Roving entertainment and pop-up stages
Wander through the Queen Victoria Market on Sunday 29 March 2020 from 10am-5pm and you'll be delighted by pop-up performances and roving performers at every turn. Musicians, magicians, acrobats and surprise performances will engage and entertain the crowd, all in celebration of Victoria's diverse cultures.
Pop-Up Stage String Bean Alley
ChibCha, aka Oscar Jimenez, is one of Australia's most renowned Latin musicians. Oscar brings you psychedelic Cumbia originating from Colombia, his place of birth. He infuses it with his very own blend of Reggae making it a Cumbia Reggae Soul Fusion! And without a doubt Oscar will take us on a journey of rhythms and melodies to groove to!
Mindy Meng Wang is a guzheng (Chinese string instrument) virtuoso and part of a significant movement of Chinese musicians redefining and reinvigorating their musical traditions.
Melbourne-based, Indian singer-songwriter and producer, Avi Misra, pulls from cultural influences that characterise Indian songwriting styles, creating a highly reflective exploration of immigration, belonging and identity.
Trained as a classical Hindustani vocalist, Misra’s vocals are soaring and operatic, another element that sets his work apart. He has carved a unique pocket in the ofttimes impenetrable landscapes of synthpop and darkwave.
Accordion and violin duo playing traditional Romani music.

Pop-Up Stage Therry Street
Gatka is a traditional Sikh martial arts style developed and maintained in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. The Sikh fighters also called Nihangs have a long history of performing Gatka. Gatka promotes physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
Mesmerising, hypnotising and magnetic. The Amazing Anso’s contact juggling performance brings the “wow” factor to the festival.Anso performs a choreography of extraordinary tricks that are simply breathtaking.
Gatka is a traditional Sikh martial arts style developed and maintained in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. The Sikh fighters also called Nihangs have a long history of performing Gatka. Gatka promotes physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
Mesmerising, hypnotising and magnetic. The Amazing Anso’s contact juggling performance brings the “wow” factor to the festival.Anso performs a choreography of extraordinary tricks that are simply breathtaking.
Pop-Up Stage E Shed
Melbourne-based, Indian singer-songwriter and producer, Avi Misra, pulls from cultural influences that characterise Indian songwriting styles, creating a highly reflective exploration of immigration, belonging and identity.
Trained as a classical Hindustani vocalist, Misra’s vocals are soaring and operatic, another element that sets his work apart. He has carved a unique pocket in the ofttimes impenetrable landscapes of synthpop and darkwave.
ChibCha, aka Oscar Jimenez, is one of Australia's most renowned Latin musicians. Oscar brings you psychedelic Cumbia originating from Colombia, his place of birth. He infuses it with his very own blend of Reggae making it a Cumbia Reggae Soul Fusion! And without a doubt Oscar will take us on a journey of rhythms and melodies to groove to!
Accordion and violin duo playing traditional Romani music.
The Habibis perform exquisite traditional music from Greece, Anatolia, Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Roving performers
Authentic Samba dancers bring the electric energy of Brazilian dance to the festival.
The CaribVic Dancers are members of the Caribbean Association of Victoria, who celebrate the beauty and glamour of masquerade, through dance and music from the region. ‘Playing mas’ in the Caribbean has its roots in early European masquerade traditions which were carried to the Caribbean. Those customs were subsequently combined with those from ancient Africa during colonisation, resulting in a creolised version of masquerade.
Many of these African traditions are still a part of contemporary Caribbean carnivals, with masqueraders parading through the streets in elaborate costumes made of feathers, beads and fabric, dancing to pulsating rhythms.
Our dancing is not choreographed, as it’s meant to reflect the free movement of individuals - bodies moving freely to the rhythms of soca music, a sub-genre of the traditional calypso form. Choreography restricts the emotions connected to our very specific movements — one must feel the rhythm in order to effectively ‘play mas’.
Our dance group strives for authenticity in our performance, as we try to keep that significant part of our culture alive in our new home of Victoria.
Mesmerising, hypnotising and magnetic. The Amazing Anso’s contact juggling performance brings the “wow” factor to the festival.Anso performs a choreography of extraordinary tricks that are simply breathtaking.
The Pilgrim is leaving home to wander into the unknown. The Pilgrim is a delightful miniature puppet experience where, for seven minutes, a one-person audience becomes part of an intimate story of an insight into our own journey as human beings.
Accordion and violin duo playing traditional Romani music.
Born in Hyogo, Japan, Yumi is an established Butoh Dancer and choreographer from Australia. She has been creating her distinctive style of works for nearly 30 years and her works are renowned for provoking visceral emotions and cultural identities.
Yumi’s works have been seen in numerous festivals in dance, theatre and film productions throughout Australia, Japan, Europe, New Zealand, South East Asia and South America, and have received critical acclaim and garnered several Australian Green Room awards.
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