- Families are in for a fun-filled start to the Australian Open 2025, with 5000 free Hot Shots racquets set to be handed out during Opening Week from 6-10 January.
- The Warrnambool District Arts Society’s Summer Art Show is on 6-19 January
- Make a splash this summer with a series of exciting Dive-in Cinema sessions at the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre (MAC), offering a unique indoor movie experience for all ages from 6-24 January.
- Summer StoryFest is a literary festival for children and youth at Merri-Bek libraries from 6-24 January featuring author talks, workshops, and activities galore.
- Discover an epic fusion of music, entertainment, brand-new fan experiences plus blockbuster tennis at the 2025 edition of the Australian Open from 6-26 January.
- Splash Island is the new inflatable obstacle course at the Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre in Frankston, made up of different modules for balancing, climbing, jumping and sliding. It truly is the ultimate water adventure with slides, slopes and balance beams. They’re running eight 30-minute sessions daily from Monday 6 January – Sunday 26 January.
- The Sea Days Festival is on until 7 January at the Old Ferry Terminal on Lewis Street, Port Welshpool.
- The Geelong Floating Christmas Tree Sound and Light Shows are staged nightly from 8.30pm until 7 January.
- The 69th Myer Christmas Windows and Christmas at the Crocoseum activation featuring the Irwin family are at 314–336 Bourke St Melbourne until Saturday 7 January 2025.
- Step back in time and experience the magic of a traditional 1880s Christmas at Como House in South Yarra. Wander through the beautifully decorated rooms, each brimming with festive charm, and immerse yourself in the Christmas preparations of a grand 1880s household until 8 January.
- Every Wednesday in January (8-23 January) your kids can bounce, slide, and play on giant inflatable attractions at the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre,
- The Mornington Peninsula Golf Week is on 8-15 January where you can immerse yourself in a week of unparalleled golf and leisure on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula
- The Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool reopens on 8 January following a massive $75 million redevelopment.
- On Wednesday 8 January and Thursday 9 January, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and the Cranbourne Gardens are hosting free nature play sessions for the kids. Enjoy water play and crafts and learn more about native animals.
- The Sorrento Writers Festival Summer Launch Party is on Thursday 9 January.
- The Big Thrift Market in Torquay is on 9 January
- Step Right Up! Experience a circus like never before: Circus Royale is at Waurn Ponds in Geelong from 10-26 January.
- Bring your favourite teddy bear and join un delightful picnic story time in the Williamstown Botanic Gardens on 10 January.
- Experience the vibrant Vida Latin Festival, a three-day celebration of Latin American art, culture, food, and entertainment at King’s Domain on 10-12 January
- The Melbourne Beach Tennis International 2025 is held over three days from 10 to 12 January at West Beach St Kilda. Get ready to experience a competitve tournament with talented players from Australia and many other countries as well as live entertainment, music, food and drinks.
- The Mountain to Surf Run in Lorne on 10 January is an 8km run for people of all levels, through the forest and along the Great Ocean Road.
- The Warrnambool Quilt Show is on 10-12 January
- There’s a family rollerdisco at the Kyneton Showgrounds on 10 January
- The Queenscliff Harbour Twilight Market is on 10 January,
- NGV Kids Summer Festival Launch is on in Fed Square on 11 January – check out a live dog show in the Main Square, jump into a kids workshop or enjoy yummy free ice cream! Top off your day with a screening of Christopher Guests’ classic Best in Show (2000) at Fed Square’s outdoor cinema.
- The Best Biggest IMAX Film Festival 2025 kicks off on 11 January
- The NGV Kids Summer Festival, held from 11–17 January 2025 at NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Fed Square, offers a jam-packed schedule of free events for families to enjoy a selection of all-ages events, workshops and activities led by Victorian artists and creatives.
- Join in a one-of-a-kind kite clinic at the SheKites Down Under mini festival in St Kilda on 11 January organised and run by female riders, for a weekend of coaching, encouragement and support to improve your kite skills.
- The 2025 Rye Athletics Carnival and Family Fun Day on Saturday 11 January at R J Rowley Reserve
- The Kite Festival 2025 at Akoonah Park in Berwick on 11 January promises a day filled with colourful kites soaring high in the sky.
- Take the kids along to Bash at the Beach – a spectacular Wrestling Show at The Elements at Wyndham Harbour Marina on 11 January.
- Get active and challenge your friends these summer holidays at Active Stonnington’s Game On – Indoor Sports Day at Chadstone’s Margaret Connellan Stadium on 11 January.
- The Lorne Pier to Pub Swim on 11 January is a 1.2km open water swim for all ages from the Lorne pier to the Lorne beach.
- The Portarlington Mussel Festival is on 11 January.
- The Inverloch Psychic and Wellbeing Expo is on 11 January
- The Warrnambool Model Train Show is on 11-12 January
- Former world champ Renton Millar will be in Beaufort and Snake Valley on Saturday 11 January 11 for ‘SHREDABILITY’ Pyrenees. He’s holding free skate lessons in both locations, culminating in a friendly competition at the fab Snake Valley skate park.
- Splash and sizzle your way into summer with Stonnington Leisure’s Summer pool party at Harold Holt Swim Centre in Glen Iris on 12 January.
- The 2025 Australian Craft and Food Market is being held at the Caribbean Gardens in Scoresby on 12 January.
- Join in the Albert Park Family Roller Disco at Pitt Building 3 on 12 January.
- There’s an e-bike information and test-riding session in Camberwell on 12 January.
- The 2025 Melbourne Wedding and Bride Expo is on at the Showgrounds on 12 January.
- Enjoy the annual Warrnambool & District Historical Vehicle Clubs display day at Lake Pertobe on 12 January
- The Traralgon Rodeo is on 12 January
- The Queenscliff Summer Carnival returns to the Queenscliff Foreshore until 12 January.
- Watch the Australian Open grand slam on the Big Screen live and free at Fed Square from 12-26 January.
- The Warrnambool Summer Night Markets is series of five fabulous events at Lake Pertobe commencing until 24 January.
- BOX MACHINE! is a fantastic new large-scale and interactive exhibition for children and their adults at Abbotsford Convent from until 25 January where giant heavy-duty cardboard machines, rollers, pipes, cogs and taps line the Magdalen Laundry ready for children to connect and deconstruct like giant building blocks.
- See the magic of Christmas and fairy tales brought to life in 3.3 million lights over 1000 dazzling light installations and displays, with theme park rides, Santa, and a spectacular drone lights show at Adventure Park Geelong’s Annual Christmas Festival of Lights until 25 January.
- The world’s largest galaxy collection of Star Wars fan items awaits at The District Docklands! Immerse yourself in the saga’s universe at The Fans Strike Back with an amazing setup and hundreds of official items including photos, posters, costumes, figures, and models, until 25 January.
- The Silvers Circus Spectacular will be at Mornington until 26 January.
- The Rye Summer Carnival returns to the Rye Foreshore until 26 January.
- Experience all the fun of the fair on Warrnambool’s Foreshore at the Warrnambool Summer Family Carnival untilto 26 January.
- The Apollo Bay Summer Carnival is on at the Apollo Bay Foreshore until 26 January.
- The Chants Summer Carnival is back in Lakes Entrance over four massive weekends until 26 January.
- Enjoy lavender season at Warratina Lavender Farm in the Yarra Valley until 26 January. Wander through rows upon rows of blooming lavender, relax in their manicured gardens, visit their drying shed for lavender talks or grab a snack at the tea rooms.
- The Summertime Fling Cellar Door Festival is a month-long celebration of wine, summer and good times in the scenic Macedon Ranges wine region running until 27 January
- Until 27 January, roll up for a celebration of all things round, bubbly and bouncy at Summersphere at Scienceworks.
- The Mordialloc Christmas Summer Carnival is on at Peter Scullin Reserve until 27 January presented by Smart Amusements.
- A new installation at Scienceworks called “Message in A Bottle” runs until 27 January 2025 featuring messages from Victorian primary students inside 320 recycled bottles that highlight the importance of recycling. and learn more about the process of recycling containers returned through Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme.
- Enjoy camel rides in Port Fairy until 27 January
- Until 27 January, beat the heat with misty strolls, underground adventures, icy treats, and more at Sovereign Hill!
- Gather your team for a two-hour adventure of pitch-black challenges and vibrant sensory workshops that push the limits of your five senses at SENSAS in South Yarra until 30 January.
- The TMNT: Heroes in a Half Shell Exhibition is an immersive experience that boasts five individual galleries that take visitors on a journey through the rich history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It’s now extended at District Docklands until 30 January.
- The St Kilda Affordable Art Show runs until 1 February and not only provides a forum for new and emerging artists but it allows the public to invest in some diverse affordable art.
- Medieval to Metal: The Art and Evolution of the Guitar makes its way to the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 2 February 2025. In this Australian exclusive, experience 40 guitars on loan from the National Guitar Museum (USA), alongside more than 100 spectacular works of art.
- The Koorie Art Show at Koorie Heritage Trust runs til 23 February andi s dedicated to showcasing the work of Koorie and Victorian-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists through a statewide call for entries.
- The Museum Of Desire is Melbourne’s new must-visit experience! Discover 20+ attractions celebrating all things desire, love and pleasure. Daring, fun, and a little bit cheeky — it’s totally your type. Until 28 February in Collingwood.
- Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street (HMLQS)’s rooftop pickleball court returns to the heart of Melbourne this summer, popping-up for an extended season until Friday 28 February.
- CLAW MONEY WORLD – a world-exclusive exhibition charting the career of trailblazing artist Claudia Gold is on at the Warrnambool Art Gallery until 6 March.
- Enter Antopia at Melbourne Museum where you shrink down to the size of ants to experience a day in the life of an ant colony. Discover a complex and fascinating superorganism in this immersive, interactive experience that digitally reinterprets a world of secrets we cannot see. It runs until 10 March 2025.
- Get ready for unforgettable summer evenings when the Summer Night Market returns to Queen Victoria Market until 12 March 2025 (excluding 25 December and 1 January).
- Enjoy a curated program of free outdoor cinema on the Big Screen at Federation Square until 25 March including major blockbusters, Kung Fu classics, silent cinema with live scores, and film festival screenings.
- On display for the first time outside of Europe, Underground: The Hidden Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM) until 30 March with rare artefacts from the hidden archive of the Warsaw Ghetto.
- Moonlight Cinema is back at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens with a stellar line-up of some of 2024’s best releases, plus two weeks of classic ‘Christmas Favourites’ until March 2025.
- The NGV’s blockbuster Yayoi Kusama exhibition runs until 21 April and includes many works never-before-seen by local audiences and is the largest ever exhibition of the artist’s work in Australia.
- The Blue Lotus Water Garden at Yarra Junction is one of Australia’s most spectacular seasonal gardens open to the public until 21 April 2025. The tropically themed water garden covers 14 acres featuring millions of beautiful lotus, waterlily and other flowers, stunning lakes, amazing vistas and wonderful facilities
- After leaving an indelible mark on Melbourne’s memory, Vincent van Gogh’s vibrant works will return to THE LUME Melbourne until 30 April 2025. Back by popular demand, Van Gogh is an enchanting experience that immerses you in a powerful multisensory symphony of light, colour, sound and aroma.
- Immerse yourself in the future worlds of screen culture. The Future & Other Fictions showcases the people and artworks imagining bright and bold futures through film, videogames, contemporary art and more at ACMI until 27 April.
- Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition is a new immersive exhibition that relives the spectacular history of the Notre-Dame de Paris in an augmented takeover of the Long Room at the Immigration Museum until 27 April.
- The ever-popular Skyline Ferris Wheel makes its return in St Kilda until 27 April. Take in the breath-taking views of the St Kilda foreshore and pier with unparalleled views!
- Hanging Rock Winery’s Art in the Vines Sculpture Exhibition is an opportunity wander a trail of discovery, glass-in-hand, through an extraordinary exhibition of contemporary outdoor sculpture, until 30 April 2025.
- The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition on loan from the Natural History Museum London is now on display at the National Wool Museum in Geelong until 18 May.
- From cattle dogs to lap dogs, divine felines to the black cats of superstition a new exhibition coming to the National Gallery of Victoria called Cats & Dogs, will explore humanity’s deep connection to the beloved companion animals through more than 250 works of art and design. Its on display from until 20 July 2025 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square.
What’s on in Melbourne and regional Victoria this week: 6-12 January 2025
By Melbourning
