What’s On: May 2021

Rocky Road FestivalMay 1 – 31

Rock on down to the Great Ocean Road, Mornington Peninsula or Yarra Valley for 31 days of rocking good fun with the famous Rocky Road Festival. Their European Chocolatiers are giving their own twist and shout to the classic Aussie treat with 31 different handmade ocky road blocks to try; plus rocky road infused gelato and divine hot chocolates every day in May. Enjoy a 45-minute tasting session, begin with a rockin’ hot chocolate, sample six unique rocky road flavours, devour a rocky road ice cream treat and then create your own signature rocky road block to take home. Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery, 1200 Great Ocean Road, Bellbrae, Victoria, 3228; Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery, 45 Cook Street, Flinders, Victoria, 3929; Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery, 35 Old Healesville Road, Yarra Glen, Victoria, 3775.

Moama Lights, Echuca Moama 8 – 22 May

Moama Lights is a three-week celebration of art, light and all things Moama. The inaugural festival is an immersive sound and light trail starting at the underside of the Echuca Moama bridge and highlighting the natural beauty through Horseshoe Lagoon before finishing at the Murray River. Every night captivating light installations will transform Horseshoe Lagoon and tell the story of Echuca Moama through light and sound. The show will feature light installations and projections including theatrical fog, strobe and cutting edge moving light technology. Horseshoe Lagoon, Shaw Street, Moama, New South Wales, 2731.

Disney: Magic of Animation, ACMIFrom May 13

Discover the creativity and innovation of almost 100 years of Disney Animation in ACMI's latest Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition. Shown in Australia for the very first time, this exhibition contains original sketches and rare artworks from 1928 to the present day, including the latest release Raya and the Last Dragon, exclusive to Melbourne. Don't miss the chance to see how animators use colour to express emotions and the technical skill of crafting character and storytelling. Even step inside a scene from the Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. ACMI, Swanston Street and Flinders Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004.

Queenscliff Literary Festival, Queenscliff14-30 May

The Queenscliff Literary Festival is a celebration of Australian writers, books and ideas featuring some of the finest authors and thinkers in a program of events designed to stimulate thought and discussion. The theme for 2021 is Rethink. With every aspect of our lives affected by the tumultuous events of 2020, let’s take time to dwell on what we have learned and how we can do better. Various venues, Queenscliff, Victoria, 3225.

Good Beer Week, Melbourne14-23 May

In 2021 Good Beer Week hits its tenth year, and like every year, they are encouraging everyone to get out and support Melbourne hospitality, and the breweries that we love. This year they'll be having a pre-beer surf, seeing bands at the Corner Hotel, running round the 'Tan, eating vegan food and drinking non-alcoholic beer. So many diverse events catering to everyone who loves beer, and those who don't know they do just yet. Various venues; GBW 2021 Hub at Beer DeLuxe, Flinders Street, The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004

RISING Festival, Melbourne

May 26 – June 6

RISING is a surge of art, music, performance and ceremony in the heart of Melbourne. Ambitious in scale and impact, RISING will begin on the evening of the total lunar eclipse on 26 May 2021. Over 12 nights, festivity and late-night culture will intersect with huge moments spanning the emerging and iconic, the epic and intimate. From a program of free and ticketed events, interlocking circles of experience and connection will reverberate through the city’s laneways, venues and public spaces. RISING is a bold, provocative, illuminating expression of Melbourne now. Various locations, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000.

Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary, BendigoThroughout May

Bendigo Art Gallery presents Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary, a retrospective exhibition on the iconic British fashion designer Dame Mary Quant. Bendigo is the exclusive Australian venue for this exhibition from the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London. The exhibition explores the years between 1955 and 1975, when Mary Quant revolutionised the high street, harnessing the youthful spirit of the sixties and new mass production techniques to create a new look for women. Drawing on the V&A’s extensive fashion holdings, Dame Mary Quant’s Archive and private collections, the exhibition brings together over 110 garments as well as accessories, cosmetics, sketches, photographs and even Quant’s own line of fashion dolls, known as Daisy dolls, a rival to Barbie. Bendigo Art Gallery, 42 View Street, Bendigo, Victoria, 3550.