Give this trip around the sun the treatment it deserves.
Nobody has been able to celebrate the way they would have liked this year. But with 2021 inbound, the winds of change are blowing through Melbourne streets and plenty of COVID-safe events are being announced to provide the opportunity to feel a little bit normal again.
But rather than waiting for New Year’s to roll around, we have a weekend before that – and a public holiday on Monday December 28 – to give things a red hot crack in the lead-up. Here are eight events going down prior to the year’s final day that will help you picture a 2021 with less pandemics and more parties.
Social Bowls Club: Boxing Day Edition
Take of your socks and feel the grass between your toes as you dance to Morning Maxwell and Stace Cadet at Windsor’s Melbourne Bowling Club. With two hours of free drinks and six hours of DJs, try your luck on the greens with your mates, soak up the December sun and forget the trials of 2021.
Grab a tick here.
La La Local: Boxing Day Fundraiser
In the season of giving, The Workers Club is providing the opportunity to give to a fantastic Australian charity while catching a gig at one of Melbourne’s most popular gig venues. Featuring performances from Holly Hebe, Thorne, The Mystery Shack Band and more, all profits from the night will be donated to The Song Room, an organisation that provides creative programs for disadvantaged children around Australia.
Get amongst it here.
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Rochford Wines Mixtape Music Series
Interested in upping your celebrations due to decreased fun throughout the year? The Rochford Wines Music Mixtape Series might be just for you. Across three massive afternoons, the renowned Yarra Valley winery will be hosting three of Australia’s best electronic acts to perform DJ sets. Confidence Man, Cosmo’s Midnight and Client Liaison will be pumping up the vineyard dancefloor on Saturday December 26, Sunday December 27 and Tuesday December 29 respectively.
Check it out here.
BLAK STAGE at The Retreat
On Tuesday December 29, The Retreat will present BLAK STAGE – an open mic night for First Nations artists to take the stage. Following on from a roaringly-successful inaugural 2019 series, the BLAK STAGE welcomes artists of all abilities to come and perform before a welcoming audience – there’s no critique here. While the stage is specific to First Nations artists, The Retreat openly invites anyone to come and watch the show.
Find out more here.
Eat the Beat: Boxing Day Boat Party
Promotion group Eat the Beat, known for dominating the Saturday night ticket with weekly parties at CBD nightclub New Guernica, will take their talents to the harbour with a Boxing Day Boat party featuring local DJs. A two-dancefloor boat will cruise the waterways of Melbourne at sunset, followed by an afterparty at New Guernica of course.
Get your lifejackets ready and sort your tickets here.
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Contact High’s Psychadelic Xmas
If Christmas lunches and family reunions aren’t really your thing, perhaps Contact High’s Psychadelic Xmas could help you celebrate the holidays. From 8pm on December 25, pumping local techno and psytrance will fill King Street’s Top Yard for a far from silent night. Forget a boring evening eating Christmas pud and watching Love Actually, this is the way you need to be spend Christmas.
Stricly limited tickets available here.
Pentridge Open Air Cinema Series
From Saturday December 26 through until the end of February, the Pentridge Open-Air Cinema will be playing retro classics to take you into 2021. The former prison will start the series fittingly with The Shawshank Redemption and continue screenings into the new year, featuring screenings of Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, Shutter Island, Lost in Translation and many more.
Check out the full program here.
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