What's on: Things to do across Northern Tasmania this weekend and next

Join us this March for a celebration of Launceston's independent retail scene.

From trunk shows to styling sessions, catwalks and tours of our city's best hidden gems, Launceston will come to life for this showcase of stores you can't find anywhere else.

Embrace the eclectic and unique blend of retailers we're so lucky to have, take a peek behind the counter, and maybe even discover some new favourites.

Boutique Week runs until Sunday, March 24. For a full program and more information visit https://launcestoncentral.com.au/boutique-week.

March 23

Launceston's CBD will come alive this weekend with a free family fun day and the city's biggest sale of the year.

Presented by Launceston Central, Super Sale Saturday is Launceston's annual sales extravaganza, featuring competitions, live music and entertainment for the whole family. Visitors to the city on the day can expect circus workshops, face painting, roving entertainers, buskers and performances from a variety of local and interstate musicians as well as on-street trading and sales from our retailers.

The sale will be running from 10am - 3pm in Launceston's city centre. A full list of offers from participating businesses will be uploaded here the night before, so you can plan your bargain hunting.

March 8 - 23

Let the games begin!

Two of the world's greatest chess masters, an American and a Russian, battle it out at the world championships - but their greatest contest is for the love of the same woman.

From Bangkok to Budapest, the romantic love triangle mirrors the heightened passions of the Cold War as players, lovers, politicians and spies all struggle to get the upper-hand. Caught between two world powers, the rivals go head-to-head in the game of their lives.

With music by ABBA legends Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and lyrics by Sir Tim Rice, the dazzling contemporary pop rock score became a worldwide smash, featuring the hit singles One Night in Bangkok, Anthem and I Know Him So Well.

Presented by Encore Theatre Company, Chess The Musical comes to the Princess Theatre in March 2024 for a strictly limited season.

For tickets and more information visit https://encoretheatre.org.au/project/chess/.

March 15 - 23

Steph Francis is uniquely qualified to direct The Effect, an upcoming play centred on a couple finding love in an antidepressant drug trial. The first-time director is a trained counsellor.

I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect.

The Effect is a clinical romance. Two young volunteers, Tristan and Connie, agree to take part in a clinical drug trial.

Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved.

This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine, alongside ideas of fate, loyalty and the inevitability of physical attraction.

The Effect is showing six times at IO Performance from Friday, March 15, ending Saturday, March 23. Tickets are available at the IO Performance website.

March 21 - 24

Tasmania finally has a ukulele festival of our very own!

Established in March of 2021, the annual 3-day Launceston Ukulele Jamboree is expanding each year, and is a glorious mixture of professional acts from across Australia as well as international performers, audience participation with mass play-along and vocal events, flash mobs, interactive workshops, a music market, and opportunities for participants to perform in open mic segments to an appreciative audience while they hone their stage skills.

Situated in the heart of the Launceston CBD, the Ukulele Jamboree's colourful and flamboyant events draw attendees from the breadth of Tasmania as well as from all states and Territories of Australia to join in the mayhem and madness that a uke festival brings.

For more information, visit https://www.ukuleletasmania.com.au/.

Tickets are required for all concerts and workshops details of which can be found at: https://theatrenorth.com.au/whats-on. The Sunday UkeJam and Mall Stage are free to attend.

March 22 - 24

This weekend's Cricket North two-day grand final at NTCA no. 1 presents as one of the best contests in recent memory.

Westbury are chasing a three-peat of premierships after accounting for Launceston the past two summers.

The Blues are looking to break a decades-long drought in the two-day format.

As is tradition, the match starts on Friday and could potentially go until Sunday evening. Play starts at 11am each day and runs to about 6pm.