Tickets now on sale: The Ringwood Carnival 10-day entertainment extravaganza

I’m A Celebrity 2020 star Rhonda Burchmore will be swapping her khakis for sequins when she returns to Australia from the South African jungle to perform at this year’s The Ringwood Carnival – 27 March to 5 April 2020.

The much-loved dancing queen and musical stage veteran will be bringing her show, Legs 11, to this year’s Ringwood Carnival, sharing with audiences a warm, funny and fascinating insight into an illustrious career spanning more than 25 years.

For Rhonda, Legs 11 is a musical montage of the amazing people she has met, roles she has played, places she has performed and a stellar career she has forged, both in Australia and abroad.

“I call Legs 11 ‘Cabaret, with a dash of comedy and a hint of carnivale’,” Rhonda says.

“There are lows as well as highs. It’s touching, heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time, and rest assured, there will be plenty of laughs along the way,” the musical star adds of her one-woman show on Sunday 5 April 2020.

The Ringwood Carnival is a 10-day entertainment extravaganza filled with high-energy cabaret, mind-bending illusion, high-flying acrobatics, side-splitting comedy, music you can sing along to, and educational fun and laughs for the youngest of carnival-goers.

Ringwood’s inaugural carnival season kicks off on Friday 27 March with an Opening Night Gala.

Hosted by the divine Aurora Kurth, join us under the circus big top for an opening night featuring a cavalcade of colourful acts – see the wickedly funny Sass and Secrets which promises a healthy dose of audience interaction, hear the dulcet sounds of Bobby Fox, see the amazing high-wire entertainment circus group Papillion, bop along to music from the delightful Catherine Alcorn and the John Farnham homage in Age of Stephen.

This gala will be a delectable taster of what’s to come.

Sunday 5 April at 8pm

Off the back of sell-out shows in Hollywood and the world’s largest fringe festival in Edinburgh comes a daring and spangled one-man cabaret show that will leave Ringwood Carnival-goers aghast, amused and thoroughly entertained ­– from go to whoa!

Leather Lungs: Son of a Preacher is the fierce, frisky and fabulous alter-ego of award-winning triple-threat entertainer Jason Chasland.

A master of falsetto and ‘stiletto’ with a phenomenal vocal range spanning four octaves, Leather Lungs marries savage wit and outrageous innuendo, in what Express Magazine calls ‘a voice to die for’.

The Australian-born/New Zealand-raised artist has stunned audiences around the world with his outrageous costumes and captivating stage presence. As well as touring internationally, he has sung for the Beckhams and has performed as a vocalist for singer Adele during her 2017 Australian tour.

Featuring an explosion of songs including powerhouse party anthems by the Weather Girls, Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner, staged in all manner of sequins, pleather and shiny costumes, Leather Lungs fuses good old-fashioned fun with the romp of vaudeville.

Tuesday 31 March at 9pm

Amity Dry is a talented recording artist, writer and composer. She’s also pretty handy when it comes to renos, having appeared on the hit reality TV show The Block & The Block All Stars.

Amity brings her latest cabaret show – Amity Dry - 39 FOREVER – to this year’s Ringwood Carnival, asking: ‘Do you still feel like you’re 25 even though your birth date stubbornly insists you’re not?’ This hilarious cabaret looks at ageing in an image-obsessed world, where social media, Botox and the Kardashians have forever altered the quest for eternal youth.

Performing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2017 and 2018 to critical acclaim, 39 FOREVER also received 5-star reviews in the 2018 Melbourne Comedy Festival and has recently toured nationally.

Saturday 4 April at 11am and 2pm

Walking the tightrope between circus and magic, the Big Tops & Tiny Tots will delight the youngest of carnival-goers with its non-stop whirlwind of plate-spinning, hula hooping and unicycling fun. Aimed at 3 to 6 year-olds, the show will deliver lessons on teamwork, healthy eating and physical activity seamlessly integrated within the action.

Wednesday 1 April at 11am and 2pm

Buckle up and take a trip in a giant time machine for an up close and personal look at a life-sized T-Rex in Dinosaur Time Machine.

Children are invited along to this wildly fun show to learn about the ancient world of dinosaurs as two adventurous performers use science, circus, puppetry and imagination to give you a glimpse into history that you won’t forget.

Friday April 3 at 10pm

Imagine a show where comedians say something that they’ve never said in public before? Australian Comedy stars funny men Glenn Robbins and Dave O’Neil do just that. It’s storytelling at its best where the special comedy guest with the most revealing moment wins the game.

Wednesday 1 April at 9pm

Stalwart of Australian comedy Jimeoin delivers his new stand-up show Ramble On!  Happily imparting his clever and quirky observations on everyday suburban life in his trademark devil-may-care style.

Saturday 28 March at 10pm and Saturday 4 April at 7pm

For fans of the original ‘rebel’, David Bowie, this is your chance to catch Rebel, featuring multi award-winning performer Stewart Reeve.

Stage dive into the mosh pit for a night of glittering live glam rock, breathtaking acrobatics and aerials and spectacular heart-stopping sideshow. Combing music, circus and comedy, this is a chance to celebrate Bowie who inspired generations.

Tickets for the Ringwood Carnival are now on sale! For a full list of shows, dates and ticket prices and to book, visit the Karralyka website, call 9870 2888 or visit the Karralyka box office, Mines Road, Ringwood East.

The Ringwood Carnival is presented by Maroondah City Council together with Eastland and Karralyka.

The 2020 Ringwood Carnival will be located at Ringwood Town Square. Parking is available at Eastland.

Please note: The event theme and name has changed since the Karralyka season was launched in November last year. In light of the bushfire disaster currently impacting Victoria, as well as other areas of Australia, Council made the decision to change the Ringwood Fire Carnival. A celebration of fire would be extremely insensitive to all those impacted by this disaster, and as such, the event is now called The Ringwood Carnival. As part of the new-look event, The Ringwood Carnival will see the performances happen inside a circus tent and the high-wire entertainment circus group, Papillion, will replace performances by the Fuego Carnal.