The 7 Best Things To Do In Brisbane This December
Whether you’re a festive elf or a Grinch, you’ll need a hefty December calendar to distract you from looped mall carols, traditional Brissie heatwaves, and the prospect of your Aunt Mildred’s annual mystery roast. Here are seven things to help you keep your cool all December long in Brisbane.
#1 Celebrate country
Now in its third year, Clancestry returns to QPAC to celebrate the diverse arts and cultural practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Join the community for a day of free entertainment on Saturday 5 December, when Melbourne Street Green lights up with song, dance and poetry. Cremorne Theatre hosts conversations and film screenings throughout the week of November 30 to December 6. Click here for a full program of free events.
#2 Dessert for days
An unobtrusive building in Newstead, Chester Street Bakery might be better recognised by its queue. Remember the tunnel at Underwater World where you walk through the giant fish tank? Well, Chester Street is like that, but for cake — towering, all-encompassing cabinets of cake. Most importantly, there are fridges stacked high with ice-cream cake worthy of a Queensland summer. Chester Street’s desserts are designed and made in-house, and their website is basically porn. Follow their Insta @chesterstreetbakery to get your tastebuds in the mood.
#3 Down the rabbit hole
Wonderland Festival’s program overflows with gigs to list on your (pre-)Christmas wishlist. It’ll take the better part of 2016 to scrub the glitter off the Powerhouse, with a month-long program of international and local cabaret, circus, burlesque, music, comedy, poetry and variety. Don’t miss Finucane and Smith’s Glory Box, infamous Berlin siblings Die Roten Punkte, and local highlights Ma Ma Ma Mad (a one-woman show set in a Chinese karaoke bar) and A Trashy Night with the Retrofuturists (a time-travelling queer cabaret). Top it all off with a beer and a tasty snack at Jan Power’s Wonderland Markets. Wonderland runs from December 3-20 at Brisbane Powerhouse.
#4 Blades of glory
Dreaming of a white Christmas? Or at least one with serious air conditioning? Brisbane boasts not one, but two ice-skating rinks, with Iceworld locations in Boondall and Acacia Ridge. Once you’re in the big fridge, choose your own adventure: re-enact Whip It on ice, cling to the wall and keep pace with kids dressed as Anna from Frozen, or stick to the benches with a steaming hot choc. On “Cheap Skate Tuesdays”, entry to Ice World costs $11 — and you can revel in the joys of having $1 rented knives strapped to your feet. Besides, no matter how many times you fall over, everyone looks cuter in a scarf.
#5 Two tickets to the gun show
No prep for the ‘zomb-apocalypse’ is complete without a sick arsenal. At The Edge’s two-hour TRYIT workshop on December 11, you can pimp your nerf gun so it works better, shoots further, and looks cool enough for your fave dystopian future. Book a ticket or two here.
#6 A knight’s tale
The British Museum storms Brisbane from December, bringing Medieval Power: Symbols and Splendour to the Queensland Museum. The first museum in the world on the exhibition’s tour, QM hosts artefacts of life and war dating back to AD 400. Don’t miss the iconic Lewis chessmen pieces, made around AD 1150 from everyone’s favourite medium, Walrus ivory. On 11 December, enjoy medieval-inspired food, live music and drink (mead, my liege?) at Medieval Power After Dark. Check out the full program, running till April, here.
#7 It’s getting hot in herre
Embrace the sweat this summer with some judgement-free dancin’ in the dark at No Lights No Lycra. NLNL is a global community movement (which started in Melbs, of course) providing inclusive spaces for dance. When the lights go out, you can shake it off however you like, wearing whatever you like — there are no steps to learn, no techniques, and no rehearsal-room mirrors. Relive your best blue-light disco days at the last NLNL for the year on 15 December. Entry costs $6 and you can check out the community on facebook here.
(Lead image: Chester Street Bakery)
