The Weekender: March 1 – 3
GET crafty at the Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo, attend a Beethoven Marathon performance, and eat your fill at the annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, all in one weekend! Elizabeth Yick has the details.
Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo
Friday March 1 – Sunday March 3, 9am – 5pm, Royal Exhibition Building (9 Nicholson Street), Carlton
Do you love scrapbooking or card-making for those special occasions? If so, here is the perfect opportunity for any craft enthusiasts to explore their talents and to gain some inspiration for future projects. This weekend, the Royal Exhibition Building will be playing host to Australia’s premier event on scrapbooking, card-making, stamping, photography and digital scrapbooking. There will be a range of one or two-hour workshops for those interested in some hands-on experience, as well as demonstrations, exhibitions and competitions with prizes to be won. There will also be craft papers, stamps, embellishments, and the latest tools and gadgets available for purchase so you can get crafty at home. Bookings are necessary for the event, to get more information on tickets pricing and class times, visit the official event website.
3MBS Beethoven Marathon
Sunday March 3, The Edge, Federation Square (2 Swanston Street), Melbourne
On Sunday, all of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas will be performed by 28 of Australia’s finest pianist over a period of 14 hours. The event is hosted by 3MBS, Melbourne’s community fine music radio station. Tickets are available for one of seven sessions at $15, or all day passes for $75. The audience can become a ‘Beethoven Patron’ by donating to their favourite sonata or artist. Some of the highlights of the day include Ian Munro performing Sonata 17 ‘Tempest’, Kathryn Selby performing Sonata 8 ‘Pathétique’, Kristin Chong performing Sonata 29 ‘Hammerklavier’, and 16-year-old Adoria Li performing the well-known Sonata 14 ‘Moonlight’. Visit the official event site for ticket information and purchases. A full schedule of the performers and session times are available here.
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
From Friday March 1 – Sunday March 17, various venues all around Melbourne
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is due to kick off this Friday, and it’s promising to be the most exciting event for the coming weekend. Some of the highlights this weekend include:
1) Bank of Melbourne World’s Longest Lunch
Friday March 1, 12-3pm, Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton
The festival starts off with the famous annual ‘world’s longest lunch’, this year’s theme is earth-inspired, with Australian culinary experts Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer designing a three-course menu to showcase locally produced ingredients.
2) Family Foodie Weekend: Garden Pizzeria
Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3, 10am – 4pm, Queensbridge Square, Southbank
Queensbridge Square will be hosting a free, family-friendly, hands-on pizza-making event. From ‘patch to pizza’, participants will be able to pluck fresh tomatoes and basil leaves from the veggie patches, and even mill their own flour for the dough of their own wood-fire oven pizza creations. Learn how to grow a veggie garden at home with some free seeds and discover how fresh mozzarella is made. There will also be ready-made pizzas for sale.
3) Chan’s Dumpling Festival
Sunday March 3, 10am – 3pm, Treasury Gardens, East Melbourne
Enjoy a five-course traditional Cantonese yumcha session for $20 at the Treasury Gardens this Sunday. There will be live performances, including lion dancing and dumpling-making demonstrations, as well as a history of yumcha exhibition and various children’s activities.
4) Jazz and Picnic at Point Park
Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3, 11am – 4pm, Point Park, Docklands
At the Docklands this weekend, Point Park will be transformed into a farmers’ market fare with wining and dining options from the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Enjoy live jazz and have a picnic sampling some of the best local produces on offer.
To get more information on the range of events happening this weekend, or for ticketing information, visit the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival website. Alternatively, gain some insight into which of the many events to attend by checking out the Meld article about the festival here.