Entertainment

Cinema, theatre, sport, museum, restaurant, dancing, live music or taking your chances at the casino. What will it be? As the national political seat, Canberra is not short of entertainment. Keeping up to date with events in Canberra is as easy as picking up a newspaper. The Canberra Times has a daily list of entertainment in its Alive section. Two free newspapers are available at music stores, inner city cafes and information centres: BMA Magazine lists live music concerts and Muse gives updates on literary and theatrical events in the region. Canberra Tourism provides a regularly updated list of events and entertainment locations on its comprehensive web site.

Bars and Pubs There are "watering holes" in just about every suburb of Canberra, with the Irish/English tavern being the current trend. Around the city area and Tuggeranong, more and more venues are opening with that distinctive old English style—such as PJ O'Reilly's. There are also many standard pubs with pool tables and live music. Add to this the very Australian "RSL" Club scene, such as the Canberra Tradesman Clubs and the Canberra Southern Cross Club chain, which offer gaming machines, live music, dancing and bistro meals.

If pubs and clubs are not your scene, there are seemingly innumerable pavement cafes and restaurants to choose from in Canberra. These were traditionally concentrated in the city centre, Kingston and Manuka areas but are now branching out all over the city.

Live Music Canberra's music scene caters for all possible tastes. Local and interstate bands perform at most clubs and pubs in the city, while there are several other venues that specialize in live music. The Gypsy Bar in the city not only plays live music—jazz and retro are often on the agenda—but supports other performance arts such as poetry readings and theatre. Well-known Australian artists perform on a regular basis at Tilley's in Lyneham and the Northside Tavern in Belconnen. Blues and jazz lovers are well looked after in Canberra, with such venues as PJ O'Reilly's, Dickson Tradies, Canberra Southern Cross Club and the Wig and Pen offering live acts on a regular basis. En Vogue nightclub specializes in Latin music while Club Mombasa opts for Afro and Reggae. Irish music has also become popular, with live performances every Sunday at the Phoenix.

For something more classical, the School of Music offers regular concerts, and visiting chamber orchestras perform at various locations around the city.

Popular international acts visit the city more often these days, particularly at venues such as, the Royal Theatre and AIS arena. Tickets and information for these concerts are available through the Ticketek agency.

Nightlife The latest dance music is always the flavour in Canberra and various nightclubs cater for late night dancing on the weekends. The concentration of clubs is in the city and Manuka areas with well-established venues, such as Pandoras and Minque, always the favorite. New clubs are popping up all the time and many offer specialty nights to cater for most musical tastes. The Liquid Lounge for example, has "Retro Night" every Friday and En Vogue in Manuka hosts a Latin night on a Sunday. Canberra's only casino—Casino Canberra—has entertainment available in every arena and is guaranteed to keep you going well into the night, whether you enjoy dancing, dining, live music or simply gambling.

Gay Scene Heaven was originally the main gay nightclub of Canberra, but in recent years the popular Meridian club has joined the scene. There is a strong social and support base for the gay and lesbian community with a calender of events, social clubs, sporting, literary and musical groups.

Theatre and Cinema Whether you prefer main stream or alternative cinema, Canberra will have something for you. With large cinema complexes in each town centre—Pacific 6 in Tuggeranong, Hoyts in Belconnen and Woden, Greater Union in the city and Manuka and Cosmopolitan Twin Cinemas in Woden you get to see the latest films on huge screens. Ronin Independent Center Cinema and Electric Shadows—have been the alternative and Australian film hotspots in Canberra for many years. International films and cult favourites get a great deal of screen time at these venues and at Screensound Australia.

Events Canberra hosts a full annual calendar of festivals, many of them internationally famous and visited by tourists from across the globe. The best known and loved of these festivals is Floriade, held in September and October each year when the shores of Lake Burley Griffin are transformed into a botanical masterpiece. The Canberra National Multicultural Festival is held annually in March to celebrate the multicultural diversity of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. In April the National Folk Festival a celebration of music takes place as does the Australian Science Festival which extends into May. Oktoberfest is held each year in, of course, October!

Sporting fans are well catered for in Canberra with the Canberra Raiders rugby league and the ACT Brumbies rugby union football teams, the Canberra Cannons basketball team and the glamorous Black Opal Stakes horse races. Meanwhile, motor racing fans can enjoy Summernats and the Rally of Canberra.