Art and Music Festivals in Melbourne & Victoria 

There is much public art to be seen on the streets at any time of day as well as inside many public buildings. More information on public art in Melbourne. In addition, public bodies such as the City of Melbourne often sponsor temporary artworks and installations in laneways and other public spaces.

This event seems a wonderful match of venue and entertainment. Our heritage homes can often be pigeonholed as places for historic re-enactments, but they are very young in European terms and were usually created as places to entertain and host cultural activities.

So Frenchy So Chic provides the opportunity to picnic with choice deli foods, entertain the kids, dance on the grass listen to French bands and all in civilised surroundings. 30-somthings with children and a taste for the good life - this is particularly for you. More info & booking details

Our rating - 5 Hats

The Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival is an annual three day event at the iconic Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, mainland Australia’s longest continuously operating cinema.

The Festival is an immersive experience of 12 films in 1 cinema across 3 days. It features a world-class program showcasing the very best in Australian and international non-fiction films. Audiences explore fascinating worlds and cultures together, bringing them face to face with real-life characters, real-life stories and real-world problems.

The festival provides a deep and enriching experience by connecting audiences with many of the film directors and key contributors by way of live in venue and live via Skype Q&A sessions, uncovering the stories behind the stories, as well as specialist panel discussions. Curated by dual Emmy Award-winning director, Geoffrey Smith, the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival celebrates diversity, profiles the global issues of our time (and times past), creates community, challenges injustices and holds people and governments to account.

Commencing in 2007 the Gertrude Street Projection Festival has grown to become  one of inner Melbourne’s most visible and accessible free large scale arts festival. The festival celebrates projection art and lets us see familiar spaces and buildings in new, inspired ways. It’s a collaborative, volunteer effort of artists and traders, residents and community groups all brought together by The Gertrude Projection Association.

For 10 evenings in July and in over 38 sites, the length of Gertrude Street in Fitzroy is illuminated by the visions of talented projections artists for the Gertrude Street Projection Festival. Buildings, laneways, footpaths and tree trunks light up with site-specific, curated projections. The Festival’s diverse arts program celebrates and connects our diverse community.

White Hat can thoroughly recommend the festival as a showcase of the edgy, arty inner suburbs. more info >>

Our rating - 4 Hats

White Night 2019 will return to the regional city of Ballarat from 7pm on Saturday 21 September until 2am on Sunday 22 September.

Local, interstate and international artists, musicians and performers will weave a spell over the city in a celebration of art, culture and creativity.

Under the artistic direction of David Atkins OAM, White Night Ballarat invites visitors and locals to make their journey around Ballarat’s iconic buildings, cultural institutions and streets, in celebration of reclaiming and reimagining the city through projection, installations, performance and music.

Full details at White Night Ballarat

With photographs from across Australia and around the world together with a host of exhibitions and events the Ballarat Foto Biennale is the largest photography event in the Southern Hemisphere. Full information at Ballarat Foto Biennale

Over 80 bands covering all styles of Jazz. 4 major venues all in close proximity.

Australia's much loved regional music event, 2022 Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues returns on Friday October 28 through to Sunday October 30, with an adventurous and eclectic 2022 program featuring Australia's premier jazz and blues artists, inspired collaborations and the annual National Jazz Awards.

Various Venues in Wangaratta, Victoria

FRIDAY's VENUES

WPACC Theatre & Hall
Merriwa Park Outdoor Stage

SATURDAY's VENUES

WPACC Theatre & Hall
Merriwa Park Outdoor Stage
Holy Trinity Cathedral

SUNDAY's VENUES
Jazz Mass at Holy Trinity Cathedral
Merriwa Park Outdoor Stage

Tickets available from WPACC website

Workshops, concerts and stalls. The Port Fairy Folk Festival usually sells out well in advance, so White Hat advises that you should book early.

The Woodend Winter Arts Festival showcases music, literature and the visual arts in intimate historical venues over three pleasurable days.

Full details at the Festival Website