A free summer festival created by the Youth, for the Youth.

Saturday 17 December | 11am - 9pm | Outdoor Theatre

Join us for a day of fun and celebration with activities, interactive entertainment, food trucks, live music and more!

Watch this space as we announce the full day program.

Artists, Food trucks & entertainment:

•Teenage Dads

•Darcy Fox

•Timothy Wolf

•Wacky Wombat Entertainment

•Miss Hannah’s Facepaint

•Melbourne Silent Disco

•Danceworks 114

•Gratitude Cookies (supported by Youth Council)

•PollyannaR (supported by Youth Council)

•Slinky Spuds

•Grab & Go Kebabs & Fish n Chips

•L&M Espresso Lab

We're showing art by local Indigenous Youth all week on the big screen to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2022!

Latrobe Youth Space has partnered with AGL, GLaWAC, The Gathering Place, The Koori Youth Group, VACCA, AKC artsbus and local indigenous artist, Montana McStay to produce a suite of Art created by local young people. The art pieces will also be projected at MidValley and the cooling towers at AGL Loy Yang throughout NAIDOC week.

Let your hair down, move your body, downward dog and disco. 

Sunday 3 July | 12pm + 2pm | Outdoors

 

Presented by Nickie Hanley, Discoyoga is a unique free 45min yoga experience jam packed with uplifting beats by DJ Yvette Lee, self-love, acceptance and vinyasa flow. No experience necessary, bring a yoga mat, your best and bright disco ath-leisurewear and dance, move, breathe and sing. 

Make sure you arrive early to settle in and be ready to start on the hour.

Join Phia, Elly Poletti and the beloved Melbourne Indie Voices for this joyous sing session.

Come down to our Lost Dogs' Disco bar, grab a lyric sheet and become part of the mass audience choir, learning backing vocals to a secret song to be announced soon!

In a special not-to-be-missed appearance, Elly Poletti will then join the Sing Session to sing lead with her unmistakeable voice, backed by you. No previous experience necessary!

We kick off at 7PM. Make sure you get down on time so you can partake in the entire performance, total immersion in the entire night is recommended (trust us)!

About Melbourne Indie Voices

So, where did this all begin? Back in early 2016, Phia wanted to highlight and celebrate the work of her favourite contemporary artists and she thought what better way than to get together with her mates and sing about it. What began as a weekly drop-in session at her house with around 20 people quickly grew in popularity, and before long, it needed to find a bigger home. 

Today the choir has over 240 members and a permanent rehearsal space in the heart of Coburg. We have performed and collaborated with a growing list of legendary Australian artists including Paul Kelly, Jen Cloher, Vika & Linda Bull, Ali Barter, Paul Dempsey, Ainslie Wills, Stella Donnelly and Clare Bowditch. 

They usually throw an end of year celebration to show off everything we’ve worked on. In 2019 they sold out Melbourne’s iconic Forum Theatre. Twice!

Kick back after dark with some of Victoria's finest music acts

Saturday 25 June 2022 | 7 - 10PM | Outdoors

Melbourne future soul artist Emma Volard, will be joined by Darcy Fox and Meredith Louise in a relaxed night of grooves and beats.

Emma Volard



Emma Volard is a future soul queen whose compositions break the boundaries of soul music by fusing elements of jazz harmony, broken beat and gut-wrenching lyricism to create a cosmic ether of spiritual dance music.

The chaotic and spontaneous interplay within their live show captures a raw and organic energy effervescent of the underground soul scene in the UK. For Emma, it is clear that her music is deeply rooted in seeking justice and storytelling with political, environmental and personal undertones that share her own reality and reflect upon universal truths.

Emma’s vulnerable personal lens in the industry shows a sensitivity towards life’s foibles that she believes is “influenced by the presence of her non-verbal severely autistic and epileptic sister Adelaide” in her upbringing. Through her distinct lyrical expression and incessant groove, Emma hopes to continue to provide a voice for not only her sister but a voice for change in today’s modern diaspora; a voice for those who aren’t heard.

Darcy Fox

Darcy Fox is a folk/pop artist with a passion for great melodies and inspiring lyrics. Hailing from Gippsland, Australia, this charismatic singer and songwriter combines stunning melodies with infectious grooves and great beats, in order to create a catchy, yet direct and edgy sound. Ever since the age of 15, she’s been singing and playing the guitar, echoing the sound of classic country and folk music, with a modern edge – independently releasing an 2 EP’S, an album and multiple singles.

Throughout the span of her blossoming career, Darcy received praise from audiences and music industry insiders alike. She became a finalist in the 2013 Telstra Road to Discovery competition, and she won the Blues, Roots, and Beyond competition in 2015 at the Queenscliff Music festival. However her greatest achievement so far is being the first soloist to win the Push Start battle of the bands competition, competing against 350 Victorian bands. Using her loop pedal she creates a huge one man band show with powerful guitar and vocal loops to create her own wall of sound.

Meredith Louise

Meredith Louise is a singer, songwriter, musician and Registered Music Therapist currently residing on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people. Combining infectious grooves with words that make you think, Meredith creates a sonic tapestry of jazz, neo-soul, R&B, and folk. Her strong vocals and colourful lyrics create rich imagery that takes the listener on a journey into the human condition. Intrigued by stories and the common threads that weave us together, Meredith writes songs about people, places and landscapes, and how we can find our way back to our truth. 

Produced by Adriano Pruscino (Trad Ukiyo, Jose Luansing), Meredith’s lush debut single No More Hiding (released May 13th 2022) is about getting out of your own way and stepping into your power. She reminds us that the answers we seek are within - if we dare to listen to them. This is Meredith's emergence on Melbourne's vast neo soul scene, and she is stepping out with a sound that is uniquely hers.

A word from Meredith:

"My mother's side of the family is from Warragul and I spent much of my childhood on the lands of the Gunaikurnai (Gippsland). The landscape is some of the most breathtaking and I have fond memories of time in and around Noojee standing among the Mountain Ash - something quite special as a small child. I am so very excited to once again return to Gippsland to celebrate Lost Dogs' Disco and share my music with the community."

Pounce and play with face painting, bubbles, and disco fun!

Thursday 30 June | Outdoors | 10am, 11am, 1pm + 2pm 

 

Come along and join the hullabaloo as young folk of all ages are invited to have their face painted as cute canine for their very own doggie dance games led by children’s entertainment duo Busy Movers. Free and perfect for playful pups whose parents may like to relax with a coffee these school holidays. 

Hey kids, get your art on! 

Wednesday 29 June | Outdoors | 11AM - 2PM 

 

Local artist Steph Shields leads young folk through a Lost Dogs’ Disco inspired sensory play station, doggo drawing, decorating of pre-fired ceramic objects. The session will encourage young ones to build their very own collaborative installation using found and natural objects. These activities are free and perfect for creative busy little humans of all ages who love to explore and make things.

If you feel like a lost dog, come to our disco... This winter we're transforming GPAC with larger-than-life furry friends. It's time for puppers to party!

Friday 24 June - Sunday 3 July | Various times | Outdoors

Sometimes in the dead of night, when houses rattle and hum with the snoring dark and a dog is no longer a puppy but not quite a dog, they will hear the call of ancestors and embark upon a secret journey to the Lost Dogs’ Disco – a place of learning, revelry, insight and discovery where dogs are gifted their deep human insight – the gentleness that understands and heals all human hearts.

It’s the place where they learn to love doggedly, dance biggedly and be free to their hearts’ content. The only time that dogs go back to the Lost Dogs’ Disco is when they lose their way: when shut out of warm houses, when the snacks forever run dry, when their owners suddenly disappear. It’s then that they return to the Lost Dogs’ Disco.

Here, their understanding for all lost souls deepens in their little doggy hearts and they know that everyone feels lost at times. When you are a lost dog, our dogs say come to the disco where dance, togetherness and being true, get you through. If you feel like a lost dog, just go disco!

Alongside our furry friends, don't miss our late night sessions including live music, bar and DJs, PLUS special activities for kids and families across the ten days. Check out more below.



FULL LOST DOGS' DISCO PROGRAM

Friday 24 June Lost Dogs Disco Opening Night

Saturday 25 June Boogie Nights: Emma Volard, Darcy Fox + Meredith Louise

Sunday 26 June Kids Disco Parties

Wednesday 29 June Puppies Plein Air + Pup Paint and Clay

Thursday 30 June Doggie Dance Games

Friday 1 July Doggo Disco with DJ Nige

Saturday 2 July Boogie Nights: Sing Session with Melbourne Indie Voices + Elly Poletti

Sunday 3 July Discoyoga

LOST DOGS’ DISCO – ABOUT THE INSTALLATION

The Lost Dogs’ Disco is a temporary sculpture that celebrates the place of dogs in our lives. Visitors journey through an immersive installation of 16 dogs, some up to 5.5m tall: all in various states of repose – curled-up, standing, even touching noses. 

There are four distinct characters, inspired by three dog breeds: Poodles, Bull Terriers and Dachshunds. 

As visitors’ journey through the happy pack, the dogs’ coats light up and they greet passers-by with happy grunts to celebrate each new person’s arrival; for the Lost Dogs’ Disco is a hallowed place for dogs and every newcomer to the disco is greeted as a fellow disco dog.

The installation features a custom sound design of electronic music that captures the beauty, fun and pathos of a dog’s life including a chorus of barks, growls, howls and all kinds of doggie hullabaloo. 

ABOUT ENESS

ENESS is a multi-award-winning art and technology studio, led by Artist and Founder Nimrod Weis. The studio has designed ground-breaking experiences for cultural institutions across the world for the last 20 years. 

ENESS creates interactive artworks that forge greater community connection in the public realm through joy and happiness. In this way, the studio collective consider themselves to be Happiness Architects. At the heart of all ENESS work is joyful, cross-generational connection. ENESS strives to change public space by introducing unexpected and surprising work that forges deeper moments between friends, family and community; even enabling strangers to meet and find common ground.

Founded in 1997, ENESS is a multidisciplinary team of creatives including artists, musicians, software engineers, industrial designers and a writer. ENESS pioneered the art of 3D projection mapping and interactive real-time motion tracking, breaking new ground and creating firsts that have since become accepted design solutions. The studio has been commissioned to produce and install artworks worldwide for signature commercial buildings; urban and cultural precincts; festivals, galleries and museums of modern art.

Eness.com

@studioeness

A digital exhibition by Latrobe City's kids

Friday 13 - Sunday 29 May | 7PM | GPAC Theatre

With our ever-growing appetite to document our lives through selfies, children are often the reluctant subjects of their parent’s cameras. Jessica Wilson’s, I See You Like This turns the camera around, allowing children to decorate their parent’s and see them as subjects through the lens of their own imagination. 

 

I See You Like This was created by Jessica Wilson with Matilda Woodroofe 

Photography by Darryl Whitaker 

Don't miss our Exhibition Celebration!

FRIDAY 13 MAY 

10:30AM 

GPAC Outdoors 

FREE 

 

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.