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In terms of the venue, SOUP nights can be adaptable to different spaces.

We’ve hosted events in an office, a cafe, a co-working space and an artists studio among other venues. So far we’ve changed the location each time, enabling different parts of Melbourne to get involved and showcasing SOUP to different communities. Moving location is a choice, not a prescriptive part of SOUP.

If you have a ‘SOUP hub’ then that’s great too. Ideally, a venue with a kitchen is recommended, so you can make the soup on site on the day and avoid having to transport and re-heat it. We recognise that this is not always possible, we’ve just found it makes things easier so it’s something to think about as you look for venues in your community.

We usually have our Melbourne SOUP events on a Sunday evening.

We find it’s a unique time of the week to have a gathering like this, and the casual and informal feel of the events is helped by people coming dressed in their Sunday gear. Having said that, we have held a couple of events midweek due to the venue requirements.

From an event organiser’s perspective, a Sunday is way easier as it gives you more time to set up.

How often you hold a SOUP night is again totally up to the organisers. We would recommend having between two and six events per year, depending on your capacity and the interest from people in your area.

Last updated on February 5, 2023