12 top things you'll hear this Melbourne Day week

1. A proud flag snapping at the wind

We hoist the Melbourne flag on Sunday at the site the city was founded. At the ceremony you'll also hear:

• The 35-piece Royal Australian Navy Band Melbourne
• Songs of the sea by the Enterprize Shanty Band
• Town crier Brad Croft bellowing "Hear ye! Hear ye!"
• MC Sally "Dr Feelgood" Cockburn tell of her lineage to the first settlers
• Gilbert the tabby, Melbourne's first cat, meowing proudly

2. Docklands windows rattling to Howzat!

Music giants Daryl Braithwaite and Russell Morris belt out Aussie anthems at our free Docklands concert, including Howzat, One Summer, As the Days Go By, The Horses, The Real Thing, Wings of an Eagle and Sweet Sweet Love. You'll also hear:

• Soli Tesema perform Halo, her signature cover of Beyonce's pop ballard that wowed judges on The Voice Australia
• Pierce Brothers, Jack and Pat, in their first appearance after returning home from a world tour
• The concert broadcast live on GOLD104.3 FM
• A Welcome to Country by Auntie Di, elder of the Wurundjeri people
• Didgeridoo performances by Stan "Yarramunua" Dryden, Aboriginal artist and performer
• Kinja — Ron Murray and Sarah James, celebrating the cultural heritage of their ancestors in a blend of indigenous Australian and Celtic music
• Maria Forde, Irish-Australian singer and songwriter
• Melbourne sing in one voice Happy Birthday as we cut a giant cake

5. Blasting of ships' whistles

Set sail on the Melbourne Regatta as Victoria Harbour becomes a riot of sounds and colour on Sunday from noon to 5pm. You'll hear:

• Captains calling "all aboard!" on free harbour trips every 15 minutes
• Passengers talking like pirates during free sails on the Enterprize
• A Blessing of the Fleet by priest Father Bob Maguire
• The skirl of bagpipes from the Scotch College Pipe Band
• Sing-alongs with the Docklands Community Choir performing the Sailors Hymn, Auld Lang Syne in memory of seafarers lost at sea, and Advance Australia Fair

6. "But exactly where is the concert and Melbourne Regatta?"

Yes, it's a big event program, spread over a big area. We've got maps and all the details you need to see the action.

Water Plaza, in the centre of the circle, is the concert and focus of the regatta. You'll be fine, you're a Melburnian!

7. Ciao, bella! And a hissing espresso machine

The President and Vice-Chancellor of Monash University, Prof Margaret Gardner AO, above, delivers the 2015 Lord Mayor's Melbourne Day Oration on "the future of higher education and the city".

Presented by Melbourne Business Network and Melbourne Day at Grossi Florentino upstairs — the one and only Italian restaurant.

8. Fresh oysters being shucked

Cafes, restaurants and attractions are celebrating with a range of creative and great deals (some conditions apply). You'll hear:

• Oysters getting opened as part of the Quarter Cafe's Oysters and Booze Special Menu to celebrate Melbourne's connection with seafood and drink, the fuel that powered the early settlement.
• Zippers opening at the Melbourne Shop by Lumbi: get a limited-edition 180th birthday pencil case when you spend $60 or more.
• The wind whistling when you go for a ride on the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel for just $18.
• Cell doors clanging and chains rattling at the Old Melbourne Gaol: 25 per cent off ticket deal.
• Ship's bell ringing aboard the Polly Woodside: 25 per cent off ticket deal.
• Ghost stories at the Arts Centre Melbourne: 18 per cent off ticket deal on its Phantoms of the Theatre Ghost Tour and other guided tours.

You get the pressies in our 180-hour birthday celebration!