Peninsula This Weekend - 16 to 17 May
Mid-May gives the Peninsula back to itself. One forest morning, one market Sunday, nothing that needs to be organised beyond that.
This is an archived weekend dispatch. The current weekend lives at /whats-on/this-weekend/.
Peninsula This Weekend is our weekly dispatch: the plan we’d actually make for the weekend ahead, the booking worth locking in, and the bit of weekend thinking we’d happily do for you.
The big autumn weekends are behind us. ANZAC, Mother’s Day, the long-weekend traffic. Mid-May on the Peninsula is quieter, more local, and better for it. The cellar doors are less crowded, the coastline feels softer, and the Red Hill plateau has that particular late-autumn light that only shows up when the tourist pressure drops.
This is the kind of weekend that works with one good Saturday booking and no fixed agenda after that.
The lead
Wild Mushroom Forage and Lunch with The Kitchen, Saturday 16 May
The booking for this Saturday is the Wild Mushroom Forage and Lunch with The Kitchen.
Sessions run through the Red Hill and Main Ridge forests - small groups, capped at 15 - with a simple lunch built from what the morning finds: mushrooms, butter, warm bread, herbs, cooked at the table. 11am to 1:30pm, ticketed. The scale is the point. Fifteen people in a forest feels nothing like a scheduled event. It feels like a morning that belongs to the people in it.
If Saturday is already full, additional sessions continue through May. Worth checking before you rule it out.
The second move
Shoreham Community Market, Sunday morning
Shoreham Community Market runs Sunday mornings from September through May, and these late-season editions are the quietest of the year. The summer crowd is long gone. The market sits naturally inside a southern Peninsula morning: arrive before 10am, take your time, then follow the day east toward Merricks or Point Leo for lunch.
This is one of the last Sundays of the season. It won’t run again until spring.
If the weather changes
If Saturday’s forest conditions or Sunday’s outdoor market aren’t working, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery is the clearest indoor option right now. Two exhibitions are running through May - New Wave 26 and Michael Vale - and the gallery pairs naturally with a slow Main Street Mornington lunch afterwards. Free entry, no booking. One gallery and one long lunch covers a Peninsula afternoon completely.
Weekend shape
One forest morning with a shape already built into it. One market Sunday with a southern drive already implied. Don’t add more to either day. Let the Peninsula’s own pace do the work - that’s what mid-May here is for.
Wild Mushroom Forage and Lunch with The Kitchen
Sat 16 May · 11am–1:30pm · Ticketed · Groups capped at 15
Book via visitmorningtonpeninsula.org · Footwear suited to forest terrain required
Shoreham Community Market
Byrnes Road, Shoreham · Sun 17 May · 9am–2pm
Free entry · Dog-friendly on lead · No booking required
Rainy day - Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Dunns Road, Mornington · Tue–Sun 11am–4pm
New Wave 26 + Michael Vale running through May · Free entry · No booking
Prices may change. Confirm current rates directly with each operator before booking.
Questions readers actually ask
FAQ
What is the best thing to do on the Mornington Peninsula this weekend, 16–17 May?
The lead booking is the Wild Mushroom Forage and Lunch with The Kitchen on Saturday 16 May. Small-group sessions across the Red Hill and Main Ridge forests, capped at 15 people, with a simple post-walk lunch built around what is found along the way. Additional sessions continue later in May if this Saturday is full.
What should you do on Sunday 17 May on the Mornington Peninsula?
Shoreham Community Market runs Sunday morning - one of the final Sundays of the season before it closes for winter. Quiet, local, and sits naturally within a southern Peninsula drive toward Merricks or Point Leo for lunch. If the weather breaks, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery has two good exhibitions running through May, free entry, no booking.