October in Canberra: top events in your city this month
Canberra opens October with Floriade after dark and a long weekend, then keeps going. These are the twenty-odd we'd actually message the group chat about.
Every pick below links to its live page on Keen, with dates, prices and the ticket link. The links retire once an event is done, so if one tells you it's been and gone, that's the truth doing its job. For the always-current version, what's on in Canberra is rebuilt from the catalogue nightly.
Floriade's last fortnight
Floriade itself runs in Commonwealth Park until Sunday 11 October, free by day. Two ways to see it differently:
Floriade NightFest
Commonwealth Park · 1 to 4 October
Four nights of illuminated gardens, music and entertainment after dark, running into the long weekend. Gates from 6:30pm; rug up, it's still Canberra.
Luminous Life: A Twilight Discovery Experience
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Acton · Thursday 1 October
Rangers lead you through the native collection at dusk with UV torches, hunting flowers and fungi that glow. Genuinely magic, and part of Floriade About Town.
The big nights
G Flip: Bed On Fire
UC Refectory, Bruce · Thursday 1 October
An ACT-exclusive headline show from one of the country's best live acts. Start the long weekend a day early; nobody will blame you.
JET: The Rumblin' Regional Revue
UC Refectory, Bruce · Thursday 22 October
One of Australia's most recognisable rock bands, bringing the hits to town. A shouting-along gig.
Peking Duk: Paradise Album Tour
UC Refectory, Bruce · Friday 30 October
A long-awaited debut album and a brand new live show from the ARIA-winning duo. The Friday before Halloween, which feels about right.
Hospital Records 30 Years
Hopscotch, Braddon · Saturday 3 October
The drum and bass label's thirtieth birthday party lands in Canberra, from the afternoon into the night.
Candles and classical
Candlelight: Vivaldi's Four Seasons
James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia · Saturday 17 October
The Four Seasons by candlelight inside the national gallery. Queen vs ABBA and a Halloween edition follow on the 24th.
Erin Helyard: Bach and Handel at the Harpsichord
Llewellyn Hall, ANU · Thursday 1 October Free
A harpsichord recital with real fire in the fingers, and nothing to pay.
Magic, Spells and Other Worlds
Chapman · Saturday 3 October
Witches, spells and mountain kings, played on two pianos. A lovely, slightly odd long weekend afternoon at $20.
Comedy
Nat's What I Reckon: Panic at the Bistro
UC Hub, Bruce · Thursday 15 October
Sweary, chaotic and very funny, fresh from sell-out festival runs.
Daniel Muggleton: White Here, White Now
UCLive Theatrette, Bruce · Friday 9 October
One of Australia's most in-demand comedians, despite, in his own words, no media attention of any kind.
Open doors and big ideas
Government House Open Day
Government House, Yarralumla · Saturday 10 October Free
The gates open from 10am to 2pm: wander the grounds of one of the most historic properties in the country.
100 Years of East Block
National Archives of Australia, Parkes · Saturday 10 October
A guided tour of a heritage 1920s building that started as Canberra's first General Post Office. Same morning as Government House, so make a day of it.
Royal Australian Mint Public Tour
Royal Australian Mint, Deakin · daily, 12 to 31 October Free
Forty-five minutes above the factory floor where your coins are made.
National Carillon Public Tours
Queen Elizabeth II Island · Sunday 4 October
Inside the bell tower, with a carillonist showing you how it all works. The most photographed building in town, finally from the inside.
A Critique of Human Supremacism
RSSS Auditorium, ANU · Thursday 22 October Free
A big free lecture, with a reception first, on how we came to think we own the planet. The dinner-party conversation starter of the month.
Food and drink
Oktoberfest in the Gardens
Patrick White Lawns · Saturday 24 October
Bier halls, bratwurst and a silent disco on the lawns by the lake.
Sapling Yard Wine Dinner
1882 Hall, Hall · Thursday 8 October
Five courses matched to cool-climate wines in a country hall. $134, and worth the short drive out.
Masterclass: Shiraz vs Syrah
Porters Liquor, Campbell · Saturday 10 October
The same grape from two continents, glasses side by side. You'll never order it the same way again.
Late ones and Halloween
Matinee: 30+ Clubbing
Mooseheads, Canberra City · Saturday 10 October
A 30-plus day club from 4pm to 10pm, with the nostalgic Mooseheads throwback everyone talks about. Home in time for a proper sleep.
The Fright Crawl
Canberra City · Saturday 31 October
Halloween night itself, four-plus bars and hundreds in costume.
La Grande Fête
Telopea Park School, Barton · Saturday 31 October
A French village fair with a Halloween twist: rides, French food stalls and a bit of mischief. The daytime Halloween option.
The part where you actually go
That's the list. The gap between reading it and standing in one of those rooms is the same as ever: someone has to pick a date and make the call.
That's the job Keen does. The quickest way in is Find a time: pick two or three dates that could work, add an idea or two from this page, and drop one link in the group chat. Everyone answers from their browser, no app and no account needed. You see which date wins, tap once, and it's a real plan with RSVPs and a chat of its own.
And once your mates are on Keen too, it starts doing the noticing for you: everyone marks the nights they're free, and when yours line up, Keen tells you, along with what's on that actually suits the crew. The Labour Day long weekend (3 to 5 October) lines up with the last NightFest nights, which is convenient.
October's twenty-odd best excuses are above. Pick one, name a night, and send the message.
Start closer in. See what's on in the next few days, pick a night, send the link.
What's on in Canberra this weekendGet Keen free on the App Store or Google Play.
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