A massive community festival with heaps to eat, drink and do awaits on Saturday. Photo: Batlow CiderFest.
From art to movies to festivals and everything in between, there’s bound to be something going on in the Riverina this week to pique your interest, so check out our list of the best things to do in the next few days.
Multiple Days
Pushing the boundaries of form, Bleak House is an innovative art exhibition. Photo: Wagga Wagga Art Gallery.
Bleak House – Exhibition at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery
When: 16 to 22 May, Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm
Where: Wagga Wagga Art Gallery and National Art Glass Gallery, Civic Centre, Corner of Baylis and Morrow streets, Wagga Wagga
Cost: Free.
Taking its title from Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name, Bleak House explores fragility, loss and memory within the human experience, pushing the boundaries of form and colour within the discipline of glassmaking to create a unique artistic experience.
Often juxtaposing dark, opaque glasswork with shining, translucent elements, Bleak House confronts the viewer by asking them to find beauty in the unexpected and to read between the lines of texture within a work.
You can almost smell the popcorn through the screen. Photo: Visit Wagga Wagga.
This week at Forum 6 Cinemas
When: 16 to 22 May
Where: Forum 6, 77 Trail Street, Wagga Wagga
Cost: Ticket prices vary. Book online.
Get your weekly fix of adventure, action, horror and drama at Forum 6 Cinemas with its stacked program of new releases.
There’s nothing quite like watching the newest flick on the big screen. This week catch Warfare, the much-anticipated Alex Garland film, Thunderbolts, the latest Marvel film starring a team of scrappy antiheroes or Tom Cruise’s blockbuster Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning.
There’s no telling what gems you may find. Photo: Visit Wagga.
Wagga Wagga Rotary Club Book Fair
When: 17 May, 8 am to 5 pm and 18 May, 9 am to 3 pm
Where: Kyeamba Smith Hall, Wagga Showground, Bourke Street, Wagga Wagga
Cost: All tickets are $2.
Is your bookshelf looking a bit sparse? Maybe it’s overflowing with old volumes that could use another home? Either way, the Wagga Rotary Club Book Fair is the solution. Come check out this massive book sale, offering thousands of secondhand books sorted by category, as well as CDs, DVDs, sheet music and more.
It’s a great opportunity to pick up some new literature at a great price or give a well-thumbed volume to someone who hasn’t read it yet.
Recall with fondness (or embarrassment) the decade of hairspray and Reagan. Image: Albury Entertainment Centre.
Back to the 80s – Musical by Trinity Anglican College
When: 20 and 21 May, 7 pm
Where: Albury Entertainment Centre, 525 Swift St, Albury
Cost: Tickets from $25. Book online.
Throw yourself back into the era of big hair and Molly Ringwald with Back to the 80s, a musical by Trinity Anglican College in the style of classic films like Back to the Future and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which tells the story of now 30-something Corey Palmer remembering his youth with nostalgic fondness.
Corey recalls with clarity his love for the girl next door and in classic 80s teen flick fashion, it’s up to the underdog to win over the heart of his beloved against all odds.
Don’t go all the way to Sydney for the Sydney Writers’ Festival – see it livestreamed in Albury. Image: Albury City.
Sydney Writers’ Festival streamed Live and Local
When: 22 to 25 May, 10 am to 5 pm
Where: Library Museum, Corner of Kiewa and Swift streets, Albury
Cost: Tickets from $5 to $20. Book online.
After the wild success of Live & Local in 2024, Sydney Writers’ Festival is coming to Albury in 2025 to bring the best of the festival direct to you.
One of Australia’s best-loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will livestream its headline events from Sydney to the Library Museum from 22 to 25 May.
Prepare to be invigorated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions featuring some of the world’s finest writers and thinkers. Audiences can also participate in live Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions straight to the Sydney stage.
Saturday
Check out all the best that local producers have to offer at the Batlow CiderFest. Photo: Batlow Ciderfest.
Batlow CiderFest
When: 17 May, 10 am to 4:30 pm
Where: Pioneer Street, Batlow, Tumut
Cost: General admission tickets $40 | Gate sale tickets $50. Book online.
With food from around the world, live music, circus performances, stalls, cider tasting, beer, wine and spirits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to spend a Saturday than at the Batlow CiderFest. A celebration of local producers, and of course the fantastical things they make, CiderFest is a full day of fun, with plenty to see, taste and listen to.
Can you make pasta like the pros? Test yourself this Saturday at the Gnocchi rolling competition. Photo: Zecca Griffith.
Gnocchi and Chestnut Festa
When: 17 May, noon
Where: Zecca Handmade Italian Restaurant, 239 Banna Ave, Griffith
Cost: Tickets are $90. Book online.
Celebrate the scents and flavours of Italian cuisine at the Zecca Restaurant in Griffith with prosecco on arrival, house cured specialties like salami and preserves, homemade gnocchi, chestnuts and a rolling competition to see which patron is the best at knocking together a plate of gnocchi.
Spend Saturday right, taking in the diverse flavours of Italy with friends or family.
Sunday
Soulful singing inspired by the best of 60s folk. Photo: Albury City.
Music in the Gardens Kerryn Fields
When: 18 May, 1 to 3 pm
Where: Albury Botanic Gardens, Dean Street and Wodonga Pl, Albury
Cost: Free.
Award-winning folk artist Kerryn Fields joins the autumn line-up of Music in the Gardens for an afternoon of her signature heartfelt, soulful singing. Fields’ music is focused on creating a connection with the audience, something she achieves with a rich, warm voice and a distinctive sound inspired by the golden age of 60s and 70s folk and country. Her performance style is both captivating and personal and will no doubt make for a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
This free open-air concert at the Albury Botanic Gardens will have food and drinks available for purchase and listeners are more than welcome to bring a picnic.
