Friday 1st August

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Hello Canberra,

📆 Today: What’s coming up in August + This weekend in Canberra.

🌦️ Weather: 13° and possible showers. 50% chance of rain, most likely from late morning.

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📆 August in Canberra

Here’s what’s coming up in August:

LOL Season (7–9 August): Comedy ACT’s LOL Season returns for 2025 with 10 comedy shows packed into just 3 days. Details here.

Bonfire Night (8 August): Fire, food and festivities. Spit-roasted pork, vinyl DJ, wine by the glass, cocktails and more. Details here.

Viral Food Festival (8–10 August): Over 40 “viral” treats made famous on social media, like Big Mac tacos, Dubai bubble waffles, rainbow toasties and Labubu bao. Plus rides, carnival games, roving performers and live music. Details here.

Raiders (8, 10, 30 August): The Raiders NRL and NRLW teams are playing their final home games of the regular season this August. Details here.

Antiques and Collectables Fair (8–10 August): The winter edition of the Antique and Collectibles fair returns to Albert Hall with up to 30 local and interstate dealers offering antiques, old-world nostalgia, books, jewellery and collectables. Details here.

Winter Market (9 August): A showcase of cold climate produce. Truffles, wine, garlic, olives and more, with the Cellar Door wine market inside The Vault and farmers’ stalls outside. Details here.

National Science Week (9–17 August): Parasites, robots, science in shopping centres, historic walking tours and more—it’s all happening during National Science Week. Details here.

Oz Comic-Con (9–10 August): Australia’s ultimate pop culture event, with studio activations, comics, anime, cosplay and video games. Details here.

Canberra CareersXpo (13–14 August): Over 150 exhibitors offering info on uni, VET, career placement and more—for school students and anyone exploring new career paths. Details here.

NBL Blitz (27–31 August): The NBL Blitz is taking over Canberra. The pre-season tournament contains 5 nights of electric double headers at AIS Arena as all 10 NBL teams compete for the Loggins–Bruton Cup. Details here.

Handmade Market (30–31 August): Over 200 stalls selling Australian-made homewares, gifts, fashion, accessories and food, with a gourmet food hall full of street food vans. Details here.

Turn Back Time: Lanyon Homestead is celebrating Family History Month with a day of historical workshops, crafts and tours. Try candle-making or heritage knitting, learn how to preserve heirlooms, and end the day with a bush dance. Details here.

The Canberra Brave have a couple of games coming up next weekend, but tickets are already sold out. Bell Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the end of August has also sold out.

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Looking Ahead: 🤣 Harry Enfield

English satirical comedian and self-styled “stupid idiot” Harry Enfield is coming to Canberra. He’ll reflect on 40 years in comedy and bring some of his favourite characters vividly back to life on stage. Details here.

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👉 This Weekend in Canberra

Light Up Lyneham, the Hall Markets, the Fireside Festival, and more are on this weekend.

Get the full rundown of weekend events.

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Talks, Workshops and More

A collection of interesting events coming up:

Picnic at Hanging Rock: After a screening of Picnic at Hanging Rock, join the hosts of the Secret Life of Books podcast as they unpack the film and the novel that inspired it. The discussion will be recorded as a special episode. Details here.

Pint of Science: As part of Science Week, Pint of Science is hosting a series of engaging, accessible talks on the latest research—held at King O’Malleys and Smith’s Alternative. Details here.

Gorgeous Books and Royal Annotations: What did Katherine Parr and Henry VIII write in their books? Step into the private libraries of one of history’s most infamous royal couples and discover how ink, margins, and manuscript flourishes reveal more than meets the eye. Details here.

In Conversation with a Robot: Robotics expert Dr Maleen Jayasuriya (Collaborative Robotics Lab – University of Canberra) unpacks how robots "see", decide and move—and why human elements like psychology and creativity still give machines their edge. Details here.

You Are Here: Local independent arts organisation You Are Here is hosting a Show n Tell session this weekend, featuring talks and presentations from artists in their development program “Cahoots”. It’s free and open to anyone who loves to talk about art. Details here.

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Classifieds

💡 Still paying too much for power? You might be paying more than you should for Electricity and Gas, so why not check? Compare energy deals available in the ACT and see how much you could save. Details here.

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Classifieds support Canberra Digest