Melbourne loves to make a big deal of things—think laneways, lockdowns, and the metro rail project—and fortunately for us, Christmas falls into that category of ‘things’. Kicking off today is the City of Melbourne’s six-week-long Christmas Festival set to take over the city.
First up is the pièce de résistance, Christmas Square at Fed Square, which’ll be landmarked by the 16.5m Chrissy tree and sprawling festive wonderland complete with Santa’s Workshop for the little ones. While just nearby at Birrarung Marr, punters can find the Christmas Carnival which is fit for the whole family—rides, silly season carnival games and Christmas-themed food and drink. That’s a lot of Christmas.
New additions to the festival will see a Christmas-themed rollerskating rink take over Argyle Square, a Christmas Eve Circus Spectacular at the Town Hall and 8 Days Of Christmas, an eight-day long party at Melbourne’s beloved laneway bar, Section 8.
The City of Melbourne know when they’re onto a good thing, too, and that’s why several favourites like the QVM String Bean Alley Christmas Night Market, the Docklands Christmas Maze and those now-iconic Christmas Projections will all be making a comeback.
The City of Melbourne Christmas Festival kicks off today with decorations popping up around the city, while most events kick off toward the end of November and into December.
With the exception of the Christmas Eve Circus Spectacular, most of the festival is entirely free. Explore the full program and find out dates for each event here.
In the spirit of things? Check out Melbourne’s best Christmas Markets here.
Image credit: supplied