Tuesday 20th May

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Hello Canberra,

📆 Today: Arts Around Canberra + Donate your unfinished craft projects.

☁️ Weather: 16° and cloudy.

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🎨 Arts Around Canberra

This week's arts wrap:

Northern Lights: Swedish-Norwegian violin prodigy Johan Dalene—winner of the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Competition and newly appointed Artist-in-Residence with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra—makes his Canberra debut on his first Australian tour, joined by the eloquent pianist Jennifer Marten-Smith. Details here.

Moonlighting 3: An art party featuring the works of young local artists held in a half-empty commercial building in Civic. It's part exhibition, part live music event. Details here.

Belco Arts Openings: The next block of exhibitions opens at Belco Arts on Friday evening. This block includes Habitat—an open printmaking exhibition where printmakers from across Australia were invited to respond to what "Habitat" means to them. And The Beautiful Place Where We Live features Canberra-based artist An Pan's Australian landscape and cityscapes. Details here.

The Lovebirds: Tempo Theatre's production of The Lovebirds opens next week at the Belconnen Community Theatre. It's a fun, nonsensical English comedy from the 1950s, involving a newly married couple who are given a budgie as a wedding present, only to discover that the budgie is possessed by the spirit of the bride's late first husband. Details here.

‌Jazz & Contemporary Ensembles: The ANU School of Music will present a Jazz & Contemporary Ensembles concert tomorrow. Audience members can choose how much they pay for each ticket. All proceeds will go to the ANU School of Music Community Outreach Fund. Details here.

Stilleven: At ANCA in Dickson until June 1, Stilleven presents Rose-Mary Faulkner's kiln-formed glass and neon works, turning ordinary domestic still-lifes into luminous meditations on self-portraiture, femininity, and the metaphoric power of everyday objects. Details here.

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New: 🧵 UpShop

UpShop is a new volunteer-run initiative that rescues unfinished projects and craft supplies—think fabric, wool, thread, patterns, needles—and gives them a second life. They accept donations, prep items for resale, and help others pick up new skills along the way. If you've ever started a craft project only to realise it's not for you, why not donate your supplies so someone else can make use of them?

The UpShop is open every Friday from 9:30am–3pm and Saturday from 9am–12pm at the Diversity ACT Community Hub, 8 Laidlaw Place, Kambah. There'll be an official opening this Saturday from 11am–12pm. Details here.

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Coming Up: 🤼‍♂️ Slam Pro Wrestling

The SLAM! Pro Wrestling League returns to Canberra for a night of high-energy action—part athleticism, part chaos, and just the right amount of silliness (which, I guess is part of the attraction). Their last show at the UC Refectory was a sell-out. Details here.

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Cause: ☕️ Biggest Morning Tea By the Lake

Stella's By The Lake (Belconnen) in partnership with Quest Care is hosting a Biggest Morning Tea this Thursday morning. They'll be serving up sweet treats and hot drinks while raising funds for the Cancer Council. Details here.

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National Volunteering Week

It's currently National Volunteering Week. If you're looking for opportunities to volunteer, VolunteeringACT maintains a list of organisations currently seeking help. There are many ways to get involved—from helping families at Ronald McDonald House to ushering at the National Eisteddfod. Details here.

If you're interested in environmental volunteering, ParkCare ACT runs a number of programs. Details here.

For one-off volunteering at events like Floriade and Enlighten, you can also register with Events ACT. Details here.

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Sport: 🏉 GWS GIANTS v Port Adelaide Power

The Giants are back in Canberra on June 7 to take on Port Adelaide. I wonder how the teams will handle the cold! It's looking like another sell-out crowd, with only a few seats left—but surely plenty of unreserved spots on the grass. Details here.

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Classifieds

🍲 Dinner Delivered: Dinner Ladies makes ready-to-heat homely meals delivered to your door. Stack your freezer with their crowd-pleasers, and any time you need it, you're just a hot step away from a belly full of comfort. New customers can use code 'CANBERRADIGEST20' to get $20 off their first order. Details here.

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Classifieds support Canberra Digest