The Best Things to Do in Melbourne Over the Easter Long Weekend

Hightail it down to Bruzzy’s Farm in Tallarook and shake it all weekend long. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in raucous style, this fittingly named boutique music festival is back for another year, for three straight days of dancing under the stars.  The lineup is as eclectic as ever, with American headliner Jason Isbell joining his countrymen Endless Boogie and Spiral Stairs, Spain’s Los Chicos, and homegrown talent such as Bad//Dreems, Emily Ulman and Henry Wagons & The Only Children.

A man walks into a bar. Ouch. When it comes to comedy, some people have it and others simply do not. The good news is you’ll only (mostly) find the first kind on the jam-packed program at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Striding into its third decade with all the energy of a clown on their first day of college, MICF is one of the largest annual collections of jokesters, satirists and goofballs on the face of the earth.

Running all throughout the Easter long weekend, this year’s program is once again packed with a plethora of talent from both home and abroad. You’ve got returning favorites like Rich Hall and Ross Noble, festival debutants such as Hal Cruttenden and Penny Arcade, and local legends like Hannah Gadsby and Celia Pacquola, all of whom will be trotting out their best material in an attempt to bring some laughter into our cold, miserable lives. Also, Dave Hughes will be there.

Transforming Alma Park into a hub of fresh produce, food trucks and street food stalls each and every Saturday, you’d think Hank Marvin would be happy to take a week off. But no — lucky for us, he’s decided it’s business at usual at the St Kilda East market, and he’s organised a few special things to boot. There’ll be a massive Easter egg hunt kicking off at 9am with some prizes as delish as the chocolate eggs themselves. It’s possibly the best case for getting up early on Easter Saturday we’ve heard.

Norma Jeane Mortenson, better known as Marilyn Monroe, helped shape popular culture in a way that few actors ever have. Now, a brand new exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery will examine her life and legacy as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. And, at less than two hours drive from the CBD, it’s the perfect long weekend day trip.

With more than 20 original film costumes, as well as movie posters, studio portraits, costume test photographs and items from her personal wardrobe, this comprehensive exhibition is essential for classic film lovers, or anyone captivated by the concept of celebrity. The exhibition will also feature Seward Johnson’s famous eight metre high sculpture of Monroe, appearing for the first time outside of the United States.

There’s no time like Easter for embracing your inner child, and there’s no place better to do it than at Luna Park. The beloved Melbourne theme park will be open all long weekend, and is celebrating the holidays with a spectacular chocolate egg hunt. An astounding 15,000 Darrell Lea eggs will be hidden around the park. Are they behind the Ghost Train? In the Pharaoh’s Curse? Atop the Great Scenic Railway? Visitors to the park can participate in exchange for a gold coin donation, or gain free entry with an unlimited ride ticket to find out. Now, back off kids — that chocolate is ours!

If you’ve lived in Melbourne long enough, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the rivalry between north and south. But there comes a time when petty differences must be forgotten — particularly when there’s free live music and cheap pizza on the line. For the seventh straight year, sister venues Bimbo Deluxe in Fitzroy and Lucky Coq in Windsor are teaming up for the Best of Both Sides Festival, featuring four days and nights of epic tunes, food and booze on both sides of the river. This year’s festival includes more than 40 live music acts — although, to be honest, we’re just as excited about what’s going on in the kitchen. We’re talking green prawns, popcorn chicken, pulled beef sliders and their insanely good value $4 pizzas.

While we all love a good public holiday, it’s sometimes hard to take full advantage of the days off work when pretty much everything is closed. Luckily for us, both the NGV International and NGV Australia will be open for the entire Easter long weekend, including Good Friday for the first time ever. Not only that, but they’re hosting a special edition of their Friday Nights series, featuring a performance by alternative rock band Died Pretty and a DJ set by Misty Nights. Have a drink, catch some tunes, and enjoy after-hours access to the new 200 Years of Australian Fashion collection and the phenomenal Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition — you’ve only got another month to catch it before it’s gone for good.

The latest production from the Melbourne Theatre Company takes the groundbreaking ideas of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and injects them into a contemporary comedy about our views of modern motherhood. AACTA Award-winning actor Susan Prior stars as Bea, who returns to the UK after her marriage in Melbourne falls apart. At least she has her friends to support her. Or at least she does, until she reveals she wants her children to stay with their father on the other side of the world.

Written by UK playwright Deborah Bruce and directed by MTC Associate Director Leticia Cáceres, The Distance probes the way in which our culture sanctifies mothers while condemning women who don’t live up to our heightened expectations. The MTC season co-stars Martin Blum, Joe Klocek, Nadine Garner, Katrina Milosevic, Ben Prendergast and Nathan Page, and will be playing on both Easter Saturday and Easter Monday at the Sumner in the Southbank Theatre building.

Spend your Easter Sunday down at the Mornington Peninsula, where the team at the Portsea Hotel are throwing their first ever Easterpalooza. From 3pm onwards, the venue will showcase a massive lineup of local and national EDM, R&B, house and acoustic acts and DJs. Plus, it’s a sweet spot with a view of the water. Early bird tickets have already sold out, so if you’re keen you’d better hop to it.

Lovers of cinema and hummus-fuelled picnics rejoice: Moonlight Cinema is running throughout Easter. The weekend will finish off the outdoor cinema season, so it’s your last chance to catch a film under the stars. They’ll be screening the Dev Patel-starring The Man Who Knew Infinity on Good Friday, the Liz Tuccillo novel adaptation How To Be Single on Saturday night, and golden oldie Dad’s Army on Sunday.