Monday 24th March

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Hello Canberra,

📆 Today: What's on this week in Canberra + A busking festival in Braddon.

⛅️ Weather: 29° and partly cloudy.

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📆 What's Happening this Week in Canberra

Here are this week's highlights:

Viva Italia: The two-week festival celebrating Italian culture starts this Friday evening with an opening night under the stars featuring Italian street food, music and dance. Details here.

Handmade Market: You'll find over 260 Australian designers and producers—and 30 new stalls—at the Handmade Market, running all weekend at EPIC. Browse fashion, ceramics, handcrafted furniture, children's toys and clothing, original artworks, jewellery, and more. Details here.

Playwell Brick Market: There's a LEGO brick market happening in Pearce on Sunday. Find new, rare, and retired LEGO sets, purchase parts by weight, and explore a vast selection of unique minifigures. Details here.

Slam Pro Wrestling League: Live pro wrestling returns to Canberra this Saturday. The Slam Pro League will be showcasing their athleticism at the UC Refectory. Details here.

Paws Party: The Paws Party returns to Haig Park on Sunday for a "dogtor"-themed event for pups. There will be a photo booth, live music, doggy treats, and the chance to chat with a vet for free. Details here.

Canberra Model Train Expo: The Canberra Model Railway Club is holding its annual expo at UC High School in Kaleen next weekend. See layouts and displays at one of the largest model railway expos outside metro areas. Details here.

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🧑‍🎨 Arts Around Canberra

This week's arts wrap:

Big Band Video Game Music: After a successful concert last September, the ConneXion Big Band is back with a second 64-bit Big Band Video Game Music Night. Hear tunes from Pokémon, Donkey Kong, Super Mario, Fallout, Cuphead, Five Nights at Freddy's, and more. Details here.

Belco Arts Openings: A new round of exhibitions is opening this week at Belco Arts, including Bountiful Botanicals, a series of works from botanical artists submitted as part of the Botanical Art Worldwide Project. Details here.

Flamenco: Grisha Goryachev is renowned for his extraordinary talent in both classical and flamenco guitar. He'll be performing at Albert Hall next week. Details here.

Concurrent Exhibition: Concurrent is a one-night exhibition showcasing emerging talent in fine art. Expect a diverse lineup of work alongside live music sets. Details here.

Resonant Spaces: The Canberra Museum + Gallery presents a solo piano series featuring ARIA Award-winning artists David Bridie and Sophie Hutchings. These concerts offer a rare opportunity to experience live music and visual art together as each artist responds to the works of Sidney Nolan. Details here.

Livewire: #LIVEWIRE by Civic Art Bureau is a satellite exhibition of paintings by Jonas Balsaitis from the 1990s, including his Palette Paintings (1994), outtakes from the Drill Hall Gallery Analogue exhibition, and a screening of Balsaitis's film Erratica (1982). Details here.

The Fraudulent Isotopic Analysis: Visaya Hoffie's painting series, currently on show at Platform by Canberra Contemporary, reflects on shifting notions of identity, belonging, and place. Details here.

Luminescence Chamber Singers: The Luminescence Chamber Singers present the music of Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo at the Wesley Music Centre this Saturday. Details here.

Shostakovich: The National Capital Orchestra will perform Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 at the Snow Concert Hall on April 6. Details here.

Lakeside at 5: Versatile vocalist Rachael Thoms joins forces with two of Canberra's most sought-after musicians, guitarist Lachlan Coventry and bassist Chris Pound for an after-work concert at Tuggeranong Arts. Details here.

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About Canberra: 💵 Unclaimed Money

Did you know there are millions of dollars in unclaimed money owed to Canberrans? The ACT Government keeps a register of unclaimed trust monies, and the ACT Public Trustee and Guardian has its own database of funds that have been declared unclaimed. A lot of it comes from unclaimed rental bonds. It's worth popping your name in!

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Classifieds:

🎻 Night and Now: Canberra Symphony Orchestra's thrilling program of orchestral masterworks, 'Night and Now' draws us deeper into imagination. Three memorable pieces, including Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, one of classical music's most stirring pieces. March 26, 27, 7:30pm, Llewellyn Hall, ANU. Details here.

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Classifieds support Canberra Digest

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This Weekend: 🎶 The Braddon Busking Festival

Lonsdale, Mort, Elouera, and Girrawheen Streets in Braddon will be filled with music this Sunday during the Braddon Busking Festival and Artist Gathering. Buskers will compete for cash and other prizes and will be eligible for the Australian National Busking Championships. For the first time, visual artists will be displaying their work alongside the buskers. Details here.

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