Your guide to what's going on around the capital this weekend.
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HANDMADE The Handmade Market is back, showcasing some of the best of Australian design. Browse the work of 158 designers in textiles, home wares, food, accessories and fashion. 10am-4pm, October 4-5. Entry by gold coin donation, which goes towards local charities Bosom Buddies and Dragons Abreast.
MOVING FEAST Spend the weekend roving from winery to winery and indulging in local food and wine during the Tradies Murrumbateman Moving Feast. Each winery will present a signature dish, with mains $20 and desserts $15. October 4-5. For more information, visit makersofmurrumbateman.org.au.
FLORIADE Now in its 27th year, Canberra's month-long celebration of spring is on. It showcases 1 million flowers in bloom at Commonwealth Park along with cooking demonstrations, children's activities and more. Admission is free. For a schedule of events and more information, visit floriadeaustralia.com.
TULIP FESTIVAL The Tulip Top Gardens spring festival offers a four-hectare display garden of tulips and other spring flowers. Open seven days a week, 9am-5pm until October 12. Admission Adults $14/Seniors $13/Under 16 free. Old Federal Highway, Sutton. Visit tuliptopgardens.com.au for more.
SPRING AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE Parliament House is celebrating the season with a series of weekly events. Every Saturday, until October 11, go behind the scenes of the iconic building on a 60-minute guided tour. Tours are also held some weekdays: 9.30am, 11am, 2pm and 3.30pm. Tickets Adult $18/Concession or Child $13/Family $45. Every Sunday until October 5, an experienced member of Parliament House's landscape services team will lead tours of the private courtyards and share gardening tips. Tour finishes with tea in the Queen's Terrace Cafe. 10.30am and 1.30pm, running for two hours. Tickets Adults $92/Concession or Child $82. All tickets from canberraticketing.com.au.
From 12pm LUNCHTIME GARAGE SALE Get rummaging in your lunch break at the Civic Square Garage Sale as part of the National Garage Sale Trail. Featuring items donated by Members of the Legislative Assembly as well as the Canberra Theatre, Canberra Museum and Gallery and The Green Shed. 12-2pm, Civic Square, London Circuit. For more information, visit tams.act.gov.au.
From 5.30pm NFSA BIRTHDAY Friday marks exactly 30 years since the National Film and Sound Archives moved to its current building in Acton. Celebrate with an evening of events dedicated to music and film from the 1980s. From 5.30pm, the Vinyl Lounge will play a tribute to the 1980s. At 7.30pm, the Arc Cinema will screen classic Australian film Gallipoli, as well as the Canberra premiere of the award-winning animated short The Gallant Captain, and a package of television highlights from 1984. All events are free, but some require tickets. Visit nfsa.gov.au for more information.
6.30PM CABARET & ALL THAT JAZZ Cabaret and All That Jazz incorporates some of Australia's most incredible talent, including sensational cabaret dance group Rogue Dolls Australia; Vegas headliner Nikki Canale; Billboard USA No. 1 chart artist Vince Gelonese; and sensational specialty acrobatic acts. The Abbey, Nicholls. Tickets from $49 from theabbey.com.au.
SATURDAY
8pm THE OWLS Newcastle four-piece The Owls play at Transit Bar to support their third EP, Own The Streets. Tickets $13.30 from moshtix.com.au. 18+.
8pm IN THE NEXT ROOM Nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play is Sarah Ruhl's most popular play to date. Presented by the National University Theatre Society. Also on October 4 at 8pm. The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre. Tickets Adult $25/Student $20 from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
7.45am BREAKFAST WITH THE BIRDS Bird lovers, spend a morning spying on the many bird species that call the Australian National Botanic Gardens home. The Breakfast with the Birds guided tours are on each Saturday and Sunday morning until October 12. Tour followed by a hot breakfast at Floresco in the Gardens. Tickets $35, which includes tour and breakfast. Suitable for ages eight and over. Wear comfortable footwear, warm clothes and bring binoculars if possible. For bookings, visit friendsanbg.org.au or phone (02) 6291 6396.
From 8am CAR AND BIKE SHOW If you're a car or bike enthusiast, check out the inaugural Bungendore and District Car and Bike Show. Enter your pride and joy for $20, with over 20 judged categories. Entry from 8am-11.30am, and awards presented at 2.30pm. Royal Hotel, Bungendore.
10am MOVIE HIGH TEA Catch new thriller flick Gone Girl in the Dendy Premium Lounge, and pair it with high tea throughout the film. You'll get a glass of sparling, mini cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, iced cupcakes, scones, tea and chocolate dipped strawberries. High tea costs $21 on top of your ticket. Only available for 10am sessions on October 4 and 5. Bookings at dendy.com.au.
From 11am BINDI IRWIN Wildlife warrior Bindi Irwin visits Floriade's Inspiration hub for six workshops from 11am-3.30pm as part of family fun week. Free. For more information visit floridaeaustralia.com
From 11am ZUMBARONS Energy company Origin is coming to Canberra, and is bringing sweet treats from acclaimed Sydney patissier Adriano Zumbo with it. To get yours, head to Westfield Belconnen level 3 car park from 11am-2pm, and Palmerston Lane in Griffith from 2.30-5.30pm. Also keep an eye out for the treats on Sunday from 10am-1pm in Lonsdale Street, Braddon.
2pm SPRING TEA Celebrate spring with a special tea in the picturesque garden courtyards of Parliament House. Enjoy a glass of bubbly on arrival, savoury sandwiches, cakes, freshly baked scones, and a selection of tea and coffee. 2-4pm. $55 per person plus booking fee from canberraticketing.com.au or call (02) 6275 2700.
2pm BASSOON CABARET David Whitbread performs his first solo recital, "Things you shouldn't do on a bassoon", at the Wesley Music Centre, Forrest. 2pm. Entry by donation of a note at the door. For more information, visit wesleycanberra.org.au/music.
2pm and 8pm THE WHARF REVUE Sydney Theatre Company's The Wharf Revue return with a new show, packed full of their trademark irreverent, anarchic political satire. Canberra Theatre. Tickets $35-$63 from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
3pm FINDING NEMO The National Portrait Gallery will hold a free screening of well-loved children's film Finding Nemo (G). 3-5pm. No bookings required.
5pm W-LEAGUE See Australian women's football at its best when last season's minor premiers, Canberra United, take on Brisbane Roar at home at McKellar Park, Belconnen. Tickets from canberraunited.com.au/tickets.
6.30pm SCAVENGER HUNT Set out after dark with a series of clues to discover an array of night-time plant, insect and animal activity across the National Botanic Gardens. Finish the night with an open air fire, toasting marshmallows, and supper in the gardens. Starts 7pm, gates open 6.30pm. Tickets $26 Adult/$21 Child (5-16 years) from anbg.gov.au; bookings essential.
7pm ROCK YOUR FROCK Dress up for a night of frocks, fun and frivolity at Rock Your Frock, raising money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. 7pm-late. Harmonie German Club, Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah. Tickets $25 available at the door, with all proceeds going to the research foundation. For more information, visit rockyourfrock.blogspot.com.au.
7.30pm SANGERFEST Every three years, German choirs from all over Australia come together for three days of concerts and festivities, with the gala concert the main event. Hear a celebration of German, Swiss and Austrian music from almost 400 choristers from 19 choirs. Llewellyn Hall. Tickets $15.29-$20.39 from ticketek.com.au.
7.30PM JOCELYN MOEN Songstress, raconteur and people watcher Jocelyn Moen sings with range and conviction. Her genre-defying songs carry vivid impressions of encounters with friends, lovers, garbage trucks and more. Some are in French and all thrum with musicality and the joie de vivre of cabaret. She recorded her first album, La Rouge Qui Bouge, in 2006 in Paris, where she lived for several years, and has just completed the studio work on her second. The Front, Lyneham. Tickets $10 at the door.
7.30PM ALICE FRASER After a sell-out opening night, Canberra's hottest new comedy room, The Bunker, welcomes one of Sydney's finest emerging comedians, Alice Fraser. As well as a thought nerd, word geek and deed doer, and ex-academic, Fraser is an ex-corporate lawyer and bad musician. Ginninderra Labor Club, Charnwood. Tickets $16.50 at the door.
8pm BILL BAILEY With his trademark intelligence and sharp wit, Bill Bailey returns to Australia with a show called Limboland, talking about the gap between how we imagine our lives to be and how they really are. National Convention Centre. Tickets start at $81.46 from ticketek.com.au.
From 10am GOVERNMENT HOUSE OPEN DAY Government House to open its doors to the public for its annual open day. Explore the house and gardens, and enjoy live music or a picnic on the grounds. 10am-4pm. Dunrossil Drive, Yarralumla. Free entry.
1.30pm DRAWING MASTERCLASS Learn and develop your drawing skills with Nicholas Harding in a workshop at the National Portrait Gallery, working from the model. 1.30pm-4.30pm. $115 or $100 for members and concessions. Bookings essential on 6102 7070 or bookings@npg.gov.au.
6pm MERAKI AT MOCAN Three hours of beautiful objects and wares, food, and wine. Browse the work of ceramicist Kelly Austin, maker Cassie Simakoff-Ellims, and artists Shellaine Godbold, Roman Stachurski, Rosie Goonan, Tom Skeehan and Lyn Norton. 6-9pm. Mocan and Green Grout, New Acton.
8pm LXURY Up-and-coming London artist/producer/DJ Lxury lets the music do the talking with little known of his identity. Transit Bar. Tickets $23.50 from moshtix.com.au.
1pm and 3pm GAMELAN PERFORMANCE Soegito Hardjodikoro and Gide Ikariadi perform on the traditional Indonesian gender, in association with the exhibition Masters of modern Indonesian portraiture. 1pm-2pm and 3pm-4pm. National Portrait Gallery. Free; no bookings required.