White Night

A few years ago I was living in Toronto and one evening ended up having one of the best nights of my life at Nuit Blanche (White Night), the all-night arts festival that ran from dusk till dawn.

Over those 12 hours hundreds of galleries and museums were open, free and filled with every type of artwork and punter you could imagine. The city became a gallery curated by the people (one you could drink in, too). It really was awesome.

For years I wished something like this would come to Melbourne, and this weekend my wish comes true with White Night. From 7pm this Saturday night everything between Fed Square and the State Library is an arty-party zone, with 3000 local and international artists participating in over 80 free events.

Flinders Street Station will become the Theatre of Dreams, a free all-night gig featuring local acts including The Cat Empire, RocKwiz Orkestra and Eagle And The Worm.

They’ll be wandering hordes of zombies, dinosaurs, all-night dancing, ghost walks, inflatable structures, billowing walls of foam and that’s just the tip of the White Night iceberg.

I caught up with Angie Hart (Frente) who’ll be performing at Flinders Street Station with the RocKwiz Orkestra.

“It’s going to be big. I like the fact that I’ll be singing to so many fellow Melburnians in a temporary space. I want to get a sing-a-long happening,” she reckons.

And Angie’s advice for getting the best out of the night? Go home halfway through, take a nap and come back.

Mine is to take a flask.

White Night is happening Sat 23 Feb from 7pm to 7am and will be epic.
For more info visit whitenightmelbourne.com.au.