Northcote. UPDATE 21 Aug 2026: this week's Backyard Banjo Club show (Fri 21 Aug) has run; next confirmed act found via City of Boroondara's events hub is Icecream Hands, Thu 4 Sep 2026, 7.30pm, $40.
Standing monthly-ish horror screening series with member intros, at a video-store-and-bar in Fitzroy North — genuine small-cinema, repertory-style film society programming.
Found 19 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in repertory/small-cinema film programming. Champagne Video, 318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North. Next screening Wed 26 Aug 7.30pm: Mary Harron's American Psycho (2000), guest intro by Nik McGrath. Membership plus door price — exact figure not confirmed this run, check the venue before relying on it. Fitzroy North (priority tier 1). UPDATE 30 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Re-checked melbournehorrorfilmsociety.org -- still shows August's session (American Psycho, Wed 26 Aug, now past) as the latest post; no September screening announced yet on the organiser site or in search results. Check again next run. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): re-checked melbournehorrorfilmsociety.org -- still shows August's American Psycho post (now past) as the latest; no September screening announced yet. Not included on this week's page; check again next run.
Long-term loan from the National Gallery of Australia bringing Heidelberg School paintings — Streeton, Southern, Buvelot, Conder, Roberts — back to Heidelberg itself, hand-picked for scenes of the local area.
Found 19 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in art and the standing search priority on Heidelberg/Ivanhoe. Loft 275 Gallery, Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub, 275 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe. Free. Sources disagree on the closing date — one says the loan runs to Aug 2027, another lists Jan 2027 — treat as long-running and check before a late visit. Opening tied to the National Gallery's 'Sharing the National Collection' program.
Monthly council-run citizen-science session checking tree hollows for resident Krefft's gliders using cameras, with participants helping spot and record sightings from the path.
Found 20 Aug 2026 via the standing Kew/Boroondara search priority, added per Mark's interest in nature/citizen-science programming. Willsmere Park Pavilion, near Willow Grove & Wattle Road, Kew East. Free. Next session Wed 26 Aug, 2–3pm. Ongoing monthly monitoring project — earlier 2026 sessions found in Feb/Mar/Apr search results, so this is a genuine standing fixture. UPDATE 30 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Re-fetched the organiser page directly -- it now shows the August session as 'Thu 27 Aug 2:00pm' (register link events.humanitix.com/august-krefft-s-glider-check-2026), which corrects the previous run's assumption of Wed 26 Aug; the exact weekday appears to vary month to month rather than being a fixed Wednesday. No September session page found yet this run (Humanitix host search surfaced only April and October editions) -- check again next run rather than guessing a September date. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): re-checked boroondara.vic.gov.au directly -- still shows Thu 27 Aug 2:00pm as the latest listed session (now past); no September date published yet. Not included on this week's page; check again next run. UPDATE 27 Sep 2026: a Riverfest edition runs Fri 2 Oct 4–5pm at Willsmere Billabong as part of Boroondara Riverfest (fully booked, waitlist via collections.humanitix.com/boroondara-riverfest-2026). Carded as boroondara-riverfest-kreffts-glider-oct2.
Exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists' work from Swinburne University's 2026 NAIDOC Art Competition, presented by the Moondani Toombadool Centre.
Found 20 Aug 2026, per the standing Kew/Hawthorn search priority. Town Hall Gallery, 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn. Runs 19 Aug – 3 Oct 2026. Free. Coordinates approximate (Hawthorn Arts Centre precinct), not precisely geocoded this run.
Darebin's own multiarts festival — live music, performance, installations, workshops and film across Darebin venues, produced and curated by Darebin Arts plus FUSE Funded and open-access events.
Found 20 Aug 2026. 2026 edition runs 5–13 Sep with eight signature Darebin-curated programs plus 19 FUSE Funded and open-access events across the municipality. One program specifically logged this run: '7 Dances for 7 People' at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre, 9–19 Sep, opening 10 Sep. Check the full FUSE program closer to the date for anything else that clears the bar. UPDATE 1 Sep 2026: festival opens Sat 5 Sep 1-4pm with 'Ganbu Gulin: Burndap, neto!' at Darebin Arts Centre / Ray Bramham Gardens -- MO'JU + Liv & The Dream, Welcome to Country, Wurundjeri dance. Free. Family activities run alongside but the music/cultural program is the drawcard; logged as its own item this week.
5-hour hands-on black & white film development and darkroom printing class for beginners — develop your own negatives and hand-print enlargements to take home.
Found 21 Aug 2026, added per Mark's interest in photography classes and darkroom sessions. 91 Nicholson St, Brunswick East (self-described as Brunswick East's only film lab). $250 for a 5-hour session, no experience needed, bring 1-3 rolls of exposed b&w film, take home developed negatives and hand-printed enlargements. Next open date on the booking page: Sat 22 Aug, 10am-3pm. A standing membership ($35/week) is also available for members who've completed a workshop — a genuine class-format standing offering worth returning to, not a one-off. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: re-checked; still no publicly browsable booking calendar found (ClassBento and the venue's own store page don't expose a date list to search/fetch). Next open date not confirmed this run -- flagged CHECK FIRST rather than guessed. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): re-checked -- still no publicly browsable booking calendar found. Flagged CHECK FIRST as before.
Portrait show of the regular traders from the Gleadell Street Saturday Market, displayed in the laneway behind the market with an official opening by the Mayor and local councillors.
Found 21 Aug 2026 via the standing Richmond/Yarra search priority. Sat 22 Aug, 1.30-2.30pm, free, laneway behind 345 Bridge Rd, Richmond (between Gleadell and Griffith St). Official opening by the Mayor and councillors. Small, local, genuinely under-surfaced-suburb material — exactly the kind of find the Richmond search priority exists for.
Finals concert for the Opera Scholars Australia Lieder Award, in the 80-seat heritage courtroom-turned-theatre at Kew Court House.
Found 21 Aug 2026 via the standing Kew/Boroondara search priority. Sun 30 Aug, 2pm, $60, Kew Court House, 188 High St, Kew. Small-venue classical vocal recital rather than jazz, but the same intimate-room live-performance quality this page looks for.
Repertory strand from the Asian Cinema Collective, mostly Friday nights at Eclipse Cinema, Collingwood, but not exclusively -- screening one classic or acclaimed Asian film each week. Spirited Away, In the Mood for Love, Memories of Murder, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies over August; A Better Tomorrow (1986, at Chinatown Cinema CBD) and Time and Tide (2026, post-MIFF, director Q&A) follow in September.
Found 21 Aug 2026 via a supplementary check of Eclipse Cinema, 32 Wellington St Collingwood (not previously in sources.md -- new gap, high geographic priority). This week: Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder, Fri 21 Aug, 6pm, $13 via the Asian Cinema Collective host page on Humanitix. Genuine repertory/arthouse programming, distinct from the venue's regular new-release slate. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: this Friday's (28 Aug) title confirmed via search as How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024), 6pm, $13. UPDATE 25 Aug 2026 (unattended run): two further screenings confirmed via Humanitix -- A Better Tomorrow (1986), Wed 9 Sep 7.30pm at Chinatown Cinema (Midcity Centre, Level 1/200 Bourke St, Melbourne CBD -- a one-off venue change from Eclipse), and Time and Tide (2026), Thu 10 Sep 6pm at Eclipse Cinema, Collingwood, with a director Q&A (Vee Shi) after its MIFF 2026 sellout run. A third listed title, Fucktoys (2025, Thu 3 Sep), is sold out and not included on the page.
Curated season of ten Marilyn Monroe films marking her 100th birthday, one session every Saturday at Palace Westgarth, Northcote's art-deco cinema on High St.
Found 21 Aug 2026. Palace Westgarth (89 High St, Northcote) was not in sources.md at all -- confirmed gap, added given it's literally on Mark's High St. A chain cinema, but this specific season is genuinely curated repertory programming (10 of Monroe's best performances), not a new-release screening. Check the Palace events page each week for the specific title and session time. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: advanced to this Saturday (29 Aug); specific title/session time for this date not confirmed this run -- check the Palace events page. UPDATE 26 Aug 2026: confirmed via palacecinemas.com.au/events/monroe-100 that the season runs weekly "every Saturday until September 5" -- Sat 5 Sep is the closing/final session of the season. Advanced status to the final confirmed date; specific title/session time for 5 Sep not yet published, check the Palace site. Found 26 Aug 2026 via cactusroom.com.au and palacecinemas.com.au/events/monroe-100 sweep. UPDATE 30 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Sat 29 Aug session has passed. Season closes with its final Saturday session on 5 Sep 2026 as previously confirmed. Separately noted: Palace Westgarth is also running a one-off '9 to 5: Dolly Parton Tribute' event on the same Saturday 5 Sep -- registered as its own watchlist entry (palace-westgarth-dolly-parton-tribute) rather than folded into this season.
Melbourne instrumental jazz trio launching their second album, Sequence, at The Jazzlab -- soulful, shapeshifting jazz with hip-hop and soul influences.
Found 21 Aug 2026 via Triple R's gig guide, confirmed on the Jazzlab's own event page. Sat 22 Aug, doors 7.30pm, show 8pm, $40-45. The Jazzlab is already a [B] source in sources.md; this is a specific gig worth surfacing rather than a new source.
Annual one-day Italian festival inside Preston Market -- pasta, meatballs, Sicilian BBQ seafood, tiramisu, Italian-inspired cocktails, live performances from local Italian musicians and choirs.
Found 21 Aug 2026 via Time Out's weekend roundup, confirmed on Preston Market's own listing page. Sun 23 Aug, 10am-3pm, free entry. Marketed with face painting and balloon animals for kids, but the actual draw -- produce stalls, live Italian music and food -- is adult-attendable; the room is a neighbourhood market, not a kids' event. Preston is tier-1 inner north.
Warehouse-turned-bandroom on High St Thornbury running local and DIY gigs most Friday and Saturday nights, often paired with art exhibitions in the same space.
Found 21 Aug 2026 during the High St Northcote-Thornbury strip sweep (614 High St Thornbury, within the 201-783 range Mark asked about). Genuinely fetchable events page with a real listing (rare among small venues checked this run -- Northcote Social Club and The Croxton both have dedicated gig pages too, but their listings load via JS and didn't render for this tool). Highlighting 'DIY on High', Sat 5 Sep, doors 1pm, free entry, five-band local lineup (Loose Tooth / Techno 666 / Bizarrgo / Kosmetika / Banksy) -- small-venue experimental/DIY music, exactly Mark's niche-and-unpretentious lane. Register the venue rather than a single gig since it runs weekly. UPDATE 24 Aug 2026: full gig calendar refetched from the venue's own events.html. This week: Thu 27 Aug 'Mosaic Rebellion' project launch (7pm) and Sat 29 Aug TTTDC / Neon Goblin / Fungoose / Cassettes (6pm) -- both DIY/local lineups. DIY On High (Sat 5 Sep, free entry) remains the standout further out. UPDATE 30 Aug 2026 (unattended run): Full gig calendar refetched from cactusroom.com.au/events.html. Confirmed upcoming: Thu 3 Sep Bitmus/Racoonhead/Little Bored; Fri 4 Sep My First Rodeo album launch; Sat 5 Sep DIY On High (free, 1pm) + Cactus Cult V (8pm); Thu 10 Sep Social Afterparty; Fri 11 Sep Sarah Mary Chadwick; Sat 12 Sep Dragnet; Thu 17 Sep Flower Extract/Constantina/Tom Skalicky; Sat 26 Sep Queer Punk Disco Tech (Grand Final afterparty); into October/November (Charlie Gradon 2 Oct, Gentle Ben and His Shimmering Hands 9 Oct, Lucca Mae 21 Nov). Venue remains reliably fetchable and consistently DIY/local-lineup in character.
Small neighbourhood jazz/live-music bar opened by musician Tamer Taşkaya with architects Emily Crocker and Jack Monte of Studio Heck -- wood-panelled walls, cork floors, an outdoor courtyard, and local artists' work on the walls. Live music most nights from local musicians -- jazz one night, a DJ spinning soul records another, flamenco another -- explicitly community/local-talent focused rather than background music.
Found 21 Aug 2026 via manual social sweep. 719 High Street, Thornbury VIC 3071 -- within Mark's High St Northcote-Thornbury priority strip. Hours Wed-Thu 5pm-1am, Fri 4pm-1am, Sat-Sun 3pm-1am, closed Mon-Tue (per Instagram bio). Description via a recent Melbourne food/travel blogger post (@thecitylane, ~21 Aug 2026). A separate post on the bar's own Instagram (@jacket.bar, ~17 Aug 2026) tagged 'This week's line up' featured Senes Flamenco, Triveni Quartet and Melbourne Jazz Project, confirming a genuine rotating weekly live-music program. Instagram-only listing -- no separate website found, bio link is a Spotify playlist. Source is not fetchable by the unattended daily run (Instagram is hard-blocked); needs the manual social sweep to refresh with next confirmed night/lineup. New find on Mark's High St priority strip. 719 High St could not be geocoded confidently this run (no reliable coordinate source found), so the map pin is left off rather than guessed. UPDATE 1 Sep 2026 (live manual social sweep, Mark present): confirmed this week's full lineup via Instagram — Wed 2 Sep Triveni Quartet, Thu 3 Sep Xanthe (now a standing Thursday residency through September), Sun 6 Sep Project Orpheu, all 8-10pm (Sunday 7-9pm). No cover charge stated on any post. Coordinates are an estimate from the street address (719 High St sits north of Cactus Room's 614 High St) — flag for correction if wrong.
Beginner-friendly cyanotype (camera-less photographic printing) workshop series with artist Deanna Hitti at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre.
Found 23 Aug 2026 via Darebin Arts' event calendar. $15/session or $60 season ticket via Eventbrite. Matches Mark's photography interest directly.
Recurring night market at Collingwood Yards -- independent artists, designers, makers and collectors, food and DJs in the courtyard.
Found 23 Aug 2026. Collingwood Yards' own event page still only shows the 5 Feb 2026 instance; a secondary listing (Only Melbourne) gives Sat 19 Sep, 2-9pm, free entry. Flagged CHECK FIRST on the week page until confirmed directly. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): now confirmed directly via Collingwood Yards' own event page (collingwoodyards.org/event/stay-soft-night-markets-2), which now lists a recurring 'third Saturday of every month' pattern rather than only the single Feb instance seen previously. Next date Sat 19 Sep 2026, 2-9pm, Lower Courtyard, 30 Perry St, Collingwood. Free entry. No longer needs a CHECK FIRST flag.
A second VRDL fixture at the league's own venue, ahead of September's Home Teams round -- loud, unpretentious, inner-north amateur roller derby.
Carried forward from a previous run's events.json without a matching watchlist entry -- registered properly 24 Aug 2026. Sat 29 Aug, 4pm-8pm, The VRDL Factory, 2 Stott St, Preston. Ticket price for this specific fixture wasn't confirmed.
Four concurrent shows: Chogh (six Australian-Hazara artists on migration, identity and belonging), Heidi Schoenheimer's Around Here (everyday local scenes), Requiem in Power (RIP) by Gabrielle Skye Nehrybecki & Olive Guardiani (trees felled for a solar farm), and Sally Ann McIntyre's Post-extinction huia soundings.
Found 24 Aug 2026 via Darebin Arts' event calendar. Chogh, Heidi Schoenheimer -- Around Here and Requiem in Power (RIP) all newly opened 24 Aug; closing dates not confirmed this run -- check the venue page before a late visit. Supersedes the previous generic 'Post-extinction huia soundings, and three more' listing now that the other three shows are named. Free, Wed-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm, 7 Prospect Hill Dr, Bundoora. UPDATE 31 Aug 2026 (unattended run): re-fetched the venue's Current Exhibitions page directly -- confirms all four shows run Wed 1 Jul-Sat 24 Oct 2026 (previously closing dates were unconfirmed).
Doom/goth bill (The Black Heart Death Cult / Buried Feather / Spawn) with visuals by Electric Light Brigade, at the DIY warehouse bandroom on Thornbury's High St strip.
Found 26 Aug 2026 via cactusroom.com.au/events.html. Sat 5 Sep, doors 8pm. Same night and venue as the free 'DIY On High' show earlier that afternoon (see cactus-room-diy-on-high in events.json and the cactus-room-thornbury venue-level watchlist entry).
Queer-specific club night at the DIY warehouse bandroom, timed as the AFL Grand Final afterparty -- local DJs and performers (James Seedy, Ding Ding Ding, Erica Carrot Collision Hole, Bradd Edwards) rather than a generic pub crawl.
Found 26 Aug 2026 via cactusroom.com.au/events.html. Sat 26 Sep, doors 8pm, timed as the AFL Grand Final afterparty. Queerness is the organising focus of the whole night (not just one act on a mixed bill), so classified QUEER rather than MUSIC.
Album launch gig with support from Seren O and Come Heavy Sleep at the DIY warehouse bandroom on High St Thornbury.
Found 28 Aug 2026 on the standing High St Thornbury sweep of Cactus Room's own events page.
Melbourne singer-songwriter/pianist Sarah Mary Chadwick with composer James Rushford at the DIY warehouse bandroom on High St Thornbury.
Found 28 Aug 2026 on the standing High St Thornbury sweep of Cactus Room's own events page. Door price not stated on the venue page.
One-off 35th-anniversary retro screening of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, part of Palace Westgarth's occasional retro/anniversary programming slot distinct from its new-release schedule.
Found 28 Aug 2026 on the standing High St strip sweep of Palace Westgarth's Upcoming Events list. Palace Westgarth runs occasional retro/anniversary screenings like this alongside its Monroe 100 season -- worth checking the Events tab each run for more.
Queer-run tabletop RPG social night (D&D, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Big Gay Orcs and more), materials provided, at Fortress Melbourne in the CBD.
Found 28 Aug 2026 via Humanitix queer-events search. Venue is Fortress Melbourne, Shop 25/23 Caledonian Ln, Melbourne CBD -- a laneway address not confidently geocoded this run, so the map pin is left off rather than guessed.
Indie/alt/rock/folk gig at the DIY warehouse bandroom on High St Thornbury.
Found 29 Aug 2026 via Oztix listing during the standing High St Thornbury sweep.
Recurring slot at The Jazzlab, Brunswick East -- also seen Aug and Oct 2026 on the venue's own listing.
Found 29 Aug 2026. Genre/personnel not independently confirmed beyond the venue listing -- flagged CHECK FIRST on the week page.
Exhibition marking the 1926 centenary of Alice Anderson, pioneering woman motor mechanic, entrepreneur and inventor who ran an all-female garage in Kew.
Found 29 Aug 2026 on the standing Kew/Boroondara sweep. Runs 16 Sep-27 Oct 2026.
Musician and ABC presenter Henry Wagons hosts a monthly series of exceptional artists at Kew Court House.
Found 29 Aug 2026 on the standing Kew/Boroondara sweep. See kew-court-house-live for the wider venue programme.
Behind-the-scenes tour of works not normally on public display, led by the gallery's own curator.
Found 29 Aug 2026 on the standing Kew/Boroondara sweep.
International exhibition and workshops of Japanese ikebana floral art, with live six-minute demonstrations and a bridal-bouquet award, run out of the Convent's Salon & Store.
Found 30 Aug 2026 via the Abbotsford Convent events page (standing inner-north gallery/venue source). 2026 festival runs 29 Aug-1 Sep (main exhibition days 29-30 Aug, today is the second and last of those two), with educational programs from 27 Aug. International Ikebana Exhibition entry $10 (some sources say free exhibition entry, ticketed workshops); beginner workshops $50/45min. A niche, genuinely specialist art form rather than a generic craft market -- good fit for Mark's drawing/art interest even though it's floral rather than works-on-paper.
Adults-only after-hours opening of Melbourne Museum on the first Thursday of each month -- curated talks and behind-the-scenes tours, a live DJ, and after-hours access to the current headline exhibition.
Found 30 Aug 2026 via a City of Melbourne What's On sweep. Runs until 9pm, $32 adult / $30 concession / $27 member. September session includes after-hours access to the Rome: Empire, Power, People exhibition. Genuine standing monthly format (adults-only, talks/tours, social) rather than a one-off -- fits Mark's interest in nature/science talks and social-club-style recurring events even though the venue itself is CBD-adjacent (Carlton) rather than inner-north.
One-off tribute/singalong screening event at Palace Westgarth marking Dolly Parton, held the same Saturday as the closing session of the venue's Monroe 100 season.
Found 30 Aug 2026 via Palace Westgarth's own Upcoming Events list (same sweep that tracks Monroe 100). Sat 5 Sep, on Mark's High St strip. Exact time/price not confirmed this run -- check the Palace events page.
City-wide festival of jazz, improvisation and boundary-pushing contemporary music across multiple Melbourne venues.
Found 30 Aug 2026 via City of Melbourne's What's On site (standing search priority). Runs 16-25 Oct 2026 across multiple venues city-wide -- direct hit for Mark's jazz interest, though city-wide rather than inner-north specific; individual venue/session details not yet checked this run, worth a specific-program check closer to October.
Group exhibition marking Gallery Unbound's third birthday, at its small artist-run/artist-cooperative gallery on Northcote's High St. Genuine gap: not previously in sources.md or the High St strip sweep.
Found 31 Aug 2026 during the High St Northcote-Thornbury priority strip sweep -- 497 High St Northcote, within the 201-783 range, genuine gap (not in sources.md, not previously checked). Small artist-run gallery selling members' work; runs rotating group and solo shows roughly every 4-6 weeks (prior 2026 shows: 17 Jun-5 Jul, 5-23 Aug, next 16 Sep-11 Oct, then 14 Oct-8 Nov, 11-29 Nov). This 'unbound' show marks the gallery's third birthday. Opening celebration Fri 18 Sep, 6-8pm. 497 High St could not be confidently geocoded this run, so the map pin is left off rather than guessed. Register the venue as a standing High St strip source going forward. UPDATE 23 Sep 2026: added to events.json (id gallery-unbound-third-birthday-show) as an ongoing card closing 11 Oct — it had been confirmed here but never carried onto a week page. Next show expected 14 Oct–8 Nov.
Live tribute night celebrating the music of Sade, part of the standing Kew Court House Live small-room series.
Found 31 Aug 2026 on the standing Kew/Boroondara sweep. Fri 11 Sep 2026, 7.30pm, Kew Court House, 188 High St, Kew. Tribute act rather than an original artist -- included as small-room live music on the standing Kew Court House Live series, same treatment as the Henry Wagons monthly series entry.
Drop-in drawing meetup aimed at shy, introverted or socially anxious artists — any medium, any skill level, weekly sessions, no pressure to talk.
Found 1 Sep 2026 during a widened search (Mark asked for deeper Meetup/hobbyist-group coverage). 2,664 members, 4.8-star rated group. Free, genuinely welcoming per the group description; also has an Instagram/Discord. Exactly the standing social/art format Mark's brief weights up — log both weekly sessions on the page each week rather than picking one. UPDATE 23 Sep 2026: now carded on the weekend-daytime plan (event id shy-peoples-drawing-club-saturdays) for each upcoming Saturday. UPDATE 29 Sep 2026: Sat 3 Oct 11am Artsy Hangout confirmed; one-off Cemetery Sketching Sun 4 Oct 1pm at Melbourne General Cemetery also carded. Group now 2,727 members.
Standing free Monday-night series at Northcote Social Club — lower-key than the venue's ticketed touring gigs, often local/community-curated lineups.
Found 1 Sep 2026 via live manual social sweep (Mark present) — northcotesocialclub.com/gigs/ is client-rendered and returns nothing to the unattended run's fetch tools, but rendered fine in a real logged-in browser. Worth a periodic manual re-check; the unattended daily run should keep trying the fetch in case that changes, per the standing High St strip note. This week's edition (7 Sep) is a Darebin FUSE Festival takeover with Alice Skye, Tiana Khasi and Inanna Indigo.
Annual First Nations writers festival, 2026 theme EVERY:WHEN. Panels, talks and workshops with First Nations authors including Evelyn Araluen, Melissa Lucashenko, Chelsea Watego, Tony Armstrong.
Found 3 Sep 2026. Four-day First Nations writers festival, mostly at The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne CBD. Tickets via Humanitix (events.humanitix.com/host/blak-and-bright), many sessions individually ticketed/free. Listed as one flagship entry rather than each session -- program has 20+ named sessions across Thu-Sun.
Guided walking tour tracing trailblazing Boroondara women -- including mechanic Alice Anderson and artist AME Bale -- from Boroondara Cemetery to Town Hall Gallery.
Found 3 Sep 2026. $60 ($40 ages 13-17), recommended ages 13+, capacity limited. Booking via sheshapeshistory.com. Runs on selected Fridays and Saturdays through to 17 Oct.
Free lunchtime pop-up live music series in the gallery and public spaces at Hawthorn Arts Centre, each week a different soloist on an often-unusual instrument (bansuri, koto, bouzouki).
Found 3 Sep 2026. Free, no bookings, all ages welcome (lunchtime concert format, not kid-targeted). Remaining sessions: 9 Sep (TBA), 16 Sep Con Kalamaras (bouzouki/Rebetika), 23 Sep Erica Bramham (double bass/vocals, experimental). Earlier sessions (Peter Baylor 19 Aug, Vinod Prasanna bansuri 26 Aug, Brandon Lee koto 2 Sep) have passed.
Social Afterparty / Kash / Chooki — EP tour launch at the DIY High St bandroom.
Found 3 Sep 2026 via Cactus Room's events page.
Local band Dragnet headlines with special guests at Cactus Room's warehouse space.
Found 3 Sep 2026 via Cactus Room's events page.
Single launch for Charlie Gradon's 'Heathrow', with support TBA.
Found 3 Sep 2026 via Cactus Room's events page.
Gentle Ben and His Shimmering Hands, with Pussy Horse and Techno 666 — quirky, established Melbourne indie-folk act in a DIY room.
Found 3 Sep 2026 via Cactus Room's events page.
UK touring artist Lucca Mae, small-venue show.
Found 3 Sep 2026 via Cactus Room's events page.
Weekly walking tour on the women and girls institutionalised at the Abbotsford Convent laundries.
Standing weekly tour, 2pm both days. Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. UPDATE 23 Sep 2026: carded on the weekend-daytime plan (event id she-shapes-history-abbotsford-convent) for every Sat/Sun 2pm in view. 29 Sep 2026: Convent listing confirms 3–4, 10–11, 17–18, 24–25 Oct and 31 Oct–1 Nov.
Self-guided sound walk kit by Akio Suzuki and Hiromi Miyakita across the Convent grounds.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Re-check for a closing date next time the Convent page is visited.
Debut solo exhibition by queer Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown, Magdalen Laundry.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Contains mature themes/nudity per organiser note.
Platform Presents' annual birthday exhibition, open format across 6 gallery spaces.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. 7th birthday implies an annual event -- confirm next year around Sep/Oct.
Cheap solo recitals by ANAM's graduating musicians, Rosina Auditorium.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Runs 7-23 Sep 2026, multiple sessions.
Sunday Euro-style board game meetup at The Croxton, Thornbury, running since 2012.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep via widened Meetup search. Standing social group, not every Sunday -- check page for next date.
14-episode geolocated audio walk through Brunswick/Coburg queer history.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Ongoing, free, self-guided -- no re-check needed unless it's taken down.
Illustrator/journalist Sam Wallman on turning archival research into comics.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Price/exact time not confirmed on PROV's own page -- recheck before publishing final details.
Facilitated life/architectural drawing class under the Royal Exhibition Building dome.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Strong drawing/priority-interest fit -- watch for a repeat next year.
Repertory anime season centring female protagonists, 4 decades.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep.
Yorta Yorta song-woman Allara's sound/storytelling performance, Preston.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Exact street address for Aunty Alma Thorpe's Gathering Place unconfirmed -- geocode when known.
Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum's first Melbourne public lecture.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Part of the Dean's Lecture Series -- worth watching for future instalments.
Quarterly citizen-science bird survey along Merri Creek.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Quarterly cadence isn't in the standard enum -- using 'seasonal' as the closest fit.
iNaturalist species-count bioblitz at Strettle Wetland.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep.
Panel discussion on next-gen materials science.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. RSV Hall is stair-only, no lift.
Bushfire science debate with ABC RN's Gregg Borschmann moderating.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep.
Season on Czech film composer Zdeněk Liška, with the Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Requires Cinémathèque membership -- follows on from the already-tracked Bava season.
Monthly-ish open skate/roller disco night hosted by Victorian Roller Derby League.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. Also recurs 3 Oct and 7 Nov per the listing.
Weekly Wednesday Social Night and Saturday Afternoon Allegro, casual drop-in chess.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep, beyond the already-tracked Victorian Championship. Two standing weekly nights.
After-dark NGV late openings with a rotating MSO-curated music residency.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. South of the river -- included as an exceptional case per the geographic priority rule.
Small dedicated classical/contemporary-classical venue, Brunswick -- regular concerts.
Found 5 Sep 2026 sweep. A genuine live-music venue (bar/drinking exception) -- check regularly for its current program.
One-day vinyl record fair at Queen Victoria Market's D Shed, run by Melbourne Record Club -- 20,000+ records, DJs, food.
Found 7 Sep 2026 via City of Melbourne What's On. Free, CBD, DJs spinning vinyl -- track for recurrence next run.
Daytime reading/creative drop-in event at Fed Square's Atrium, part of the RESET festival.
Found 7 Sep 2026 via City of Melbourne What's On. Free, CBD, genuinely offbeat format.
Annual sustainability festival at Fed Square with talks, workshops, repair cafe and swaps, run by Zero Waste Victoria.
Found 7 Sep 2026. Free, CBD, substantive programming (Repair Cafe, Mending Circle, panels) -- a good fit for Mark's repair-cafe/sustainability interest.
Free NFL fan zone at Fed Square for Australia's first NFL game -- big screen broadcasts and a live post-game show.
Found 7 Sep 2026 via WIDEN THE NET spillover search (NFL game week). Free, one-off, genuine spectacle despite corporate/NFL backing -- same category as the Melbourne Cheer Challenge found 5 Sep 2026.
Inaugural pop-up market at Abbotsford Convent showcasing 50 emerging Australian small businesses, presented by Australia Post.
Found 7 Sep 2026. Free entry, Abbotsford Convent, 50 vendors -- corporate-sponsored (Australia Post) but a specific one-off, not generic wallpaper.
Miles Nautu and band play Triple R's Performance Space as part of its September 2026 Live at RRR season.
Found 7 Sep 2026. Access is via subscriber/First Nations giveaway, not open sale -- flagged in the event's uncertain field. A search result claiming an Orbweavers show on 'Friday 20 Sep 2026' turned out to be a stale 2024 result on re-check -- not added, and worth a fresh look next run for the real Sep 18/20 lineup once Triple R's own page is checked directly.
One-off live performance by the artists of Requiem in Power (RIP) at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, enacting the exhibition's themes of ecological grief tying the La Trobe Solar Farm to neighbouring Preston Cemetery.
Found 9 Sep 2026 while checking Bundoora Homestead's exhibitions page for the Chogh/RIP/Schoenheimer/McIntyre group (already tracked as one combined card). This is a separate dated performance tied to the RIP exhibition, not covered by that ongoing card, so given its own listing.
Melbourne '80s guitar-pop band Huxton Creepers play Triple R's Performance Space as part of the station's 50th birthday celebrations and September 2026 Live at RRR season.
Found 11 Sep 2026 via Triple R's 'Live at RRR September 2026' article. Access is via subscriber/First Nations giveaway, not open sale.
Singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin plays an intimate set at Triple R's Performance Space a week out from releasing her new album The Gem.
Found 11 Sep 2026 via Triple R's 'Live at RRR September 2026' article. Access is via subscriber/First Nations giveaway, not open sale.
Naarm DIY five-piece Season 2 (members from Parsnip, The Stroppies, Phil and the Tiles) play Triple R's Performance Space, previewing their debut album Power of Now.
Found 11 Sep 2026 via Triple R's 'Live at RRR September 2026' article. Access is via subscriber/First Nations giveaway, not open sale.
Free guided photography walk at Edwardes Lake Park, Reservoir, led by photographer Maria Colaidis, part of Darebin FUSE Festival's closing weekend.
Two sessions same day (10-11.30am and 12.30-2pm); a Saturday 12 Sep sister walk at Northcote Library was also run this FUSE but has already passed by the time this was surfaced.
Barney McAll reunites with bassist Yunior Terry and drummer Ebs Daramola at The JazzLab for an evening of improvisation.
Found via a wider JazzLab program check on 13 Sep 2026 — the venue's full September schedule (checked directly on thejazzlab.com.au) turned out to have several dates not yet on the watchlist; added the most distinctive.
Cuban bassist, violinist and composer Yunior Terry leads his own project fusing jazz with Afro-Cuban traditions.
Found via the same 13 Sep 2026 JazzLab program check as the Barney McAll and Green/Evans/van der Schyff entries.
Sydney pair Jess Green (guitar) and Sandy Evans (sax) launch their debut album 'Even Quiet Embers Carry Fire' with Melbourne drummer Dylan van der Schyff.
Found via the same 13 Sep 2026 JazzLab program check.
Drop-in life drawing session with a live model and themed still life, no experience necessary, all skill levels. Recurring roughly monthly at this venue since at least 2024.
Found 15 Sep 2026 via WebSearch. Genuine drop-in drawing class held at a bar -- judged on the class itself, not the venue (BARS note). Fits Mark's drawing/social-connection interest strongly. September session themed 'springtime on the French Riviera'.
Independent theatre work using magical realism, poetry and live music, written, directed and performed by Ala'a Al Qaisi, inspired by two Palestinian sisters killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza in 2024. Touring Melbourne and regional Victoria 15-22 Sep 2026; the Brunswick season closes this Sunday.
Season played Brunswick Mechanics Institute (270 Sydney Rd) 15, 16, 17 and 20 Sep 2026 -- only the closing Sun 20 Sep show is still bookable as of this run. Found via WIDEN THE NET broad-discovery search, not the fixed source list. Ticket price not confirmed in search snippets -- check Humanitix before publishing price.
2026 edition of the annual Blindside x Liquid Architecture Sound Series (running since 2014), an exhibition of new sound/sculptural/cinematic works by four Melbourne-based artists -- Pratyay Raha, Amaara Raheem, Adele Wilkes and Jahan Xanlü -- spread across two floors of Blindside gallery. Two artist-talk afternoons run during the show's 2-26 Sep 2026 season; the closing one is this Saturday.
Found via WIDEN THE NET pass 19 Sep 2026 (Liquid Architecture search). Free artist-run gallery, North Melbourne, Wed-Sat 12-6pm. Exhibition itself closes 26 Sep 2026. Fits Mark's artist-talks interest directly.
Single launch at Thornbury's DIY bandroom, with Hard Rubbish and Sian Stacey Band — small-venue local live music on the High St strip.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Price not shown on the venue page at time of listing — check the oztix link before heading down.
A send-off gig for a departing member, with Vague Rituals, Lunatic and Cat Crawl — the kind of small-venue local bill Cactus Room does well.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Price not shown on the venue page — check oztix before heading down.
Single launch with Alarms, The Mundaynes and Looney Moons — another Thornbury DIY bandroom bill.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Price not shown on the venue page — check oztix before heading down.
A free multi-venue live-music crawl along High St Thornbury — bands across several venues on the strip rather than a generic pub crawl.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Line-up not yet announced — check oztix closer to the date.
Big-band swing with one of Melbourne's best jazz vocalists — a proper night out, not a background-music gig.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A big-band tribute marking the John Coltrane centenary — a specific, well-chosen programming hook rather than a generic covers night.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A recurring Monday-night strand curated by pianist Andrea Keller pairing different improvising trios each time — a genuine standing series worth returning to, not a one-off.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Soul-jazz vocalist's only Melbourne headline date this year.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A ten-piece contemporary jazz ensemble's farewell performance — a last chance to catch this specific line-up.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
An intimate cabaret evening in the old Kew courtroom — small-room live music the way Kew Court House Live does well.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Live music in Kew Court House's small, atmospheric former courtroom.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Singer-songwriter set in the same small-room Kew Court House format.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A repertory season of French poetic-realist director Marcel Carné's films — genuine curated cinema, following straight on from the Cinémathèque's current Zdeněk Liška season.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A retrospective season of Scottish director Lynne Ramsay's films (Ratcatcher, We Need to Talk About Kevin) — proper repertory programming, not new-release multiplex fare.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A retrospective of documentary legend Frederick Wiseman's institutional studies — a substantial repertory season running into late November.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
World-premiere free exhibition, just opened at ACMI.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Last chance to catch ACMI's sound-focused ticketed exhibition before it closes.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Trans-specific exhibition opening plus community workshops (Queers Draw This, ArtKind) and a trans makers market — artist-led and specific, not just a calendar-tie-in event.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Price and exact program not fully confirmed at time of listing — check Merri-bek's page closer to the date.
Group show of First Peoples artists working in game development, animation, illustration and screen-based media — a distinct digital-art angle for a gallery usually known for painting and photography.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A First Nations contemporary dance duet exploring saltwater/freshwater identity, with a ticketed post-show artist talk on the Saturday matinee — strong fit for both the theatre and artist-talk interest.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A hands-on class in nerikomi, the Japanese marbled-clay technique — a specific technique class rather than a generic paint-your-own session.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
An 18+ after-hours museum takeover — magician, planetarium show, UV-lit exhibition, DJ. Genuinely adults-only, not family programming with a spooky sticker on it.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
An 18+ standing Friday-night series — What's in the Sky Tonight plus a themed fulldome show (October's is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon), with a bar on site. Uncommon adults-only planetarium format.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Recurring weekly program — confirm which week's theme is on before booking.
A Royal Historical Society of Victoria exhibition on the colonial land-grab that produced central Melbourne's street grid — still open through the whole of this window.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
World-premiere Deaf-led 'reimagining of opera' blending Auslan poetry, movement and immersive sound design — a genuinely novel form, with a post-show artist talk on Thu 8 Oct (Auslan/English interpreted).
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Last chance for this visual exploration of family, love, grief and time at Arts House.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A dance-film installation built around a suitcase and a traveller, from Threading Frames — closing soon.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Absurdist post-apocalyptic puppet-comedy by a Gen Z trans playwright, part of Melbourne Fringe at La Mama — small-venue Fringe theatre, 15+.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A week-long chess tournament at Melbourne Chess Club — niche amateur/club sport, genuinely uncommon as a spectator or entrant experience.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Outdoor installation of biodegradable brick sculptures birds can peck apart for nesting material, built from a decade of Wildlife Victoria rescue data on how species use Melbourne's buildings — a genuine design/nature crossover, not generic public art.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A small, hands-on session on what birds need to live in cities and how design can support them.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A community forum with the Yarra Riverkeeper Association, Traditional Owners and researchers on the future of Melbourne's rivers, creeks and wetlands, part of RESET and Birrarung Riverfest.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
One-off reopening spectacle for the newly renovated State Theatre, directed by Michael Kantor with 100+ Victorian artists from The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia, MTC and Circus Oz, plus tours, DJ sets and a laser show — a genuine landmark one-off despite the big institutional backing.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A one-night atmospheric tour through Pentridge's notorious H Division — genuinely specific and uncommon (a heritage/history tour with real content, not a generic haunted-house activation), even though it's built around Halloween.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep). Price not confirmed for 2026 at time of listing.
Experimental sound art at Tempo Rubato, from Liquid Architecture — a reliably niche source for genuinely uncommon listening.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
A full Wagner opera (German with English subtitles, two-piano reduction, ~3 hours) staged intimately in a suburban town hall by BK Opera — an unusually ambitious, high-quality booking for the venue.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Multi–Green Room Award winning Melbourne cabaret songwriter-comedian, one night only, original songs.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Australia's biggest annual citizen-science bird survey — 20 minutes anywhere, including Merri Creek or any Darebin park, via the app.
Found via 21 Sep 2026 run (widen-the-net / recurring-venue sweep).
Royal Historical Society of Victoria's annual statewide history month — talks, walks and exhibitions across Victoria through October.
Itemised inner-north/Darebin-area program not yet published (site returned stale 2024 content on fetch) — recheck closer to October. Found 21 Sep 2026 run. 23 Sep 2026: historymonth.org.au still serves stale 2024 homepage copy; a Darebin Parklands Spiritual Heritage Walk with an Indigenous Elder was mentioned in search results but no date/booking page found — recheck. 1 Oct 2026: historymonth.org.au events calendar is client-rendered (fetch returns only the URL). Star Weekly coverage mentions Williamstown walking tours and a Whittlesea Library talk (2 Oct) — nothing inner-north confirmed yet.
Annual ceramics fair at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre.
Site's title tag reads 'October 25 & 26' but this matches 2025's dates exactly and the page didn't render fully on fetch — genuinely unclear if 2026 dates are confirmed yet. Recheck closer to late October before publishing a dated card. UPDATE 23 Sep 2026: organiser homepage now explicitly reads "Melbourne Ceramic Fair 17 & 18 October 2026" with a 2026 artist line-up page — confirmed. Hours/entry price not visible; recheck the week before.
Late-night adult puppetry strand at The Motley Wherehaus within the wider Melbourne Festival of Puppetry.
Found 23 Sep 2026 via Melbourning weekly list + Beat Magazine. 2026 festival 22–27 Sep; adults program 24–27 Sep. Children's program excluded per brief — only the adult strand is tracked.
Monthly Friday-night club meeting with guest speakers/panels, Clifton Hill.
Found 23 Sep 2026 (widen-the-net). 29 Grant St Clifton Hill — not confidently geocoded, pin left off. Also runs a big MCEC event with Cory McElroy on Sat 24 Oct (South Wharf, ticketed) — consider for a card nearer the date. 20 Oct 2026: special-guest talk Cory McElroy (Aquarium Co-Op) Sat 24 Oct 2–5pm, MCEC South Wharf, $30, carded.
Quarterly hobbyist market for freshwater tropical fish, shrimp and aquarium plants.
Found 23 Sep 2026 via Melbourning weekly list. Quarterly Sunday 10am–1pm at 29 Grant St Clifton Hill. Distinctive enough to surface each edition (not a generic market).
Three-week Yarra/Birrarung festival of walks, talks, paddles, citizen science and art, 70+ events.
23 Sep 2026: riverfest.org.au itself not fetchable (tool provenance), but the Humanitix host page lists every event. Carded this run: Colonisation walk (30 Sep, Eaglemont), Seeing the Light canoe photography (3 Oct, Fairfield), Wilson Reserve bird walk (4 Oct, Ivanhoe), Platypus and People (15 Oct, Alphington). Skipped: Join the Regeneration (corporate-wellness framing), Bee Hotels (craft, family-leaning), Junior Rangers/Little Swimmers (children), Warburton/Yellingbo/Launching Place events (outside 40km).
Free guided tour of the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio’s rare-instrument collection, Fed Square.
Found 23 Sep 2026 via City of Melbourne What’s On. Weekend-daytime staple — card each month. UPDATE 12 Oct 2026: Sat 24 Oct 11am confirmed (free, RSVP); next Sat 28 Nov.
Volunteer creek restoration and citizen-science sessions along the Merri.
Added 23 Sep 2026 for the new weekend-daytime focus. Events page fetches cleanly and lists months ahead — a reliable daytime source for Fri/Sat/Sun. | 22 Oct 2026: MCMC calendar also lists Sun 25 Oct North Coburg litter crew 10am; the 25 Oct bus tour is members-only (not carded); Fri 23 Oct Beveridge bird walk outside 40km.
Rotating exhibitions plus free gardens and sculpture park, Bulleen.
Added 23 Sep 2026 — a strong weekend-daytime anchor that had never been tracked. Exhibitions page fetches cleanly.
Collectors’ fair for comics, toys and trading cards at Narrandjeri Stadium.
Found 23 Sep 2026 via Melbourning weekly list.
Vibraphonist-composer Elissa Goodrich leads a jazz/classical chamber quartet (woodwinds, electric guitar, double bass) through her award-winning Gene Tree music
Found 25 Sep 2026 (weekend daytime pass / wide-net angle a).
An Irish performance-maker worked with a perfumer to bottle the smell of the Midlands bog he grew up on, and builds a live encounter around it — a response to t
Found 25 Sep 2026 (weekend daytime pass / wide-net angle a).
A three-day show of a Melbourne painter’s newest work — layered, cut-back, deliberately unresolved surfaces that borrow the texture of laneway walls. Easy to pa
Found 25 Sep 2026 (weekend daytime pass / wide-net angle a).
Five short docs from this year’s MIFF: a Chinese Australian team, the first openly queer ex-AFL player stepping back onto the field, African Australian AFLW sta
Found 25 Sep 2026 (weekend daytime pass / wide-net angle a).
A free outdoor double: the rare broadcast of Coltrane’s classic quartet (Tyner, Garrison, Elvin Jones) at Comblain-la-Tour in 1965, then the Miles Davis documen
Found 25 Sep 2026 (weekend daytime pass / wide-net angle a).
Standing weekly volunteer-guided tours at Heide Museum of Modern Art — exhibition tours of the current major show plus the architecture and history tours.
Found 27 Sep 2026 on heide.com.au/events. Also: Ken Whisson/John Foubister exhibition tour Wed 2pm, history tour Tue 11am, Art by Twilight Sat 31 Oct 5pm. Card upcoming Fri/Sat/Sun sessions via day_sessions each run (WEEKEND DAYTIME).
Free display of Adam Elliot's handmade claymation sets, props and puppets.
Found 27 Sep 2026 via City of Melbourne What's On October page; daily 10am–5pm, free.
Local history talks (Inner Circle Railway, Gertrude St), trivia night and AGM guest speaker.
Found 27 Sep 2026. AGM Tue 24 Nov 2026 with Mario DePasquale (Mario's Cafe) as guest speaker, venue TBA.
Annual weekend where Banyule artists open their studios.
Found 29 Sep 2026. Sat–Sun 10–11 Oct 2026, 10am–5pm; launch party Fri 9 Oct 7pm at Old Shire Offices, 60 Beverly Rd Heidelberg. Pin is approximate (Heidelberg centre) — studios are spread across Banyule.
Vinyl dealers fair at Queen Victoria Market.
Found 29 Sep 2026 via City of Melbourne What’s On weekend page. Sun 4 Oct 9am–4pm, D Shed. Specialist fair — qualifies on its own terms (MARKETS note).
Big Birrarung Paddle (Sat 10 Oct), Yarra Bend Park walk (3 & 17 Oct), Bats and the Birrarung (Sun 4 Oct), Eucalypts of the Diamond Creek (Sat 10 Oct). Also Restoring Birrarung Country planting (Sun 4 Oct, Clifton Hill), Deep Listening somatic walk (Sun 4 Oct 9am, Deep Rock — not carded).
Added 29 Sep 2026. Humanitix host page lists events with times; festival runs 27 Sep – 18 Oct 2026.
Biennial sculpture exhibition with weekend artist talks; 2026 edition “Soft Systems” at Billilla Mansion, Brighton.
Added 1 Oct 2026. Biennial (2024, 2026). Free artist talks 12pm every Sat/Sun. South of river — included as exceptional.
NGV programs page lists talks/courses with dates (e.g. History of Photography course, Terry Smith lecture, AQuA × NGV Coming Out Day event, Observational Drawing course 7 Nov).
Added 1 Oct 2026 via wide-net angle (a). The programs-events index page fetches cleanly with dates — check each run. Upcoming worth watching: Observational Drawing 4-week course from Sat 7 Nov 9am; Atong Atem in conversation Sat 31 Oct 12pm.
Small-group paid street-photography walks around Naarm; photographer also runs the Queer Naarm project.
Added 1 Oct 2026.
Annual exhibition by the Australian Association of Street Photographers.
Added 1 Oct 2026. 2026 venue Kindred Cameras Docklands. AASP may run group photo walks — worth checking.
Free playable videogame artwork, first Melbourne showing.
Added 1 Oct 2026.
30+ artists open studios across Eltham, Hurstbridge, Diamond Creek etc over two weekends in autumn and spring.
Added 5 Oct 2026. 2026 dates: 25–26 Apr, 2–3 May, 14–15 Nov, 21–22 Nov, 10am–5pm.
Bonsai Society of Victoria — annual exhibition
Added 10 Oct 2026. Box Hill Town Hall, Sat 9am-4pm / Sun 10am-4pm, $10. Check bonsaisocietyvictoria.com.au for next year.
Same Page Art Book Fair (Gertrude × Perimeter)
Added 10 Oct 2026. Running annually since 2023; 2026 is 24-25 Oct 11am-5pm.
New Orleans’ Rebirth Brass Band, in their first Australian appearance, lead a spontaneous second-line parade along the Yarra at 1pm, then play free at Fed Square with BIGYUKI and Allysha Joy. Part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival; wear bright colours and bring marching shoes. Good one to bring friends to.
Found 12 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
Merri Creek Management Committee runs a short platypus talk and then a “seek” walk along the creek and river to assess habitat for freshwater ecologists, part of the Platy Project citizen-science effort and Birrarung Riverfest. Torches and binoculars can be borrowed.
Found 12 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
A walk and talk across a remnant native grassland and Curly Sedge Creek, focused on the rare and threatened plants and animals that survive there. A real nature-group outing run by Merri Creek Management Committee.
Found 12 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
A free community festival: Indonesian street food and trade stalls, traditional music, a university choir, fashion, a flashmob dance at 2.15pm and workshops in batik, dance and pencak silat. An easy daytime wander with friends.
Found 12 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
A Saturday-morning art talk at Heide, on the same day as the 2pm Brassaï: Secret Paris exhibition tour, so you can build a whole Heide day around it.
Found 12 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
Free social chess afternoon, beginners welcome.
Found 18 Oct 2026 via City of Melbourne What’s On. Check Meetup for further dates.
Closing event for Counihan Gallery season three.
Found 18 Oct 2026. Free, booking required.
Daily 9.15am early-access guided tour, $39.
Found 18 Oct 2026; runs daily to 31 Dec.
Free exhibition at Old Treasury, Sun–Fri 10–4.
Found 18 Oct 2026; to 31 Dec.
A one-hour guided walk through the CBD’s LGBTIQA+ history led by a local history guide from the Australian Queer Archives. Short, free and a good start to a Friday before the library or a gallery.
Found 22 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
Independent booksellers and publishers selling printed matter on fashion, photography and pop culture — new and vintage books and magazines. Pairs naturally with the Same Page Art Book Fair the same day and ACMI’s exhibitions downstairs.
Found 22 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
The 12th annual Halloween zine fair hosted by Sticky Institute, with spooky zines from local zinesters and a featured artist, Remi Watson. A specialist small-press fair of the kind that suits drawers, photographers and anyone who likes printed things.
Found 22 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
A two-hour Sunday-morning volunteer litter pick along the creek with the Merri Creek Management Committee crew — sociable, outdoors, and a regular group to get to know.
Found 22 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
A free community festival of Indian culture with live music, classical, folk and Bollywood dance, kirtan, and yoga and meditation workshops.
Found 22 Oct 2026 in the weekend-daytime pass.
A Saturday-morning volunteer session caring for the creek-side bushland at Merri Park with the local Friends crew — a standing group where faces become familiar, and easy to bring a friend along to.
Added 26 Oct 2026 run.
The Friends’ regular early-morning bird survey along the creek — walk a set transect with people who know their calls and help build the long-running count. A good Sunday-dawn excursion for a nature-minded friend.
Added 26 Oct 2026 run.
Melbourne-based South Sudanese artist Atong Atem’s portrait photographs, using her own body, textiles, paint and symbols to connect African studio photography, family archives and Dinka Bor tradition. Free entry — a strong one for the photography interest.
Added 26 Oct 2026 run.
A specialist collectors’ swap meet: around 50 exhibitors trading rare trading cards (Pokémon, One Piece, vintage), anime items and toys, with a DJ under the market sheds. A hobbyist fair rather than a produce market — easy to wander with a friend.
Added 30 Oct 2026 run.
Ten days of queer cinema, with opening night Friday 13 November and closing night Sunday 22 November. Program launched 14 October — worth booking early for the opening weekend.
Added 30 Oct 2026 run.
Informal sketchmeets around Melbourne — draw a location on location, all skill levels.
Confirmed 21 Aug 2026 via manual social sweep: group is very active, runs private members-only sketchmeets roughly monthly (second Sunday, CBD) plus occasional smaller meetups elsewhere -- but events are private with an explicit no-redistribution rule, so specific dates/links aren't published on this public site. Mark is already a group member and can check the group's own Events tab directly.
A genuine weekly Monday repertory strand at Palace Westgarth (distinct from the venue's excluded tribute/anniversary event-cinema nights) — 'Part 1 2026' season includes A Knight's Tale, Donnie Darko, Stand by Me, Blue Velvet, The Fly, Silence of the Lambs, A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver and more.
Season film list known but date-to-film mapping for individual Mondays not yet confirmed from the site — needs a follow-up fetch of the live booking calendar. Found 21 Sep 2026 run.
Annual public art trail along the Upfield Bike Path / Sydney Road corridor in Merri-bek, running Oct-Dec.
Specific 2026 dates/works not yet confirmed. Found 21 Sep 2026 run — recheck closer to October. 23 Sep 2026: rechecked Arts Merri-bek what's-on page and search — still no 2026 MoreArt dates published. 1 Oct 2026: no 2026 dates found via search. | 22 Oct 2026: searched; no 2026 edition info found (Merri-bek MoreArt page only shows 2022). Still awaiting.
The 2026 West Space Commission recipient's exhibition, an 8-10 week run in the main Collingwood Yards gallery.
Exact opening date not found this run (busprojects.org.au and westspace.org.au/program/ both returned unreachable/blocked to the fetch tool) — recheck next run. 23 Sep 2026: not rechecked in depth this run (West Space program page previously blocked to fetch). Rechecked 18 Oct 2026: commissions page still gives no date. | 22 Oct 2026: still no date on westspace.org.au/commissions (only says each commission ends in an 8-week gallery show).
Gertrude Contemporary's main gallery and Gertrude Glasshouse shows, both closing 17 Oct 2026 — artist/exhibition names not yet confirmed.
gertrude.org.au/exhibitions/ exceeded fetch size limits this run before artist names could be confirmed — recheck with a chunked fetch next run rather than guessing the show titles.
AusCycling's Victorian cyclo-cross state series. Spectator-friendly, muddy, free to watch.
CORRECTION 11 Aug 2026: the previous note describing 2 Aug as Round 1 was wrong. AusCycling's own page lists five rounds for the 2026 Victorian state series — 17 May, 21 Jun, 5 Jul, 26 Jul and 2 Aug — so the season has already concluded for this year. No further Victorian rounds are listed. Re-check in autumn 2027 as the new season is announced.
Retired — none.