You don’t need us to tell you that the weather is warming up but with that comes a whole stack of events and activities this month. So, what is there to do in November in Brisbane? Take a look through the list and find a bunch of things you can do during the week and on weekends.
1. Van Gogh Alive
It has arrived and the two-month-long digital exhibition will welcome in thousands of visitors just as it has when visiting more than 50 cities around the world.
The vibrant colours and vivid details of Van Gogh’s technique and style will be made visible in never-before-seen detail. Accompanied by a classical soundtrack that helps interpret the thoughts, feelings and intentions of the master painter, visitors will be immersed in many of the sites of Van Gogh’s inspiration with fragrances specifically designed to evoke the setting of the paintings.
2. Melbourne Cup Events
Whether you’re into horse racing or not, there’s no denying that the Melbourne Cup has a certain grip on Australia and Australians as a whole. The day is now also synonymous with fashion, friends and having a good time. Subsequently, Brisbane’s restaurants and bars put on an array of fabulous lunchtime events featuring oysters, champagne, and any number of bottomless drinks or food packages.
3. Sunflower Festival
Head out into the sunshine and wander about 6 acres of sunflowers—in other words, 80,000 sunflowers—at Scenic Rim’s Sunflower Farm.
Tickets start at around $12 per adult (children under 16 can enter free), but when booking take a look at the special sessions as you could do yoga among sunflowers at 6am if you fancy being up that early, attend a sunflower seed bomb workshop, or jump in a classic car for a ride around the farm.
See sunflowers on the first couple (maybe even three) weekends in November.
4. A Midnight Visit
Inspired by the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, A Midnight Visit is a trip into the weird and sinister dreams of the legendary writer and poet via a 36-room immersive theatre experience in a disused warehouse.
The run of shows have been extended until only November 21.
5. Pizza & Prosecco Specials
Normally open just on the weekends, Will & Flow is now open on Thursday evenings for after-work drinks and cool evenings in the summer. Its nights will be filled with good music, hot pizzas, cocktails and prosecco so you can get your weekend started one night early.
With the $20 Pizza and Prosecco offer and you’re going to be hard-pressed to find somewhere you’d rather be on a Thursday after work.
6. Chandon Garden
Riverbar & Kitchen’s Spring Chandon Garden has not only brought a touch of lush greenery and plenty of floral delights to the riverside, but it’s also brought with it plenty of spritzes to add a hint of effervescence to the warmer weather. There’s even one that’s so big it’s made to share and a spritz high tea loaded up with macarons, churros with chocolate hazelnut sauce, crumbed chicken sliders, cured salmon and cream cheese crostinis, plus your choice of spritz from the Chandon Garden menu.
7. Fish And Spritz
One Fish Two Fish’s Fish and Spritz is available for order on Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunches all the way through to Christmas Eve. The four-course menu begins with a kingfish ceviche before an Asian-style crab omelette arrives as your second. Then it’s onto the grilled snapper with Tuscan salad and for dessert, you get a chocolate gelato trio.
For $69, you’ll get all this plus a spritz on arrival. Or, you could opt for the two-hour bottomless spritz package for just $99 and knock back spritzes until lunch is well and truly eaten.
8. The Japanese Film Festival
Returning to the cinema for its 25th year, this festival showcases the latest and greatest in Japanese cinema. Find spectacular Japanese films at Palace Barracks Cinemas or Palace James St Cinemas from November 11 to November 21.
9. Armakeggon Craft Beer Fest
Armakeggon is back and this year it’s got exclusive GABS beers that you’ll never taste again all thanks to New Zealand needing to cancel its event. There’ll be games, raffles and giveaways throughout the day, with DJs on the decks and more happening upstairs. It’s free entry from 11:30am but you can get yourself a VIP ticket for early access, a bacon and egg brekky roll and tasting paddle.
Armakeggon is on Saturday 6 November at Archive Beer Boutique.
10. Humans 2.0 by Circa
Circa Contemporary Circus presents Humans 2.0, a beautiful blend of acrobatics, sound and light at QPAC. This is the next chapter in Circa’s internationally acclaimed Humans, where ten bodies leap and are pushed to their physical limits.
Shows on 10-20 November, 2021.
★★★★½ “There are times when you can hardly believe what you’re seeing…” Sydney Morning Herald
Humans 2.0
11. Ghost Stories at GOMA
With Halloween awakening, ‘Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings and Worlds Beyond’ explores the cinematic world of haunted houses and ethereal encounters to romantic apparitions and irrepressible poltergeists with a program that is loaded with films from the ages as well as many recent flicks.
The films that form part of Ghost Stories are free to attend but seating is limited.
12. Spring Sounds at Sunset
Get on down to Brisbane Powerhouse on the weekend of Fri 12 – Sun 14 November 2021 for a big weekend of free and local music on the lawns. Pack your picnic rug and enjoy the springtime with jazz, blues, folk and world music as you tuck into food from one of the many food trucks on site.
13. Imaginaria
The specially designed spaces are meant to be part game, part gallery, and part journey where visitors not only walk through but also interact with what’s going on inside. Thought of as an audio-visual journey from the future, Imaginaria has an anti-gravity space, shimmering light sculptures, a cosmic garden and a white bubble you can enter among other experiences that will test your grasp on reality or present new perspectives.
14. Magic Men
Magic Men are Australia’s best male dancers and their shows serve up a heart-racing and sweat-inducing spectacle. From the hunky stars in their eye-catching costumes to the gorgeous waiters, who will be serving you a glass of sparkling on arrival and carrying around complimentary finger food for you to bite down on in the case it all gets a bit much, this is one cheeky show that is not for the prudish.
Magic Men is on Saturday nights.
More infoMagic Men
15. Spirits of the Sand
Through song, dance and powerful storytelling, the history, beauty and vibrancy of the Aboriginal people comes alive in this 2.5 hour dinner and show spectactular. Their story is told through a live ‘roving theatre’ experience where the public is immersed in the space and time of the events being recounted.
Performances on Saturdays.
More infoSpirits of the Red Sand
16. Mt Tamborine Wine Tours
These chauffeured Mt Tamborine winery tours you will visit three family-run boutique wineries and be treated to guided tastings. Plus, you’ll get to stop off at scenic lookouts along the way so you can take in the wondrous beauty of the Scenic Rim.
You won’t have to worry about anything really since Pineapple Tours takes care of every detail. From its door-to-door service (if you live within 10kms of the city centre) to taking photos of your day out on the mountain, you’ll be well looked after. There’s lunch too, prepared and cooked by an award-winning chef, and optional cheese and fudge platters so you won’t go hungry on your winery adventure.
More infoMt Tamborine Wine Tours
17. The Pink Flamingo Spiegelclub Shows
Step inside the one-of-a-kind, 1920s Art Deco-inspired entertainment venue and you will be seduced. First by the decor and then by the talent of the international superstars that take to the stage for any one of The Pink Flamingo’s intoxicating shows. With a blend of cabaret, burlesque and cirque acts, they astound, provoke excitement and entertain from the moment the curtain rises until you walk back out and smell the sea breeze on the Gold Coast.
There are four shows on stage at the moment: La Teaze, Suavé, Flamboyance, and Ripped.
18. Candlelight
Brisbane’s first Candlelight concerts featured the scores of some of classical music’s most revered composers, all played by the most talented classical musicians. However, if classical music isn’t quite your jam, then no worries because the Candlelight series has upped its musical offering with tribute concerts to some of Jazz’s most celebrated artists like Aretha Franklin as well as tributes to the legendary band Queen.
19. Dining in the Dark
An experience that’s been backed by psychologists as an ‘amplified’ way to enjoy food, the enticing Dining In The Dark event returns to Brisbane. This special event promises to elevate your meal to a whole new level with dimmed surroundings leaving just you, your taste buds and your sense of smell to enjoy a three-course meal.
Dining In The Dark experiences take place on Sundays in November.
More infoDining In The Dark
20. Brisbane Comedy Festival
Last year, a not-so-funny virus came knocking and shut down the Brisbane Comedy Festival before it could slide into its final week. And then this year, the same thing pretty much happened and government restrictions meant many shows needed to be postponed.
In any case, the show(s) must go on and Australia’s fastest-growing comedy festival has rescheduled a bunch of shows at the Brisbane Powerhouse and The Tivoli.