Got three days to spend in Melbourne's cultural heart? Immerse yourself in all that's great about Melbourne in winter, with our RISING three-day hit list.
Day 1
Enter Melbourne Town Hall for immersive exhibition Euphoria, where a circle of screens display a life-sized choir on the ground floor, while jazz drummers battle it out from above.
Linger over lunch at Lollo, picking plates loaded with fresh local produce. Or sit down inside ACMI at Hero for contemporary European dishes from award-winning chef, restaurateur and author Karen Martini.
Find a patch of grass in Fitzroy Gardens at twilight, for choral performance Consort of the Moon. Audience participation is optional – you can get involved or simply let the electro-acoustic music wash over you.
Catch a tram back into the city centre of Melbourne. Keep an eye out for the festival's own six Melbourne Art Trams, featuring new designs by First Peoples artists. Inspired by the theme of Blak Futurism, these colourful canvases will be making their way around the city over the next 12 months.
Anthem is a large-scale sound and video collaboration between artist Wu Tsang and folk icon Beverly Glenn-Copeland. Walk through the repurposed pews of St Paul's Cathedral, taking in the 25-metre-high visuals and letting the acoustics echo around you. Nearby Chapter House is home to evolving exhibition Ghetto Biennale, setting ritual, music and movement among a living museum of human detritus.
Drop into Night Trade in the St Paul's car park to fuel up on BBQ, washed down with tinnies or a cup pulled from a giant negroni tank. Bop along to tunes spun by DJs or notes warbled by eager karaoke participants.
Walk down towards Birrarung (the Yarra River) to take in 20 colourful Wallabies sculptures crafted by artist Matthew Clarke. Then, lace up your ice skates and step onto The Rink, where you can glide along the banks of Birrarung Marr under a constellation of glittering lights. After your skate, shake off the cold with a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine.
Stay overnight in the city so you can rest up in convenient, creative luxury and dive right back in the following day.
Day 2
Rise and shine with expertly roasted coffee and bang-up brekkie at favourites Ten Square Cafe, Pope Joan or Journal.
Book a daytime ticket for Shadow Spirit, where you'll step into the upper floors of Flinders Street Station, to enter a parallel dimension. First Peoples artists have assembled an exhibition that traverses time and combines song and ceremony.
Graze on native flavours from Torres Strait Islander chef Nornie Berro at Big Esso by Mabu Mabu in Fed Square. Or drop into Victoria by Farmer's Daughters for a slice of their Sunday roast.
Then gather in the centre of the square at 4pm on 10 June, to grab a biodegradable kazoo and get howling. 10,000 Kazoos will see a mass audience get together, to hum along in kazoo-nison. The event (and kazoos) is free and no musical ability is required to take part.
Sit for an early dinner of share plates and vino at intimate and sophisticated wine bar Embla or go bold at high-energy Japanese-inspired Yakimono.
Make it a night of riveting theatre shows and performances. Oh Deer! pulls the stuffing out of popular culture's orphan trope at the Capital Theatre. The Arts Centre is set to buzz with playwright Declan Futber Gillick's Jacky playing at Fairfax Studio and shock-horror show TANZ in the Playhouse. Don't miss Buŋgul, where Yolnu dancers perform to the accompaniment of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Top off the night with cocktails into the wee hours at Bar Margaux or Berlin Bar, then catch some z's back at your hotel.
Day 3
Start the day with a late brunch. You'll be over the moon with Higher Ground, Grain Store or Hardware Societe.
Book tickets in advance for the lunchtime session of Hide the Dog – a First Nations comedy where best friends Niarra and Te Umuroa set sail to Aotearoa (New Zealand) to save their friend Tigs, the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) from hunters.
When your belly rumbles, venture to gorgeous HER for all-day French-inspired plates. Or pop into Bar Lourinhã for tasty tapas – and perhaps a daylight cocktail, if you're inclined.
After the sun has well and truly set, walk down to Southbank to witness digital projection Electric: Mookies Around The Water, beamed onto the side of Hamer Hall. Walk on to Federation Square for free luminescent night-time show Spark. Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde has created a cluster of lights, made from biodegradable materials. Once released to the elements, the sparks will cloud together, shifting in the breeze as the mimic the patterns of birds, stars and fireflies.
Relive all the highlights over a cocktail at Lui Bar. Or head to 80 Collins Street for a nightcap at Nick and Nora's or Society.
Find out more at
rising.melbourne.
