Winter has well and truly arrived, and if the forecast has you eyeing the couch, resist for a moment. The week of 18 June is a busy one across the metro area, with a couple of genuinely big drawcards and plenty of the markets, music and indoor warmth Perth does so well this time of year.
A quick note before we start: event details change, sell out and get rescheduled, so treat this as a starting point. Always confirm dates, times and prices on the official source before you head out. Where we can point you to a verified listing, we have.
The big one: Studio Ghibli meets the symphony
The standout this week is The Music of Joe Hisaishi with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Hisaishi is the composer behind the scores for Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle and other Studio Ghibli classics, and WASO is performing his work at the Riverside Theatre at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre across Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June. The orchestra is led by conductor Nicholas Buc with pianist Aura Go, in a screen-free concert hosted by Dan Golding and Andrew Pogson from the Art of the Score podcast. Tickets and full details are on the WASO website.
Markets and a winter weekend
Sunday brings Perth Upmarket back to the University of Western Australia for its June edition. The long-running market gathers a few hundred local designers, artists and food stalls under one roof. It's free to enter, and the organisers list it for Sunday 21 June at Winthrop Hall. It's an easy, undercover way to knock over some early gift shopping or just graze your way through a winter afternoon.
Perth's regular markets keep running through the cold, too. The night and twilight markets, weekend growers' markets and Fremantle's market scene are reliable rain-or-shine options — check each market's own socials for winter trading hours, which often shorten this time of year.
Music, comedy and a night out
Fremantle and Northbridge remain the engine rooms for live music and late nights. Local what's-on listings for this week flag a busy Fremantle live-music night on Saturday 20 June spread across multiple venues, alongside the usual run of gigs, DJ sets and comedy across the city's bars and smaller rooms. The most reliable way to see who's playing is each venue's own gig guide or socials.
Footy, basketball and indoor sport
Winter is peak sport season in Perth. The AFL season is in full swing, with West Coast and Fremantle fixtures dotting the calendar — check the official AFL fixture for who's at Optus Stadium and when. RAC Arena hosts a steady stream of basketball, touring shows and live entertainment through winter; its events calendar is the place to confirm what's on this week.
Stay warm: museums, galleries and family options
When the weather turns, Perth's indoor cultural venues come into their own. WA Museum Boola Bardip in the Perth Cultural Centre, the Art Gallery of Western Australia next door, and Scitech in West Perth are all dependable, largely undercover days out — and the museum and gallery both offer free general entry to their permanent collections (special exhibitions and Scitech are ticketed). They're ideal for families chasing a school-holiday-style outing without battling the elements.
Where to find the most current listings
For the definitive, up-to-the-minute picture of what's on, these official and well-established sources are your best bet:
- Destination Perth's events calendar — the official tourism listing
- The Urban List Perth and Perth Is OK for weekly roundups
- Your local council's "what's on" page — most run free winter community events
However you spend it, there's no shortage of ways to beat the chill this week. Layer up, double-check the details, and get out there.