Homemade food and goodies at the Wyndham Village Markets. Photo: Visit NSW.
There’s heaps to see and do across the regions this week, from special charity film screenings to theatre performances, community events, a chance to catch a live streaming of the Sydney Writers’ Festival and a shot to put on your best Western wear and tear up the dance floor.
No matter where you are or what you’re in the mood for, we’ve found something for you and your family to do this week.
Multiple Days
A moving story focusing on one man’s struggle to be heard. Image: Lieder Theatre Company.
Gulls by the Lieder Theatre Company
When: 23 May, 7 pm; 24 May, 2 and 7:30 pm; 29 May, 7:30 pm
Where: The Lieder Theatre, 52 Goldsmith Street, Goulburn
Cost: Adult tickets $35 | Concession $20 | Group of 10 $200 | + Program $5. Book online.
The Leider Theatre Company presents Gulls, a moving and empathetic story about Bill, a man suffering from brain damage who tries to communicate through gestures, as he has lost his ability to speak. Unheard by the people who care for him, Bill lets the audience in on his feelings and observations about the world around him, creating a fourth wall break and allowing viewers to understand a fascinating character in a way that those in the play itself cannot.
Don’t go all the way to Sydney for the Writers’ Festival. Photo: What’s On Eurobodalla.
Sydney Writers’ Festival live and local – Moruya
When: 23 and 24 May from 10 am to 5 pm
Where: Moruya Library, Vulcan St, Moruya
Cost: Free.
After the wild success of Live & Local in 2024, Sydney Writers Festival is coming to Moruya Library 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 Moruya on 23 and 24 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.
Listeners will get the chance to hear a range of topics from a plethora of talented authors such as Colm Toibin, covering his two novels Brooklyn and Long Island; Alan Hollinghurst discussing his exploration of modern England in Our Evenings; and Thomas Mayo and Clare Wright will give a joint panel talk about the history of First Nations movements and so much more.
Friday
Sam Neill and Julian Dennison star in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Image: Visit NSW.
Queanbeyan Movie Night – Hunt for the Wilderpeople
When: 23 May, 6 pm
Where: Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 253 Crawford St, Queanbeyan
Cost: $85. Book online.
Each year, the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre holds a fundraising night in support of a not-for-profit initiative in the community. This year’s special showing of the 2016 comedy from across the ditch, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, is in support of HOME, a community-owned and funded organisation that creates positive outcomes for people living with mental illness. Tickets include drinks and food.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a misfit kid and his grumpy uncle Hec as they end up on the run in the Kiwi bush, evading the law.
Saturday
Get together for this great community event. Image: Candelo Arts Society.
All Together Now – Community Event
When: 24 May, 10 am to 2 pm
Where: Candelo Park, William St, Candelo
Cost: Free.
Featuring some of the attractions sadly missed because of rain at the March Candelo Village Festival, All Together Now is a free all-ages community event with heaps of workshops, collaborative art projects, poetry, community stalls, storytelling and more.
All Together Now will have workshops about everything from how to make homemade preserves, chemical-free cleaning products, backyard composting and more.
If you’ve been looking to connect with the local community and learn how you can improve it, starting in the home, then this is for you. It’s also a great opportunity to meet local artists, poets and writers so you can learn and grow with like-minded creatives.
Get your honky tonk on at the Cooma Bowling Club. Image: Cooma Bowling Club Facebook.
Cooma’s Honky Tonk – Free Line Dancing Night
When: 24 May, 7 pm
Where: Cooma Bowling Club, 6 Mawson St, Cooma
Cost: Free.
Head to the Cooma Bowling Club for a night of country dancing and fun. With line dancing led by Riley’s Rodeo Line Dancing, a DJ, a light show and a smoke machine, as well as prizes for the best dressed and the best dancer, it’s bound to be a good time.
Two talents combine for a night of musical excellence. Photo: Visit NSW.
Sally Walker and Simon Tedeschi in concert
When: 24 May, 7:45 pm
Where: Yass Soldiers Memorial Hall, 78 Comur Street, Yass
Cost: General admission tickets $60 plus fees | Concession tickets $50 plus fees | 16 and under free. Book online.
This duo performance features two renowned musicians covering the piano and woodwind families with a performance that includes the music of composers such as Amy Beach, Cesar Franck, Paul Stanhope, Elena Kats-Chernin and Sergei Prokofiev.
These two artists have more accolades between them than you can count. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see them perform live at the Yass Soldiers Memorial Hall.
Simon Tedeschi is the recipient of Symphony Australia’s Young Performer of the Year Award, the first prize in the keyboard division of the Royal Overseas League Competition (UK) and a Centenary of Federation Medal.
Sally Walker is a lecturer in classical performance (woodwind) at the Australian National University. She was a prizewinner in the Friedrich Kuhlau International Flute Competition (Germany) and has been nominated for an APRA/AMCOS-Australian Music Centre Arts Excellence Award for an Outstanding Contribution by an Individual.
Sunday
Support local producers and get a little something for yourself. Photo: Visit NSW.
Wyndham Village Market
When: 25 May, 8:30 am to 1 pm
Where: Corner of Clarke and Gordon streets, Wyndham Village
Cost: Free entry, cash preferred by vendors.
Held on the fourth Sunday of each month, the Wyndham Village Markets bring together the best handmade treasures and trinkets, homemade treats and goodies and of course, local produce from around the region in one place. It’s the best place around to enjoy locally made food, Wyndham’s specialty coffee and live music.
Nostalgic tunes for a cruisy arvo at the Steampacket. Image: Steampacket Hotel Roddy Reason – Live @ The Steampacket Facebook.
Roddy Reason at the Steampacket Hotel
When: 25 May, 1 pm
Where: The Steampacket Hotel, 963 Kings Highway, Nelligen
Cost: Free.
The Steampacket Hotel is always bumping with live music on the weekends and this Sunday is no different. Catch bare-boned music with a nostalgic “golden era” vibe reminiscent of the best of Australiana and Americana with performer Roddy Reason.
Thursday
Looking to hone your sketching skills. Image: Humanitix.
Life Drawing Art Central Moruya
When: 29 May, 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Where: Art Central, 24 Church St, Moruya
Cost: Non-members $65 | Concession or members $50. Book online.
If you’re an aspiring artist or a long-time pro, Life Drawing in Moruya is a great opportunity to capture the human form on paper. Artists will get together in a room with a live model and focus on perspective, light, shade and foreshortening with a series of timed sketches from two to 20 minutes. The utility of the timed drawings is to create both loose flowing sketches and more detailed artwork.
Designed to improve objectivity in individual art, this special class is hosted by Lesley Whale, an artist with extensive experience in publishing, newspapers, magazines, technical texts, medical texts and more.
