DATE: Saturday 26 September, 2026
TIME: 10am – 2pm
COST: Free, all welcome
Details
On the first Saturday of the September school holidays, TAC will be buzzing with free activities for the whole family—from grandparents, mums and dads to kids and teens. Book into a structured art, dance or drama class, or drop in and explore a range of spontaneous art-making activities. Or simply relax by the lake with a cuppa while enjoying live music and dance on TAC’s outdoor stage. This is a free event and everyone is welcome. Bookings are required for some activities.
Register your attendance online for the chance to win one of four family passes to Especially on Birthdays on 30 September. On the event day, have your tickets scanned at reception to enter the draw. Winners will be announced from the main stage at 1.00 pm and prizes must be collected on the day.
Free Classes
Art Class
Try out TAC’s Make a Mess and Make it Matter art classes. Art teacher Gina Chapman will help kids through the process of cutting, gluing, painting, and decorating their very own spring garden scene. Classes at 10:30am, 11:30am and 12:30pm in the Art Workshop (downstairs). Bookings required. Click here to book
Drama Class
A chance to try Funky Fairytales drama with Daniel Streatfield! Participants will play theatre sports, improvise and enjoy role-playing games. Class at 11:30am in the Theatre (access from the top of the stairs). Bookings required. Click here to book
Fresh Funk Dance Class
Enrol your young one in a Fresh Funk class and give them a taste of TAC’s flagship dance program. Participants will learn a hip-hop dance routine with program tutors and get a feel for this popular, energetic style of dancing. Classes at 11:30 am and 12:30 pm in Dance Studio 1 (downstairs). Bookings required Click here to book
Participatory Music: Instant Backing Band
Ready to be a backing band for a sax player? Come join a fun, free musical adventure where kids and families become the band! Pick up easy to play boom whackers and tone chimes and back the sax. No musical experience needed – just bring your curiosity, your rhythm and your willingness to have a go! Suitable for all ages. Sessions staring at 10:30am, 11:30am and 12:30pm Bookings required Click here to book
Outdoor Activities
Mural Making in Creative Corner
Outside in Creative Corner, young children and their carers can get creative together with a fun, hands-on mural-making activity. Help create a colourful mural composition using vinyl shapes, or explore your creativity with chalk and oil pastels. There’s also a fun fish-making activity, where little artists can use colourful pipe cleaners and pom-poms to create their own quirky underwater creatures. Drop-in activity, suitable for kids and carers. 10am-2pm, Outside by the Lake
Mandji Stitch-Up in the Courtyard
Mandji, The Murray Cod. Photo Martin Ollman, 2026
In the Courtyard, you can help bring TAC’s giant Murray Cod scupluture, Mandji to life by creating coiled weaving or stitching woven circles together to form its skin. Drop-in activity, suitable for all ages. 10am-2pm, in the Courtyard near Creative Corner (outside)
Lakeside Stage Entertainment
The Lakeside Stage will come to life with an exciting program of performances from local artists, community groups and music students from Gugan Gulwan. Enjoy a vibrant mix of music, dance and circus, with performances by Fresh Funk, South Canberra Wind Orchestra, Sing with Toby and Warehouse Circus.
Exhibitions
Carried Moments and Quiet Space in Gallery 1
Lizette Richards, Tide Gifts, 2024, Stg Silver, cast silver shells, bird bone, 9ct gold, diamond (30x40cm)
Trake a moment of peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of Grand Day Out and explore Gallery 1 upstairs, where you can discover work by Lizette Richards in Carried Moments. Admire jewellery and sculptural works inspired by place, memory and landscape in Carried Moments, an exhibition that invites you to slow down, look closely and reflect. Quiet Space and exhibition.
Weaving the Coast in Gallery 2
Christiane Keller, Flat Rock 5, 2025, Mixed media. Photo: Colin MacDougall
In Weaving the Coast, Christianne Keller celebrates the distinctive coastal environment cherished by many Canberrans and demonstrates how waste materials can be transformed into enduring art. Exhibition in Gallery 2.
Fast Furniture in the Foyer Gallery
Georgia Claridge, The Fast Furniture Show, 2025. Mixed Media.
In Fast Furniture, Georgia and Ben Claridge explore the meaning of home and the fluid boundary between private and public space through the compelling lens of the miniature. Using the familiar language of flatpack furniture, the work invites reflection on how industrialisation shapes the way we construct, curate, and express identity. Drop-in to see the exhibtion in the Foyer Gallery.
Drop-In Activities
Zine Making in the Foyer
Grab a piece of A4 paper, make a few folds, cut along the centre, bring it all together and… voilà! You’ve made your very own zine. Add words, draw pictures and turn your ideas into a story. Instructions and assistance will be available to help you get started. Suitable for kids and carers.
Flying Friends in the Foyer
Create your own colourful bird using paper, feathers, pom-poms and more. Will you make a cockatoo, a parakeet or a galah? Join the fun and help fill the foyer with a flock of flying friends inspired by Australia’s beautiful birds. Suitable for kids and carers.
Giggly Wiggly in Dance Studio 2
Start the day with colourful face painting fun from Giggly Wiggly! In the morning, get creative with face painting, transforming little faces into magical, colourful masterpieces. In the afternoon, kids can enjoy amazing balloon creations, bringing their favourite characters and animals to life.
Creatives and Coffee in the Galleries
Join us for Creatives and Coffee and make your own watercolour and oil pastel resist painting. Use a white oil pastel to create lines, shapes and patterns, then add watercolour paint to reveal your finished artwork. Suitable for all ages.
