Join us for a musical adventure as we Meet the Orchestra and learn more about the sounds, stories and instruments of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Tuesday 10 May | 11AM | GPAC Theatre on stage

The MSO has something for every member of the family – with concerts designed for the littlest of audience members as well as their accompanying adults. Go on the road with the MSO as we take a musical trip through some of the best classical music ever written. This is the kids’ chance to get rowdy, get on board, and get up close to the music of a world-class orchestra.

Together the musicians of the MSO will perform music to dance to (Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet), music that makes us want to sing (Bizet’s Carmen) and music from beloved stories (Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet). Conductor Nicholas Bochner will be there to introduce audiences to each of the instruments and musicians, and to explain what makes this music so special.

Conductor/Presenter Nicholas Bochner with musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s 2022 regional touring activities are supported by Creative Victoria, the Freemasons Foundation Victoria, the Robert Salzer Foundation, the John T Reid Charitable Trusts and the Sir Andrew & Lady Fairley Foundation.

Forget the kitchen pots and pans, bring the kids to make some noise at our place!

Join Steve in a hands-on, musical experience where there are buckets of percussion instruments and a whole heap of energy to create The Big Samba.

Presented by Latrobe City Libraries

Be a part of this special portrait project during the school holidays!

Wednesday 20 April | 10AM – 3PM | Outdoors 

Look this way.  Look natural.  Smile. With our ever-growing desire to document each moment of our lives, children often become the reluctant subject of their parent’s camera. 

I See You Like This turns the camera around, allowing your child to view you as the subject through the lens of their own imagination in this creative all day workshop!

Portraits will be developed as paste-ups to be exhibited on the exterior of the old Latrobe Performing Arts Centre building!



Suitable for 6 – 12 year olds with one adult partner.

FREE program no bookings required

Never fear, Super Jenny is here these school holidays!

Thursday 21 April | 10.30am & 1.30pm | Outdoors

Jenny likes to swim with mermaids and fly to other worlds, her best friend is Ned and she loves her nanny, but when someone needs help she becomes Super Jenny.

Jenny helps her friends and family all the time, her Nanny says this makes her Super Jenny. But sometimes even super heroes need help. This pre-school children’s entertainment is engaging, fun and educational, incorporating fine and gross motor skills, Auslan sign language, singing, dancing and musical terms. Super Jenny LIVE explores sustainability, mindfulness, coastal care and encourages creativity, imaginative play and cognitive learning that goes hand in hand to enhance all children’s physical and intellectual development.

FREE Program - No bookings required 

‘Monk has achieved a show that is entertaining, educational and also simply fun – which in my opinion brings it close to super’

– Witness Performance 4 Stars

“I for one look forward to learning new Auslan signs and hearing stories from Super Jenny!’s Nanna in coming episodes. Job well done Jennifer Monk and La Mama for Kids.”

– Artshub

Created and Performed by Jennifer Monk

Music and Lyrics by Natalie Jeffreys

Production and Costume designer by Oliver Ross

Image by Abigail Wilson at BeScene

A moving short film about Gippsland community members with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Wednesday 23 March | 6PM | GPAC Theatre

Renowned Arts Director Catherine Simmonds OAM presents ‘Greener Pastures’, a moving short film that captures the lived experience of Gippsland community members with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Migrants and refugees who attend multicultural friendship groups in Wonthaggi and Warragul courageously share their stories of settlement in Gippsland. The film touches on issues such as migration, refugees, isolation, courage, resilience, hope, generosity and community.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion led by the director with light refreshments served in the foyer after the event. Come along to view this beautiful short film.

Latrobe Community Health Service has partnered with StoryIsConnection to produce Greener Pastures using Victorian State Government funding.

We’ve whipped up a cocktail of groove-filled bands, DJs, food, local brews and a perfect setting to make magic happen.

Friday 25 March | 5PM - 9PM | Outdoors

Get ready for twilight hangs, great music and good vibes in your new outdoor space. Teaming up with not-for-profit label Music in Exile, we're featuring headline artists from culturally diverse communities alongside local acts.

Plus, enjoy local brews from Good Land Brewing Co. and moreish nibbles. We're here for it.

AUSECUMA BEATS

Ausecuma Beats are more than just a band, they are a philosophy. Led by their fearless bandleader and master djembe player, Boubacar Gaye, the nine-strong ensemble demonstrate what can happen when a group of artists come together based on an idea – in this case, the idea of place, of transplanting cultural heritage into a contemporary city. Ausecuma Beats are a representation of what is possible when inclusion and diversity are celebrated. Musically, each individual artist brings their own unique sound. However, when these musicians join together they create a powerhouse full of energy, grooves and joy. It is the way these incredible musicians join together that makes the group truly impressive.

GORDON KOANG

Gordon Koang Duoth is a Neur speaker and musician hailing from the Upper Nile region of what is now South Sudan. Accompanied by his cousin Paul Biel, Gordon performs a blend of traditional Neur rhythms and original compositions in English, Arabic, and his native language, Neur.

FRIDAY HANG DATES

• Friday 11 March | Ajak Kwai + Allysha Joy
• Friday 18 March | Chikchika + Camille
• Friday 25 March | Ausecuma Beats + Gordon Koang

Find Out More

Presented in partnership with Music in Exile. Music in Exile is a not-for-profit championing Australian artists from refugee, migrant and diaspora backgrounds.

We’ve whipped up a cocktail of groove-filled bands, DJs, food, local brews and a perfect setting to make magic happen.

Friday 18 March | 5PM - 9PM | Outdoors

Get ready for twilight hangs, great music and good vibes in your new outdoor space. Teaming up with not-for-profit label Music in Exile, we're featuring headline artists from culturally diverse communities alongside local acts.

Plus, enjoy local brews from Good Land Brewing Co. and moreish nibbles. We're here for it.

CHIKCHIKA

Chikchika began as a fun collaboration between Music Yared and Mulu Baqqalaa, and has grown to a powerful project in its own right. Mulu, a legend in Ethiopia, where she has been actively performing and recording music for over ten years, is joined by Anbessa Gebrehiwot and Haftu Reda, two Tigrinya vocalists and masters of their traditional Eritrean and Ethiopian stringed instruments, the krar and masinko. The trio is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Dale Gorfinkel and Tawanda Gadzikwa on drums to create an innovative new sound that pays homage to the traditions of East Africa.

CAMILLE EL FEGHALI

Camille el Feghali is a master of the Qanoun (a middle eastern zither) and the Nay (a middle eastern flute). He also harbours a healthy interest in electronic and experimental music, and is interested in different ways to use traditional instrumentation in these contexts. We eagerly await the results of his new collaboration with Melbourne based experimental pop musicians, Zak Olsen, better known for his work with contemporary rock bands ORB and Traffik Island.

FRIDAY HANG DATES

• Friday 11 March | Ajak Kwai + Allysha Joy
• Friday 18 March | Chikchika + Camille
• Friday 25 March | Ausecuma Beats + Gordon Koang

See All Events

Presented in partnership with Music in Exile. Music in Exile is a not-for-profit championing Australian artists from refugee, migrant and diaspora backgrounds.   

We’ve whipped up a cocktail of groove-filled bands, DJs, food, local brews and a perfect setting to make magic happen.  

Friday 11 March | 5PM - 9PM | Outdoors

Get ready for twilight hangs, great music and good vibes in your new outdoor space. Teaming up with not-for-profit label Music in Exile, we're featuring headline artists from culturally diverse communities alongside local acts.

Plus, enjoy local brews from Good Land Brewing Co. and moreish nibbles. We're here for it.

AJAK KWAI 

This summer, renowned South Sudanese/Australian vocalist Ajak Kwai is taking her full band on tour across regional Victoria and beyond in support of 2021’s outstanding EP, Red Sands.  

Red Sands is sonically akin to the groove-orientated, politically powerful afrobeat and funk sounds coming out of South and West African nations in the 1970s, sitting somewhere between the infectious pop of the Lijadu Sisters and a more modern desert blues sound of groups like Tinariwen and Mdou Moctar.

ALLYSHA JOY 

Well versed in poetry and performance, Allysha Joy’s potent lyricism, unique musicianship and killer vocals have garnered legions of attentive fans the world over. She’s an integral member of the Melbourne soul jazz scene, known as part of the acclaimed 30/70 Collective and for her own equally revered solo work.

FRIDAY HANG DATES

• Friday 11 March | Ajak Kwai + Allysha Joy
• Friday 18 March | Chikchika + Camille
• Friday 25 March | Ausecuma Beats + Gordon Koang

Find Out More

Presented in partnership with Music in Exile. Music in Exile is a not-for-profit championing Australian artists from refugee, migrant and diaspora backgrounds.   

Be a 10 Minute Dance Party DJ at Gippsland Performing Arts Centre's OPEN Festival! 

Tuesday 1 March | 6PM | Latrobe Regional Gallery

Join the mastermind of 10 Minute Dance Parties, JOF, to learn how to DJ at this FREE workshop at Latrobe Regional Gallery and then show off your new skills at the Big Family Weekender on Saturday 5 or Sunday 6 March as part of GPAC's OPEN festival. This is just for 11 – 19 year olds! 

You'll learn: 

• DJ skills
• Tech operation 
• Curating playlists for dance parties
• Generating activities and choreography for dance parties
• Real life performance skills at the Big Family Weekender on Saturday 5 or Sunday 6 March

This workshop and performance opportunity is open to anyone aged 11 - 19 years old. Get in quick, this workshop has a maximum of 20 participants.

Get ready to be a party starter!

Grab your mates for twilight hangs.

Friday 4 - Saturday 5 March | 5PM - 9PM | Outdoors

Get ready for it, Up Late is on again TONIGHT from 5PM – 9PM! 

Join us for an undercover boogie to live music that’s perfect for Saturday wet weather hangs with your mates. 

We’re setting the scene outdoors with top home-grown music acts alongside the Hot Glue Buns and JOF’s 10-Minute Dance Parties (the grown-up version – see The Big Family Weekender for more info).

SATURDAY

• 5PM - 6PM | DJ Golden Fleece
• 6PM - 6:45PM | Timothy Wolf
• 6:45PM - 7:15PM | DJ Golden Fleece
• 7:15PM - 7:30PM | Hot Glue Buns
• 7:30PM - 8:15PM | Timothy Wolf and The Howlers
• 8:15PM - 9PM | DJ Golden Fleece

FOOD & BAR

• 5PM - 9PM | Good Land Brewing Co. Bar
• 5PM - 9PM | Gippsland Baked Potatoes
• 5PM - 9PM | Coffee & Hot Jam Donuts

TIMOTHY WOLF AND THE HOWLERS

Introspective soulful blues with a hint of 'I'm ready to boogie', Timothy Wolf is the thrilling new kid on the block with his debut studio album set for release Oct 2022. The local alt folk/country songwriter is going from strength to strength, landing raving Rolling Stone and Triple J reviews and festival and support slots for the likes of the Pierce Brothers. Get on board early, dust off your dancing shoes and introduce yourself to the immersive and boisterous mischief that is Timothy Wolf.

DJ GOLDEN FLEECE

Hailing all the way from Meeniyan, Golden Fleece has lit up dance floors from Melbourne to London.

HOT GLUE BUNS

Hot Glue Buns (Kady Mansour and Michaela Tancheff) are a feminist duo who work to increase the accessibility of dance to the public. Their works have featured at Strawberry Fields Festival and Meredith Music Festival, alongside CC:DISCO! and Gordon Koang. In 2021 Hot Glue Buns developed ‘Hot Glueshops’ as part of Moreland Festivals Development Program.