Monday 7th April

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Hello Canberra,

📆 Today: This week in Canberra + The Mirror.

☀️ Weather: 22° and sunny.

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📆 This Week in Canberra

Here are this week's highlights:

Italian Festa: Sotto le Stelle: The National Museum is hosting an Italian night under the stars as part of the Viva Italian Festival. Expect live music, performances, and authentic Italian food, wine, and cocktails. Details here.

Canberra Times Marathon: The Canberra Times Marathon—the largest running event in Canberra—is happening this Sunday. Expect a number of road closures around the city during the event. Details here.

Auto Italia: Auto Italia is an annual showcase of Italian automotive design. Hundreds of exceptional cars, motorbikes, and scooters gather each year from across the country to celebrate Italian motoring history. It's happening in Queanbeyan Park on Sunday. Details here.

Open Gardens: Open Gardens Canberra is hosting two open gardens this weekend, including Tea Gardens Homestead, which dates back to the 1860s and is one of Canberra's oldest residential homes. Details here.

Record Store Day: This Saturday is Record Store Day—a celebration of Australia's independent record stores. In Canberra, Landspeed Records in the city and Dynomite Records in Kambah will be taking part. Landspeed will have a large selection of the limited edition RSD releases. Details here.

Henry 5: Bell Shakespeare’s production of Henry 5 opens at the Canberra Theatre on Thursday. Details here.

Infamous: Infamous—the cabaret circus show—will be playing at the Spiegeltent in Gungahlin from April 11. Details here.

Cypher Turns 2: Cypher Brewing Co is throwing the ANNO II weekend celebration to mark the brewery's second anniversary. Expect exclusive beer releases, live entertainment, food trucks, brewery tours, and family-friendly activities. Details here.

Marymead Autumn Garage and Plant Sale: Discover a unique range of pre-loved vintage items, including clothes, books, music, and more. Details here.

Street Feast: Street Feast is a travelling food market featuring food trucks, dessert stalls, boutique retail stalls, and live music. It's coming to Thoroughbred Park this Saturday. Details here.

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This Weekend: 🚤 Canberra Traditional Boat Fest

More than 30 traditional boats will be on display this Saturday at the Canberra Traditional Boat Fest on Lake Burley Griffin—including three that are over 100 years old! The Canberra Sea Shanty Club and Prism Jazz Ensemble will provide live entertainment. It's on from 12pm to 3pm. Details here.

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Stage: 🪞 The Mirror + Special Offer

Prepare to have your mind blown as internationally acclaimed contemporary circus company Gravity & Other Myths brings the heart-stopping and hilarious show The Mirror to the Canberra Theatre stage from April 10–12. Canberra Theatre is generously offering Canberra Digest readers 2-for-1 tickets. Details here.

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📰 Tidbits and News

Ice Hockey at AIS: Canberra Brave, the reigning AIHL champions, will have a new home rink this season with a move to the AIS Arena—the first time a full-bowl stadium will host ice hockey in Australia. The custom-built temporary rink (complete with glass) will stay in place for the entire season, offering fans a proper game day experience. The current venue at Phillip seats just 400, but the AIS setup will accommodate 2,700 spectators. The Brave's first three home games will still be in Phillip, with their AIS debut set for May 31. More.

What About the Tuggeranong Ice Rink? Curious about what's happening with the long-promised ice rink in Tuggeranong? Cruachan Investments, which owns the Canberra Brave, is also developing the new rink. Work is still progressing on the project, but no construction start date has been set. The Phillip ice skating rink is contracted to stay open until the Tuggeranong rink is built.

Varroa Mite in the ACT: Varroa mite—one of the biggest threats to honey production—has been detected in the ACT for the first time. The ACT Government has been working with beekeepers to prepare for its arrival by building resilience and providing management options.

The Book Bike: Keep an eye out for The Book Bike—a pedal-powered street library in the inner south. Built by Hanne Melgård Watkins and Ivan Denker, the concept is simple: bring a book and swap it for free, or pay $5 to buy one. All proceeds go to the charity The Life You Can Save. More.

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Classifieds:

stuidoMAP: Bookings and early bird rates are now open for studioMAP Term 2 after-school and Saturday art classes for children & teens specialising in painting, drawing & illustration for 6-18 yrs years olds. Tryouts are available too. Term 2 commences on April 29 for ten weeks. Book Now & details : studiomap.com.au

studioMAP is located in studio 3, M16 Artspace / Community Arts Centre, Blaxland Griffith ACT. studioMAP is celebrating its 30th year of service in 2025.

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Classifieds support Canberra Digest