The Ten Best Things to Do in Melbourne's CBD This Month

Running November 11-19, MMW will open with a bang with an all women lineup at Her Sound, Her Story. The event, appropriately hosted in Queen’s Hall in the State Library (the already-announced MMW hub), will feature Julia Stone, Ella Hooper, Mama Kin, Montaigne, Mojo Juju, Ecca Vandal, Elizabeth Rose, Airling and Nyne.

Then there’s Aunty Donna and the Jungle Giants, who’ll be performing on the steps of Parliament House, 1950s pin-up girl group Bobby and the Pins will be giving musical tours of Fitzroy Gardens, The Delta Riggs and Pierce Bothers will front a mini music festival at the MCG, and  the Drones will play the grand organ at Melbourne Town Hall.

That’s not all though. We’ll also be treated to performances by the likes of Elliphant (supported by Yeo and Uv Boi), The Harpoons and Tyrannamen at ACCA, Severed Heads, Harvey Sutherland and Bermuda and Young Magic in the State Library, and Zola Jesus and Penny Quartet at the Melbourne Recital Centre to name but a few.

As usual, they’re also putting on some killer workshops for noobs and musos alike, including how to make your on crystal radio (whatever that turns out to be), a choir singing workshop, make your own synth and speakers workshop and an introduction to Ableton Live. The whole shmozzle will be wrapped with big ol’ shindig thrown by party people Good Manners.

Once again, Birrarung Marr will be transformed into a sprawling outdoor hawker market, as the Night Noodle Markets rock into town from November 10-27. As usual, visitors will be spoilt for choice, with stalls from culinary favourites like Wonderbao, Gelato Messina, and Chin Chin, joining debut offerings from some exciting newcomers. Folks of all ages will find themselves wrapped up in the festival buzz, with roaming performers, themed bars, and a broad live entertainment program backing up all that foodie fun.

The markets will run from Thursday, November 10 until Sunday, November 27. They’ll be open Monday and Tuesday 5-9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 5-10pm, Friday 5-11pm, Saturday 4-10pm, and Sunday 4-9pm. Entry is free but the place — if other years are anything to go by — will be packed.

Australia’s finest gin makers are on their way to Federation Wharf for a two-day celebration of that most sensational of spirits. Juniperlooza is a home-grown gin festival that should in no way be confused with Junipalooza (spelled with an ‘a’), which took place in October and is a totally different thing. We know it’s confusing, but are you really going to complain about Melbourne getting two events dedicated to gin? Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Held at Pilgrim and Riverland Bars on the weekend of November 19 and 20, Juniperlooza will showcase some of Australia’s best gin, from the likes of Archie Rose, Adelaide Hills, Four Pillars and many more. There’ll also be food to help line your stomach, music to get you moving, and special talk + taste sessions to fill your brain with gin wisdom. Hopefully you can still remember it the next day.

Melbourne’s one-to-watch designers will be hawking their wares on Sunday, November 6 at the latest edition of the much-loved Melbourne Design Market. A major event on the Melbourne design calendar since it launched back in 2004, this twice-yearly showcase of intelligent design is the perfect destination for savvy shoppers, or anyone just looking to drop some hard-earned cash.

Hosted once again on level three of the Federation Square carpark from 10am till 5pm, this year’s market will welcome 50 handpicked local merchants selling everything from clothing and fashions accessories to high-end stationery and furniture. We’ve got our eye on the Japanese homewares from Kocent, the predictably stylish items from Swedish Interiors, and these super nifty A6 memobottles that fit in your pocket. On the off chance that you have any money left over after your shopping spree, there’ll be coffee and food available from The Bean Alliance.

Take an intimate walk alongside the mind and brushstrokes of David Hockney, who has been touted as one of the world’s most influential living artists. David Hockney: Current has been curated by the National Gallery of Victoria in collaboration with Hockney and his studio. The exhibition features over 700 works and amalgamates a variety of different mediums, including painting, digital drawings, photography and video.

Hockney has been known to work on iPhones and iPads as well as canvas, making him an incredibly intriguing and versatile artist. The exhibition will also display his largest artwork, Bigger Trees Near Water, which is comprised of 50 oil on canvas panels. If the treat of an expansive gallery exhibition doesn’t excite you, rest assured there’s still more on offer — the NGV will also be holding a range of programs that delve into the themes of the works and Hockney’s artistic career throughout the duration of the exhibition, which runs from November until March 2017.

Every year, Japan comes to Australia — or, as far as movies are concerned, it does the next best thing. Since starting with three free film screenings back in 1997, the Japanese Film Festival has kept bringing the nation’s many cinematic delights down under. And of course they’re going to do so again for their 20th birthday.

Travelling around the country with a hefty lineup of movies so new, many are coming straight from the Tokyo International Film Festival this month, JFF embraces the vast array of big screen treats its filmmakers have to offer. Sometimes, that means a poignant drama about a family banding together as a typhoon bears down. Sometimes, live-action adaptations of popular manga series are part of the equation. In fact, the 2016 lineup has both — check them out when they screen at ACMI and Hoyts Melbourne Central From November 24 to December 4.

The Finders Keepers Markets have become a staple in Melbourne for those who are into design, creativity and supporting local artists. Treat yourself to a stroll around the market – it has over 200 stalls featuring fashion, ceramics, jewellery and food – while drinking wine or sipping specialty coffee.

Returning home to Carlton’s Royal Exhibition Building for three days for the second time this year, you’ll be able to nab some marvellous treats that are difficult to find anywhere else. The designer-centric, come-one-come-all mini-festival has managed to bridge the gap between local market and exclusive exhibition, creating a space for independent designers to engage with the wider community.

This time around, keep an eye out for Nzuri and their organic body butter, body balms and cleansers, Kingston Jewellery for colourful accessories, Vege Threads for ethical clothes (there’s a new yoga range), and Coral & Herb or Mr Fancy Plants for beautiful handcrafted homewares. As usual, there will be live music, a cafe, a bar and thousands of other people celebrating independent art and design. Food-wise, you’ve got three different brands of specialty coffee to try (including Seven Seeds), as well as delicious pastries from Ned’s Pies and schnitzels from Von Crumb (we recommend).

Good Food Month is set to hit Melbourne for yet another chock-a-block November. This year’s hot ticket lineup pulls together a host of local, interstate and international culinary wizards, with events both big and small promising to send those tastebuds of yours to foodie heaven.

The al fresco feast that is the Night Noodle Markets will return to Birrarung Marr, bringing with it the usual smorgasbord of live entertainment, chef appearances and well-loved food stalls, as well as a few tasty treats not seen before.

Those keen to get their hands a bit messier can get stuck into a fried chicken feast at the Belles Hot Chicken Party, while Mike Patrick, Duncan Welgemoed and Belles’ Morgan McGlone will christen the new Fancy Hank’s rooftop bar Good Heavens with their Southern Sunday Sesh, complete with a DJ, Coopers brews and some clever cocktails to wash down all those glorious Southern-style snacks.

As usual, the Good Food Month program also boasts sit-down feasts aplenty, including Oter’s five-course Young Chefs lunch, a pop-up from Brisbane’s Gerard’s Bistro at MoVida Aqui, and From The Vault — a Yalumba-matched dinner featuring dishes from six of Melbourne’s most influential food legends.

With its iconic steps sequence and distinctive use of montage, 1925 Soviet-made movie Battleship Potemkin changed the way the world thought about film. Making enduring efforts such as Solaris and Stalker, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky also achieved the same feat during the ’60s and ’70s. And in 2003, roaming historical drama Russian Ark did too courtesy of a single 96-minute take. Yep, this was more than a decade before Birdman tried something similar.

They’re just some of the highlights of Russian film history, and there’s more where they came from. In fact, that’s the domain of the Russian Resurrection Film Festival, which brings future classics and beloved greats alike to Australian cinema screens for an annual celebration of Russian movie making.

In its thirteenth year, the fest has curated a collection of twenty efforts that showcase just what makes the country’s film output so stellar. Whether you’re keen on diving into a duelling epic, going swashbuckling with a beloved animated pirate, or catching a glimpse of uncompleted relics from the past, you’ll find plenty to watch here — plus our five must-see picks, of course.

Western Edge Youth Arts present a bold new take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Transplanting the iconic text to a not too distant future on the brink of environmental catastrophe, Caliban reimagines Ferdinand as an oil baron, Prospero as a scientist and Ariel as an AI capable of saving the world. But with the tides on the rise, how will the Bard’s characters survive?

The Edge Ensemble consists of six young, emerging performers from a plethora of cultural backgrounds, including Afghanistan, Samoa, Vietnam and South Sudan. Their most ambitious work yet, Caliban promises to give voice to those often left out of the climate change debate, despite being the ones who are most heavily affected by its outcome. The play will run for three nights only, from November 24-26 at The Coopers Malthouse in Southbank.

Top image: Fabian Mardi. 

Make the most of these CBD adventures by taking a staycation at Melbourne’s newest city hotel, QT Melbourne. Inspired by the city itself and the 1920s ‘Paris end’ rag traders,QT Melbourne houses four brand new venues: Pascale Bar & Grill, The Cake Shop, Hot Sauce Laneway Bar and Rooftop at QT. Find out more here.