Docklands is throwing a free waterfront party this weekend and it's the most Melbourne way to spend a winter Saturday

Docklands' new waterfront party series is back for round two, and this weekend it is called Winter Warmer, which is either extremely on the nose or exactly what late August in Melbourne needs.

The Street Social returns to Harbour Esplanade on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August, free entry, no booking required. It is the second instalment in a three part series backed by Development Victoria, following June's Waterfront Sessions launch and running ahead of a sport themed weekend in September.

The whole point of the series is turning what used to be a walk through precinct into somewhere people actually stick around. The June opener leaned into food stalls, DJs, a silent disco and family entertainment right on the water, and Winter Warmer looks set to keep that same low key, all ages energy going, minus the pretending it is not the middle of winter.

Bring the family, check ahead if you want to bring the dog, and expect the same kind of food vendors and waterfront activities that made the first weekend such a hit. It is free, it is accessible and it is genuinely one of the better excuses to get down to Docklands on a weekend that does not involve a work function.

Melbourne's relationship with Docklands has always been a bit complicated, mostly because there has not been much reason to go there once the sun sets or the CBD crowd heads home. Events like this are a deliberate attempt to fix that, sitting alongside other recent pushes like the Docklands Waterfront Farmers' Market and the relit Melbourne Star, and if the first weekend of The Street Social is any indication, it is working.

Head down to Harbour Esplanade this Saturday or Sunday. Worst case, you get a coffee by the water. Best case, you stumble into your new favourite weekend routine.