Tuesday 8th July

---

Hello Canberra,

📆 Today: The Winter Festival + A Heritage-Listed Skatepark.

🌦️ Weather: 13° and partly cloudy. 50% chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening.

---

Coming Up: 🧄 The Winter Festival

Southern Harvest—the local region's farmers’ co-op—is hosting the Winter Festival at Dairy Road, celebrating seasonal produce like truffles, garlic, wine, olives and more. The main events run from 25–27 July:

Bonfire Night: The festival kicks off with Bonfire Night—expect fire, sparklers, a DJ and delicious food, including spit-roasted pork from local farm Branch & Burrow, boozy hot chocolates, wines by the glass, and more to be announced.

Market Day: Explore the best of cold-climate produce. Market stalls will be selling fine foods and locally grown fresh produce. The Vault will host a cellar door with many of the region's wineries represented, and there'll be plenty of food trucks serving up tasty treats. Details here.

There's also a long lunch happening on Sunday at Contentious Character, and some potential workshops still to be announced—I'll keep you posted.

---

🎨 Arts Around Canberra

This week's arts wrap: Enron: Opening next week at Mill Theatre, Enron is an exhilarating business thriller that takes you inside the most infamous corporate scandal in history, with razor-sharp wit and rapid-fire storytelling. Details here.

Belco Arts Exhibitions: Four new exhibitions open this Friday at Belco Arts, all showcasing work by First Nations artists. Details here.

This weekend, the Arts Centre will also celebrate 10 years of NAIDOC in the Northwith a day of family-friendly activities, stalls and entertainment. Details here.

Alma Moodie Quartet: Formed in 2021, the Alma Moodie Quartet is named after a Queensland-born violinist who earned acclaim in Europe between the wars but has since been largely forgotten. They'll perform the first in a series of Canberra concerts at Wesley Music Centre on July 22. Details here.

Gershwin & Shostakovich: Just a handful of tickets remain for the Australian Chamber Orchestra's Gershwin & Shostakovich, featuring internationally renowned Ukrainian-born pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk. Details here.

The Entrepreneur: Salut! Baroque presents The Entrepreneur, showcasing the music of Georg Philipp Telemann. Celebrity culture thrived in the baroque period, and Telemann was one of its stars. Details here.

Arts National: Arts National runs a series of engaging lectures across a wide range of fine, decorative, contemporary and creative art forms. The Molonglo Plains society is based in Queanbeyan, and you can find their 2025 lecture program on the website. Details here.

M16 Artspace: The next block of exhibitions is opening this Friday at M16. Details here.

---

Tidbits

Light Rail 2B: Detailed designs for Light Rail Stage 2B have been released by the ACT Government. Plans show the Yarra Glen roundabout will be transformed into an intersection. More.

Heritage-Listed Skatepark: The "Brick Banks" in Erindale has been provisionally registered on the Heritage Register. First laid as retaining walls in 1981, the curving banks became a beloved skate spot, attracting legends like Tony Hawk, and remain one of the few intact 1980s street-skate landmarks in Australia. If the listing proceeds, it will be Canberra's first heritage-protected skate feature. More.

Container Deposit Scheme Expanding: Return-It, the operator of Canberra's Container Deposit Scheme—where recyclable drink containers can be returned for a $0.10 refund—has announced four new drop-off spots. New drop-and-go pods are coming to Dickson, Kaleen, Conder and Richardson.

---

Kids: 🐒 Zoofest

Zoofest returns to the National Zoo and Aquarium this weekend for a winter celebration of family-friendly fun. There'll be creative craft activities, games, special animal guests, mischievous mascots and live music. Details here.

While you're at the zoo, stop by the zebra enclosure to see little Thuli—the newest baby zebra to be welcomed to the zoo.

---

Stage: 🎭 Pride and Prejudice

Award-winning theatre company Bloomshed is bringing a bold new take on Jane Austen's classic to Canberra. Written with their signature wit from the depths of the housing crisis, this raucous production flips the table on the Bennet sisters' quest for love and security through a mercenary marriage. It's coming to the Playhouse in October. Details here.

---

Classifieds

🎻 The Music of John Williams - LIVE with Full Orchestra: From galaxy-shaking Star Wars themes to the roar of Jurassic Park, the adrenaline of Indiana Jones to the magic of Harry Potter – this concert brings John Williams' greatest scores to life in a symphonic celebration of cinema. July 24/25, 7:00pm. Llewellyn Hall, ANU. Details here.

--

Classifieds support Canberra Digest

---

Cause: 🏊 2025 MS Mega Swim

The MS Mega Swim is a fun, 24-hour team relay where swimmers are sponsored by friends, family and colleagues to freestyle, backstroke, butterfly or doggy-paddle—all while raising vital funds to support people living with MS. It's happening on August 2 at the AIS. Details here.