The 8 Best Things To Do In Melbourne This November
Horse race? What horse race? There’s so much more to do and see than horses racing around in circles this November. Melbourne is delivering the goods yet again with everything from a muddy obstacle course, an artists market, a record fair and a few super cool gigs. Get around it.
#1 Ask all the right questions at the Interrobang Festival
What is the best way to destroy the internet before it destroys us? Are cockroaches attracted to human tears? Why be good? These questions and more will be posed and resolved at Interrobang: A Festival of Questions. Running from 27-28 November at The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, this first-time festival presents a brains trust of artists, activists, authors and astronomers from around the world, providing sage answers to whatever idiotic query to audience can think up. The big hitters of the event are free internet campaigner Cory Doctorow, philosopher Raimond Gaita and Wild author Cheryl Strayed, but we are truly thrilled about the participation of Catastrophe star, Rob Delaney. As his one million+ Twitter followers can attest, the man is both comedy god and hirsute sexual icon.
#2 Find the best music Melbourne has to offer at MMW
With little label showcases, cult electronic acts, laneway gigs and a grimy underworld hub, Melbourne Music Week (MMW) is one of the coolest events on our music calendar. This year MMW is taking over the old basement ballroom of the abandoned Royal Women’s Hospital. The cobwebs are cleared and the creepy subterranean cave is ready for sets by NYC DJ Dr Dunks, DZ Deathrays, Monolake and more. Gigs and parties will take place at a host of satellite venues, including Section 8’s famous laneway party and a series of Music + Food events. The jewel in the crown in Robert Henke’s Lumiere II, a mind-bending laser and audio performance from the co-developer of Ableton Live.
#3 Hidden gems at the Blender Lane Artist Market
Hosted by Blender Studios, the first Blender Lane Artist Market of the summer will be held on November 11, uniting local artists, illustrators, makers and designers in one graffiti-covered laneway. Check out bags and accessories by Elephant and Robots, greeting cards by Meet Me In Shermer, sustainable fashion by Cadia Belante and zines from local artist Chehehe, and wander into the open house at Dark Horse Studios while you’re there. With coffee, treats and twinkling fairy lights, it’s a sweet way to kill a summer evening.
#4 Paradise on a mountain
Under the lush ferns of the Lake Alpine Mountain Resort, one of Melbourne’s best boutique festivals is set to light up. The Paradise Music Festival peeps have assembled the cream of local talent for the event, from the deep house grooves of Roland Tings to the aggro minimalism of My Disco, the big soul stylings of The Harpoons to the mournful indie of Totally Mild. This is a festival line-up for kids in the know, which rocks by day and goes full tilt disco funk in the wee small hours. It’s teeny tiny, thick with good vibes, and still kind of a secret on the summer festival circuit. Get in while the gettin’ is good.
#5 Get down and dirty at Mudderella
Strictly for the ladies, Muddarella is a mud-caked obstacle course that challenges you to be the best and grimiest you that you can be. Designed by women for women, the event is an all-in, non-competitive sports day that has three guiding principles: #1 You’re stronger than you think you are, #2 Life is about more than going to the gym, and #3 You deserve an awesome experience. Whether or not you “deserve” it, Muddarella promises stacks of fun for women who aren’t afraid to get their hair dirty. Seriously, how awesome does this look?
#6 Eat everything at Good Food Month
Melbourne Good Food Month returns in November, offering an unconscionable number of ways to eat yourself into a coma. The Night Noodle Markets return to Birrarung Marr while Sweetfest takes over the Meat Market in Melbourne’s North and the Ice-Cream Social comes the 1000 Pound Bend. Serious foodies can queue up for various restaurant show dinners, while foodies with a heart of gold can volunteer their time Fare Share dinner. Catering to homeless Victorians with restaurant ingredients that would otherwise go to waste, Fare Share is holding a cook-what-you-eat fundraiser that doubles as a singles market – you can do good and find love, in one starry night.
#7 Search for record gold at the PBS Record Fair
PBS is a haven for Melbourne’s most devoted music boffins and they’ll be out in spades for the PBS Record Fair. The inaugural event will feature 40 stalls filled with hot wax and cool vinyl – disco, funk, RnB, soul, rock, metal, jazz, pop and more – plus cassettes, collectible posters, t-shirts and music memorabilia. Taking place on Saturday November 21 at the Collingwood Town Hall, the fair will welcome early bird crate diggers from 9am and less militant music lovers from 10am. You can cool your jets out front of the hall with a bite from the gourmet sausage sizzle.
#8 Go big or go home at Big West Festival
Big West is a little rough and ready, but what it lacks in polish it more than provides in rambunctious community spirit. Now in it’s tenth year, the festival celebrates arts and culture in Melbourne’s west, embracing the rich multicultural landscape in theatre, song, dance, ceremony, sculpture and various other modes of creative expression. Local legends the Snuff Puppets will open their doors for a special Snuff Skool while past asylum seekers explore ideas of freedom in This Is Not a Protest and African-Australians interpret a Ugandan classic with The Graceful Giraffe Cannot Become A Monkey (hint: different species). There are 70 events over the nine-day festival and most of them are likely to broaden your view of the world.
(Lead image: Blender Lane Artist Market)
