Daily Detours to Help You Get Cultured
Featuring a late-nite boogie at the NGV.
Daily Detours to Help You Get Cultured
In partnership with
Featuring a late-nite boogie at the NGV.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Melbourne is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule.
We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you celebrate the little things that bring a sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Melbourne. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine.
This week get some culture — test your film trivia, relax to the dulcet tones of jazz and head to a good ol' fashioned drive-in. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here.
All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
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Shake away the Monday blues and show off your film knowledge at Lido’s Swinburne Film Trivia Night. If you know the score on Scorsese to Spielberg, you’ll have no trouble at this specialty film trivia night, which asks questions via picture puzzles, music rounds and more. The session are held monthly (check the website for dates), kick off at 7pm and will run for just under three hours. There’s also a bar and an extensive menu to keep hunger at bay. Entry is only $10 per table of four to six people. Prizes include a free ticket and poster for every member of the team in first and second place, and a choc top for every runner up.
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6
Take it slow this Tuesday. Make a detour to Readings in Carlton and figure out your summer reading list. The store’s bookshelves are lined with recommendations and the staff are consistently well-informed, friendly and passionate about their favourite books. Head down after work and you may find yourself in the presence of an award-winning author — Readings regularly hosts author talks and book launches at its Lygon Street store. Since it opened in 1969, Readings has been an institution for Melbourne’s discerning readers, and in August 2016, it was recognised on a global scale and named International Bookstore of the Year at the London Book Fair.
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At the top of Uptown Jazz Cafe’s unassuming set of stairs you’ll find an iconic Melbourne live jazz experience. The venue has a jam-packed lineup of local and international talent every week, so sit yourself down and enjoy the tunes that come from some of the world’s most talented jazz musicians. A perfect accompaniment to the evening — and one of the most-loved partnerships on the north side — is stand-out Japanese fare from downstairs neighbour Akari, who serves up delicious gyoza, okonomiyaki and sushi alongside beer and saké.
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4
On your waltz home from work, stop by Flinders Street Station’s Degraves Lane underpass. Here you’ll find The Dirty Dozen, a public art gallery of 12 display windows, each showcasing an ephemeral installation. Artists aren’t only on show, ‘creative practitioners’, as dubbed by Melbourne City Council — meaning tradies, lawyers and everyone in between — can also set up installations reflecting their professions and a theme or issue within it. Slow your mid-week rush, and see what the people of Melbourne have to show, from the meeting point of art and science by the engineers and scientists of Skunk Control, to the morphing, evolving art by Monash University fine art honours students.
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3
Replace a Friday knock-off at your local, with an evening of live music and haute couture at the NGV. There’s a rotating lineup of musicians and DJs performing and after-hours entry to The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture. The exhibition is made up of 140 garments designed by Christian Dior Couture between 1947 and 2017. Throw in killer food and beverage options into the mix and your Friday night looks a lot more exciting.
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When was the last time you paused to marvel at the tower of good times that is Curtin House? This multi-level beauty is brimming with history filled with activities you’ve probably forgotten about. Built back in 1923, and once acting as the headquarters of the Communist Party, it’s now home to the much more light-hearted business of eating, drinking and shopping. In lieu of your usual Saturday night local, take time to explore one of our city’s historic gems from bottom to top — from drinking craft beers at Cookie and cocktails in a train carriage booth at The Toff, to browsing the shelves at independent bookshop Metropolis, getting into punchy Mexican eats and top-notch tequila at Mesa Verde and brews with a view up at Rooftop Bar.
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There’s nothing like a big, outdoor screen and a sky full of stars to get you feeling all nostalgic. Movie night is on the cards this week — take it alfresco and get your film fix at Coburg Drive-In. This suburban icon is the stuff of old-school movie magic, so load up the car like it’s the 1950s and get going. Of course, no film-watching experience is complete without some killer snacks on hand, which means a pre-movie pit-stop at the suburb’s ever-popular Half Moon Cafe is a must. Trust us, the Egyptian-style falafels that fly from this kitchen are a revelation. If that fails, the drive-in’s on-site retro diner-candy bar is a great option.
Image: Brook James.
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