SATURDAY
Homegrown Markets 10am to 2pm, The Station, Newcastle.
Handmade in the Hunter Markets 9am to 2pm, Sobels Wines, 5 Halls Road, Pokolbin. Also on Sunday.
Glendale Farmers & Artisan Market 7am to 1.30pm, Stockland Glendale.
Hunter Wine Country Markets 9am to 2pm, De Bortoli Wines, 532 Wine Country Drive, Lovedale. Also on Sunday.
Medowie Community Markets 8am to noon, Bull n Bush Hotel in Ferodale Road, Medowie.
Smoke in Broke 10am, McNamara Park, Broke. Also on Sunday. BBQ competitions, live music, food and market stalls.
Newcastle Repair Cafe 9.30am to noon, Lambton Library, 75 Elder Street, Lambton. Upcycling and tool skills demonstrations from 11am.
SessionFest 2023 - Festival of Live Music Sessions Morisset Showground. Hunter Valley Folk Club Inc. Also on Sunday and Monday.
Social Fabric - Afghan-Australian Stories in Thread Lovett Gallery, Newcastle. This exhibition explores Afghan women's cultural history and contemporary Afghan-Australian perspectives through textile arts and fashion. Contributing designers include Lida Mangal (Ghan Fashion), Maryam Oria (Akena the Label), Anjilla Seddeqi, Mariam Seddiq and Samira Yama. Also on Sunday and Monday.
The Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Art Society - Lola Rose Memorial Exhibition 10am to 4pm, Rathmines Theatre and Boiler Room, 25 Stilling Street, Rathmines.
Young Archie Lake Macquarie 10am to 3pm, Charlestown Square. Plus free art making sessions.
Hunter Women Artists Exhibition Launch 2pm, 38 Howe Street, Lambton. Then open 10am to 4pm, Sunday and Monday.
Sugar Valley Library Museum Guided Tour Westy: we built this history, 11am to 11.30am, 156 Portland Drive, Cameron Park.
Wild and Wise Exhibition 10am to 4pm, Lighthouse Arts Newcastle, 41 Nobbys Road. Also on Sunday.
Outback Mike - Book Launch 9am to 3pm, Customs House, Newcastle. Port Stephens local Mike Atkinson, as seen on Alone Australia, has written a book, Modern Day Castaway, about his 1500-kilometre solo journey up the Great Barrier Reef in a dugout canoe.
Method Brewing Turns 1 Noon onwards, 18 Maitland Road, Islington. DJs, Mulga Bill's wood fired tacos and two new beer releases.
Glenworth Grazing Food & Wine Festival Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures, 69 Cooks Road, Glenworth Valley. Also on Sunday.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow 8pm, Civic Theatre Newcastle, with Brennan Reece, Lewis Garnham, Mandy Nolan, Scout Boxall, Takashi Wakasugi.
Opera Hunter's La Boheme 2pm to 4.30pm, Warners Bay Theatre. Directed by Stewart Mcgowan, conducted by Christopher Bearman OAM and musically directed by Mercia Buck OAM featuring the Opera Hunter Chorus and Childrens' Chorus and the Lake Macquarie Philharmonic Orchestra. Also on Sunday from 2pm.
WEST WALK! 4pm to 8pm, Newcastle West. Live music and art. Tickets $85 at eventbrite.com.
Musica Viva - Garrick Ohlsson 7.30pm to 9pm, City Hall, 290 King Street, Newcastle.
Tom Gleeson Live 6pm, Newcastle Comedy Club, 1a Darby Street, Newcastle. Also on Sunday at 5pm.
Flickerfest 2023 Best of Australian Shorts at 6.30pm; Short Laughs Comedy at 9pm, The Playhouse, Newcastle.
Mini "Taste of Wollombi" Festival Various venues, also Sunday and Monday. Details at visitwollombi.com.au.
Adamstown Arts All Ages Gig Urn, Rixon and Statik. 7pm, 228 Brunker Road, Adamstown.
Newcastle Northstars vs Melbourne Mustangs 5pm, Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay.
SUNDAY
Made + Found Markets 10am to 2pm, Webb Park, Redhead.
Newcastle City Farmers Markets 7am to 1pm, Newcastle Showground.
Wollombi Markets 8am to 2pm, Wollombi Saleyards, 2978 Paynes Crossing Road, Wollombi.
Adamstown Lions Markets 7am to noon, cnr Brunker and Glebe roads, Adamstown.
Coalfields Steam Event 9.30am, Richmond Vale Railway Museum. Steam locomotive Marjorie will be in operation, portable farm engines will be in steam, there will be a visiting steam locomotive on the miniature railway and steam-powered scale model trains on the O gauge layout, plus displays and refreshments. Also on Monday.
Miss Porter's House Open Day 1pm to 4pm, 434 King Street, Newcastle West. This month there is a focus on fashion from the Porter household.
Newcastle Northstars vs Perth Thunder 4pm, Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay.
Dobell Festival ARTSPACE 10am to 11.30am, Wangi Creative Hub, 295 Watkins Road, Wangi Wangi. Art activities and storytelling inspired by the artist William Dobell.
The Midtown Darkside Festival 2pm, The Rogue Scholar (with Jam's Karaoke and Floozy Coffee). Silent disco, live music, beer yoga, food trucks and more.
MONDAY
Firing of the Guns at Fort Scratchley Seven guns will be fired at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. All exhibition rooms will be open to the public and tunnel tours will be happening all day. Newcastle RSL Pipe Band will be performing and there will be a military vehicle display. Nobby's Drive Newcastle East.
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