- Ballarat is once again rolling out the pastry mat for a full month of flaky indulgence. Back for its third year, Ballarat’s Best Pie is fast becoming a winter pilgrimage for pastry lovers, and 2025 is set to be the tastiest yet. Running all through August, the competition sees 36 wildly creative pies, both sweet and savoury, vying for top honours, from classic beef renditions to duck, limoncello and even lion’s mane mushroom.
- The FMP Job Expo is on at the Mornington Racecourse on 19 August.
- Melbourne’s iconic Rialto Tower is set to bloom once more as it hosts its annual breathtaking Daffodil Day floral display in support of Cancer Council Victoria. On 20 and 21 August, the Plaza will be transformed into a sea of 38,715 vibrant daffodils, each one representing a Victorian diagnosed with cancer every year.
- Melbourne will become a living laboratory of avant-garde creativity as the Now or Never festival takes over the city from 21–31 August. The 11-day program features over 140 events across iconic venues, with more than 285 local and international artists pushing boundaries in music, installation art, and futuristic discourse – including 30 world-premiere commissions.
- The National 4×4 Outdoors Show will be back at the Melbourne Showgrounds over three massive days from 22-24 August.
- The Melbourne Home Show is on at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 22-24 August.
- The Circus Rio Carnival is at the Bendigo Showgrounds from 22-31 August
- The Words in Winter Festival will return to Daylesford and Hepburn Springs over two weekends from 22-31 August.
- The Chiltern Antiques Fair is on 23-24 August.
- Experience the magic of Japanese anime and pop culture at Animaga 2025 on 23-24 August at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, featuring fuests, cosplay, panels, and more.
- The Ballarat International Foto Biennale returns with a blend of curated exhibitions, city-wide pop-ups, workshops, talks, and more — all under the festival’s central theme, Lifeforce, from 23 August to 19 October 2025.
- The Melbourne Cheese, Wine and Spirits Festival is on at Seaworks in Williamstown on 23 August.
- Join in a night of food trucks, dessert stalls, boutique retail stalls & music at Street Feast Broadmeadows on 23 August
- The Deakin University Burwood Open Day is on 24 August.
- Join in a night of food trucks, dessert stalls, boutique retail stalls & music at Street Feast Scoresby on 24 August
- Celebrate Indian culture at the West Melbourne Ganesh Festival at the Williamstown Town Hall on 24 August.
- Join in a night of food trucks, dessert stalls, boutique retail stalls & music at Street Feast Werribee on 24 August.
- The Enchanting Realms Market is at Welcome to Thornbury on 24 August.
- Victoria University’s City Tower campus Open Day is on 24 August
- The Caroline Springs Holistic and Psychic Expo is on 24 August.
- The annual Northcote Festival returns on 24 August.
- The ACU Ballarat Campus Open Day is on 24 August
- La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus Open Day is on 24 August
- The Revive Pre-Loved Clothing Market is on in Barwon Heads on 24 August.
- The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is on until 24 August.
- The Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne is holding its Banksia Festival – an exciting series of lectures, workshops, art and craft exhibition, book and plant sales, guided walks, and more, until Sunday 24 August 2025.
- Melbourne’s much-loved Winter Night Market is returning to Queen Victoria Market in 2025, lighting up Wednesday nights until 27 August 5pm–10pm.
- Behind the Lines is an annual exhibition of political cartooning on tour from the Museum of Australian Democracy that celebrates the year’s best political cartoons.See it at the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne until 28 August.
- Step into the shadows of Melbourne’s history with Bones & Burial Boxes, a gripping exhibition that uncovers the hidden stories of the city’s most infamous prison burial sites at Pentridge Prison from until 31 August.
- You’re invited to Spice Fest! A celebration of bold flavours, fiery eats, and epic free Saturday night entertainment at Burwood Brickworks until 30 August.
- Step into the shadows of Melbourne’s history with Bones & Burial Boxes, a gripping exhibition that uncovers the hidden stories of the city’s most infamous prison burial sites at Pentridge Prison from until 31 August.
- Elmo’s Circus Dream presented by Circus Royale is at Watergardens until 31 August.
- Eroni’s Circus will be at Tarneit until 31 August.
- The 2025 AFLW season is here, spanning 12 rounds over 12 weeks for the first time, followed by four weeks of finals and culminating with the NAB AFLW Grand Final on Saturday, 29 November.
- Melbourne’s most elegant after-dark experience returns this winter as NGV Friday Nights transforms the gallery into a vibrant hub of art, music, and indulgence. Until 3 October 2025, visitors can explore the blockbuster French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition after hours, surrounded by an eclectic soundtrack and luxurious pop-up bars.
- Step into a world of exquisite craftsmanship and timeless elegance with Kimono, a brand-new, NGV-curated exhibition celebrating the enduring allure of Japan’s most iconic garment. Running until 5 October at NGV International, this breathtaking showcase explores the kimono’s profound influence on global art, fashion, and design—from the Edo period to today.
- Works from Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot and more are headed to Melbourne for the NGV’s international-exclusive presentation of the major Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, French Impressionism, until 5 October 2025.
- A groundbreaking international exhibition that explores the connection between society, art, and design through the lens of play is coming to the Incinerator Gallery in Melbourne’s west. The Playground Project is making its much-anticipated southern hemisphere debut until 12 October 2025, bringing a bold new vision of playground design to Australian audiences.
- From the runways of Paris to the NGV … Australian fashion legend Martin Grant returns home to Melbourne with the biggest exhibition of his career. Studded with his signature silhouettes and timeless tailoring, this glittering retrospective is not to be missed. Catch it until 26 January 2025 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square.
- LEGO Star Wars: The Exhibition is making its galaxy-first debut at Melbourne Museum until 26 January 2026. This world-first exhibition brings two of the world’s most beloved brands together with renowned LEGO Certified Professional Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught at the controls.
- Get ready to tinker, build, and innovate! Scienceworks is launching its newest hands-on exhibition, Tinkertown, until 7 February 2026, promising to inspire the next generation of engineers, designers, and creators.
- Camouflage is an exhibition running at The Shrine until March 2026. See how nature has inspired military disguise—from animal patterns to clever tricks of deception. Explore real camouflage uniforms, historical objects, and rotating artworks by well-known artists. Follow the evolution of camouflage from the First World War to today and learn how it reflects changing military strategies, culture, and creativity.
- Where does creativity come from? It’s a question as elusive as it is compelling – and one that State Library Victoria explores with profound insight in its captivating new exhibition, Creative Acts: Artists and their inspirations, running until 31 May 2026.
- Marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Eucalypts of Hodogaya at the Shrine explores the remarkable collaboration that created the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama where more than 1,500 Commonwealth soldiers, including Australians, are buried in a garden blending Western and Japanese traditions. It runs until August 2026.
What’s on in Melbourne and regional Victoria this week: 18-24 August 2025
By Melbourning
