Thursday 21st August

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Hello Canberra,

📆 Today: ButterBoy is coming to Canberra + A new bus timetable.

🌧️ Weather: 15° and showers. 90% chance of rain, most likely in the morning.

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🍪 Canberra Eats

This week’s foodie news:

ACT Restaurant of the Year: Lunetta has been named ACT Restaurant of the Year at the coveted Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards. Details here.

ButterBoy is Coming to Canberra: Sydney’s cult favourite cookie store ButterBoy is popping up at Redbrick in Fyshwick this weekend. They’ll be selling their classics plus limited edition specials, including a RedBrick x ButterBoy coffee-infused cookie. The pop-up runs Saturday and Sunday, 8am–3pm (unless sold out).

Dom’s Deli: A new sandwich shop from the team behind Church Neighbourhood Goods is opening this Friday inside the National Film and Sound Archive. Details here.

Hecho en Mexico: Kingston has a new Mexican restaurant. Hecho en Mexico, which opened its first location in Fitzroy in 2013, offers vibrant, fresh Mexican cuisine. To celebrate the Canberra opening, they’re serving $5 tacos and $15 margaritas until 3 September. Details here.

Community Cup: Bar Rochford’s annual bartending showdown returns next Sunday, with nine of Canberra’s top bartenders competing for the delightfully odd “1960 Arthur Averies Canary & Cage Bird Society Trophy” (an op-shop find). Each year, the event raises funds for charity, and in 2025, it’s supporting Café Stepping Stone, which provides training and employment for migrant and refugee women. Expect DJs and the tinnie bar in the kitchen. From 6pm, Sunday 31 August at Bar Rochford. Details here.

Sixty-Wine: Siren Bar in Gungahlin is hosting an afternoon of wine and nibbles. Enjoy a curated flight of six wines paired with 36 bites. Details here.

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Around Canberra: 👔 Formal Wear Op Shop

Need an affordable dress or suit for your school formal? The Kingsford Smith School’s Formal Wear Op Shop is happening this Saturday and is open to all Northside students. Shop for suits, dresses and other formal wear while giving new life to preloved fashion. Funds raised will go to Vinnies and The Junction Youth Health Service. Open Saturday 23 August, 9:30am–12:30pm at Kingsford Smith School in Holt.

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This Weekend: 🫛 Canberra Seed Swap

Canberra Seed Savers is a community group working cooperatively to protect our abundant, common heritage of open-pollinated food seeds. They are hosting their Spring Seed Swap this weekend. If you have seeds to swap, bring them along and take home some new gems for your garden. If you don’t have any to swap, they also have a seed library you can browse and purchase packets—all suited to Canberra’s growing conditions and climate. Details here.

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📰 Tidbits:

New Weekend Bus Timetable: A new Sunday bus timetable with more frequent services will begin on 31 August. Hourly local bus services will run from the first service until around 2pm, and rapid bus services will continue every 15 to 30 minutes across the weekend. In total, this adds 475 extra services on Sundays. Details here.

Heritage for Kingston Shops: The original strip of Kingston shops has been granted permanent heritage registration, with protections focused on the 1920s facades, awnings and parapets along Giles, Jardine and Kennedy Streets. The Heritage Council scaled back the original proposal after community feedback, limiting the zone to the shopfronts but still recognising their role as Canberra’s first shopping precinct and a hub of early city life.

ADHD Pilot: A new ACT program will allow selected GPs to diagnose and prescribe ADHD treatment—a role previously limited to specialists—in a bid to cut wait times. GPs will need to complete specific training to take part in the program.

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Around Canberra: 📆 Wonderful World of Canberra

You’ve probably come across Trevor Dickinson’s quirky drawings of Canberra’s landmarks and culture at various local markets. You can now pre-order the Wonderful World of Canberra 2026 Calendar. Details here.

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Queer Canberra: 🏳️‍🌈 Craig Boreham Double Feature

NFSA presents a special double feature from prominent Australian queer filmmaker Craig Boreham—Teenage Kicks and Lonesome—followed by a post-screening Q&A with Boreham. It’s happening next Saturday. Details here.

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Classifieds

Special: 🎨 studioMAP 50% Off Half-Term Bookings
Some spaces are still available for studioMAP’s after-school and Saturday art classes in painting, drawing and illustration. Suitable for ages 6-10 / 8-14 / 11-15 / Teen only 15+. Book now

🧑‍⚖️ The Jury Experience: Step into the heart of a high-stakes trial with The Jury Experience. In this live theatre show, you are the jury—the power to deliver justice is entirely in your hands. You'll examine every piece of the puzzle, from witness testimonies to forensic data, and ultimately decide: guilty or innocent? Details here.

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Classifieds support Canberra Digest.