What's on in Acton on a budget?
54 upcoming events
We've rounded up 54 upcoming events in Acton on a budget — concerts, parties, theatre, exhibitions, family outings — updated every day. Pick a theme or just scroll.
Events in Acton on a budget
Sat26
Today
Mon28
Monday 28 September
Mon 28A$5–8
🗺️Guided tour🌳Outdoors
Secrets of the Australian Bush - a family adventure
Visitor Centre, Australian National Botanic Gardens
Mon 28 · 12 PMFree
🗣️Talk
ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series: Dr Jennifer Mae Hamilton (UNE)
RSSS building, room 4.69
Mon 28 · 1 PMFree
🗣️Talk
Beyond the Pollution Approach: Toward the Social Theory of Waste in International Environmental Law: LSTS Hub Seminar
Phillipa Weeks Staff Library
Mon 28 · 4:30 PMFree
👾Video games🏆Tournament
CSS LevelUp - E-sports competition
Innovation Space, Level 2, Birch Building #35
Mon 28 · 6 PMFree
🗣️Talk📚Literature
Meet the author - Mark Cully
Cinema Theatre, Lowitja O'Donoghue Cultural Centre
Tue29
Tuesday 29 September
Wed30
Wednesday 30 September
Thu1
Thursday 1 October
Thu 1 · 10 AMFreeVI
🏷️Other
Ăn trưa miễn phí với Lâm Hứa
Crawford School of Public Policy
Thu 1 · 5 PMFree
🗣️Talk
Paddock Trees Under Threat Book Launch
Frank Fenner 101 Seminar Room, Frank Fenner Building
Thu 1 · 5:30 PMA$15
🏰Heritage
The DHG Art Book Exchange
ANU School of Art & Design Gallery
Thu 1 · 5:30 PMFree
🗣️Talk🎒Students
Meet the ACT Supreme Court Associates
ANU College of Law, Philippa Weeks Staff Library
Thu 1 · 6 PMFree
🗣️Talk📚Literature
Meet the author - Shaun Micallef
Cinema Theatre, Lowitja O'Donoghue Cultural Centre
Later
Tue 6 · 11:30 AMA$0
💼Career🎒Students
Your Voice, Your Future: CBE Student Focus Group 2026
Allan Barton Forum
Tue 6 · 1 PMA$0
✂️Workshop🌱Ecology
Worm Farming Workshop
ANU Kitchen Garden Plot
Wed 7 · 11 AMFree
🗣️Talk
From employment exit to occupational reallocation: Child penalties in Vietnam
Seminar Room 7, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
Wed 7 · 5:30 PMFree
🗣️Talk🕊️Human rights
Trump v ICC
Phillipa Weeks Staff Library
Thu 8 · 11 AMA$0
✂️Workshop🌳Outdoors
Let's make rice paper rolls in the garden!
ANU Kitchen Garden Plot
Thu 8 · 4 PMA$0
✂️Workshop
Grow Your Own Micro Greens & Sprouts
ANU Kitchen Garden Plot
Thu 8 · 4 PMFree
🗣️Talk🏰Heritage
Unearthed | Who Owns the Past? Repatriation, Provenance, and Cultural Heritage
Seminar Room, Australian Centre on China in the World
Thu 8 · 6 PMFree
🗣️Talk📚Literature
Meet the author - Suzie Miller
Cinema Theatre, Lowitja O'Donoghue Cultural Centre
Mon 12 · 12 PMFree
🗣️Talk
ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series: Prof James Smithies
RSSS building, room 4.69
Tue 13 · 5 PMFree
🗣️Talk🏛️Politics & Economy
State of resistance in Myanmar: Fresh approaches to old complexities
China in the World Lotus Theatre
Thu 15 · 5 PMFree
🗣️Talk📚Literature
In conversation: Australian Girls
University House Hotel
Fri 16A$0–6.46
Storytime in the Gardens
Australian National Botanic Gardens
Sat 17 · 5 PMFree
☀️Open air🌳Outdoors
After Hours
Williow Oval
Mon 19 · 12 PMFree
🗣️Talk
ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series: A/Prof Li-Wen Shih (Taipei Medical University)
RSSS building, room 4.69
Mon 19 · 4 PMFree
🗣️Talk
A begum abroad: Urdu literature, women authors, and the imaginative power of the travelogue in South Asia
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Wed 21 · 10 AMA$0
Screen Industry Meet-Up | October
National Film and Sound Archive
Thu 22 · 5:30 PMA$0
A Critique of Human Supremacism
RSSS Auditorium
Thu 22 · 5:30 PMFree
The accountability dilemma: Impeachment, polarization, and Philippine democracy
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Fri 23 · 3 PMFree
Canberra German Week 2026 - Science and Innovation Day
Allan Barton Forum
Wed 28 Oct · 5:30 PMFree
🗣️Talk🏰Heritage
2026 Robert O'Neill War Studies Lecture: The Transformative War: Australia in the war of 1939–45
China in the World Lotus Theatre
Wed 28 Oct · 6 PMFree
🗣️Talk
Thinking about political elites in Indonesia and beyond: Some normative and methodological reflections
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Wed 28 Oct · 6 PMFree
Public Lecture by Veritasium’s Dr Derek Muller
Kambri Cinema
Thu 29 Oct · 4 PMFree
🗣️Talk🏰Heritage
Unearthed | Taking It With You: A Journey to the Chinese Afterlife
Seminar Room, Australian Centre on China in the World
Sun 1 Nov · 2 PMA$10–50
🗣️Talk📚Literature
Drill Hall Gallery 2026/27 Lecture Series: Artworks of significance — Lecture 6: Representational Painting and ‘The flesh of the world’ — Jude Rae
Coombs Lecture Theatre
Thu 5 Nov · 9 AMFree
2026 Mongolia Update: Cultural heritage in a changing world
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Sat 7 Nov · 8:30 AMA$10
Fairy Fabulous: The Secret Lives of Fairy-wrens
Australian National Botanic Gardens
Tue 10 Nov · 8:30 AMFree
2026 Philippines Update - Sama-sama: The Philippines with Australia in a changing world
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Mon 16 Nov · 2 PMFree
Agents of Maoism: Communist spies and overseas Chinese in Cambodia’s global sixties
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Tue 17 Nov · 11 AMFree
Re-open the social sciences?
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
Thu 19 Nov · 9 AMFree
China Update 2026 – China’s decarbonisation: strategy, objectives and the pathway to a low-carbon economy
Crawford School of Public Policy
Sat 21 Nov · 10 AMA$10
🗺️Guided tour🌳Outdoors
An Introduction to Australia's Remarkable Plants
Australian National Botanic Gardens
Tue 24 Nov · 4 PMFree
🗣️Talk
2026 Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom AO Distinguished Lecture
National Museum of Australia
Thu 26 Nov · 8:30 AMFree
🗣️Talk✊🏿Anti-racism
Racism In Health Education First Nations Health ANU
Finkel Lecture Theatre
Mon 30 Nov · 9 AMFree
✂️Workshop🗣️Talk
Powering the Circular Economy: Local Government & the Solar/Battery Waste Challenge
35 Science Rd
Mon 7 Dec · 6 PMA$10–25
Canberra Showcase 2026
National Film and Sound Archive
Tue 15 Dec · 9 AMFree
2026 Economic Theory Festival: Bounded Rationality, Information and Markets
HW Arndt Building
See also in Acton on a budget
At 12 PM
🎤Hip-Hop🎫Concert
Quatro Reunion ft Beast Mode (Syd,World DMC Open Champion)
Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia, Australian Capital Territory 2601
At 1 PM
☀️Open air🎤Hip-Hop
Quatro Reunion Is Back!
Hopscotch, Braddon
At 5 PMA$10–110
🎻Classical🎫Concert
Wanderlust
Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest
At 7:30 PMA$10–15
🌙Indie🔬Experimental
UNIT (MELB) ‘Rachel’ Single Tour w/ Paloma + Lily Hanna @ Dissent
Dissent Cafe and Bar, Canberra
Tue 29 · 1 PM
🎻Classical🎫Concert
ANU Lunchtime Concert: Sophie Min, Edward Neeman and Chris Latham
Larry Sitsky Recital Room, Canberra
Thu 1 · 5:30 PMA$49–89
🎻Classical🪇Salsa
Kasia Smolarek (Canberra)
Wesley Music Center: The Mansfield Room, Forrest
Thu 1 · 6 PM
🎻Classical🎫Concert
Erin Helyard: Bach and Handel at the Harpsichord
Llewellyn Hall, Canberra
Thu 1 · 6:30 PM
🎫Concert
NightFest Opens
Floriade
Thu 1 · 7 PM
🌙Indie✨Pop
TOM AVGENICOS: DELAY 45 ALBUM LAUNCH
Smith's Alternative, Canberra
Fri 2 · 7 PM
🌙Indie🪕Folk / Acoustic
Ben Lee & Georgia Maq - Canberra
Canberra Theatre Centre
Sat 3 · 10 AM
🎷Jazz🎫Concert
Nouvelle Vague in Canberra
Metro Theatre, Canberra
Sat 3 · 7:30 PM
🌐World music✨Pop
Sonu Nigam in Canberra
Tiktok Ent Centre, Canberra
Sun 4 · 2:30 PMA$10–30
🎻Classical🎶Singer-songwriter
Wesley Music Scholars Spring Concert
Wesley Music Centre, Forrest
At 2 PMA$0–69
🎪Street party🌳Outdoors
Lake Moon Festival 2026
Beijing Garden, Yarralumla
Sun 11 · 3 PM
🎪Street party🌳Outdoors
Tipsy Tea at the Yacht Club
Yacht Club
At 5 PMA$45
👑Drag show✨Cabaret
La Cage BLEU
Blue Eyes, Canberra
At 7 PMA$15.63–46.23
🎪Street party
Canberra | Singles Mixer | Manuka | Saturday 26 September | 20s & 30s
1/33 Flinders Way, Griffith
At 8:45 PMA$10–25
🎉Club💿DJ set
Substrate v.1
Shadows Nightclub, Canberra
Wed 30 · 7 PMFree
❓Quiz
Trivia Night at Lager House by Capital Brewing Co
Lager House by Capital Brewing Co, Parkes
At 9 AM
💿DJ set🎉Club
🎉 Canberra, We’re Back! – Tuff Nutterz Hits Commonwealth Place! 🎉
Commonwealth Place, Parkes
Thu 1 · 7 PMA$36.25–51.25
❓Quiz
Canberra | Singles Trivia Event | Luna Bar | 1st October | 50 & Over
99 London Cct, Canberra
Sat 3 · 8 PMA$15
🎉Club👑Drag show
Canberra Underbear Night
ChiChiz Bar, Canberra
Sun 4 · 8 PMA$9.09–27.53
💿DJ set🏠House
CZN x EventRevo presents SIP & SOUL long weekend
Braddon
Wed 7 · 7 PM
🪇Salsa🌳Outdoors
FREE Salsa @ Badger & Co 💃🕺
Badger & Co, Canberra
Fri 2 · 7 PM
🎤Stand-up
Dan Rath - Help Me Please - CANBERRA ENCORE
Fun Time Pony, Canberra
Fri 2 · 7 PMA$20–60
✨Cabaret👑Drag show
GLAM SLAM CLUB
Shadows Nightclub, Canberra
Sat 3 · 7:30 PM
🎭Theatre
'The Story Of Me' Tour show - Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra
Canberra Theatre Centre
Fri 9 · 6:30 PM
📜Poetry slam
North Vs. South Heat #2
Smith's Alternative, Canberra
Fri 9 · 7 PM
🎭Stage
Burn the Floor - Luminous - Canberra
Canberra Theatre Centre
At 2 PMFree
🖼️Exhibition🥂Opening
EXHIBITION LAUNCH: Dean Cross X Sidney Nolan - Two Heads
Canberra Museum and Gallery
Tue 13A$0
🗣️Talk🕊️Human rights
Law for Community Workers: Legal Aid ACT
2 Allsop St, Canberra
At 1 PMA$10–12
🗺️Guided tour🏰Heritage
Calthorpes House Tours 2026
Calthorpes' House, Red Hill
At 3 PMA$10–528
🍽️Food🌳Outdoors
Underground Spirits Cocktail High Tea in The Gin Garden at Floriade 2026
Information Marquee at Floriade, Regatta Place, Parkes
Thu 1 · 6 PMA$70
🍽️Food
Weekly Whiskey Tasting
Hippo Co. Bar, Canberra
Tomorrow
🖼️Exhibition🌳Outdoors
Canberra Art Expo
Commonwealth Park, Canberra
Wed 30 · 8 AMFree
📚Literature🥂Opening
Fly into Fantasy Month: ‘Threshing Day’ Release at QBD Books Canberra
QBD Books Canberra Centre
Wed 30 · 1 PMFree
🗣️Talk
Data Detectives | Kids Edition
Black VC, Canberra
Wed 30 · 5 PM
🗣️Talk
INAUGURAL INTERVARSITY MOOT GRAND FINAL - ANU v UC
ACT Supreme Court - SC3, Canberra
Wed 30 · 6 PM
🗣️Talk🎬Cinema
Science. Art. Film.: Her
Mccoy Cct , Canberra, ACT, Australia, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Thu 1 · 10:30 AMA$5–75
🗣️Talk📚Literature
Garden Designer Paul Bangay in Conversation
Margaret Whitlam Pavilion
Thu 1 · 5:30 PMFree
📚Literature
Bob Yates at Paperchain Bookstore
Paperchain Bookstore, Griffith
Thu 1 · 6:30 PM
🌳Outdoors
Floriade NightFest 2026
Commonwealth Park, Parkes
Fri 2 · 9:30 AM
🖼️Exhibition🗺️Guided tour
Bugs Alive Exhibition
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Acton
Fri 2 · 9:30 AM
🗺️Guided tour🗣️Talk
ANU Keyboard Institute Open Day
ANU School of Music, Canberra
Sat 3 · 9 AMA$0
🗺️Guided tour💛Inclusivity
Quiet Mornings at the Mint
Royal Australian Mint, Deakin
Sun 4 · 2 PMA$18–28
🎬Cinema🌳Outdoors
Crafty Cinema Canberra - Miss Congeniality
Palace Electric Cinemas, Canberra
Wed 7A$600–9,299
🗣️Talk
Protective Security and Government (PSG) Conference 2026
Hyatt Hotel Canberra - A Park Hyatt Hotel, Yarralumla
Thu 8 · 4 PMA$0
🗣️Talk
Face-to-Face IELTS Masterclass - Canberra
IDP IELTS Canberra
Thu 8 · 7 PMA$10–30
📜Poetry
ACT Australian Poetry Slam Heat + Final
Blank&, Canberra
Sat 10 · 2 PMA$90
🍽️Food
Masterclass: SHIRAZ vs SYRAH
Porters Liquor Campbell - Facing Constitution Avenue
Sat 10 · 6 PM
🎬Cinema
Canberra Short Film Festival 2026
Dendy Cinemas Canberra
Sun 11 · 3 PMA$15–20
🗣️Talk
The Memory Collectors
Manning Clark House, Forrest
Mon 12 · 7:30 AMA$1,350
🗣️Talk
2026 Indigenous Wellbeing Conference
Hotel Realm, Barton
Your passions nearby
Tap what you're into — we'll find the outings around you.
Venues in Acton on a budget
Phillipa Weeks Staff Library
3 events
Allan Barton Forum
2 events
Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building
7 events
RSSS building, room 4.69
3 events
National Film and Sound Archive
3 events
Cinema Theatre, Lowitja O'Donoghue Cultural Centre
3 events
ANU Kitchen Garden Plot
5 events
35 Science Rd
2 events
Crawford School of Public Policy
3 events
Australian National Botanic Gardens
5 events
Visitor Centre, Australian National Botanic Gardens
3 events
National Museum of Australia
4 events