A festival that you do in the city that does it best—art, culture, food and music under moonlight: RISING returns to ignite the heart of Melbourne this June, and today unveils a delectable line up of food and beverage offerings which will amplify the city’s culinary renown across the 2023 festival precincts.
From pet-nat and live-shucked oysters under the watchful eye of a puppet bus in the grounds of St Paul’s Cathedral, to wood-fired pizza slices and boozy hot chocolate by the open fire at The Rink at RISING, there’s something for all tastes and budgets.
Night Trade, Presented by Up, is RISING’s vibrant hub of organised chaos and pop-up performances located smack in the centre of the city, across St Paul’s Cathedral’s transformed grounds. It’s also one of the festival’s must-visit food precincts, whether it’s for a grab and go feed and a drink on route to a festival show, or a longer stay to take in all the action. On the menu are hot pies from social enterprise Free to Feed made by their participants from Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Colombia, and flame-cooked BBQ skewers from Filipino street food purveyors Hoy Pinoy.
For drinks at Night Trade there’s a giant Archie Rose Negroni Tank holding 11,000 cocktails, Bodriggy tinnies from a Tinnie – icy cans cooled in an actual unanchored tinnie, and a sci-fi wine wall pouring tap wines curated by Glou Sustainable Wine Bar. At the centre of it all is the Up Bar, housing a fully-stocked hand-picked selection of Archie Rose pre-mixes, Victorian wines, local beers from Bodriggy Brewing Company and a spicy Ginger Beer brewed just for RISING. Here Up customers can also get $5 off their first order – easy money.
No visit to RISING this year is complete without a stop at The Rink at RISING: a new winter ice-skating tradition on the banks of the Birrarung where visitors can skate under the big-top and a celestial blanket of stars, while rink-side indulging in a range of delicious warm food and drinks. Hot-buttered popcorn, hot dogs,—including classic and vegan options— and loaded fries from Hot Dog Deli, wood-fired pizza from Fugazi, Pie Thief hot pies, chips and dips by Chappy’s and Free to Feed and crepes from Crepes for Change are all on offer, as are Manny’s Doughnuts and ice cream, perfect for pairing with an Archie Rose cocktail or a Mork boozy hot chocolate.
The ideal pre-show date option, Moon Bites, presented by Broadsheet Melbourne, is an early dining offer which runs every night of the festival from 5-6pm. Melbourne’s premium restaurants, including Cumulus, Nomad, Hazel, Hero, Bar 133 at QT Melbourne and more, have created an exclusive RISING menu with drinks and small bites.
For those who want to sit down to a more formal meal, the Dine at Dusk series offers a specially designed, conceptual set menu. The series includes Indigenous dining at Mabu Mabu, a feature dinner celebrating the seasons, low-waste cooking and sustainable sourcing in Hazel Atrium, farm to plate deliciousness at Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters, and Kisume will be offering a special edition of their much sought after Chef’s Table with a focus on nose to tail butchery and preparation. Each restaurant offering a unique dining experience for RISING.
RISING Festival 2023
7 – 18 June
rising.melbourne
Image credit: Eugene Hyland