Velodrome Is Melbourne's New Four-Day Arts and Food Truck Festival

Fresh air. Food trucks waiting to fill your hungry stomach. Live music. Outdoor cinema. Sounds like summer in Australia, doesn't? Add in aerial circus, medieval performance fighting and Mexican wrestling, too, and it also sounds like Melbourne's new four-day arts and food truck festival.

Taking over Coburg's Velodrome from January 26 to 29, 2017, the rather descriptively named Velodrome Food Truck Festival promises all of the above and more. And the best part? Not only can you bring your pet pooch, but the whole event is free.

While the specifics in terms of performers and purveyors of meals-and-wheels won't be announced until January, eager attendees can expect an eclectic lineup on both fronts, including a sideshow circus, roaming talent, workshops, visual art installations, a market stall village, eating competitions and more than 30 food trucks. Also slated: several bars selling beers and craft cocktails, as well as a month-long open air cinema series screening new and old favourites.

"We're dubbing it 'the Glastonbury' of food truck festivals. It's a mixed bag of performance and entertainment," said Velodrome events director, Chris Mitchell. He's one of guiding hands behind the drive to turn the site into a cultural event precinct — and given that, with his partner Gareth Holt, he also helped turn Chapel Street venue Red Bennies into an internationally renowned arts intuition, he certainly knows what he's doing.

Velodrome Food Truck Festival takes place from January 26 to 29, 2017, at Coburg Velodrome, 30 Charles Street, Coburg North. For more information, or to register for a free ticket, visit the festival website.