The Weekender: December 12 – 14
EXPLORE fire and food trucks at the Docklands, swing to jazz tunes at the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival, check out vaudeville and cabaret acts at the Speakeasy HQ or visit the AFC Asian Cup football park at Fed Square! Anthea Batsakis keeps you in the loop for this weekend’s events.
Jubilation at Docklands
Friday, December 12 – Sunday, December 14 (Fri: 12.30pm – 2:30pm & 5:00pm – 10:00pm, Sat – Sun: 5.00pm – 10.00pm); 80 Harbour Esplanades, Docklands
Image: Destination Docklands Official Facebook Page
This weekend, satisfy your appetite for fun with a variety of entertainments provided by one of the Docklands biggest events, Jubilation. This is a Christmas event supporting the extreme efforts of the Country Fire Authority (CFA), while providing an assortment of food and fun. Since summer is generally one of Victoria’s worst bush fire seasons, this event will be a great opportunity for city-siders to show their support to the CFA volunteers.
As mentioned before, you can expect a wide range of free events and activities from this event. These include live music performances by The Bamboos on this Friday; the Docklands night market which sells food, crafts, and vintage products; and also a CFA zone set up with volunteer firefighters, fire trucks and education trucks for visitors to explore. Feeding the crowds will be 14 of Melbourne’s best food trucks from cultures ranging from African and Greek to Korean and Australian.
This is a free event, so don’t miss this festive event in the Christmas month!
Find out more details at the event’s official website.
Speakeasy HQ Vaudeville Show
Saturday, December 13 (7.00pm – late); 377 Little Bourke St, Level 1 (enter via Racing Club Lane)
Image: Speakeasy HQ’s Official Facebook Event Page
Vaudeville and cabaret enthusiasts won’t want to miss this Saturday’s star-studded show at the Speakeasy HQ. With ten colourful acts ranging from live music and circus performances to cabaret and illusion, you will be amazed and constantly entertained in a unique night-out.
Situated on Little Bourke St, Speakeasy HQ is Melbourne’s only Vaudeville theatre and wine bar that hosts such an enormous variety of entertainment. Stand-up comedy, boylesque and burlesque, live jazz music and circus acts are just some of the performances that this venue holds. In particular, this Saturday’s show is a combination of them all!
Notable performances at Speakeasy this Saturday includes cabaret and jazz singer Sophie deLightful;Nicky Barry and Zulu Mo Mann with their hilarious comedy; Italy’s biggest name in stage illusion, David Key (who includes this Speakeasy performance as part of his Australian tour); and finally, circus strong man Liam deJong who will perform mind boggling feats of strength fresh from his international tour.
If you’re interested in checking out the show, $25 tickets are available online until Friday, or $30 tickets will be sold at the door.
More information about the event can be found at Speakeasy HQ’s official Facebook page.
Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival
Sunday, December 7 – Sunday, December 14 (Various times); Various locations
Kristin Berardi. Image: The Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival’s Official Facebook Page
This year’s Women’s International Jazz Festival will end this weekend after almost two weeks of exciting program featuring some of the best Australian and international musicians. It is mainly hosted in Melbourne’s iconic jazz venue Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, although the festival also took residency in VCA Grant Street Theatre and on the Victorian Arts Centre forecourt to showcase its free performances.
Musicians from Canada, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne partake in this entertaining program. Canadian three-piece the Emie R Roussel Trio, talented vocalist Kristin Berardi, multi Aria-winning jazz pianist Andrea Kelley and exceptional jazz vocalist Michelle Nicole Fretet singing alongside four of Australia’s best guitarists, are just some of the notable acts you won’t want to miss this weekend.
So get into the rhythm and let yourself be entertained by some of the best female jazz artists that Australia and the world have to offer.
Discover more artists at the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival’s official website.
AFC Asian Cup Fan Park
Tuesday, December 9 – Saturday, December 13 (Tue – Fri: 12.00pm – 6.00pm, Sat: 12.00pm – 4.00pm); Federation Square, Melbourne
Nutmeg the Wombat, the AFC’s mascot who will making appearances the Fan Park! Image: Superjew via Wikimedia Commons
Fans of football and especially the AFC Asian Cup will have the unique opportunity to immerse themselves within the action and excitement of football at Federation Square from December 9 until December 13.
This interactive football fan park will allow visitors the opportunity to have their pictures taken with their favourite national team, to kick the winning goal in a virtual penalty shootout, have their favourite team colours digitally painted on their faces, among many other activities!
This Football Fan Park is in the midst of its Australian wide tour, visiting five major Australian cities: Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. It gives all football fans in Australia a chance to celebrate Asia’s largest football tournament!
The Fan Park ends its Melbourne residency this Saturday, so don’t miss out!
To learn more, visit Football Federation Australia’s official website.