Since Victoria's second COVID-19 lockdown began in July, dreaming of spending a night somewhere other than your own home has become a regular part of pandemic life. Thankfully, that dream looks set to become a reality early next month, with Premier Daniel Andrews revealing earlier this week that Victorians will be able to travel regionally — and stay overnight — from 11.59pm on Sunday, November 8. Premier Andrews made the announcement earlier on Monday, October 26, when he ran through the next phases of eased restrictions for the metropolitan Melbourne area. Understandably — given that they came into effect this week — the bulk of the focus has been on heading back out to bars and restaurants, and having folks over to your house. But prepare for more things to change at the end of next week, too. On the travel front, the hard border between metro Melbourne and regional Victoria will be scrapped. And, so will the 25-kilometre travel limit — so "the state will be one again" as the Premier said. Crucially, accommodation sites will be allowed to reopen; however, there are rules about bookings. You can only book with members of your household, with your intimate partner, or with your household and two adults and their kids from another household. https://twitter.com/VicGovDHHS/status/1320588908862803969 From this November date, a heap of other changes will also come into effect. In metro Melbourne, gyms and fitness studios will be allowed to reopen, with a maximum of 20 people per space. At hospitality venues, they'll move to 40 people indoors and 70 outside. Religious gatherings will move to 20 people indoors and 50 outdoors, and indoor pools will also be allowed to open. As with all of Victoria's plans for future changes to its COVID-19 limits, the easing of the above restrictions on November 8 is contingent on case numbers. At the time of writing, Melbourne has reported four cases in the past 24 hours, three the day prior, two on the day before that, and zero cases for two days in a row before that — a trend that'll hopefully continue. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Department of Health and Human Services website — and for further details about Victoria's steps for reopening, head to the roadmap itself. Top image: Nightingale Orchard by Emily Godfrey via Visit Victoria
In the 70s and 80s, it was Countdown. In the 90s and early 00s, it was Recovery. Now, the ABC is adding The Set to its roster of music-focused TV shows. Like its predecessor, the new television series will feature live music performances in front of a live studio audience — with triple j's Linda Marigliano and Dylan Alcott as the program's hosts. Kicking off on both ABC and iview at 9.30pm on Wednesday, October 31, The Set will feature a different main band each week, who'll then invite two guest acts to perform live as well. To end each show, the week's artists will all team up in a one-off musical collaboration. And with the whole thing taking place on a purpose-built share house set, which also includes a backyard, 250 folks will be there, in person, enjoying the gig. Headliners include Angus and Julia Stone, Vera Blue, Ball Park Music and The Presets, while the likes of Illy, Odette, Baker Boy, Wafia, Mallrat, Angie McMahon, Tia Gostelow, LANKS and Kult Kyss have been named among The Set's guests. The series will actually air twice each week — with a 30-minute episode running each Wednesday evening, and then an extended hour-long version screening on Saturdays at 10pm from November 3.
The joys of a well-rounded lunch shouldn't be relegated to just the weekends. Sometimes your working day calls for a midday bite to eat with your best workmates and bottle of wine to cheers to all the hard work you've been doing. It's not your fault if your boss doesn't realise that. When the company card isn't on the table, you're going to want a lunch spot that caters to groups while keeping the final number on the bill low. We've found a bunch of restaurants around Melbourne that deliver just that — made all the easier by the fact that they offer BYO. All you need to do is to find a date that's free of meetings and hectic deadlines.
¡Viva el cine español! Australia's carnival of Spanish-language cinema is on the verge of adulthood and is celebrating the occasion in style. Commemorating its 17th birthday in 2014, the Spanish Film Festival will once again showcase the best of the Spanish and Latin American film industry, from twisting crime tales to slick ensemble love stories, heart-warming comedies and searing social dramas. This year's festivities will be bookended by two big favourites from Spain's prestigious Goya awards. Opening night features the sixties-set road-trip movie Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed, winner of six statues including Best Picture, Director and Actor. Two-a-half-weeks later, the macabre comic fantasy Witching and Bitching, featuring Best Supporting Actress Terele Pávez, will bring the festival to a close. Other highlights on the 30-film program include The Golden Cage, which won Best Cast at the Cannes Film Festival, and Scorpion in Love, a boxing drama in which Javier Bardem plays a neo-Nazi gang leader. (Not such a heartthrob now, is he ladies?) For the full Spanish Film Festival lineup, visit the festival website Image: Still from Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=xAPS2uPFNkY
For playwright David Greig, Norwegian Anders Breivik's shooting of 69 young people at a summer camp in 2011 stuck a chord too deep to ignore. Translating emotions into art certainly isn't a new notion, but his socially aware play The Events has really got us thinking about the aftermath of these tragic experiences. While gun-related violence is a huge global issue affecting countless lives, individual people turn to art to help them understand such heinous acts on a personal level. When it comes to The Events, we're focused on one woman and her story. Written with reference to the Anders Breivik case of 2011, the play won over crowds at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival for its delicate contemplation of community and compassion in the face of gun-related violence. Closer to home, director Clare Watson brings The Events to life for Australian audiences. Fresh from Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre, it will show at the Malthouse Theatre from June 21 until July 10. This powerful play explores theatre as a medium for social commentary and a means to personalise the events we see splashed across the headlines. Set in the halls of a fictional community centre, Catherine takes to the stage as Claire, a church minister responsible for leading the local community choir. After a young gunman tears the fabric of this group apart, Claire is forced to rebuild herself and her band of singers. We caught up with actress Catherine McClements, the lead in The Events.
By this point, Archie Rose needs little introduction. One of Sydney's first distilleries in 160 years has reignited many an Aussie's appreciation of spirits since opening in 2014 thanks to its diverse range of premium whiskies, gins, vodkas and rums showcasing native ingredients. Along the way, it's become the nation's most awarded distillery, and it's also given us one-off collaborations, limited releases and interactive spirits experiences from masterclasses to fascinating distillery tours. If that weren't enough, now Archie Rose has only gone and created what it's calling its best-ever gin. Bone Dry Gin is a limited-edition run that's the brand's first from its new Banksmeadow distillery and its one-of-a-kind copper vacuum stills. The spirit extracts the diverse flavour profile of hand-foraged juniper berries from North Macedonia through hot and cold distillation, and it is lifted with notes of Australian coriander seed, Tahitian lime and lemon-scented gum. The result is a tipple with a supple start on the palate that gives way to bold citrus and herb notes that leads to a pine-accented, bone-dry finish. To celebrate the release of Bone Dry Gin, we've teamed up with Archie Rose to give two lucky readers the chance to win the ultimate Archie Rose prize pack. Enter below to go into the running to win a case of Bone Dry Gin (six bottles), a pack of Caperberry Martini cocktail bottles (two bottles) and a pair of tickets to an Archie Rose Blend Your Own Gin masterclass in Sydney (valid for three years). That's nearly $1000 worth of Archie Rose goods, on us, for you to enjoy the ultimate gin experience — including the chance to make your very own. [competition]828345[/competition]
UPDATE Thursday, June 3: In light of Melbourne's snap lockdown being extended, the Doughnut Festival has been pushed back to Sunday, July 4. But in the meantime, you can score yourself free doughnuts courtesy of the Market's iconic American Doughnut Kitchen. To celebrate National Doughnut Day this Friday, June 4, simply order a bag of hot jam doughnuts for delivery or click-and-collect via Queen Vic Market Online if it's within your ten kilometer radius, and you'll receive an additional bag of the treats on the house. If you go nuts for doughnuts, there's only one place to pop on your itinerary for Sunday, June 6: Queen Victoria Market is throwing a celebration dedicated to the world's favourite holey treat. The Doughnut Festival is set to showcase a diverse array of doughnuts and other closely-related sweet treats, from old-school dough balls oozing hot jam, to choc-centred bites and sugar-coated churros. There'll be plenty of vegan and gluten-free goodies among the lineup, which is set to star names like Bistro Morgan, St Gerry's and Shortstop. A matching drinks offering will feature coffee and hot choccy, alongside nostalgic 50s-style shakes. All to enjoy while feasting your ears on the day's live tunes. If your doughnut obsession is particularly strong and your appetite large, you can try your luck in the main event — a doughnut-eating competition hosted by renowned pastry chef Darren Purchese (Burch & Purchese). Competitors will have two minutes to down as many doughnuts as possible in an attempt to win a year's worth of hot jam doughnuts from QVM's iconic American Doughnut Kitchen. That, plus complete and utter glory, of course. [caption id="attachment_812578" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shortstop Doughnuts[/caption] Top image: American Doughnut Kitchen at the Queen Victoria Market.
Good Food Month is almost upon us. The month-long festival of food and drink has finally decided to travel south to our lovely city for November. If you're anything like us, the enormous program of events has left you feeling slightly overwhelmed. There are too many things to go to, too many dishes to eat, and choosing is difficult. But, don't let it deter you — we've sorted through the long list of happenings and picked out some of our favourites. Night Noodle Markets The Alexandra Gardens will be turned into a market place across November for the Night Noodle Markets. Food stalls from the likes of Longrain, Mamak and Wonderbao will serve up everything from roast pork bao to freshly made roti. And, dessert will be taken care of by none other than Gelato Messina, among others. There will also be live music, bars and an all-round market atmosphere. Melbourne, you're in charge of the weather. November 18-30, Mon-Tue 5pm - 9pm, Wed 5pm - 10pm, Thurs-Fri 5pm - 11pm, Sat 4pm - 10pm, Sun 4pm - 9pm, Alexandra Gardens, 1 Boathouse Drive, Melbourne, goodfoodmonth.com/nightnoodlemarkets Lunch Above the Rooftops at Union Dining As part of the Surprise Saturday Lunch section of the festival, Union Dining will be putting on a once-only three-course menu each Saturday throughout November that will be highlighting some of the state's best produce. One week may feature the Yarra region, while another may focus on the best the King Valley has to offer. November 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 at 12-3pm, $45 includes a glass of wine and tea or coffee, Union Dining, 270 Swan Street, Richmond, bookings: (03) 9428 2988 Supper Club at Mamasita Taking full advantage of Melbourne's love of the night, Supper Club will see a range of Melbourne restaurants plate up a special dish for the late comers. This may be your chance to avoid the queues at Mamasita. And, for $14, after 10pm, you'll get three soft-shell crab tacos. Cheers to that. November 9, 11-16 & 18-23 at 10-11.30pm, $14, Mamasita, Level 1, 11 Collins Street, Melbourne, bookings: (03) 9650 3821 A Spice Trail at B’Stilla As part of the Good Food Month World Dinner series, B'Stilla, South Yarra's mighty fine Moroccan restaurant, will be dishing up an eight-course degustation menu that will highlight Moroccan cuisine and the Arab, Moorish and Mediterranean influences it draws upon. One word: flavour. November 3 & 17 at 6-10.30pm, $80 or $140 with matching drinks, B'Stilla, 30B Bray Street, South Yarra, bookings: (03) 98262370 Bar Hop at The Understudy Over 20 of Melbourne's best bars will be whipping up a cocktail with a matched bite for just $20 in the Good Food Month Bar Hop. The Understudy, below 1806 in the CBD, will be serving a molecular twist on a Classic Martinez — Tanqueray gin, Cinzano Rosso, maraschino and angostura sweet served with haloumi, mint, walnut and honey bites. They had us at gin. And haloumi. Available all month, $20, The Understudy, 169 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, bookings: (03) 9663 7722 Gelato Messina hits Melbourne Yes, we've all heard on the grapevine that Gelato Messina is coming to town. As part of the Talk & Taste sessions, Gelato pioneer Simone Panetta will take guests through a range of flavours as she teaches the ways of gelato at the new Gelato Messina store on Smith Street This might be a good way to avoid the lines that will no doubt start once the doors open. November 9, 16, 23 & 30 at 9.30-11am, $60, Gelato Messina, 237 Smith Street, Fitzroy, $60, bookings: (02) 8354 1223 The Nine Nights of Rekorderlig Forget matched wines, matching cider to your meal is the next big thing. Over nine night in November, Rekorderlig will collaborate with the Albert Park Hotel to bring the ciders distinctive flavours to life. Head chef Andrew Beddoes has created a bespoke menu with seasonal ingredients, which will include five courses, inspired by and paired with the nine different flavours in Rekorderlig's profile. One of the more interesting dinners on the Good Food Month program, this one has us doubled over with curiosity. November 15-24 at 7-10pm, $100 including cider and wine, Albert Park Hotel, cnr Montague Street & Dundas Place, Albert Park, eventbrite.com.au High Tea with a difference at Saigon Sally As part of the Ultimate High Tea, Windsor's favourite Vietnamese sister, Saigon Sally, will be serving up high tea with a little bit of a difference. Ditch the finger sandwiches and scones for grilled lobster and green papaya rice paper rolls, and Golden Gaytime lamingtons. We can only hope the Tira-mi-sally is on the menu. November 10 & 24 at 12-4pm, $45 includes a glass of sparkling, Saigon Sally, 2 Duke Street, Windsor, bookings: (03) 9939 5181 Rene Redzepi lands in Melbourne Across the festival, Melbourne will be a temporary home to some of the world's most celebrated chefs. Rene Redzepi from Noma in Copenhagen will present a rare evening where guests will get to hear Rene speak at The Wheeler Centre. Rene Redzepi: A Work in Progress will see him speak frankly about his career, his book A Work in Progress (Phaidon) and how he maintains his creativity. October 30 at 6.15 & 8.15pm, The Wheeler Centre, wheelercentre.com Enjoy an 'Everyday' Lunch with Karen Martini The Prahran Market will host Karen Martini as she celebrates her new cookbook Everyday. Guests will munch on some of her favorite dishes, aimed at everyday cooking, like the tuna nicoise and pork belly. November 19 at 1-3.30pm, $100 includes cider and wine, Prahran Market,163 Commercial Road, Prahran, bookings: (02) 9285 9155
Across its stable of renowned Italian eateries, mozzarella bars and delis, the DOC Group (including DOC Pizza & Mozzarella Bar Carlton and Sydney, plus DOC Espresso Carlton) has earned a solid reputation for many things. That includes its signature pizzas and top-quality salumi selection; however, those classics are taking a backseat at the team's latest addition — a new restaurant dedicated entirely to plant-based and gluten-free eats. Bio by DOC has taken over the Carlton site once home to The Town Mouse, where long-time collaborators Studio Strom have added a refresh. Think: locally made custom furniture, a new green-coloured bar, a leafy back courtyard and some clever splashes of neon. In the kitchen, veteran DOC Group chef Tomaso Bartoli is steering the new culinary concept, carefully intertwining the brand's trademark Italian sensibilities with a focus on vegan and vegetarian ingredients. Not only is it a reminder that meat needn't be the cornerstone of a great food offering, but impressively, the entire menu is also gluten-free. Snacks include the likes of mini eggplant parmigiana matched with burrata and a black cabbage pesto, plus a vegan-friendly tartare of grilled vegetables finished with capers, mustard and truffle paste. You can get your pasta fix with plates like the charcoal spaghetti; a beetroot casarecce finished with mushrooms and truffle paste; and a vegan lasagne layered with spinach pasta sheets, lentil ragu and bechamel. There's more plant-based fun to be had over on the dessert list, too — expect dishes like a classic tiramisu reworked with cashew cream, and sweet potato pancakes with popcorn ice cream. From the drinks lineup, the vegan cocktail offering features sips like a Japanese twist on the negroni, plus the Oasis — which uses rum, coconut water and a pineapple shrub. There's also a considered wine selection, showcasing both Italian vino and locally-grown varietals from the likes of Merli and Heathcote's Vinea Marson. Find Bio by DOC at 312 Drummond Street, Carlton. It's open 5pm–late Tuesday–Thursday, and 12–3pm and 5pm– ate Friday and Saturday.
Former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning has announced a huge, 17-date national tour — including several all-ages shows — to promote his debut album, Battleships, out June 7 on Dew Process/Universal. It's been a long wait for Fanning fans (which, in keeping with the precedent set by Beliebers and Directioners, we'll henceforth be calling Fan-nings), with this tour their first opportunity to see the great man since Powderfinger's farewell tour in 2010. He'll be traversing the country, from Nambour to Hobart, along with his special guests, Big Scary and Vance Joy. And if you're in Townsville on August 17, you'll get a special mini-festival when that already-awesome lineup is bolstered by The Rubens, The Medics AND Snakadaktal. With Fanning also announced for Splendour in the Grass following hot on the heels of the release of the album's debut single (and title track), it's sure to be a busy few months for one of Australia's favourite songwriters. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, May 7, via an exclusive fan club presale through bernardfanning.com. The Telstra Thanks presale is available from Wednesday, May 8, before the public on-sale kicks off on Friday, May 10. Concert dates below: Sunday 14 July: Nambour Civic Centre, Nambour (18+) Tuesday 16 July: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba (All Ages) Thursday 18 July: The Tivoli, Brisbane (18+) Friday 19 July: Arts Theatre: The Arts Centre, Gold Coast (18+) Friday 26 – Sunday 28 July: Splendour In The Grass Tuesday 30 July: Newcastle Civic Theatre, Newcastle (All Ages) Thursday 1 August: Anita's Theatre, Wollongong (18+) Friday 2 August: Enmore Theatre, Sydney (All Ages) Sunday 4 August: Royal Theatre – National Convention Centre, Canberra (All Ages) Friday 9 August: Palace Theatre, Melbourne (18+) Saturday 10 August: Geelong Performing Arts Centre – Costa Hall, Geelong (All Ages) Tuesday 13 August: Wrest Point, Hobart (18+) Thursday 15 August: Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide (All Ages) Saturday 17 August: Kuranda Amphitheatre, Cairns (All Ages) With Additional Special Guests: The Rubens, The Medics and Snakadaktal Sunday 18 August: The Venue, Townsville (18+) Tuesday 20 August: Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton (All Ages) Wednesday 21 August: Entertainment Convention Centre – Plenary Halls, Mackay (18+) Sunday 25 August: Astor Theatre, Perth (18+) https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fi8OciiVIA4
Before he was navigating innies and outies in stunning new 2022 streaming series Severance, and before he was working for the City of Pawnee in Parks and Recreation as well, Adam Scott popped up on our TV screens in another workplace scenario. His uniform: black pants, a crisp white shirt and a pink bow tie. His gig: serving drinks and slinging hors d'oeuvres as cater waiter Henry Pollard in 2009–10 cult-favourite comedy Party Down. Although its first two seasons only spanned 20 episodes all up, Party Down is one of the very best sitcoms of the 21st century, and proved a must-see right from the get-go. It's the show that Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas started after that also-beloved 00s series was initially cancelled, and came about in a collaboration with writer/producer John Enbom and producer Dan Etheridge — two other former Veronica Mars staff — and none other than Paul Rudd. And, just like Thomas' detective show, Party Down is also making a comeback. Are we having fun yet indeed. If you're instantly giggling at "are we having fun yet", then you saw Party Down's first two seasons. And, you'll know that Scott uttered that phrase more than once — or had it shouted at him. His character, Henry, was an actor famous for saying that line in a TV commercial. But in-between gigs, and because acting wasn't turning out as he planned, Henry was also working for Party Down's titular catering company. Scott made the jump over to Party Down after also appearing in Veronica Mars, as did plenty of his co-stars, including Ken Marino (The Other Two) as the catering outfit's oh-so-eager (but always-bumbling) manager, plus Ryan Hansen (A Million Little Things), Martin Starr (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) and a pre-Glee Jane Lynch as fellow waiters. Rounding out their gang of unhappy serving staff the first time around: Lizzy Caplan (Fleishman Is in Trouble), Jennifer Coolidge before she was winning awards for The White Lotus and Scott's Parks and Recreation co-star Megan Mullally. Party Down's long-awaited six-episode third season will start streaming via Stan in Australia from Friday, February 24, and sees most of the cast return — including Scott, Marino, Hansen, Starr, Lynch and Mullally. Caplan had scheduling issues making the also-excellent Fleishman Is in Trouble; however, Jennifer Garner (The Adam Project), Tyrel Jackson Williams (Brockmire) and Zoë Chao (The Afterparty) join the cast instead, plus James Marsden (Dead to Me) in a recurring part. Story-wise, this new 13-years-later go-around sees Marino's Ron Donald still running the Party Down team despite his past big dreams. And, as the trailer makes plain, plenty of other familiar faces are back in the bow ties as well, catering party after party. Hilarity ensues again in this sneak peek, because of course it does. Check out the trailer for Party Down season three below: Party Down's third season will start streaming via Stan from Friday, February 24.
As part of her first headlining tour of Australia, Solange (also known as Solange Knowles, aka Beyoncé’s baby sister) has announced Falls Festival sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne. This will be the first time the Texan-born Knowles has ever treated fans Down Under to a live performance of her 2012 dance-friendly EP, True. This comes in the context of eager anticipation of her long-coming third studio album, on which she apparently collaborated with Aussie dudes Midnight Juggernauts. It's due for release sometime next year. Perhaps as famous for being the offspring of the fabulous Mrs. Carter as for her music, Solange has steadily been earning cred as a singer-songwriter in her own right. She certainly can churn out a catchy pop hit, as her successful single 'Losing You' proved last year. Recalling her elder sibling vocally, it managed to step away from her stylistically and embraced a much splashier, synthy '80s pop feel. The sideshows should be a fun choice for anyone craving a night of uncomplicated, playful, upbeat music.
It's been a booming season for Preston locals. As well their own gourmet cheese toastie drive-through, a swathe of cute new café and restaurant openings and an enviable local BBQ game, Preston Market has just announced a new market hall expansion that will have everyone flocking to the north: the Preston Fresh Hood Market. The market in Melbourne's north has teamed up with The Space Agency – who were the brains behind last year's Swan Street Chamber of Commerce food precinct activation in Richmond — to transform the old hall that sits between the market and Preston Station into a free-form, open-plan food mecca and arts space. "The whole aim is to be like a food truck park, but indoors and with no food trucks," says The Space Agency's Crag Carrick. "You can walk around, you can grab a beer, grab a bite to eat and sit where you like — everywhere is a seating area." The building — which has been empty for the last few years — was recently given a new lick of paint by 17 street artists, who've coloured the walls with large-scale pieces. Inside, the redesign pays tribute to the original use of the building, which once housed permanent stalls for a fishmonger, butcher, baker and a fruit and veg vendor, amongst others. "We're maintaining a lot of those elements," says Carrick. "For example, the fishmonger will become the central bar, Beermonger, which will serve craft beer and oysters. The beer taps will be where the fish would normally be displayed…[and] we're using the original cabinetry." A lot of the old infrastructure is being retrofitted for similar uses. The old poultry shop will become the second location of Henrietta's Chicken Shop (and will retain the original signage), while the butcher will be taken over by Hoy Pinoy and their pig-on-a-spit Filipino BBQ offering. The bingo hall upstairs will become an event space and band room with a 500 person capacity. Other confirmed vendors include 3 Ravens Brewery and Meet Patty, a new burger venture from St Ali chef Andy Gale. "We want to bring something cool to Preston Market," Carrick says. "It's really old school and hasn't changed much in 45 years, but we think Preston itself has changed a lot over the last three years." The Preston Market, with its 200 vendors and artist market, will stay the same — but the Preston Fresh Hood Market (a tongue-in-cheek title that refers to Preston's status as an up-and-coming place to live) will open on Saturday, July 16. In the meantime keep you peepers peeled for more vendor announcements and details on the launch party. [embed]https://vimeo.com/171854602[/embed] The Preston Fresh Hood Market will open at Preston Market (22-26 Cramer Street, Preston) on Saturday, July 16. It will trade Wednesday to Sunday from 10am til 10pm. For more info, visit their Facebook page.
Since 2019, coffee lovers nabbing their caffeinated brews from Single O's Surry Hills cafe in Sydney have been pouring their cuppas from a self-serve tap system. Basically, it's the coffee you make when you're not actually making the coffee, and it's about to be on offer in Tokyo as well. No stranger to the Japanese capital thanks to its existing roastery and tasting bar in Ryogoku — as well as supplying local cafes, and also serving athletes in the Tokyo Olympic Village this year — Single O is launching its first international cafe. It'll open its doors in the Hamacho district in the city's east on Thursday, October 28. When overseas travel resumes and Japan lets Aussies back into the country for holidays, you'll know where to grab a taste of home. Single O's new Tokyo base will also go a step further than its Surry Hills sibling — and not just because it'll feature six self-pour taps instead of four. The Hamacho cafe will also sport the brand's first in-store coffee subscription package, letting customers purchase monthly access to drop by and pour their own cuppas. When it opens its doors, the Tokyo spot will launch with five specialty brews, Colombian microlots and an award-winning Cup Of Excellence from Peru included. As for the sixth spot, that'll rotate through international guest roasters. And if you're after an espresso, Single O's signature blend Reservoir will also be on offer. Food-wise, you'll be pairing your caffeine with Aussie staples — such as Single O's signature banana bread with espresso butter, freshly baked pies and a range of jaffles. Chef Yu Sasaki is behind the the menu, after a career spent hopping between The French Laundry in the US, Sydney's Marque and then founding Single O Surry Hills neighbour Creasion. Single O's Hamacho cafe will also boast the brand's Heads of Japan Yu and Mamiko Yamamoto leading the launch, as well as barista Ken Takakura and retail operations head Yasuko Miura — the latter fresh from Luke Mangan's Tokyo Glass Brasserie. And, the venue has the honour of being designed via Zoom during Sydney's lockdown. Australian designer Luchetti Krelle — who also worked on the Surry Hills cafe — has overseen a fitout that includes a curve-heavy front counter, tables made from recycled plastic and a sustainable fibreboard espresso bar created from upcycled clothing. Also catching the eye: a monochrome mural in texta pen by local artist Washio Tomoyuki, plus a 'Cloud' ceiling artwork by Sydney's Ren Fernando that's made from repurposed end-of-line paper and coloured with coffee and other substances. Find Single O's Hamacho Cafe at 3-16-7 Nihonbashi Hamacho Chuo Tokyo from Thursday, October 28 — open from 7.30am–7pm Monday–Friday and 8am–7pm Saturday–Sunday.
Missed out on tickets to the hugely popular Day of the Dead 3.1 warehouse project, announced last month? You're in luck. An immersive El Dia de los Muertos-inspired experience curated by a group of Mexican visionaries and artists, the Day of the Dead announced plans to visit Sydney on October 24, then Melbourne on October 31 before ending in Brisbane on November 7. While all three cities sold out within hours, and the organisers were inevitably inundated with hundreds of emails requesting tickets, so the Day of the Dead team twisted some arms and managed to increase the event capacity. There'll be a new and final ticket release happening on Saturday, September 26 at 12.30pm, with tickets at $95. Tickets will sell out within hours, so be ready. Get tickets here. Currently sold-out, the Day of the Dead warehouse project takes cues from some of the world's most celebrated immersive spectacles, everything from Burning Man to Sleep No More. The one-off event will immerse ticketholders in a temporary world of interactive art installations, light projections, extravagant costumes, murals created by renowned street artists and an exclusive lineup of local and international DJs and musicians. Pop-ups by a handpicked bunch of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane's go-to local Mexican eateries, like Playa Takeria, have been selected to create special Dia de los Muertos menus. Plus, there'll be Mexican cervezas and tequila/mezcal cocktails from the newly announced principal sponsor Tequila Herradura and major sponsor Tequila Jimador to provide you with enough sustenance to dance the night away. With instructions being sent to ticketholders just one week before the event, and locations revealed just one day before the party, this is secret warehouse party business at its best. Honour the dead, celebrate the living. Be ready on Saturday. The Day of the Dead 3.1's new and final ticket release is happening on Saturday, September 26 at 12.30pm. Tickets are $95 and are expected to sell out within hours. Get tickets here. By Kimberley Mai and Shannon Connellan.
Barbecue and smoked meat experts Fancy Hanks are at it again — after their highly successful pop-up, Majestic Hawker, where food was cooked over an open flame, they've decided to bring their stoveless concept back to Bourke Street. The Fancy Hanks team (Kent Bell, Mike Patrick, Daragh Kan and Myles Munro) have named this huge new Chinatown establishment Heroes. Opening early next year, it'll be inspired by their travels around the Malay Peninsula, and their experiences dining in Singaporean and Malaysian eating houses and beer gardens. The hawker-style food includes wings, skewers and barbecued meats, while the decor will mirror the high-energy design they fell in love with on their travels. Alicia Cheong, who grew up in the region's Singaporean and Malaysian food culture, will take on the role of chef and food advisor at the new venue — a throwback to her previous stints with Fancy Hanks and Majestic Hawker. Between devouring Cheong's dishes, you'll be able to sit back with a drink in the brightly coloured, rooftop beer garden, which will boast views over Chinatown. Heroes will also have an underground function space and four private karaoke rooms. Yep, it looks like you'll be able to enjoy your entire night out here without leaving the building. Heroes opens early next year. The exact address has not been disclosed, but it'll be on the Chinatown end of Bourke Street — we'll keep you updated as further details become available.
The weather is well and truly cooling down in Melbourne, so if you're looking for a spot to cosy up, Windsor's hawker-inspired eatery is giving you yet another reason to drop by with a new Fired Up lunch menu. Lighting up with an offering all about celebrating flame-grilled eats, the menu will run every weekend from Saturday, May 20. The Singaporean and Malaysian-inspired bites might run to the likes of peanut sauce-topped marinated beef skewers, or mini loaded bahn mi rolls with pork char siu and pickled carrots. Grilled calamari is served with tangy chili and lime sauce, while barramundi is baked in banana leaf with Malaysian sambal paste. The new menu is available from 12pm–4pm every Saturday and Sunday. Apart from eats, the venue is slinging $15 spicy margs and $5 beers from a featured brewer, which will rotate monthly. A lineup of local DJs will be spinning tunes every weekend too, including Lady Langers, Zjoso, DJ Hoxton Fox and Jimmy Pham (Walter Majik). Images: Hawker Hall, supplied.
The beloved Irish comedian and his casio keyboard are back. The new show from David O'Doherty at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is a bit of a mouthful, but then what else would you expect? Jumping back and forth between standup and original songs, the award winning comic's dorky, self-deprecating humour never ceases to entertain, whether he's coming up with app ideas or singing about Grand Designs. It's basically impossible to leave one of O'Doherty's shows without a giant grin plastered across your face. He'll also be performing excerpts from his children's book Danger Is Everywhere in a separate show aimed at audiences aged five to eleven.
If there’s one thing we take seriously in Melbourne, it’s our music, man. Now in its second year, Melbourne Music Week celebrates our city’s commitment to the grand tradition of the live gig, with around two hundred acts playing a stack of venues around town. The old Argus Building, temporarily renamed the Where?House, is being used as the Festival Hub, pumping out tunes day and night, while a slew of local bands will be playing everywhere from popular venues like the Toff, Bennett's Lane and Cherry Bar to more offbeat settings such as Melbourne University's underground car park. You can have indie pop for breakfast and punk for lunch, or even rock out on a tram. The “week” runs for nine days, there’s so much on, and peaks on the 22nd, when ten venues are putting on free gigs for the Live Music Safari. It will most certainly rock.
Sometimes a needle drop just works, even when it simply states the obvious. One of those instances: playing a remix of Nas' 'Got Ur Self a Gun' throughout the latest trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4. The song famously samples Alabama 3's 'Woke Up This Morning', the tune forever famous as the opening theme to iconic HBO series The Sopranos, and fits John Wick as much as the original fit Tony Soprano. Just over a month out from the latest John Wick flick hitting cinemas, the third sneak peek at what's to come has been unveiled. Unsurprisingly, plenty of action-packed confrontations are in the works, as brought to the screen with plenty of frenetic stunt choreography. Just as expectedly, Keanu Reeves is still using every weapon at his disposal in his fourth stint as cinema's favourite dog-loving assassin. If you're thinking that Wick's luck might run out at some point, the new film understands. But this stunt-filled saga still has one last way to give its namesake his non-violent life back. As past trailers have explained, he can agree to a duel against the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård, Barbarian) — but of course only one can survive. With that premise, expect the ante to be upped on the saga's latest onslaught of fights, as the latest trailer goes all-in on. Anywhere that Wick can shoot, fight and dispense with everyone trying to take him down, he will and does. This flick involves hopping around the globe, in fact, including Paris, New York and Berlin — and also getting into sword fights in Japan, riding horses through a sandy desert, using cars as weapons and boasting one mighty handy canine. Accordingly, as all John Wick movies have so far — the first in 2014, John Wick: Chapter 2 in 2017 and John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum all included — this one follows the hitman that other hitmen fear as he takes on his ever-growing list of adversaries. Whatever gets thrown his way hasn't stopped Wick yet, after he got dragged back into the assassin life when a past batch of enemies messed with his pet pooch. Reeves' former stunt double-turned-filmmaker Chad Stahelski directs again, as he has on all three prior movies. On-screen, Reeves is also joined by a roster of familiar and new John Wick faces, with fellow franchise mainstays Ian McShane (American Gods) and Lance Reddick (Godzilla vs Kong) returning, and Reeves' The Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne — after appearing in the past two movies — as well. And, Donnie Yen (Mulan), Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat), Shamier Anderson (Son of the South), Rina Sawayama (Turn Up Charlie) and Scott Adkins (Triple Threat) are all also set to feature. In similarly excellent news, a fifth John Wick movie is already in the works, because more ass-kicking Keanu is always a great thing. And, so are two spinoffs: The Continental and Ballerina. The first is a streaming series, clearly set around the hotel that features so prominently in the films as a safe haven for hitmen. As for the second, it's a movie that ties in with John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, and will star Ana de Armas (Blonde) — and also feature Reeves and McShane. Check out the latest trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 below: John Wick: Chapter 4 releases Down Under on March 23.
Alice Skye grew up in country Victoria outside the Grampians, which gave her all the inspiration she needed for her debut album released earlier this year to much national acclaim. With no shortage of awards — like Triple J's Unearthed National Indigenous Music Award and the First Peoples Emerging Artist Award — Alice is an artist on the rise. Playing for free for you as part of Melbourne Music Week, you can catch Alice at MPavilion in the Queen Vic Gardens on a Sunday afternoon.
As a treat to us for being such good eggs (or so we like to think), the National Gallery of Victoria is hosting a huge exhibition featuring the works of French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas as part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces. Degas: A New Vision will run from June 24 to September 18 at the NGV International and is comprised of over 200 works by Degas, from collections the world over. For those of you who don't know, Degas is a pretty big deal in the art world and practiced during the late 1800s-early 1900s. At a time when many artists where still painting posed works, Degas and a sect of bohemian Parisian artists (including Honoré Daumier and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec), were cultivating the first big art movement that focused on candid impressions of subjects en plein air (meaning in 'open air' style, as opposed to in the studio or from memory). A lot of his pieces feature ballerinas and inevitably, this did lead to a lot of lurking around backstage at the ballet and, in Lautrec's case, in a tonne of brothels (for the artistic potential, surely). Degas' work also focused on an infrequently explored subject: the everyman. Blue collar workers in their natural habit where a recurring and novel theme in his work; French Impressionism tapped into that vein of human curiosity that makes reality TV so popular ("They're just like us!"). Degas actually rejected the Impressionist mantle and referred to his style as realism, so intent was he on representing the world around him. In fact, according to art historian Carol Armstrong, Degas said "No art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and of the study of the great masters; of inspiration, spontaneity, temperament, I know nothing". Well damn. We can't wait to check it out. Image: Edgar Degas, In a café (The Absinthe drinker) 1875–76, oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Lemoisne 393, © RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Martine Beck-Coppola.
After launching with an immersive, multi-sensory exploration of the works of Van Gogh, The Lume is now displaying its also-impressive second exhibition Monet & Friends Alive at the digital gallery's permanent home at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). Taking visitors back in time to 19th-century Paris, it celebrates the paintings of impressionist icons from Monet to Renoir, and Cézanne to Manet. As with its predecessor, the exhibition presents its artworks via supersized projections splashed across its sprawling surfaces, and paired with a curation of tastes, aromas and sounds. Here, that means you'll be able to wander over a bridge and right into a recreation of Monet's famed 1899 work, Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies. Other interactive experiences include a studio space where visitors can have a go at creating their own replicas of Monet's best-known paintings. Further tapping into the French bohemian spirit is The Lume's own take on a 19th-century Parisian cafe, Cafe Lumiere, which will serves up a menu of small bites, share plates and desserts to enjoy after your artistic adventures.
So, you've been tasked with planning a standout date for you and your main squeeze, but you can't decide between a romantic dinner or a stroll through a gallery. Well, why choose one when you can have both at once? Digital gallery The Lume is building on the success of its recent Valentine's dinner and launching a new weekly dining series fusing food and art. Running Friday and Saturday nights from April 14, Dining à Deux invites you to enjoy a three-course French feed set against a backdrop of immersive art from the gallery's current French impressionism exhibition. [caption id="attachment_896841" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dijana Risteska[/caption] You'll feast on dishes like duck à l'orange, beef cheeks with creamy Paris mash and chocolate soufflé, while the works of Monet and his contemporaries float around you in the form of giant moving projections. There are two dinner sittings each night, with tables set for two and tickets coming in at $145 per person. Or, step things up a level and nab a front-row table for $160 per person. Drinks are available to purchase separately.
Summer's still a way off, but spritz season is already in full swing at Richmond's Baby Pizza. In fact, the venue's serving up a fresh series of daily aperitivo specials to see you happily sipping through the rest of spring. From 4–6pm each day, this is your go-to for $9.50 cocktails — whether you're keen on sipping a classic Aperol spritz or a spicy passionfruit margarita. Part with $6.50, and you can grab a bottle of Peroni Red, or opt for a $7.50 glass of Other Voices pinot grigio. What's more, every aperitivo cocktail comes with a complimentary snack. Either stick with these light bites for a pre-dinner sip-and-snack session or follow it up with a bigger feed at baby — ordering from the regular menu packed with Italian eats, including some of the best pizza in Melbourne. Walk-ins are welcome, though you can make a booking online if you want to be sure of nabbing a table.
"Touring is the only job in the world, I think, where you are a professional and you drink," James Vincent McMorrow muses from a phone somewhere in Dublin. "If you were an accountant or even if you were an actor and you drank at the levels that some touring bands do, you wouldn't be able to function." Two years ago, he decided to give the bottle the boot. Not because he had an uncontrollable drinking problem, but because he wanted to "see what would happen". "At that point in my career, everything was on a really intense upswing and I was playing big shows. It's not that I wasn't enjoying [drinking], it's just that I didn't feel that I was in control of what I was doing. I didn't think I was doing it justice in the way that I wanted to." In a January 2014 Guardian interview, McMorrow identified a packed-out show at London's Festival Hall as a turning point. "The biggest show I'd ever played in this country... I got off stage and thought — did that go well? I don't know," he told journo Tom Lamont. At first, the sobriety inspired a sizeable dose of performance nerves. "I became incredibly aware of my hands and started making mistakes again," he recalls. "I used to think that you needed to drink to get out of your own way mentally and create. But it actually made me think from a much clearer perspective." CREATING POST TROPICAL When work began on second album, Post Tropical, the music flew thick and fast. "I had better ideas than ever before... I was much more ambitious." Where 2011 debut Early in the Morning was folk-ish and harmony-fuelled, Post Tropical sees McMorrow delve into new territory – R&B influences, dashes of Rhodes, electronica and intricate layering. There's hardly an acoustic guitar to be heard. The songs were assembled over the course of eight months and recorded "on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border" — where the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, Beach House and At The Drive In have laid down tracks. "It's the perfect place to make music... I don't think I'll record anywhere else again. I came for the equipment and stayed for the view," he adds, laughing. McMorrow sees putting together a song is akin to solving a Rubik's Cube. "Every time I look at it, there's a couple less red squares. Then I keep going and I take a look at the other side. It might go the wrong way, or it might get better. And one day, it's just done. I'll listen to it and there'll be nothing in it that doesn't make me happy." https://youtube.com/watch?v=jgE3AengS0A ON BEING YOUNG AND MUCH MORE SERIOUS The songwriting process wasn't always so intuitive for the Irish native. McMorrow remembers a younger and much more serious version of himself. "I think I went from trying to be a musician to being a musician and that was a very big change. I don't examine music anymore; I follow it where it leads me. I used to question — you'd worry about whether you were good enough, or whether you could do the things that needed to be done. But I don't worry about that anymore. I still challenge myself every day and push myself infinitely harder than I ever did, but I do it with a sense of knowing what I'm doing and how to get there." Back in his worrying days, he spent hours reading some pretty meaty literature. "I became really obsessed with people like John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and the American idea — between 1900 and the 1930s and '40s. It's quite funny, because if I examine the books I read and where I was at musically, I can connect the dots quite quickly. I read a lot of heavy books like The Sound and The Fury, and because I was writing music there was a certain element: 'if I read these serious things then I want to write about serious things.'" https://youtube.com/watch?v=j0DvjgagJko ON GAME OF THRONES These days, however, he'll "read anything that's put in front of [him]". Even if the writing isn't quite up to scratch. "I just read the entire Game of Thrones, everything up to the point where it finishes," he explains. "I read it because I started watching the series and I got annoyed because it was ending, so I thought I'd read the book. But then I realised the books were really, really long and kind of weirdly written. I don't know if you've read fantasy novels before but they're kind of... they're not the most amazing writing in the world, even though the story is obviously compelling. And when I started reading them I didn't realise that [George R. R. Martin] hadn't finished the series. So I got to the last book and found out he had two more to write still!" Fortunately, he's moved onto Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin, which he describes as "really beautiful". And McMorrow has a plethora of tour dates to keep him busy between reads. JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW TOUR DATES: Wednesday 21 May — Astor Theatre, Perth Friday 23 May — Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane Tuesday 27 May — Forum, Melbourne Thursday 29 May — Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House (Vivid LIVE) Saturday 31 May — Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House (Vivid LIVE)
Dance, drink, pizza, repeat. Pizza and late-night partying remains one of history's most iconic duos and they're coming together in full force from next month, when 24-hour Hawthorn club Untz Untz launches its adjoining pizza joint and sports bar, Holy Moly. The new venue will take over the ground floor of the newly refurbished Glenferrie Road space and enjoy the same 24-hour liquor license, In addition, coffee and doughnut spot Cop Shop will launch next door shortly after. With a crack team of hospo pros behind it, Holy Moly is promising some intriguing features, not least of which is the $5 pizza menu, designed by Henry Chan (Lucky Coq and Bimbo Deluxe) and available until 3am, every single night. Jenna Hemsworth (former Black Pearl bartender and runner up for Bartender of the Year 2015) has taken the reins of the drinks offering, which will feature a mix of classics and new-school creations, as well as three varieties of Bloody Mary. The space comes courtesy of interior designer Michael Delaney (Honkytonks, Sorry Grandma), along with venue director Nick Foley, with the pair describing it as "a shrine to pizza and good times". Expect artwork by local artist Billie Justice Thompson, a memorabilia-packed sports bar screening classic sporting moments on an 80" plasma, and Melbourne's first VOID sound system. Find Holy Moly and Untz Untz at 660A Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn.
Step out of the darkness and into the light of The Gaso's courtyard and its retractable roof for a New Year's Day shindig of glitter and mayhem. Closet NYD 2020 comes off the back of last year's sell-out soiree and is sure to be another big one. The openair party promises "Fitzroy's finest homosexuals for DJs" and plenty of dancing and debauchery for the LGBTIQ+ community. Kicking off at 2pm, you can soak up all that sunshine and stay smart in the heat with fresh fruit, sprinklers to shimmy in and a spritz to sip while the sun goes down. From sunshine to starlight, party into the night — if you can handle it after the big celebration the day before — with festivities continuing until 1am. Only final release tickets are left, so grab one before 2019 ends. Image: Closet Facebook/Evan Fowler.
It's Easter. Time to stuff yourself with baby animal-shaped chocolates and cross-covered baked goods while feeling absolutely zero shame. To help you make the most of it, here are all the best grown-up holiday treats you should be hunting for this Easter. FRENCH TOAST HOT CROSS BUN AT RUSTICA SOURDOUGH What better excuse than the Easter long weekend to go completely nuts at brunch? And who better to help you do it, than the much-loved pastry masters at Rustica Sourdough? To celebrate Easter, these guys have thrown together a few of your favourite things to create this supercharged sensation, available only at the Rustica Fitzroy store. Here, slices of the bakery's award-winning hot cross buns are given the french toast treatment, sandwiched around croissant-infused ice cream, and teamed with thick-cut bacon, salted pretzel, and some fresh fruit for good measure. TRIPLE CHOCOLATE HOT X BUNS AT MÖRK Normally we'd be more inclined to stick to traditional fruit hot cross buns, but we'd be absolutely bonkers to turn down one of Mörk's more adventurous versions. These triple chocolate bad boys (pictured here straight from the oven) are made on a chocolate bread base, studded with Madagascan chocolate pieces, candied orange, and sour cherries, and amped up with a soft chocolate ganache centre. We repeat: a chocolate ganache centre. Order yours here and pick up a four-pack of Mörk's chocolate eggs while you're at it. CARAMEL LAVA EGG AT PANA CHOCOLATE If there's anything more satisfying than biting into a gooey, chocolatey Caramello egg, it's biting into one that isn't even bad for you in the slightest. Pana's epic raw, vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free caramel lava egg is making its annual Easter appearance, and cult followers couldn't be more ecstatic. We have no idea what's actually in it, but reccommend you order online for pick-up from their Richmond store to guarantee your guilt-free fix and avoid disappointment. EGG IN THE NEST AT DANIEL'S DONUTS If you're the kind of sweet-tooth who prefers your choccy eggs attached to big, fluffy doughnuts, then this seasonal creation from Daniel's Donuts is surely your ideal Easter fling. As with the rest of the Springvale store's much-hyped treats, this one's heavy on the trimmings, featuring one of those signature Daniel's doughnuts, a gloriously thick layer of Nutella, and old-school sprinkles, all topped off with a Cadbury milk choc egg. The best part? Daniel's is open 24-hours for all your late-night snacking needs. DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE CAKE AT ADRIANO ZUMBO Adriano Zumbo's patisserie takes the cake for the most creative and varied range of Easter treats in Melbourne, with this year's collection a mix of old favourites and clever new additions. Alongside the cult classic Hot X Bun Zumbarons, the salted caramel-filled truffles, and the mesmerising multi-tiered Easter Cake, you'll find an extravagant number called Down The Rabbit Hole. Falling into the "almost too pretty to eat" category, this one's a lavish assembly of carrot cake, cream cheese mousse, ginger lemon cream, carrot lychee gel, and a hazelnut sable glaze, finished with chocolate carrots, mini Zumbarons, and even more carrot cake. EGGS IN VERJUICE AT DINNER BY HESTON Those looking to really indulge this Easter will find the ultimate dessert situation at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. This sweet stunner is known as Eggs in Verjuice and it's the same dish that had competitors sweating during last year's Masterchef finale — an intricate eggshell design that's hiding coconut panna cotta, verjuice, coffee parfait, and a citrus yolk inside. This weekend, it's being served up by Blumenthal's right-hand man, chef Ashley Palmer-Watts, as part of a five-course Easter degustation on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The lunch will set you back $160 per person and you can book your place here. VEGAN HOT CROSS BUNS AT SMITH & DELI Easter hasn't always been a fun time for treat-seeking vegans, but since the arrival of plant-based livesaver Smith & Deli, it's now a whole lot easier for them to experience the joy of tucking into a hot cross bun. If last year's buzz is anything to go by, these beauties are set to sell like, well, vegan hot cross buns. They'll be flying from the oven all week, but won't last long, so so keep an eye on Smith & Deli's Instagram and be ready to get down to their Fitzroy deli at a moment's notice. LUXBITE HOT CROSS BUN GELATO AT PICCOLINA GELATERIA Summer might be over, but we're of the school that it's always gelato weather. If you're more interested in licking your Easter treats than chewing them, Piccolina Gelateria's limited edition hot cross bun gelato will be right up your alley. This year, the Hawthorn gelateria has teamed up with its mates over at LuxBite bakery, creating a special cream-based gelato that's loaded with spices, citrus, and buttery pieces of hot cross bun. You can grab one in-store, or delivered to your door by Uber Eats, up until April 23. HOT CROSS DOUGHNUTS AT SHORTSTOP These drool-worthy rings of spiced, doughy goodness are the latest creations from the ever-baking doughnuteers at Shortstop Coffee and Donuts. Brandy-soaked dried fruit is mixed through a sweet and spiced yeast-raised dough, before being fried, dunked in a honey glaze, and striped with a cinnamon sugar cross. You can pick one up at their CBD store or pre-order online up until April 17. If that's not an Easter miracle, what is? EGGCEPTION AT KAKAWA The Sydney-based chocolatiers at Kakawa have drawn inspiration from a certain mind-bending DiCaprio film for their special Easter treat, a masterpiece of chocolate layers fittingly dubbed Eggception. This one's a fully edible babushka doll situation, that might just keep you going the whole Easter long weekend. It features one of Kakawa's signature tiny 'quail' eggs, nestled inside a medium choccy egg, sitting within a larger egg, with the whole exterior covered in a delicate hand-made chocolate hay. Melbourne sweet tooths can get their hands on one here.
One minute we were basking in what felt like an endless summer, the next, winter whipped in, bringing icy winds, downpours and frosty mornings. But that's no excuse to hibernate. In fact, the best way to cope with the cold is by donning your mitts, embracing it and heading outside. After all, getting out and about in winter has its advantages. Instead of sunburn, sweat and crowds, you get cool days made for bushwalking, crackling fires perfect for drinking by and moody seas for whale watching. Plus, you avoid turning into a stir-crazy, caged-up creature. All you need is your favourite winter jacket and a reason more enticing than Netflix to cross the threshold into the chilly outdoors. So, we've teamed up with Hahn to come up with a few ideas for some winter enjoyment. Do them all without leaving the city limits. WARM BEER GARDENS Going outside doesn't have to involve strenuous physical activity — or any physical activity, for that matter. Got the strength to drag yourself off your couch and to your nearest pub? Job done. You might normally associate beer gardens with long summer nights, but when winter rolls around, loads of pubs turn theirs into cosy spaces. After all, it doesn't take much — toasty gas heaters or a log fire and a few fairy lights will do the trick quite nicely. Then, of course, there's the warming impact of beer. As author Dave Barry once observed, "When I heated my home with oil, I used an average of 800 gallons a year. I have found that I can keep comfortably warm for an entire winter with slightly over half that quantity of beer." Check out Sydney's best city oasis bars and beer gardens. Check out Melbourne's best city oasis bars and beer gardens. Check out Brisbane's best city oasis bars and beer gardens. BUSHWALKS If you are keen to be active — maybe before hitting the pub — then go for a bushwalk, or three. In fact, cold days are often ideal for tackling trails, especially tough, hilly ones that send your heart rate skyrocketing, and aren't so attractive on 40-degree summer days. In winter, there's no need to worry so much about sunburn, bushfires or snakes, either. What's more, walking, like beer, warm the body and spirit. Why not take advantage of the vivifying effects of both, and pack a brew to drink at a pretty spot along the way? Did someone say winter? What winter? Discover the top walks in Sydney. Discover the top walks in Melbourne. Discover the top walks in Brisbane. NIGHT MARKETS Over the past few years, Aussie cities have developed many impressive and creative takes on the classic night market, which have helped lure the not-so winterly inclined out of their homes. It also helps that these markets celebrate our multicultural make-up, meaning they play host to a slew of chefs devoted to all kinds of deliciousness — from Asian stir fries straight out of sizzling woks, to melting French fondues, to piping-hot Greek doughnuts. At most markets, live music or performance art is on the agenda, too. So, put a pause on your hibernation, call a mate or two, and go a-wassailing around the markets for an evening. Visit the Carriageworks Night Market in Sydney. Visit the Queen Victoria Night Market in Melbourne. Visit Eat Street Markets in Brisbane. WHALE WATCHING One of the best things about being on the east coast during winter is that it's whale watching season. Fun fact: nearly 60% of the planet's whale population is found in Australian waters, and our humpback numbers are increasing by 11% per year. Also, in autumn, they head north to breed and calve in warm waters and, in spring, they return south, often with babies in tow. So, rug up in your warmies, pack a picnic (don't forget the beer) and head to the easternmost headland you can find. For an even bigger adventure, jump aboard a whale watching cruise. Find the best whale watching spots on the east coast. FOOTY GAME If you're not so interested in getting physical yourself, but find it quite warming to watch someone else red-faced and working up a sweat, then grab your mates and book some tickets to a footy game. After all, winter is footy season. Invest in your team's jersey and scarf — or choose based on your favourite colours if you're undecided — and make tracks to an official match in a major arena, surrounded by thousands of fellow fans. Alternatively, you can keep things close, and cheer on your local team at the club down the road. You never know, you might work up enough enthusiasm to sign yourself up for the next training session. Post-match drinks — be they victorious or consolatory — are a must (see Warm Beer Gardens). Watch the footy at these sports bars in Sydney. Watch the footy at these sports bars in Melbourne. Watch the footy at these sports bars in Brisbane. Grab your mates, grab some Hahn and get out there this winter.
Long-time local favourites in Fitzroy North, Moroccan Soup Bar has been providing hungry crowds with plates of Moroccan food for years. Sans a menu — it's only given verbally — the restaurant serves up a standout chickpea bake (as well as other comforting, yet nourishing, vegetarian dishes) which has become the stuff of legends, with crowds often lining up for takeaway with their plastic containers at the ready. To deal with the influx of chickpea-cravers, Moroccan Soup Bar has opened a second joint just down the road from the original: Moroccan Soup Bar Two Go. With an emphasis on online ordering and takeaway dining, Two Go is open for dine-in lunch from 11am–3pm, and for takeaway between 11am–3pm and 5.30pm–9.30pm. You can order online here. As well as your requisite chickpea dinner to get you through the rest of the winter nights, expect Moroccan pizzas, or marrakizzas ($15), and the same lunch and dinner packs you've been snapping up from the first Moroccan Soup Bar. Like the chickpea bake, the packs will set you back a casual $12.50, and there are vegan and gluten free options, too. Also expect to be refunded $2 if you BYO Tupperware to take your food away in — it pays to come prepared. Find Moroccan Soup Bar Two Go at 316 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North — or the original Moroccan Soup Bar at 183 St Georges Road.
Going against the trends, Avenue Books is a small book business that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Originally opened in Albert Park in 1986, the independent bookshop empire expanded to Elsternwick in 2012 and then to Richmond in 2016. The shop focuses heavily on fiction, art books and children's literature, with both local and imported titles on offer. Friendly and knowledgeable, the staff can lend a hand finding and recommending books across all genres — there are even dedicated children's book experts. The shop also offers a stellar selection of free events and author talks — making it one of the best bookstores in all of Melbourne. Images: Tracey Ah-kee.
Music is becoming just as important as art at the NGV these days. Even when the walls are covered in works from Monet, Caravaggio and a relative stampede of local talent, you can't help but itch for the latest announcement of who'll be playing Friday Nights in the Great Hall. Well itch no more, the latest group of musos have arrived and they're exciting enough to rival Jean Paul Gaultier himself. Friday Nights this season will kick off on October 24, when The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk is already in full swing. Though the lineup is characteristically packed with young local talent, the first two acts are both from the US — and more specifically, the '90s. Lead singer of MEN, one-third of Le Tigre and bona fide feminist legend JD Samson will be first up. Samson is then quickly followed by iconic world music duo Cibbo Matto. Known for their collaborations with the likes of Yoko Ono and Michael Gondry, these ladies will feel right at home inside a gallery setting. From November onwards the lineup is dominated by an exciting though familiar list of Triple J darlings. Young artists like Remi and Elizabeth Rose will be gracing the stage as well as more established Aussie acts like Touch Sensitive and The Bombay Royale. In fact, of all the 14 artists announced, Kate Miller-Heidke is probably the only one you would have heard on commercial radio. Of course, this isn't a bad thing — it shows the NGV is all up for supporting local talent and alternative terrain. To add to this exciting atmosphere, the Friday Nights series will also present fashion talks and pop-up food and drink offerings. Each performance will even be accompanied by a crew of street artists from Everfresh Studio creating new work on stage. And they better be feeling confident — the final night of the series will be tied up with a performance by the legendary Chicks on Speed. Aside from pioneering art pop before Lady Gaga was even a thing, in the past they've collaborated with the likes of Douglas Gordon, Karl Lagerfeld and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. No pressure or anything. Full lineup: October 24 — JD Samson (USA) October 31 — Cibo Matto (USA) November 7 — Saskwatch November 14 — The Bombay Royale November 21 — Cumbia Cosmonauts November 28 — Nun December 5 — Touch Sensitive December 12 — Remi December 19 — Elizabeth Rose January 9 — Kate Miller-Heike January 16 — Frikstailers (ARG) January 23 — HTRK January 30 — Rat & Co February 6 — Chicks on Speed (AUS/EUR)
On Sunday, October 28, Prahran Market will host its fifth annual Say Cheese Festival. For the uninitiated (or those who haven't previously attended and devoured all the dairy they can), it's essentially an entire day of eating cheese — and buying even more to eat later. From 10am–4pm, there'll be free cheese tastings, cheesy dish demonstrations and stalls from cheese providores. Or, you can meet cheesemakers, wander along a market trail or get cosy at a fondue bar. If you're not too full from all of that, traders will also be offering food to take home or eat there, including Maker & Monger and Wilson & Market. Yes, there will be many, many cheese plates. Plus, chefs will also take over the kitchen throughout the day to demonstrate cooking techniques — and take part in Melbourne's first Grilled Cheese Invitational to determine who cooks up the best combo of grilled cheese on bread. If you'd like to expand your palate, Say Cheese is hosting guided cheese pairings as well, so you'll be downing the gouda stuff with tea, saké, beer or Prosecco in no time.
Recognised purveyors of a good time, the Corner Hotel and The Hills Are Alive Festival are combining their considerable "we know how to party" forces to create a banger of a time on grand final eve — and in the true spirit of Melbourne's party underbelly, it'll be in a carpark. Whether you're looking for a way to roll into the granny, or you couldn't care less about football and just want to party in a cool place with some good music, here's an event for you. Featuring Melbourne band The Bennies, Hills City will bring a dash of summer festival and a dose of sticky-floored gig to a carpark in Richmond on Friday, September 28. Running all day, other bands on the line up include Batts, Planet, Diet, Chitra, and Tones and I, with DJs and comedian Danielle Walker joining the party too. Mr Burger and Roaming Poppy Coffee will also be keeping you fed and caffeinated. Dress code is apparently op shop formal, and there'll be prizes for the best dressed — so head to the wedding dress aisle in Savers quick smart.
Short of physically volunteering your time, there aren't many ways you can help those in need over lunch. But Sydney-based social enterprise food company Two Good is trying to change that, with their buy-one, give-one lunch delivery model. After launching in Melbourne in September last year, Two Good has continued to deliver delicious salads through Deliveroo in the two cities — and for every one sold, a meal is donated to domestic violence shelters in both. They're not just any old salads either. After working with Yotam Ottolenghi and renowned Melbourne chef Andrew McConnell last season, the Two Good guys — Rob Caslick and Cathal Flaherty — have teamed up with Melbourne's Ben Shewry of the 33rd best restaurant in the world Attica to create a lunch option that far surpasses any soggy salad you were planning on making in your office's kitchenette this afternoon. The kimchi, chicken and soba noodle salad will be available to order for lunch through Deliveroo for $14 each Tuesday starting today, which is a pretty standard price for a salad in this town. And, considering for each salad you order Two Good will donate a meal to a domestic violence shelter in your city, it's an incredibly low-cost way to feed yourself and help someone who needs it. Meals are donated to shelters around NSW and Victoria. What's more, Two Good also employ women from the shelters they work with in NSW, and are looking to do the same in Victoria in the near future. If you want to buy a salad, you can place an order through Deliveroo between 11am and 2pm in Melbourne and Sydney. For more information on Two Good, go to twogood.com.au.
Melbourne's outer suburb of Werribee is set to score a brand-new 24-hour arts festival filled with music, performances, live art and film. Taking over Chirnside Park from 6pm on Saturday, May 6 to 6pm on Sunday, May 7, the inaugural edition of 24 will be an all-ages affair that's free to explore, with a jam-packed program of happenings to keep you entertained non-stop for 1440 minutes straight. The Riverside Stage will play host to a broad-ranging lineup of acts, including all-female Wurundjeri dance outfit Djirri Djirri, reggae singer-songwriter Nhatty Man, and Amadou Suso & Friends Band, showing off those legendary skills on the kora (a West African stringed instrument). Tarabeat and MzRizk will treat audiences to a fusion of classic and contemporary Arabic tunes, while Halo Vocal Ensemble delivers their signature RnB-soaked sound. [caption id="attachment_895390" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Halo Vocal Ensemble[/caption] The multi-sensory fun continues off-stage, with a slew of giant installations and live art performances. You'll spy the massive tune-spinning robotic insect UKI, plus pop-up dance performances by Janette Hoe and a colourful cast of roving entertainers weaving through the night. You can unleash your own creativity with a couple of large-scale interactive works by Slow Art Collection, wander through a luminous garden maze made from recycled plastics, and see artist and designer Callum Preston (set builder for RONE's Time) transform a beat-up car into a neon masterpiece live in front of your eyes. There's a giant interactive kaleidoscope, games of glow-in-the-dark tennis and a silent disco that'll have you bopping from 11pm until 7am. You can even put your feet up, pop on some headphones and catch a flick, thanks to the 24-Hour Outdoor Cinema, which'll be screening back-to-back classics right through the festival. [caption id="attachment_895393" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'UKI', by John Palmer[/caption] Top image: 'Chromatica' by David Beach
The pooches of Melbourne will be on parade at this returning festival for our furriest of friends. On Sunday, May 27, Barkly Square in Brunswick will play host to the third Barkly Barks Dog Festival, complete with a dachshund dash, doggy day spa, professional trainers and more. The festival will cater to dogs of all shapes and sizes, with tons of activities for participants on both two legs and four. You can buy your pet a treat from Canine Wellness Kitchen, Melbourne's dog-friendly food truck; get some costumed pooch snaps and give your doggo a 'pupparazzi' moment; or take part in a dog trivia competition. But the main event is the dog parade, where gongs will be given out in a whole range of categories, including most obedient, best costume, and dog and owner lookalike. Not sure we'd want to win that one, even if there are prizes up for grabs.
Melbourne's picnic baskets have had quite the workout so far in 2021, but one of their biggest moments to shine is about to arrive for another year. When Moonlight Cinema sets up its outdoor screen in the Royal Botanic Gardens from early December, it's officially cheese, snack and openair movie-viewing season. The end-of-year mainstay returns from Thursday, December 2–Sunday, March 27 with an impressive batch of films gracing its outdoor setup. Get ready to catch a heap of recent blockbusters, a smattering of brand new flicks and a lineup of Christmas movies. You can't run an openair cinema at the jolliest time of the year without the latter, obviously. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens the bill, with the lineup including Cruella, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, A Quiet Place Part II, Eternals, Red Notice and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard as well. Also screening: Edgar Wright's new movie Last Night in Soho, animated sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business, Disney newbie Encanto, stage-to-screen musical Dear Evan Hansen and the family-friendly Clifford the Big Red Dog. Among the retro fare, Dirty Dancing is on the program; it would't be a Moonlight Cinema season without it, either. And, for your merry outdoor movie-watching pleasure, the Christmas selection includes Love Actually, The Holiday, Elf, The Grinch, Die Hard and Home Alone. It's also worth remembering that Moonlight Cinema is BYO — and there'll be food, snacks, a bar and (if you'd like to pay for them) bean bags as well. And, in great news for movie-loving pooches, you can bring them along, too.
Since first launching its multi-day dance festival fun back in 1998, Rainbow Serpent Festival has become a January long weekend staple in regional Victoria. But, just two weeks out from its 2020 event, the Lexton festival has had to cancel because of Victoria's catastrophic bushfires. In a statement released last night, a RSF spokesperson said the decision was made after a meeting and site inspection with the CFA, Victoria Police, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Pyrenees Council staff. "Due to a number of safety concerns stemming from the fire that affected the site and the wider bushfire impacts across the country, it was agreed that holding RSF over the scheduled weekend in Lexton simply isn't the right thing to do," the statement says. This fire season in Australia has already been a catastrophic one, with more than six-million hectares and thousands of homes destroyed and an estimated one billion animals killed by bushfires so far. Lorne's Falls Festival and NSW's Lost Paradise were both cancelled in December due to bushfire threats. https://www.facebook.com/rainbowHQ/photos/a.471687783050/10157255588898051/?type=3&theater There is some good news for music lovers, though. RSF has announced not one, but two replacement festivals. The first one will take place on Sunday, January 26 — coinciding with the festival original dates of January 24–27 — in Melbourne's CBD. Dubbed the Urban Edition, it'll feature multiple stages and "the majority of special guest performers from the original lineup". Exactly who and where haven't been announced just yet, but RSF promises these details will be released in the upcoming days. The second festival will be taking place in the original location over the Easter long weekend, April 10–14. Details other than the location — Lexton, a two-hour drive west from Melbourne — are currently scarce, but festival organisers have said the regional event is important to help support local communities and businesses. "This event is important for the rebuilding of the local communities that were directly impacted by the fires and boosting their local economy," organisers said in the statement. "As well as your Rainbow favourites, we'll be hosting a number of community related events including tree planting, a community working bee and the delayed opening of the Servo@23 Arts Hub." RSF organisers have said they're also looking at how else the two new events can help "drive community fundraising" for the bushfire relief. Ticket holders unable to attend one or both of the new events will be offered full and partial refunds — and new tickets will be released for those wanting to head along. Rainbow Serpent Festival: Urban Edition is happening on Sunday, January 26 in Melbourne's CBD and Rainbow Serpent Festival: Regen Edition is happening sometime between April 10–14 in Lexton, Victoria. For more information, keep an eye on the Rainbow Serpent website. Top image: Flickr
Having a parma and a pint at your local — and just having a meal out of the house in general — will be a reality once again come Monday, June 1, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews revealing that cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs will be able to reopen to dine-in customers — with some restrictions. Last Monday, the first stage of eased restrictions for the state were announced, which came into place from midnight on Tuesday — and includes five visitors allowed inside a house, and gatherings of ten outside. But, until now, Victoria's move out of lockdown hasn't extended to reopening the hospitality industry. Today, Sunday, May 17, however, the Premier revealed that cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs can reopen to dine-in customers when June hits — with 20 patrons allowed indoors at once. The move only applies to food service, which means pubs and clubs can only reopen their dining areas. So, you won't be able to walk up to the bartender and order a jug, but you will be able to sit down and have a pint or two alongside your meal. Bars and gaming facilities in general will remain closed — including standalone bars — and so will food courts. The June 1 change will be followed by the further easing of patron limits in stages. From June 22, 50 people will be allowed in each establishment. Then, come mid-July — with a specific date yet to be revealed — 100 people will be allowed inside. These second and third stages are contingent on low COVID-19 cases numbers, low community transmission and high test rates, with the current plans set to be reviewed in the lead-up to each date. "The timelines we're announcing today are reliant on Victorians continuing to get tested when they show even mild symptoms and on those tests continuing to show low numbers of positive cases around the state," the Premier advised. https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1261807402162155520 Venues and patrons will still be required to abide by social distancing requirements — including spacing tables 1.5 metres apart, and maintaining a strict distance of one customer per four square metres. Cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs will also need to take names and contact details for every customer, for contact tracing purposes. And, there'll be extra cleaning, staff health screening and temperature check measures as well. In his statement, the Premier noted that further work will be needed in the coming weeks to explore options for managing shared areas such as entrances and bathrooms. The Victorian changes are a result of the state "smashing through our goal of 50,000 tests in the last week", the Premier advised, which has given the state "the confidence we need to plan to slowly start lifting some more restrictions". For more information about Victoria's eased hospitality restrictions, read the Premier's statement. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Julia Sansone.
Life might be a bittersweet symphony, as The Verve told us all back in 1997, but right now is a pretty great time to be a fan of a hugely influential late-90s teen flick that helped immortalise that very track. The movie in question is Cruel Intentions, of course, and it's about to hit the stage in Melbourne. And yes, the musical's soundtrack is filled hits from the era, including 'Bittersweet Symphony', obviously. Indeed, if that song and Placebo's 'Every You Every Me' get you thinking about Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair, then you're clearly a fan of the film. And if you were a 90s or 00s teen who watched and rewatched the 1999 classic over and over again — soaking in all those dangerous liaisons, the scheming that went with them, Joshua Jackson's blonde locks and Gellar in a decidedly non-Buffy role — then you'll probably be first in line to see Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical. The movie-to-theatre production has been unleashing its teen tumult and throwback soundtrack in America since 2015, and now it's finally heading to our shores. Its Melbourne leg will kick off on Wednesday, May 25 at the Athenaeum Theatre, and run through till Saturday, June 25. Because it's a jukebox musical, Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical is also filled with a heap other tunes from that late 90s, early 00s era; think: *NYSNC's 'Bye Bye Bye', Britney Spears' 'Sometimes', No Doubt's 'Just A Girl', Jewel's 'Foolish Games', Christina Aguilera's 'Genie In A Bottle' and Sixpence None the Richer's 'Kiss Me', for starters. If you've seen the movie — the original, not the direct-to-video 2001 and 2004 sequels, one of which starred a very young Amy Adams (Dear Evan Hansen) taking over Gellar's role — then you'll know the story. Based on 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, which was also been adapted in the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman, Cruel Intentions follows step-siblings Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil. Manipulating each other's love lives is their main hobby, a pastime that levels up a few notches when Kathryn places a bet on whether Sebastian can sleep with Annette Hargrove, the headmaster's daughter at their exclusive prep school. Updated June 6.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas. Watching a movie under the stars just got that little bit swankier. In partnership with the new Volkswagen Polo, Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinema have introduced a new premium ticket that lets film-lovers relax in comfort and style. Think Gold Class in the great outdoors. For the low price of just $27 when booked online, Volkswagen Polo Class ticket holders get the best seats on the beach. The special ticket includes extra comfy bean lounger seating, a cushion and a blanket, plus a delicious Ben & Jerry's shorty tub (we recommend New York Super Fudge Chunk) and a soft drink of your choice. Best of all, $2 from every ticket sold gets donated to WWF-Australia. There's only 30 of these prime pozzies per session, so book fast. If you'd like to chance to win free Polo Class tickets, head on over to the Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinema website and let them know what gives you confidence. Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinema runs from November 30 to December 21 at South Beach Reserve, next to the St Kilda Sea Baths. For the full program see their website.
More than 100 publishers and designers will converge on NGV International for the Melbourne Art Book Fair, happening as part of Melbourne Design Week. It's an 11-day festival packed with limited-edition books, prints and magazines – as well as launches, exhibitions, talks and workshops. Drop into Comme des Garçons' store in Somerset Place to see Book Stand, a site-specific collaboration with Perimeter Books featuring a selection of publications, including Dino Simonett's COMME DES GARÇONS PARFUMS 1994-2025. Meanwhile, at CAVES on Swanston Street, you'll find Fusion of Forms, a series of immersive multimedia installations by local artist Xinyuan (Caesar) Li exploring innovations in bilingual typography. Also on the program is Out of Line, the biggest Australian exhibition of the works of New Zealand designer and typographer Catherine Griffiths to date, as well as Troppo Print Studio's Print Panorama Experiment, which invites you to get involved in creating an evolving silk-screen print. And don't miss NEWSSTAND, where you'll limited-edition editorials by cutting-edge thinkers from The Paris End, Long Prawn and Binatang Press. Melbourne Art Book Fair is taking place from Thursday, May 15–Sunday, May 25. Check out the rest of the massive program over here.
The world's most-famous enigmatic smile is set to beam down on Australia in not one but two locations in 2024, all thanks to the team at Grande Experiences. The Melbourne-based company is the mastermind behind the immersive walkthrough art experiences that've been sweeping the country, both touring them and opening the nation's first permanent digital-only art gallery The Lume. And next year, it's turning its attention to both the Italian Renaissance in general and Leonardo da Vinci specifically — with Mona Lisa featuring prominently in both of its new showcases. Italian Renaissance Alive has already locked in a season on the Gold Coast from March, and will include da Vinci's works. In the same month, The Lume in the Victorian capital will go all-in on the artist and inventor. The site's major 2024 exhibition is Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius, with the gallery is calling its "most ambitious, immersive and breathtaking yet". That's quite the claim for a collection that follows a van Gogh celebration, a focus on Monet and his contemporaries and the current First Nations-centric Connection. It also isn't surprising. Connection now has an end date, and is set to close at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre venue on Sunday, February 4, just over a month before Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius arrives. The Last Supper will also enjoy the spotlight in a big way, because Grande Experiences' whole setup is making iconic, important and stunning works larger than life, surrounding attendees like never before. The Mona Lisa will also link in with the segment of the exhibition that's all about French optical engineer Pascal Cotte, who invented a multispectral camera and has peeled back the artwork's layers using his research. So, get excited about Mona Lisa Revealed, which will include an exact 360-degree replica — the only one in the world — as created thanks to Cotte's 240,000,000-pixel multispectral camera. That said, Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius isn't just about its namesake's well-known works, with the 3000-square-metre multi-sensory gallery also exploring his inspirations and contemporaries. Thanks to the latter, Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius and Italian Renaissance Alive will have more than a little in common. Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling and works by Caravaggio will feature at both. Melbourne will be home an experience that steps through da Vinci's journey, however, including Florence's streets, Venice's canals and Milan — as brought to life via sight, sound, scent, touch and taste. Also among Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius' highlights: 50 of da Vinci's "machine inventions", which will be on loan the Museo Leonardo da Vinci in Rome. Alongside the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and his anatomical drawings — and more — da Vinci is well-known for his flying machine concepts, with his 15th-century vision of human flight set to score The Lume's attention. This part of the exhibition will hero recreations made in Italy from the artist and inventor's sketches, and also using the materials and techniques he would've at the time. "Leonardo da Vinci's contributions to art, science and innovation are immeasurable and continue to shape our modern world," said Bruce Peterson, Owner and CEO of The Lume Melbourne, announcing Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius. "We aim to provide a unique and immersive experience that not only celebrates the genius of Leonardo but also underscores the relevance of his ideas in the contemporary landscape. As a pioneer in bridging art and technology, The Lume Melbourne is honoured to bring Leonardo's legacy to life in a way that engages, inspires and resonates with audiences of all ages." Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius opens at The Lume, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 5 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf, Melbourne, from Friday, March 15, 2024 — head to the venue's website for tickets and further information.
If you've ever dreamed of your reality aligning a little more closely with that of, say, late-'70's rock band The Runaways or old-school Aussie indie act The Sunset Strip, consider Collingwood's FeeFee's Bar your new happy place. Gracing that eastern stretch of Johnston Street between Wellington and Hoddle, this newcomer clocks in on the glamorous side of grunge, with the spirit of rock 'n' roll coursing through its veins. For owner Fiona Meiklejohn, FeeFee's is the upscale, music-focused bar the area was missing — it's Melbourne's answer to iconic, rock-tinged haunts like London's Crobar, Le Fanfaron in Paris and The Burgundy Room in Hollywood. "It's a place for people to come, sit in a beautiful environment and enjoy a cocktail, whilst soaking up the rock vibes,"" she explains. "A haven for those who love real music." To that end, expect a complete departure from sticky carpets and dive bar shabbiness. Instead, Meiklejohn and partner Jonas Schöfer have gone for what they describe as a '1970s Scandinavian après-ski vibe', with a rock 'n' roll influence. It's a space that speaks to a bygone era of music-inspired revelry, all flocked wallpaper, sexy lighting, and framed portraits of rock gods and goddesses lining the walls. Meanwhile, the bar's slinging crafty cocktails and top-shelf gins alongside all your favourite tinnies, and the soundtrack changes focus throughout the week, gearing up to weekend DJ sets of disco, funk, and old-school rock.
If you're on the hunt for the perfect activity for a cold, grim day, we have five right here — and they'll make you forget all about the fact that it's winter. That's because all of these art experiences are designed to take you out of your every day and into another reality of bright colours, lights and falling water. You can see the city transformed under projections (in both the north and the west), walk through a rain installation without getting wet, or sit down to an immersive dinner in a bunker underneath Fed Square.
Believe it or not, it's been ten years of heading along to Hoyts on the weekend, smashing a large popcorn and a choc-top, and getting super jazzed up for whatever the latest Marvel film is. There's been 20 films since things started back in 2009 with Iron Man, and though they may be critically debated, nearly everyone can agree that they are at least entertaining. They give you that giddy blockbuster feeling that sticks around even when the lights go up and you realise you've got chocolate ice-cream all down your front. The Sun Theatre in Yarraville is honouring that feeling — and the fact that it's been a decade of Marvel Studios solidly churning out bangers — by putting on a Marvel Marathon. Showing 17 of the films, the bonanza will run over four Saturdays, starting with Iron Man on August 25 and finishing up with Avengers: Infinity War on September 15. (It will skip Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Incredible Hulk and the new Ant-Man and the Wasp.) You can purchase individual session passes online for $12, a full-day pass for $40–60 or go all out and cop a day or marathon pass from the box office for $150.
While the words "winter camp" might conjure up images of shivering in the woods and setting up wonky tents, banish those thoughts immediately — Chuckle Park's version of winter camp will warm you up from the inside out, mostly due to the fact that there will be free mulled wine on offer. Running from midday until 9pm on Sunday, July 29, it might just be the perfect place to celebrate making it past the halfway point of winter. The CBD bar is teaming up with distiller Melbourne Moonshine to create innovative and warming cocktails, including an apple pie-inspired shot and Smokey The Bear, made with whisky, apricot hickory bitters and hickory smoke in a bear-shaped jar. There will be DJs playing all day and a cookout is on the agenda with sausages, of course, as well as vegan options — and, all the cookout proceeds will go to New Beginnings Animals Rescue. Dogs are very welcome and there'll even be a best-dressed camper award, so get those thermals out. Getting back to the very important bit, though, free mulled wine will be flowing from 12–3pm, and you can add to the warmth by downing some free toasted marshmallows, too, which will be available all day.
From the mind of Lee Child comes Jack Reacher. Reacher is a former Military Police Officer, reduced to living the life of a drifter after years of distinguished service. After a series of killings, Reacher is called in to determine whether or not the prime suspect is indeed responsible for the killings, or if something far more insidious is afoot. Jack Reacher is the creation of author Lee Child, who has written numerous novels on the mysterious character. Jack is now being portrayed on film by action superstar, Tom Cruise. The film also has a solid supporting cast including Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog and Robert Duvall. The film is in cinemas now and is the perfect film if you are after something with a bit of intrigue and plenty of action.
