Literally the worst festival ive ever been to…read more I caught a tram from swanston st and it stopped in the middle of nowhere on st kilda rd. Everyone on the tram looked shocked. We then walked around 2kms to get to the festival. Once inside we had to walk a further 20 minutes to get to the tents. There was an entire area just cordoned off for Indian stalls. How bizarre. I then queued up to get to the main music stage. Music was horrid and what made it worse was that the speakers were not working properly so all you heard was white noise. I then walked a bit further and got into another stage area. Same issue here. Speaker disturbance overpowered the performer's singing. The third music area was playing a song with lots of profanity in it and I saw kids within this area. So inappropriate. Queue for hours for the rides. There was free frozen yoghurt by skyn. Free iced coffee. Lots of food stalls. Despite being a dry zone I saw someone puking in the women's porta loo. There were beer bottles and cans everywhere and lots of drunks. Where is security and police when you need them? No clear signage on how to get to and from festival. Awful organisation. Oh and why am I covered in dust. So much dust.

The first time I went to St Kilda Festival I was about 16 and came across it completely by…read moreaccident! My friends and I were on a Sunday trip to the beach soon after realising it was festival Sunday, the last day of St Kilda Fest and of course the biggest. The festival is home to a huge variety of free entertainment, local musicians, bands, dancers and performers all get together for the week long festival coming together for the grand finale on Sunday. St Kilda Festival attracts crowds by the masses, roads are closed all over the city and locals usually embrace the festivities by throwing their own St Kilda Fest gatherings in, out and on their houses. All the local bars, clubs and restaurants get involved so if attending you can be sure to have a pretty crazy time no matter where you situate yourself. The festival is a great experience Festival Sunday is one of it's own, but the talent at the events during other days of the festival are also well worth attending.

What a way to celebrate my bday. This festival blew my mind at every corner. I didn't want it to…read moreend! It's been a very long time since I went to a festival that was over the top spectacular. Nothing compares to Melbourne's special night. It felt like all of Melbourne came out to play and play nice! The city lights up even brighter in a family friendly event all across the city starting in the CBD. The news said about 650,000 came out but it looked like a million. Restaurants stayed opened, food trucks, so much entertainment. The artists in Melbourne are remarkable. So much to see and experience even down the Yarra river. The views from the bridge left me in awe. I was nerding out every other second. Fire breathing gigantic dragon, illuminated bird that flew along the river, projection art with a lovely message of friendliness love and togetherness. The frisky dancers and on my street corner. A young gentleman playing his sexyphone on the balcony. Across the street piano players and guitarists on a rooftop and so much more. All I could say is thank you Melbourne for an unforgettable bday at White Night. Mel M Yelp 18:42

Wow! First to review White Night?! This is one of my favourite nights in Melbourne. And I'm not…read morealone -over half a million people turn out for the all night art event this year. Running from sunset to sunrise, the event gets the creative juices flowing with music, dance, film, large scale art installations, performances, and projections. (Plus a number of unique quirky experiences - giant foam sculpture or 3am synchronised swimming anyone?) Many bars and restaurants stayed open late and food trucks were dotted around the city, helping revelers stay fortified throughout evening. A major tip for making the most of the evening is to stay up late or get up early. There are various hubs around the city, stretching from the Carlton Gardens, past Federation Square, and down to the NGV and Birrarung Marr. But expect large, dense crowds and long lines during prime hours before midnight. (There are 500,000 people out in the city!) By contrast, at 5am we waltzed right into the Melbourne Baths without a queue in sight. Central to White Night aesthetic are the spectacular, large scale projections on major city buildings. White Night is a memorable night out, with different experiences each year. I'll definitely be back in the crowd again next year!

This was the first Pleasure Garden event. I'd say the first of many. I was attracted by just one of…read morethe bands, Cat Empire. I was not disappointed. But I spent most of the day here and enjoyed all the bands. It ran from 12 till 10.30pm. There were two stages so we had choice and we did wander between them. The space was large enough that we could wander about without feeling crowded. Maybe in future years it will get more popular and start feeling crowded but not this year. There were a number of food vans with enough variety to satisfy most, plus two bars. There was a little market which I didn't really check out but I saw others were. The organisers did a fantastic job. There were cute fun 'lady bugs' on stilts dancing around and a group of wise elder types dressed in white and glowing floating through the audience near the stages and around the venue. There were beach balls bouncing around the audience and at one stage later in the evening a number of lovely people with huge platters of cut fruit floated through the audience. What a great touch! The atmosphere was fun and friendly. Such a great vibe! It was located in a park in central St Kilda. Easy to get to and on closing it was orderly. Actually the whole event was peaceful and cruisy. The only thing that concerned me was the toilets. I admit it, I can be a princess. But these were clean and plentiful. Overall a well organised fun event that I'm hoping to go back to next year.

From the owner: The Pleasure Garden is a Music, Art and Gastronomy Gala. A feast for the senses, and a delight to…read morebehold. A fantastic festival of theatre, sculpture, music.

I was lucky enough to read about the Melbourne International Jazz Festival while researching things…read moreto do during my visit to Melbourne. The Opening Celebration Concert at Federation Square was a lovely free event showcasing some of the artists and bands from around the world who would be playing some shows the week ahead. Can Melbourne get any cooler? I think not! Great jazz vibes on a beautiful day at the iconic Fed Square...definitely a bonus to my time here!

Dear AJ, You don't…read moreknow me, although I gave you $150 yesterday for the privilege of attending your music festival, 'Harvest Presents The Gathering' in Werribee; a festival so poorly organized and extortionately expensive that I woke up today feeling more ripped off than the time I got mugged in Sicily by a couple of opportunistic lads on a motorbike. You see I was excited about your festival. Love festivals. First started going to Glastonbury as a baby and all that jazz. And when I heard about Harvest I was immediately rapt. "Portishead" I beamed, "you can't go wrong with a festival featuring trip-hop extraordinaires Portishead." I was wrong. From the woefully inadequate number of toilets available which necessitated repeatedly queueing for up to an hour for a wee; to the fact that in order to buy drinks you first had to queue for roughly an hour to buy drink coupons and then queue AGAIN to buy drinks, your festival was a comedy of errors. Don't even get me started on the food which fell somewhere between 'eek' and 'meh' quality wise and again, necessitated lining up for up to an hour and a half for a humble and overpriced bite to eat. There were moments of joy and elation of course, the joy of finally exiting the venue's 'car park' after a one and a half hour wait when organizers had expressly encouraged attendees to drive; the elation expressed by a girl more patient than I who had waited an hour in line to go to the toilet and decreed her experience 'the best wee ever'. I was truly happy for her, if a little envious AJ, because frankly, my kidneys were starting to ache. I know you've boasted that Harvest enjoyed 'one of the best festival line-ups ever assembled' AJ. You were right. The line up to buy alcohol so expensive that one could only imagine that Werribee existed within some strange bubble economy in which hyperinflation was rife. The 'Werribee Weimar' as your drinks coupons shall henceforth be known. Oh that and the fact that by 4pm beer was as rare as hen's teeth but you were letting people queue up for it anyway you miserable, thoughtless cheapskate. Yours sincerely, Arabella

Northcote is pretty much hipster central. For those yet to venture over to the north side; think…read morequirky cafes, organic supermarkets and edgy locals. So it's only natural that Northcote's annual street festival, High Noon, was absolutely packed with Melbourne's trendiest. The streets were teeming with energy as hordes of vintage stalls, delicious multicultural delights and a thriving music scene jostled for the crowd's attention. Inside the cordoned off drinking areas, merry folk queued for ciders under the sun, whilst munching on smashed avocado ciabattas and kangaroo burgers. This being Northcote there was, of course, only the most gourmet fare on offer. Not a sausage sizzle in sight. Local pubs, such as the Wesley Anne and the Peacock, were packed to the limit, with bands playing to packed dance floors late into the night. Held on Sunday the 18th of September, it's a date to be penned into your well-worn leather diary. So pull on your skintight denims, grab your fixie and head on down to High Street Northcote.

I have never seen as many pedigree dogs within the confines of the Northcote stretch of High Street…read moreas I did on the day of the High Noon festival in September. Whether that's a gauge of how cashed up Northcote has become or how laid back the festival is I have no idea but it is what it is. Inexact dog barometer aside, the High Noon festival is a damn good free festival - offering food, music, arts and crafts - in a very interesting area which does a very good - and hugely well organised - job of showing off Northcote's many talents. Boasting three sponsored stages with an eclectic music lineup of local bands covering genres including reggae and rock; countless pop up food and craft stalls; and a very lovely crowd, High Noon festival is definitely worth a visit. The festival draws so many people to the area that local bars can become hugely crowded and there is the occasional queue for food, but all in all High Noon is a hugely well executed free festival that I would definitely return to next year.

Working on the gate l see lots of family's and sometimes dogs enter into the festival lots of…read morethings for the kiddies to do and a gr8 food court for all u foodies. I think to support the Lions Club with there 3 dollar hotdog which were fantastic plus other vendors have great food such as meat on sticks, Nutella crepes, veg dishes OMG sausages in bread yessssssss so exciting worth a look a little more about the festival : Inform and empower the local community to make achievable changes in their daily lives that contribute to a more sustainable way of living. The Market Stage showcasing emerging and professional bands and artists, The Community Stage representing local schools and community performance groups, and The Tribal & Animal Stage exploring the customs and rituals of first nations people and their connection with nature, alongside a massive interactive animal display and presentation

After much consideration, on my part, over the price of the ticket to this festival, I finally…read moredecided it was worth the money. After all, shows in this city are easily $40+, so I figured if I saw three or more of my top bands, the price really wasn't so bad. I must say, I am happy I trusted my love of good music over my bank account balance. Laneway Festival certainly delivered, and I left after a 10 hour day of fun in the sun - surrounded by good music, good friends, a shit load of hipsters, and plenty of babes - happy...and very tired. A few of the stages weren't my thing as they were surrounded by concrete with no where to stand...especially if the act was big time. My favorite stage was the one where you got to hang out on the grassy hill and observe the happenings below and around you. There's really nothing better than hanging outside on a beautiful day at a music festival. The energy really seeps into your soul. It's a blissful feeling. Some things I didn't like about St. Jerome's - too many people...they really over sold this one. By the evening you could barely move for the crowds. This scary amount of people resulted in scary amounts of trash...everywhere. Gross. Some things I loved about St. Jerome's - the music (what a sweet line up this year - Alt-J, Flume, Bat for Lashes, Polica, Nicolas Jaar, etc.), the fact that waiting in line for a beer was an absolute breeze, the food on offer was plentiful and delicious, and the layout of the venue was pretty great. Excellent sound too top it all off! Will I go next year? Absolutely. But, first I'll go through the inner turmoil of 'to spend or not to spend'...is that even a question when it comes to music? Nah.

If you've mean in Melbourne for a decent length of time, you'll know that festival season truly is…read morea special time of year. And Laneway Festival is one of the best (if not the best) day festivals around. Having started in the narrow laneways of the city at St Jerome's, it has grown into a significant event both in Melbourne and across Australia and worldwide with festivals in Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Perth, Adelaide and even Singapore! Despite the original Laneway Festival moving to the streets surrounding the Footscray Community and Arts Centre, it has not lost any of its charm. In 2010, the way the event was run, the atmosphere of all the revelers and the impressive lineup, made it an event to remember. I can't recommend it enough. Get your tickets before it is too late for 2012. The date is Saturday 4th Feb. The line up has been announced. Feist and Neil Finn are playing amongst a sea of others. Visit their website to see the full cast.

Melbourne apparently didn't get the memo that DEI is bad We were lucky enough to be on hand for…read morethe annual MOOMBA parade, celebrating all aspects of the vibrant community that makes up Australia's diverse population.

Such a great time! beautiful floats and costumes as far as the eye can see and a lot of talented…read morestreet performers come out to catch the buzz from the crowd. If your looking for a night full of adventure and culture I would truly recommend visiting this spectacle of moving art