…for we are one and free.
What do you get up to on January 26? See mates, go down to the park or the pub, or do you take part in a ceremony or vigil?
However you decide to spend January 26, take a gander at some of the events taking place in Melbourne next Tuesday. (Featured image: @moppity)
1. Share the Spirit
Tickets have already been exhausted for the Share The Spirit event held at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl; however, the day’s events will be live-streamed direct to Fed Square which has been transformed into a summer oasis complete with newly laid turf zones, deck chairs, bean bags and shady umbrellas. You can even order food from Fed Square restaurants right from your comfy spot using the new QR code.
Spend Australia Day in Melbourne’s meeting spot.
2. Day of Mourning Dawn Service
On the morning of January 26, from 5am to 8am, Victorian NAIDOC and the Pay The Rent Collective are hosting a dawn service in King’s Domain in order to mark the ”ongoing dispossession, displacement and oppression for the First People of this place.”
Registration is essential. See the event page for more details.
3. The Me and UooUoo Art Trail
The Me and UooUoo Art Trail is on display from 20 January to 21 March, giving intrepid city explorers two months to be able to track down every single UooUoo. However, why not use the public holiday to track down as many UooUoos as you can?
4. Invasion Day Rally
Every year, the Invasion Day rally which begins at the steps of Parliament House gets bigger and bigger in Melbourne. This year, Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) invite others to stand with them on January 26—a day of mourning.
For more info on the march, see here.
5. Go to the cinema
Whether you celebrate Australia Day or not, maybe what you need this pubic holiday is some time to kick back and watch a movie instead. Do it in style at Moonlight Cinemas Melbourne and catch the screening of The Dry, or make a beeline for Australia’s first indoor drive-in cinema and grab tickets for The Croods: A New Age, The War With Grandpa, Wonder Woman 1984 as well as The Dry.
6. Imaginaria
Over at Docklands, an hour-long journey through light, sound, and scent has popped up to take Melburnians for a ride. The 1000-square-metre venue has five specially designed spaces that are meant to be part game, part gallery, and part journey where visitors not only walk through but also interact with what’s going on inside.
If not January 26, go soon because Imaginaria closes on 31 January.