Buddha's Day and Multicultural Festival
From May 3 to 5, head to Federation Square for the Buddha's Day and Multicultural Festival, a three-day event celebrating the birth of Buddha and Melbourne's multi-faith community. This year, the festival boasts a huge line-up of traditional ceremonies, concerts, transformative digital activations, art, live music and immersive experiences. On the first night, visitors will be treated to the Light It Up Opening Ceremony featuring performances from the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, National Boys Choir, Taiko Drums, as well as guest speakers. The ceremony will conclude with an epic fireworks display and the lighting of all the festival's illuminated installations. Throughout the rest of the event you can visit the Lumbini Garden (home to giant-sized sculptures), which replicates the garden where Buddha was born and provides a calming oasis for prayer and mindful relaxation. Nearby is the Lotus Flower Sanctuary filled with 30 giant LED statues of lotus flowers and a Mindfulness Forest filled with illuminated columns for visitors to colour their way to calmness. Dance workshops on the main stage and guided Ch’an meditation classes will be offered. For the kids, there will be face painting, giant bubble blowing, mindfulness colouring and dragon dance workshops. The festival is free for all to attend and bookings are not required. Find out more at the Buddha's Day website. Looking for more things to do? Check out our round-up of the best things happening in Melbourne this we