No point fighting it. Rug up,grab your chap stick,and embrace the warming comforts of food,festivals,nature,art,gigs,day trips,sport,and light installations.

RISING

Eclectic programming is what the Rising festival does best. This year’s bumper crop of 116 music,art and performance options runs the gamut,from free school holiday alien-abduction-spaceship-making workshops to a Sri Lankan theatrical epic and a Forum gig by experimental producer-turned-avant-rocker Yves Tumor. Not to be missed is ACMI Nights:Beings,an epic dance party set among 12 art installations,and The Blak Infinite at Federation Square. This constellation of art and stories exploring First Peoples’ futures,political discourse and connections to the cosmos is co-curated by Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta),whose extraordinary exhibitionShadow Spirit blew our minds last year,and Kate ten Buuren (Taungurung).June 1-16,various venues,free and ticketed.

IN RESTLESS DREAMS

Stop calling him Al – there’s more to inexhaustibly creative and curious 83-year-old singer-songwriter Paul Simon than his cheesiest hit. This doco from Oscar-winner Alex Gibney explores his process through the making of his latest album,Seven Psalms,and never-before-seen and archival footage including seminal moments with Simon and Garfunkel and theGraceland album.Opens June 1,Palace Cinemas,$25.

PHARAOH

In case you’ve been entombed and missed the signage,NGV Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition celebrates Ancient Egypt’s god kings. Make sense of 500-plus sculptures,statues,jewels,papyri,coffins and funeral objects with a guided tour (Monday 10.30am,Tuesdays and Wednesdays 3pm) or introductory talk (Thurdays and Fridays 11.30am). On Saturday,June 15,there’s also drop-in conversations with curators from 12-2.30pm,including a keynote talk by British Museum curator Marie Vandenbeusch about the “making ofPharaoh”.June 14 to October 4,NGV,adults $38;child $18;concession $35.

THE CHILDREN’S SENSORIUM

Daytrip it to Bendigo for this reboot of RMIT’s interactive exhibition combining play and mindfulness. It proved as fun and therapeutic for adults as their kids when it premiered at RMIT’s Big Anxiety Festival in 2022. With artistic direction from Boonwurrung Elder N’Arweet Carolyn Briggs and curated by Grace McQuilton,the Sensorium draws on the Kulin calendar and sense-based installations to create a fun environment that encourages us to be curious,explore our senses,feelings,thoughts,worries and hopes,and connect with strategies supporting resilience and wellbeing.June 27 to August 4,Castlemaine Art Museum,free.

SEA SLUG CENSUS

Who doesn’t love a rock pool? Make it matter with an hour of citizen science for the Victorian National Park Association’s ReefWatch program,supporting its annual week-long,statewide Winter Sea Slug census (June 8-July 7). Don your wetsuit and shimmy under San Remo’s famous bridge to spot sea slugs and help scientists understand the health and challenges of our ocean environments. Expect excellent tips on underwater photography plus bonus sightings of local celebrities including hermit crabs,brittle stars and sea spiders.June 20,San Remo,free.

MELBOURNE RECLINK COMMUNITY CUP

Never attended the annual Rock Dogs Vs Megahertz grudge match? Community radio and indie music fans,this is your year. Join the RRR/PBS Megahertz and indie musos the Rockdogs for a day of grassroots footy and live music at Victoria Park. Money raised goes towards Reclink’s work providing sport and recreation programs for communities facing disadvantage to improve physical and mental health and social connections. Expect live music from Kaiit,DJ sets from Lauren Taylor and Simon Winkler,and questionable tactics from Megahertz co-captain Chris Gill and Rockdogs coach Mo’ju.June 16,Victoria Park,Abbotsford,$31.90.

MELBOURNE MAGIC FESTIVAL

What’s not to love about a school holiday option that reconnects you to your inner Phil Dunphy (One for theModern Family bingers)? Shows,workshops and,yes,even Lawrence Leung,are a feature of this long-running festival. I can’t lie,the full-day Magic Camp combining flying rubber chickens with tuition in mind reading,levitation and how to make objects appear (as opposed to disappear) has definitely piqued my interest.July 1-13,various venues and prices.

NAIDOC WEEK

Celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture,excellence and history this year with community arts,sporting and cultural events around the 2024 theme:Keep the fire burning! Blak,loud and proud. Best add Dan Sultan performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall for the third anniversary of his albumBlackbird into the mix.July 7-14,various venues,mainly free;Dan Sultan x MSO,July 12,Hamer Hall,$25-$125.

JOSH MUIR

Catch the Koori Heritage Trust’s retrospective of the late Josh Muir before it ends on July 14.JXSH MVIR:Forever I Live is co-curated with Josh’s partner Shanaya Sheridan and his mum Justine Berg. It’s a loving tribute showcasing the young artist’s prolific career through paintings,digital artworks and his distinctive iconography,informed by street art and Josh’s cultural identity and experiences as a young Gunditjmara,Yorta Yorta and Barkindji man.Until July 14,Koori Heritage Trust,free.

KIM GORDON

Catch the former Sonic Youth frontwoman at the Northcote Theatre as she tours her latest album,The Collective. Diehard fans should be sure to catch the free exhibitionObject of Projection,a survey of Kim’s decades-long art and performance practice at the Substation in Newport (until August 24). Expect photography,mixed-media and video installations including her psychedelic triptychProposal For a Dance,in which female performers shred guitars,brave experimental choreography,and take a look at the relationship between pop ideals and the female body. July 24-25,Northcote Theatre,$89.10.

OPEN HOUSE MELBOURNE

One for the perennial rubber necks. Celebrate good design and rediscover your city’s new places and old faves via tours and talks across our city,suburbs and regions.July 27-28,free and ticketed.

WILDLIFE RESCUE

Always fancied wearing your undies on the outside? Justifiable if you register now with Wildlife Victoria’s volunteer training programs,equipping the next gen to help transport and care for injured animals. Find the roles and locations that suit you best.June-August,wildlifevictoria.org.au

WINTER NIGHT MARKET

On Wednesdays from 5-10pm,Vic Market’s heaving with all the warming winter fare you could poke a Moules Frites at. Mulled wine? Spiced Milo? Laksa? Portuguese tarts? Basque Cheesecake? Consider Humpday sorted.June 5 to August 28,Queen Victoria Market,free.

NGV FRIDAY NIGHTS

If four hours of fancy drinks,cool music and high art won’t get you off the couch in the dead of winter and onto a city-bound tram,you’re a lost cause. This year tickets include late-night entry toPharoah,access to all performances,and a side serve of transcendent sounds from Africa,the Middle East and outer Brunswick. Think oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros,3PBS broadcaster Stani Goma,Australian Art Orchestra,not-for-profit record label Music in Exile,and the ambient electronica of Tempo Rubato.June 14 to October 4,6-10pm,NGV,$45 online or $50 at the door.

NOW OR NEVER

City of Melbourne’s festival of art,ideas,sound,technology and future thinking kicked off last year with a mixed bag,and returns in 2024 with a curated look at image through imagination,emotions and contemplation. Expect talks,installations and exhibitions from 300-plus creatives.August 22-31,various venues,free and ticketed.

CRFT*WRK

Curated by the Rose Street Artist Market crew,this Vic Market craft fair brings together local,independent makers of art,ceramics,jewellery,embroidery,macrame,ethical textiles,homewares,artisan perfume,dog accessories and plenty more.August 25 (29 June 29 and July 27),Queen Victoria Market,free.

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