After ten successful years running The Gertrude Street Projection Festival, The Centre for Projection Art has decided to try something new: the MiNi Festival, a mini but mighty nocturnal playground of projection art and installations. Running for two nights, from September 21–22, the free community-driven event will showcase spectacular light compositions from local artists. Local artist Kate Geck, recognised for her incredible kaleidoscopic projections, is the festival's feature artist. Geck's immersive and constantly changing images will be projected across the gardens. It will also respond to interaction so the audience has an opportunity to participate. Also exhibiting will be emerging artists from Yarra Youth Services. Working collaboratively with a moving screen and storytelling machine, the artists will utilise cutting-edge animation software to transform the public space into captivating works of art. The MiNi Festival will be held in the Atherton Gardens Precinct, a public housing estate in Fitzroy. So, while it's nice to see pretty colours projected onto otherwise lacklustre bricks and mortar, there's a little more to the story. After lots of careful research, creative development and consultation with the community, the organisers decided to highlight this location and help reduce the stigma around public housing. A little food for thought while you're basking in those beautiful lights.
NEON, the Melbourne Theatre Company’s Festival of Independent Theatre, is now in full swing. The first show, Menagerie, has just finished its run and next in line is Fraught Outfit’s On The Bodily Education of Young Girls. Set in an isolated female-only boarding school, an environment both idyllic and sinister where the educational practices are unorthodox to say the least, and performed largely in silence, this promises to be an eerie theatrical experience. It’s based on a novella published in 1903 but don’t go expecting something twee. Author Frank Wedekind was a playwright who popped many a monocle from the eyes of his audiences with his frank depictions of sexuality and violence. It’s only fitting that his work is being staged 110 years on by an edgy Melbourne indie company. Adena Jacobs of Fraught Outfit has shown her hand at dusting off old stories and giving them fresh life as controversial theatre with her takes on Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (2012) and Euripides’ Elektra (2010), so it will be intriguing what she does with Wedekind’s surreal tale of twisted schooling. It’s sure to be a lesson in the avant-garde.
Settle in for a long lunch at Taxi Kitchen, with a new Feed Me lunch menu (dubbed FML) for an easy $45 per person. Available every day of the week between 12pm and 3pm at the Federation Square favourite, guests will share three small plates and a large plate across this leisurely lunch. The small plates menu runs to the likes of sake-washed tuna paired with a yuzu yellow, or crispy tempura bug tails seasoned with nori dust and sesame aioli. We recommend the steak tartare topped with a confit egg yolk, which is balanced nicely with nashi, black garlic and wonton crisps. Larger plate choices will see guests making the difficult choices between low-cooked lamb shoulder with kohlrabi puree and Xinjiang spices, or Szechuan spiced duck laden with chilli dressing and watercress. Vegetarian choices include a crispy potato and cabbage bao with tonkatsu and pepper kewpie, or roasted eggplant with charred broccolini, miso and chickpeas. Images: Michael Pham
It's hard to know quite where to start when writing about Lin-Manuel Miranda's vastly lauded and widely appreciated creation Hamilton. The musical, which opened at Her Majesty's Theatre following a sold-out run in Sydney, is one of the most significant cultural texts of our generation. It won myriad Tonys, a Grammy, a Pulitzer Prize — one of those rare artworks that has transcended its original medium to become a bona fide phenomenon. Needless to say, it is extremely easy to find fans of this show. There are literally millions and millions of them. In fact, it's far more challenging to find people who know absolutely nothing about it. But ladies and gentlemen: we found one! Concrete Playground writer Nik Addams is a true neophyte when it comes to musical theatre and, beyond a cursory awareness of Hamilton due to its prevalence in culture at large, he knew very little about the show or the story. So, we decided to send him — a theatre-goer unencumbered by the baggage of knowledge and context — to get as fresh a take as possible on one of the most take-generating productions of all time. Fresh out of the doors of Her Majesty's, here are four observations Nik shared from his first-time Hamilton experience. THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU THINK OF MUSICALS Nik: "A common criticism of musicals is that bursting into song between spoken conversations can distract from the story, but Hamilton avoids this problem entirely as the whole thing is either sung or rapped — which came as a very pleasant surprise. In this sense, Hamilton makes a case for itself as a musical for people who don't necessarily love musicals. I had prepared myself for a kind of schmaltziness I assumed typical of musical theatre. Not so here. Even the more sentimental numbers are more understated than you'd expect given that they deal with the heavy-hitting themes of heartbreak and death." A LITTLE PRE-THEATRE READING IS RECOMMENDED Nik: "Not knowing anything of the Founding Fathers (being born and raised in a Greek household in Melbourne, I was more interested in European history), Hamilton's storyline was not always easy to follow. I got to a point somewhere towards the end of the first act where I just gave up trying to fully understand who was who and what was what. But, the production values were so high that I remained engaged even if the nuances of the relationships between characters and their significance were going over my head." "Things did become clearer in the second act, though, when the set-up was done and there was a sense of not only knowing who was who and what their motivations were, but the story itself more noticeably progressing. If you're going in fresh like me, I'd recommend a quick scan of Alexander Hamilton's Wikipedia page (or, indeed, our bluffer's guide to Hamilton) before the show so you don't need to use your brain quite as much." THE DANCING AND STAGING ARE TOP TIER Nik: "The choreography is captivating. It's almost hard to believe that such synchronised precision is taking place in front of your eyes, no camera tricks involved. The most lasting example of this is the scene depicting Alexander Hamilton's death at the hand of his political rival Aaron Burr in a duel (this isn't a spoiler by the way, it's foreshadowed in the opening number). This is a breathtaking tableau, an immersive, stop-start, movie-like depiction that makes excellent use of the stage's rotating, turntable set, creating a palpable sense of tension even though you know exactly how it ends." [caption id="attachment_817297" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'Hamilton Australia', Daniel Boud[/caption] THE CAST IS STRAIGHT UP INCREDIBLE Nik: "Hamilton is a very, very good production. That I know. The show is beautifully choreographed and performed by a cast who genuinely looks like it's enjoying itself. Led by the superb Jason Arrow as the title character, the troupe delivers many of the show's 27,000 words at a breakneck pace with a clarity and diction that I can barely achieve when talking normally, let alone rapping under stage lights wearing knee-length boots and tailcoats. There is no doubt that it's hugely ambitious, but it's made to look easy, even effortless — and the result is a production that's hard to look away from." THE MUSICAL THEATRE NEWBIE'S FINAL THOUGHTS Nik: "One of the most common refrains throughout the show is "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" This thoroughly contemporary retelling of a significant chapter of America's history certainly does not leave that question unanswered. But the answer is such a multi-layered one that it's deserving of a second look." Hamilton is playing at Her Majesty's Theatre and is currently booking through to August. Visit the musical's website for further details. Heading to the theatre? Check out our bluffer's guide to the show, or discover some fun facts about the show with two of its stars. Images: Daniel Boud
What's better than one Gelato Messina sweet treat? Twenty-four days of them, all in chocolate form with each one hiding behind tiny numbered windows. In 2022, the cult-favourite dessert brand launched its first-ever advent calendar, much to everyone's delights — and it's bringing it back in 2023. Even if you're not the biggest fan of Christmas, this is festive news worth celebrating. So, 'tis the season to be jolly, and to also enjoy opening miniature cardboard doors and eating the goodies within. First, the sad news for ice cream lovers: Messina's advent calendar won't need to be stored in your freezer, because it isn't filled with gelato. Next, the still-tasty news: it does come stuffed with Messina's delicious chocolate bites. (And it is recommended that you keep it in a cool, dark place, or in the fridge.) So, you can now spend the first 24 days of December feasting your way through gingerbread men, fruit mince tart choccies, pastry-choc clusters, pralines and pâte de fruits — plus other Messina wares. That's all that the chain is officially giving away, because part of the whole advent calendar setup is getting a surprise daily. That said, you can also expect to find little chocolate candy canes and snowmen among the sweets. Handmade by Messina's in-house chocolatiers, every chocolate in the custom advent box is different — and, like all Messina specials, there's only a limited number available. Thankfully, there's more on offer than in 2022, when the 300 that were made were snapped up quicker than Santa eating cookies (well, as you believed when you were a kid). The gelato chain realises that plenty of people want its advent calendars, releasing a bigger number in 2023. Christmas fiends (and chocolate lovers) will need to order on Monday, October 9, for pick up from Friday, November 24–Sunday, November 26. (Yes, that does mean you'll need to exercise some self-control for a few days, to stop yourself breaking open the calendar as soon as it's in your hot little hands.) As with the brand's other limited-edition treats, this one is doing staggered on-sale times. Accordingly, folks in Queensland and the ACT are able to purchase at 9am AEDT and Victorians at 9.15am AEDT, with New South Wales customers are split across three times from 9.30–10am AEDT depending on the store. Gelato Messina's advent calendar goes on sale on Monday, October 9 from 9am AEDT, for pick up from Friday, November 24–Sunday, November 26. For more information, head to the Messina website.
Organic store Aunt Maggie's is throwing its annual Winter Solstice Chocolate Festival, melting away your troubles for the fourth year in a row at its new Lygon Street, Carlton digs. Saturday, June 23 will bring a feast of organic, raw and just generally comforting treats from the likes of Wildcrafted, Melbourne Cacao, Little Zebra Chocolates, Kennedy & Wilson Chocolates, Chow Cacao and a whole host more — so bring your sweet tooth/teeth. There will be market stalls to browse, samples to snack on and some juice bar bonanzas being pumped out as well. Plus, FYI, if you get sick of eating, there's liquid comfort to be had too courtesy of wine tastings from Paxton and RAW. With their range of biodynamic and vegan offerings on the go, it's basically just putting good stuff in your bodies all round. The event is free, so your weekend finances will be as warm and happy as your bellies.
If you want to add some cuddles to your morning workout routine, make tracks to South Wharf for Pups and Pilates. BYO doggo (or cosy up to someone else's) and enjoy a 45-minute pilates class that is sure to start your day off with a big dose of endorphins. The class is hosted by PatchPets, a new social app that allows you to connect with other dog owners and lovers, and acts as a directory of all the dog services, venues and happenings around town. The sessions will run at 9am on five consecutive Saturdays at The Common Man — launching on December 7, then running again each week from December 14–January 4. The class is free with an Eventbrite booking, and there are still spots left — so take your pick and nab one while you can.
The wait is over. Ten months after it was first announced, Margaret Atwood's highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid's Tale is being released to the world on Tuesday, September 10. Knowing how badly you want to get your hands on The Testaments (and not be the only one at the office that doesn't have a clue what everyone is talking about), Readings Carlton is opening the store bright and early at 7.30am, so you can be one of the first to delve into the story. Obviously, if you're going to be up at that time — and consuming bleak, dystopian fiction, too — you need sustenance. So Readings' neighbours Heartattack and Vine will be providing free coffee and pastries to the keen literary minds picking their books up between 7.30am and 9am, or until all the goodies run out. Can't wait? In the meantime, you can have a gander at an extract of The Testaments online. 'The Testaments' will be released on Tuesday, September 10. Readings Carlton will be open from 7.30am, with free coffee and pastries available until 9am.
Next time you're slurping on some noodles or devouring a stir-fry, don't stop when your bowl is empty. If you're still hungry, set your sights on the utensils in your hand. Yes, chowing down on chopsticks has become a reality — and whatever you think they'll taste like, they won't. Unless you were really hoping they'd have the same flavour as furniture, that is. Unveiled by Japan's Marushige Confectionery, the edible chopsticks are designed to serve two purposes: provide a sustainable alternative to current chopsticks, which are usually made out of bamboo, wood, plastic or steel, and are used in the billions each year around the world; and provide a reminder about the country's agricultural traditions. It's for the latter reason that they're made out of igusa, the soft reeds usually used to make the tatami floor mats that are common around the nation. By turning igusa into chopsticks, then getting folks to munch on them, Marushige hopes people will come to appreciate the substance's cultural significance. At present, the tatami-flavoured chopsticks be made available at two restaurants in Tokyo, but whether they'll spread to become a broader trend is yet to be seen. No one can argue with the fact that it's an ingenious idea — how many pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks have you used and then thrown out recently? More than you probably realise. As for the taste, maybe it's the kind of thing that you just get accustomed to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBOXZBgXqDs Via MUNCHIES.
French, Spanish, German, American, Japanese: Australia has no shortage of film festivals categorised by country. But what about the stories of those with no nation at all? Lighting up screens for the second year as part of Refugee Week, the films in the Refugee Film Festival will explore the trials and tribulations of people fleeing persecution and war. The festival will be held at Carlton's Cinema Nova from June 17 to 22. Standout titles include Hope Road, which chronicles the efforts of a Sydney-based Sudanese refugee to raise funds to build a school in his village; Stop the Boats, about the slogan used to condemn those seeking asylum in Australia; and Human Flow, Ai Weiwei's immensely moving portrait of the global refugee crisis. Cinephiles outside of Sydney and Melbourne can also put their hand up to host a screening themselves. For more information on how to make that happen, as well as the full festival program, go here.
Fuzzy is bringing the party to the people with Listen Out, which will be coming to Melbourne's Catani Gardens on Saturday, September 23 for its fifth year before dates in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane. Some highlights on this year's lineup include US rappers Mac Miller and Future, New York-based electronic producer Jai Wolf and UK artists Duke Dumont and Little Simz. Aussie acts get a look-in via Safia, Perth avant-electronic bedroom producer KUCKA and dance duo Pnau. Kicking off at 1pm and running through till 10pm, Catani Gardens' walking paths lined with palm trees offer the perfect backdrop for the Melbourne part of the tour. Tickets are now on sale — so be sure to grab them while you still can. See the full lineup below. LISTEN OUT 2017 LINEUP Bryson Tiller Duke Dumont Future Getter Green Velvet Jai Wolf Kucka Little Simz Mac Miller Malaa Mallrat Pnau Safia Touch Sensitive Vallis Alps What So Not Alice Ivy Annie Bass (in Sydney only) Cc Disco (in Melbourne only) Muto (in Melbourne only) Ninajirachi Nyxen + more Images: Mitch Lowe.
Sometimes it feels like the only thing to do with your 'I haven't had a holiday in three years' woes is to jump in your car and leave town in a hurry. The nine-to-five might be getting you down — especially as the warm weather is being such a tease — and you might be sitting at your desk dreaming of standing up and flipping it, quitting your job and cruising up the Princes to a new destination. But, it's probably best you don't. Perhaps, a better idea would be to get to know the parts of your city that you're not so familiar with. Joining forces with Mitsubishi to celebrate of the new Eclipse Cross, we've curated a list of experiences for every day this week to trick you into believing you're in a new town with a fresh vibe. And, you won't even need to quit your job. MONDAY, OCTOBER 15: SWIM AND CROISSANTS Do some laps then treat yourself to a tasty pastry. Start your week off energised and get your blood pumping with some laps at the Fitzroy Swimming Pool. Once you've done had your swim and a hot shower, you'll be ready to crack on with your Monday. But first, breakfast. Make a beeline straight for Lune and its renowned croissants. Grab a buttery, chocolate or almond version (or one of each, for research's sake) and scoff it down on your way to work, inspiring morning envy in those around you on the tram. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16: VEGAN TUESDAYS Gorge on vegan Indian fare guilt-free for just $25. Keep Meat-Free Monday going and hit up Babu Ji, an Indian restaurant on St Kilda's Grey Street that runs Vegan Tuesdays every week. It's an all-you-can-eat sort of affair; devour as much rice and curry as you can for just $25. While the menu varies week to week, all the offerings are completely vegan and can be made gluten free as well (hello, gluten-free naan). The night is intended to showcase the versatility of Indian food and how easily it can cater for dietary requirements like veganism. And, yes, pappadums are included. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17: A DAY OF PODCASTS Get up close and personal with the best podcasting talent at ACMI. Head along to OzPod 2018, the Australian Podcast Conference taking place at ACMI, presented by ABC. The conference will take place on Wednesday, October 17, with a number of international podcasters scheduled to appear. American Julia Lowrie Henderson from the podcast Bikram and Canadian Veronica Simmonds from podcasts Alone: A Love Story, Sleepover and Tai Asks Why will be there, as will locals Hedley Thomas from The Teacher's Pet, Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe from Double J's Bang On, Honor Eastly from Starving Artist and Being Honest with My Ex and Yumi Stynes from ABC's Ladies We Need to Talk. The conference will combine audio storytellers, producers and innovators, with more of the program to be announced soon. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18: UNRAVELING PERFECTIONISM Head to a talk at MPavilion and learn about the inherent human need to be 'perfect'. MPavilion is about to kick into gear for another year, with the annual spring/summer installation kicking off in October. On Thursday, October 18, you can swing by Perfectionisms: an event focusing that inherent human need to be 'perfect' and how it can positively and negatively affect us. Dr David Irving, Dr Margaret Osborne, Professor Shitij Kapur and Professor Alan Duffy will all turn their considerable brain powers to answer questions about the hunt for perfection and why it drives us. Perhaps, this is the perfect mid-week reality check you need. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19: FINDERS KEEPERS MARKET Peruse the local designs and wares at this seasonal market. Finders Keepers swings back into town this October, taking place at The Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton from Friday, October 19. Head over to the design market that will, as always, feature leading local designers (and those from across the rest of the country, too). In its tenth year, Finders Keepers has grown to be one of Australia's leading markets and supports more than 1200 sellers yearly. With design, art, fashion as well as food and live music to sustain shoppers — even if you don't buy much, your mood leading into the weekend will be amped right up. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20: CITY ESCAPE Get back to the great outdoors and explore Werribee Gorge. Make full use of the sunny days that we've been copping and take the opportunity to go on an adventure this weekend. Head to Werribee Gorge to do a walk and take in some of the west-of-the-city charms. There's nothing like a bit of fresh air and a beautiful environment — only an hour or so out of Melbourne, too — to renew what you love about the city. Take a hike along the popular Werribee Gorge Circuit, an eight-kilometre hike that's perfect for beginners — or those who've been in winter hibernation and have forgotten how to spell the word 'exercise'. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21: BIG FASHION SALE Update your warm-weather wardrobe for less. Along with Finders Keepers, the Big Fashion Sale also hits Melbourne from October 18–21, so you can make your weekend a fashion and design-heavy one. It is the changing of the seasons, after all. The designer clearance sale will set up on Easey Street in Collingwood for the weekend and will be open from 10am–5pm. With EFTPOS available, you'll probably find it easy enough to nab a bargain from a top designer. More than 50 brands are represented and some will be discounted up to 80 percent —that'll get you moving on a Sunday, even if you're sore from yesterday's hike. Where to next? Make the most of every week with Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and navigate to your next destination here.
Trying to pick the best line from Succession isn't just a difficult task; it's almost impossible. The series is one of the best-written shows on television, and best in general, in no small part thanks to how well it hurls about bickering dialogue. Before the HBO series first graced TV screens back in 2018, you mightn't have realised exactly how entertaining it is to watch people squabbling. Not just everyday characters, either, but the constantly feuding and backstabbing — and ridiculously wealthy and privileged — family of a global media baron. It's not only the arguing and power plays that make this hit compulsively watchable, however, but the witty words flung about, the scathing insults shot back and forth, and the pitch-perfect performances that deliver every verbal blow. Due to the pandemic, Succession hasn't actually been on our screens for a couple of years now. So, since 2019, we've only been able to enjoy its scheming chaos by re-binging its first two seasons. But the acclaimed drama is set to return next month — and, based on both its initial teaser back in July and the just-dropped full trailer, all those Roy family antics and the bitter words they inspire are in full swing once again. Yes, it's time to soak up your latest glimpse of a fictional family that could be Arrested Development's Bluth crew, but much, much more ruthless. And, after the big bombshell that son Kendall (Jeremy Strong, The Trial of the Chicago 7) dropped at the end of season two, the third season has plenty to dig into. Obviously, always-formidable patriarch Logan (Brian Cox, Super Troopers 2) is far from happy, and the rest of his children — Connor (Alan Ruck, Gringo), Shiv (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman) and Roman (Kieran Culkin, Infinity Baby) — are caught in the middle. If you've seen the past two seasons, you'll know that this brood's tenuous and tempestuous relationship has only gotten thornier as we've all watched, and that doesn't ever look set to change. For Succession newcomers, the series follows the Roys as Logan's offspring try to position themselves as next in line to his empire. It's clearly set among the one percent, in lives that most folks will never know — but the idea that depiction doesn't equal endorsement is as rich in Succession and its brand of satire as its always-disagreeing characters. There is something different this time around, however, with Alexander Skarsgård (Godzilla vs Kong) and Adrien Brody (The Grand Budapest Hotel) joining the drama. Created by Peep Show's Jesse Armstrong — someone who knows more than a thing or two about black comedy — this Emmy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Writers Guild and Directors Guild Award-winner is savagely smart, darkly biting and often laugh-out-loud funny about its chosen milieu. And in the words of cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun, Zola) in this year's earlier sneak peek, yes, that sounds kinda dramatic. As well as dropping the full season three trailer, HBO has also announced that Succession will return mid-October — and Foxtel, which airs the series in Australia, has revealed that the third season will start airing Down Under from Monday, October 18. Check out the full Succession season three trailer below: Succession's third season will start airing on Foxtel and Foxtel On Demand from Monday, October 18. Image: HBO.
If you spent Melbourne's sixth lockdown wondering when it'd end, well, of course you did. If you filled your time dreaming about when you might be able to venture not only around the city, throughout Victoria and across Australia, but also overseas, that's also understandable. So today, Friday, October 22, brings two doses of good news. Not only have stay-at-home conditions now ended (as every Melburnian well and truly knows), but Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has just announced the end of quarantine for international travellers who've had both their COVID-19 vaccinations. That change will kick in on Monday, November 1, meaning that double-vaxxed folks entering Victoria from overseas won't need to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine from that point onwards. Plus, the cap on double-jabbed returning Aussies arriving in Victoria will also be scrapped. Anyone heading to the state from another country will need to show their vaccination status upon arrival, of course, with Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration recognising the Pfizer (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Moderna (Spikevax), COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen (Johnson and Johnson), Coronavac (Sinovac) and Covishield (AstraZeneca/Serum Institute of India) jabs. You'll also need to test negative to COVID-19 within 72 hours of departing, and then take another test within 24 hours of arriving in Victoria. While this'll obviously apply to Aussies who've been overseas during the pandemic and are now coming home, it'll also cover Victorians going on overseas holidays — because, as previously announced, that's permitted by the Federal Government from Monday, November 1 as well. At this early stage, the international border will open for double-jabbed Aussies heading outwards and coming back, plus permanent residents and citizens and their families, but not for international travellers and international students. Your suitcase does look mighty tempting now, we know. And, the list of places that Australians can fly to keeps growing — Qantas has just brought forward some of its planned international flights, in fact. If you do head off, then come back and test positive for COVID-19 once you're back in Victoria, you'll need to isolate at home like as any other case in the community. And, for the unvaxxed, the mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine remains in place for international travellers — and there'll be a weekly cap of 250 unvaccinated folks allowed into the state from overseas. For further information about Victoria's international travel quarantine plans, head to the Victorian Government's website.
It might just be Australia's brightest festival, and it's returning to light up Alice Springs once again. That'd be Parrtjima - A Festival In Light, which will deliver its fifth annual program between Friday, April 3–Sunday, April 12 — and it has just started announcing its latest lineup. The nation's first indigenous festival of its kind, Parrtjima's 2020 event will mark the festival's second in its new autumn timeslot. That move proved a big hit last year, with a record crowd of 25,000 attending the 2019 event. As always, the fest will continue its free ten-day public celebration of Indigenous arts, culture, music and storytelling — and its focus on dazzling light installations — in the CBD's Alice Springs Todd Mall, as well as at tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct just out of town. On the bill: new luminous displays, including a glowing sphere that'll be suspended three metres above the ground and a four-metre-tall flower, plus an opening night performance by Dan Sultan. They all fall under the theme 'lifting our spirits', with the 2020 fest particularly enthusiastic about "lifting the spirits from the work of artists, old and new, to the spirit of this year's audience". If the thought of towering art already has you excited, the two aforementioned pieces — Grass Seed and Alatye (Bush Yam) — actually form part of a larger new artwork called Werte. Taking inspiration from the circular and lined meeting place symbols painted by local Arrernte artist Kumalie Kngwarraye Riley, it's designed to take visitors on a journey through the Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct, and also features an eight-metre-high piece about emus dubbed Emu Laying Eggs at Night. [caption id="attachment_715722" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lighting the Ranges, Parrtjima festival, Alice Springs, Australia.5/4/2019. Images courtesy Parrtjima / NTMEC[/caption] The 2020 lineup will also include Sultan's roots and blues tunes, with the musician hitting the stage alongside Australian earth sound band OKA — plus a heap of other Aussie acts that haven't yet been revealed. Then there's Deep Listening, a new series of talks in the Desert Park Cinema that'll pair contemporary topics of interest with a selection of films by Aboriginal filmmakers. And, over in the Todd Mall, Fire Stories will showcase local storytellers, alongside cabaret and music performances, and a roster of workshops. As always, the Alice Springs Desert Park will come alive with the festival's main attraction. Once again, a huge artwork will transform a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic, 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival. Just what it'll feature this year hasn't been unveiled, but it's always spectacular — and it always highlights stories, symbols and knowledge of Aboriginal culture. Another returning favourite is Ahelhe Itethe – Living Sands (Grounded), where installations are projected onto the earth accompanied by a striking soundscape. [caption id="attachment_715710" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Parrtjima festival, Alice Springs, Australia. 6/4/2019. Images courtesy Parrtjima / NTMEC[/caption] Of course, Parrtjima is just one of Northern Territory's two glowing attractions in 2020, with Australia's Red Centre lighting up in multiple ways. The festival is a nice supplement to Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation, which — after multiple extensions — is now on display indefinitely. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from April 3–12, 2020 around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: James Horan.
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 have 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 St Kilda's Astor Theatre 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 18 of the films, the bonanza will run over a (slightly ridiculous) 48 hours — you'll have to be a superfan to stay awake through all of this. The marathon will kick off with Iron Man at 11am on Saturday, January 5 and finish up at 11am on Monday, January 7 with Ant-Man and the Wasp. In the middle, you'll catch hits like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. You can purchase one-day passes online for $40, or a full 48-hour pass for $65.
So this bloke called Bruzzy owns a farm in Tallarook and because he's a bloody legend, every year he hosts the beatnik camping festival Boogie. Basically, Boogie is a three-day buffet of music, arts, booze, food and Boxwars. This year, the organisers have increased its capacity to 1500 people, keeping the music line-up suitably stellar. There's New York City's Endless Boogie with their grizzled riff-rock, Tav Falco's Panther Burns (a bastardisation of Mississippi blues and rockabilly), the hyperactive Money for Rope, dreamy Simone Felice, Mr Phil Jamieson, Don Walker and The Suave Fucks, Lowtide, Wang, Velociraptor and many, many more. Punters will be able to swap hard cash for "Boogie bucks" which can be exchanged for chewy, chocky, drinks and the spare toothbrush you will never remember. The Boogie kitchens and bars will be serving food and alcoholic beverages and one can even have an outdoor shower (but it'll cost ya, at $5). All tickets include free return train travel from Melbourne, good sounds and grand times over the Easter break. Did I mention it's a BYO festival? Boogie begins on Friday, March 29, and ends at noon on Monday, April 1. Image Tim Rogers, Catherine Britt and Bill Chambers via Chrissie Vincent Publicity.
Bluesfest has lifted the lid on its second artist announcement for 2019, adding 19 more names to the festival's already hefty 30th anniversary lineup. Heading this latest stampede is music legend Paul Kelly. He'll be hitting the five-day Easter long weekend festival just out of Byron after touring the country for his pre-Christmas show Making Gravy (which has sold out in most cities). More second announcement names include Irish singer Hozier, chart-topping UK artist David Gray and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Mavis Staples — who, fittingly, co-wrote and sang on Hozier's last hit single 'Nina Cried Power'. They'll place alongside two huge headliners: Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, who will play with his band The Innocent Criminals. Both artists will be performing exclusively at Bluesfest, with Johnson making his third appearance at the festival after first appearing in 2001 and again in 2014. S Other acts taking to the stage at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm over the weekend include Aussies Kasey Chambers and Richard Clapton, six-piece soul band St. Paul and The Broken Bones and Grammy Award-winning jazz and funk collective Snarky Puppy. American singer and record producer George Clinton will perform one of his last live shows ever, before retiring in May, alongside his funk collective Parliament-Funkadelic. Anyway, here's the full lineup (so far). Better start making Easter plans because tickets are already selling fast. BLUESFEST 2019 LINEUP SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT Paul Kelly Hozier David Gray Julia Stone Gary Clark Jr. Mavis Staples Flogging Molly Meshell Ndegeocello Ruthie Foster Shakey Graves Anderson East Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real Samantha Fish The War and Treaty Mojo Juju Caiti Baker Deva Mahal Melody Angel Hussy Hicks FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT Jack Johnson Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals Ray Lamontagne George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic Snarky Puppy Kasey Chambers St Paul and The Broken Bones Nahko and Medicine for the People Tommy Emmanuel Colin Hay Arlo Guthrie Keb' Mo' Tex Perkins Allen Stone Richard Clapton Russell Morris Kurt Vile and The Violators Vintage Trouble The Black Sorrows The California Honeydrops Trevor Hall I'm With Her Larkin Poe Irish Mythen Elephant Sessions Greensky Blugrass Rockwiz Live + more to be announced. Bluesfest 2019 will run April 18 to April 22 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. More details and ticket info here. Image: Cybele Malinowski and Joseph Mayers.
This 007-inspired spy flick is sending critics into a frenzy, for all the right reasons. Director Matthew Vaughn (the mastermind behind Kick-Ass and X-Men First Class) is at it again, this time reworking the beloved 2012 comic-book series The Secret Service into a fast-paced and tongue-firmly-in-cheek tale of crime, action and adventure. Kingsman: The Secret Service stars Colin Firth (as you've never seen him before), Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine. It follows street kid Gary Unwin (Taron Egerton) as he attempts to join the highly contested ranks of an underground spy ring. And the initial verdict? It's one to watch. With 100% approval so far on Rotten Tomatoes, Kingsman has been labelled "a thoughtful, exciting, whip-smart spy adventure that doesn't let its smart-ass post-modernism overwhelm its playfulness or its heart" (by Andrew Taylor for The Playlist). Kingsman is in cinemas on February 5. Thanks to Twentieth Century Fox, we have 20 double passes up to a January 28 VIP preview screening to give away in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
After a year spent largely cooped up at home, it's safe to say that most Melburnians are itching to get out and explore. But with the odd COVID-19 outbreak turning interstate travel into a risky holiday game, it seems that now is the absolute best time to embrace the staycation — especially thanks to a suite of new government-funded initiatives designed to entice you to step away from the airline booking page and unearth some of the goodness right here in this very city. Nine local precinct associations have scored themselves extra activation funding from the City of Melbourne, as part of its $100 million Melbourne City Recovery Fund in collaboration with the Victorian Government. And that translates to a raft of new initiatives and programs for local staycationers to take advantage of. If they're quick, of course. One of these, dubbed the Docklands Dollars program, could see you score rebates of up to $210 from the Docklands Chamber of Commerce just for kicking it local. Recipients can access a $100 cashback offer when they book two night accommodation in the Docklands area, as well as up to $110 via a rebate for purchases at the precinct's stores, restaurants, fast food spots, services and attractions. And yep, that includes things like the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, the O'Brien Icehouse and even those self-drive GoBoat picnic boats. To access the Docklands Dollars initiative, you'll need to submit your interest and register via the program's website. After that, you've got 30 days to book your stay and activate your account for the rest of the rebates. As part of the City of Melbourne's new funding, there's also a competition offering you the chance to win a staycation for you and five mates within the Yarra River Precinct. You can enter that one online as well. More initiatives are set to be rolled out by other City of Melbourne precinct associations, too, including the Chinatown Precinct Association, Carlton Inc and the Collins Street Precinct Group. Find out more about the Docklands Dollars program over at the website. Registrations are open now. Top image: Emily Godfrey via Visit Victoria.
Mailbox Art Space is snug. Snug to the point where it's difficult to imagine one artist being able to squeeze their works into the space (which amounts to a mounted mailbox and its surrounds), let alone four. But that's precisely what Belle Bassin, Leanne Hermosilla, Valentina Palonen and Anna Parry have set out to do in Heathen, their first collaboration for the small Flinders Lane art space. Showing in the foyer of the historic Pawson House building from July 6-30, the exhibition is an exploration of "mysticism, the numinous and the unknowable". The combination of four dramatically different styles in such a compact space promises to make for a compelling study of what lies behind the veil of the tangible. Image: Anna Parry, Sacred Geometry, 2014, Watercolour and gouache on paper.
What to do when your social life has once again reverted to virtual hangs with mates, but you exhausted most of the decent group activity options last time around? Enter: Virtual Escape — an Aussie website offering a digital version of the brain-teasing escape room experience. Much like the real-life challenge rooms you'd have tried back in pre-pandemic times, Virtual Escape hosts a series of interactive puzzles requiring fierce teamwork and plenty of clue-solving to get you out of sticky fictional situations. Only these ones are played entirely online, with participants communicating via video call. To play, you'll need a WhatsApp group, multiple devices and a way of viewing PDF documents. Each team of two-to-six players will be joined by their own facilitator, who'll provide the background info and set the challenge. Currently, there are two Virtual Escape experiences to choose from, one centred around a bank heist and the other featuring a bomb threat. A third, inspired by the humble hangover, is in development, to be released in the coming months. Each runs for a heart-pumping 60 minutes, priced at $45 per group of up to six. Got a competitive streak? The top ranking teams for each online experience are published on the website, in case you want to strive for the glory of the leaderboard.
It might just be Australia's brightest festival, and it's returning to light up Alice Springs once again. That'd be Parrtjima - A Festival In Light, which will deliver its sixth annual program between Friday, April 9–Sunday, April 18 — returning to the autumn time slot it established in 2019. After a chaotic 2020, which saw the event postponed to September due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions — and offer a virtual tour, too — the fest has big plans for 2021. Once more, it'll continue its free ten-day public celebration of Indigenous arts, culture, music and storytelling, and its focus on dazzling light installations. This time around, the event is corralling its program around the theme 'future kultcha'. That means there'll be a particular focus on "intergenerational wisdom told through light, interactive workshops, art, music, films, performance and the spoken word". [caption id="attachment_799417" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Artist's impression of 'Landing Kutcha'[/caption] When it returns to the Alice Springs CBD's Alice Springs Todd Mall, as well as tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct just out of town, Parrtjima will unveil a new set of signature installations — and yes, they're set to dazzle. While the festival's full program hasn't yet been released, the event has revealed a few key details about its luminous displays for this year. The striking 'Landing Kultcha' will use light tubes of different lengths, span 20 metres in length and provide quite the entranceway. 'Revolving Kutcha' will feature shields, coolamons and skateboards, including one large central piece that'll range between six to eight metres high, plus eight other two-metre-tall sculptures. And, 'Grounded Kultcha' will project an animated sequence of curated artworks onto the sands of Alice Springs Desert Park. There's also 'Merging Kultcha', which features a train of five illuminated camels; 'Tailoring Kultcha', with light and textiles used to transform Todd Mall; and 'Harvesting Kultcha', an interactive game for all ages that's inspired by the constant movement in a honey-ant nest. And, as it always does, the festival's main attraction will glow far and wide. Once again, a huge artwork will transform a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic, 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival. The installation is being called 'Spirit Kultcha' this year, and it'll include a soundscape by Electric Fields. [caption id="attachment_799418" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Artist's impression of 'Merging Kutcha'[/caption] The full Parrtjima program is set to be announced in March, with more than 55 artists involved. You'll be able to dine under the stars at the Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct — thanks to a dinner that's a first for the fest — and also see a music lineup led by Casey Donovan. Of course, Parrtjima is just one of Northern Territory's two glowing attractions in 2021, with Australia's Red Centre lighting up in multiple ways. The festival is a nice supplement to Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation, which — after multiple extensions — is now on display indefinitely. If you're keen to start making Parrtjima plans, remember to check out the Northern Territory's COVID-19 border restrictions first. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from April 9–18, 2021 around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Top images: James Horan.
It's a tough time to be a little guy, with so much of the country in lockdown once again. Many of our local producers rely on farmer's markets to distribute their products, so last year, Sydney's favourite butter churners Pepe Saya Butter Co launched Aussie Artisan Week to encourage Australians to support our nations' small cheesemakers, gin distilleries and mushroom harvesters. After a successful inaugural year, Aussie Artisan Week is back and running from Monday, August 16 until Monday, August 23. Right across the week, Pepe Saya is spreading the local love and encouraging you to check out some of this country's finest artisan producers. The Aussie Artisan Week's Instagram is featuring stories from a raft of its favourite food businesses — and you'll find a growing directory of producers over on its website complete with handy links on where to buy their wares. If you're organising a next-level breakfast for Saturday morning, start with NSW's Crumpets by Merna and Bondi Yoghurt, Northern Territory's Alice Bakery, Queensland's My Berries and of course Pepe Saya Butter Co. Or, if you're planning a fancy night in, you can hit up Cupitt's Estate winery, Kangaroo Valley Olives and Great Southern Truffles. To kick things off, Pepe Saya has also just launched a collaboration with local spread Oomite to create a luxe Vegemite-esque spread that combines Pepe Saya butter, umami and Oomite marble. The Oomite butter is available online in 100-gram wheels.
We all do it. We dive into the New Year with optimistic outlooks, making promises to ourselves that, this year, we will 'be good'. After the annual celebratory free-for-all that is the holiday period, it's no surprise that these goals usually relate to diet, fitness and healthier living. But let's get real here: few of us actually stick to our resolutions. So in acknowledgment of the fact that rules are built to be broken, here are our top ten venues to nudge yourself gently off the wagon with beautiful, beautiful comfort food. Besides, you can always sign up for CrossFit next year. Or not. WINDSOR HIGH TEA What better way to reclaim your class after a trashy NYE than with a triple tier stand of ribbon sandwiches? The grandiose spread at Hotel Windsor's high tea ($69-89) is well worth giving up your eating restrictions for — even those with dietary requirements have been known to forgo doctor's orders and suffer the consequences. Still worth it. Begin with a little French bubbly while you enjoy the crispness of the white tablecloths, before packing your plate with treasures from their mammoth display of desserts. Don't forget to dip them all in the chocolate fountain for good measure. It's like being at a patisserie and being able to take a bite out of every cake in the cabinet. 111 Spring Street, Melbourne, (03) 9633 6004, hotelwindsor.com.au TINNIES AT HATS & TATTS South Melbourne's Southern Cross Hotel with be reopening in the New Year as Hats & Tatts: a heels-up hotspot that celebrates all the best qualities of your local, informal dive bar without the bogans or fisticuffs. It's unlikely you come across a Southern Cross tatt in this new venue, or a suit for that matter — with Jason Chan (of West Winds Gin and Plenty) leading the pub's re-brand, it looks like it's losing its former frumpiness and letting proceedings roll a bit loose. So if your new year resolution was to act like a responsible adult, give up now — they're flagging $5 Jack Daniels, pinball, and a beer-in-can-only policy (craft beer enthusiasts need to understand now that this will be an aluminium-only zone, so don't come expecting a bespoke bottled brew). Dress code: no squares. 78 Cecil Street, South Melbourne, 0431 292 375, facebook.com/hatsandtatts CHIN CHIN'S 'FEED ME' MENU Not that they need further promotion at this point, but credit where credit's due — and we think it should still be paid to the game-changing hospitality powerhouse that is Chin Chin. Offering what's arguably the best value banquet in town ($69), 125 Flinders Lane is a continuous convoy of Asian-inspired dishes off the a-la-carte menu, such as kingfish sashimi and sticky, caramelised pork, there's not a filler to be found. Plus, they won't stop serving until you tell them to. Those who can withstand the epic wait (the restaurant is no-bookings and absurdly popular) will be richly rewarded, and possibly rolled home. 125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, (03) 8663 2000, chinchinrestaurant.com.au DELI SANDWICHES AT LONGHORN SALOON It's becoming hard to cultivate any top 10 list without slipping Le Bon Ton in there somewhere, but now we've got an alternative option. Owners, the Balleau brothers (pictured), will be opening a 'deli and rock n roll saloon' (whatever that means) in Carlton in February, and if their former ventures are anything to go by, it will be a cracker of a success. Smoked meat and sandwiches will build the backbone of this New York-style venue, with Five Points Deli downstairs and Longhorn Saloon up top. You'll get a month or so to stick to your resolutions … at which point you'll definitely deserve a stack of cold-cuts and pat on the back. Upstairs at 118 Elgin St, Carlton (opening February) CHINA BAR BUFFET Crispy Roast pork! Peking duck! Baked scallops, curries and steaks! It's all here at China Bar Signature. Yum cha favourites — including pork and chive dumplings and steamed buns — can be collected by the basket, while the seafood selection (which is laid out in mountains of oysters, prawns and smoked salmon) is shockingly fresh-tasting. Furthermore, at the sashimi bar you'll get your chosen sea creatures sliced on command. Don't make the potentially devastating mistake of going too hard too soon and not leaving room for the shelves of dessert showcased along the wall. Problem of the first world. 222 Exhibition St, Melbourne (also Burwood East and Epping locations), 03 9988 7778, chinabarsignature.com MIDDAY KOREAN AT CJ LUNCH BAR Seating is cramped and there's no table service, but the favourable portion-to-price ratio at CJ Lunch Bar explains the popularity of this tiny Korean cafe. Their lunch special bento is only $8.90, so if you're going to ruin your New Year's healthy eating plan, may as well go all out and order two. In any case, do not leave without ordering a sizzling plate of chicken bulgogi and cheese ($16.50), which arrives on a sizzling hot plate to ensure maximum melting conditions. Shop 2/ 391 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, (03) 9602 1155 THE HUNGARIAN'S MONSTER SCHNITZEL Don't even begin to contemplate how much butter and oil has gone into the dishes, spoilsport. This is home-style Eastern European cooking at its fattening finest. Dumplings, goulash and the odd 450g monster schnitzel ($25.90) should satisfy for starters. For mains, tackle the Gypsymix: pork schnitzel, chicken schnitzel, smoked Krasnoyarsk and chevaps served on a plate full of fries and the odd green leaf ($33.90). In fact, it's worth visiting The Hungarian just to read their cheeky menu alone. 362 Bridge Road, Richmond, 0421 993 132, thehungarian.com.au INDULGE IN FINE LIQUOR AT WHISKY AND ALEMENT So you've decided to quit drinking and detox in 2015; great work. But that's also going to be a problem, because it will severely restrict your ability to enjoy fine whisky. Now, we're not encouraging you to throw back shots of Jameson while challenging fellow patrons to an arm wrestle — but — a quiet and respectable dram in mood-lit and romantic surrounds would be a fine way to undo any dry spell. If you're going to surrender your personal pact, do it with single malt and an optional bowl of smoked almonds. 270 Russell Street, Melbourne, (03) 9654 1284, whiskyandale.com.au EAT COMPETITIVELY AT HOFBRAUHAUS We've seen many a German beer house (haus?) appear around Melbourne recently, but Hofbräuhaus has been around for years, and remain the only venue to issue a whopping schnitzel challenge to competitive diners. Book ahead if you want to tackle this one, because they'll need some time to cook up your 1.5kg pork schnitzel — taken alongside a big 'ol bowl of chips and a litre of beer, no less. Consume every last bite on your own order to win your money back, and gain a victory t shirt. For the less aspirational, a hunk of crumbed camembert with lingonberry ($14.50) or a traditional serve of bratwurst sausages with mashed potato and sauerkraut ($26.50), should appease any New Year hunger pains you may have. 18-28 Market Lane, Melbourne, (03) 9663 3361, hofbrauhaus.com.au THE B.EAST BURGER Thrusting their doors open on 1 Jan and inviting the New Year's Day debris inside, you can rely on The B.East to jut a swift left hook at any New Year's resolve regarding diet or sobriety. Don't bother with entrees and go immediately to the BEAST BURGER, which slaps together a triple beef patty, triple serve of bacon, chilli-cheese sauce and token slices of salad ingredients ($18). Add fries. Take the timed eating challenge if you want your name up on the wall, but it's also recommended to just at your leisure for the quality feed it is. A cherry shake ($7.50) would also be an excellent idea at this point; smashed maraschino cherries, coconut flakes, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Shake hack: ask for added booze. It's going to be a great year ahead. 80 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, (03) 9036 1456, theb-east.com
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (MFWF) has announced its program for 2017 — and, well, we hope you're hungry. Come March 31, the festival will take over the city for ten days of delicious dinners, long lunches, wine weekends, parties, masterclasses and more. And while it's their 25th year, they haven't just rolled out a program of the same old thing. For the first time ever, MFWF will have their own House of Food and Wine, a more concrete answer to the pop-up hub they've had down at Queensbridge Square in the past. When they call it a house, they mean that very literally — the CBD space will be styled to feel like a home, featuring a dining room (the main event space), a lounge room (the bar) and garden in the laneway. Deviating slightly from your average house, it will also feature a gallery of illustrations by Anna Vu (from Good Food Crap Drawing) of some of the city's favourite MFWF dishes from the last 25 years. The lounge room bar will be open every day of the festival and feature a curated list of artisan Victorian wines, while the dining room will play host to a number of special events. Spend opening night (Friday, March 31) at an Italian disco and dining party and closing night (Sunday, April 9) at the Burger Block Party, which will bring together Australia's best burger-makers — think Marys from Sydney, Short Order Burger Company from Perth, and Rockwell & Sons and Beatbox Kitchen from Melbourne. There's also a whole host of exciting events happening outside the House. This year MFWF will coincide with the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, which are being hosted by Melbourne for the very first time. They've managed to nab some of the world's best chefs to run some masterclasses at the festival — which is a pretty big deal. Among them will be classes from sensory chef Grant Achatz from Chicago restaurant Alinea (ranked #15), Jorge Vallego from Mexico City's Quintonil (ranked #12) and Australia's David Thompson, who runs Bangkok's Nahm (ranked #37) and is set to open Long Chim in Melbourne next year. On Friday, March 31 the Bank of Melbourne is hosting the annual world's longest lunch on Melbourne's iconic Lygon Street. 1600 diners will sit along a 580-metre tables to enjoy an autumnal Italian menu from Antonio Carluccio. Unfortunately it's already sold out, but if you still want to enjoy a long lunch and don't mind spending it in a vineyard or along a riverbank, there are another 20 happening in regional Victoria. On Saturday, April 8, get armed with a myki and take tram route 72, which will become Melbourne's answer to Burgundy's Route Nationale 74 for the day. It will take you on a tram-crawl of three of the southeast's best wine bars: Milton in Malvern, Toorak Cellars in Armadale and The Alps in Prahran. On Friday, April 7, they're also hosting a culinary tour of the Melbourne General Cemetery. With many of Melbourne's best chefs and wine makers and merchants buried here, chef Allan Koh — from Springvale Botanical Cemetery's cafe-flower shop hybrid Cafe Vita et Flores — will recreate the deceased's signature dishes for guests to sample at notable grave sites. The festival will also host usual favourites like their Crawl 'n' Bite food tours, lunch specials, wine tastings and masterclasses. You can check out — and buy tickets for — the full program here. The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will run from March 31 to April 9, 2017. For more information, visit melbournefoodandwine.com.au.
The ethics of food will be in frame as part of a brand new exhibition at the Shepparton Art Museum. Running from February until late May, Cornucopia brings together the work of more than a dozen established and emerging artists from around Australia and the world. Spanning a variety of different mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, print, video and installation, it will force visitors to ponder the myriad questions relating to the production, distribution and consumption of food. The exhibition will examine these issues on both a local and global scale. Drawing their inspirations from the culinary traditions of rural Victoria, local artist collective the Hotham Street Ladies will create a large-scale replica of an old lady's living room made predominately from buttercream and royal icing. Other pieces will include Gabrielle de Vietri's Dumpster Dived Diner — a photographic work depicting a banquet made entirely of food fished out of rubbish bins — and Sam Taylor-Johnson's time lapse video A Little Death, which depicts the rapid decay of a dead rabbit. Image: Kawita Vatanajyankur, The Squeezers [still].
The Feminist Writers Festival was created in 2016 and will return this May, with a bumper lineup that will take over venues in both Melbourne and Geelong. A space to promote and support female-identifying writers within the Australian writing sphere, FWF will again this year unfurl a program that provides critical engagement and furthers teaching and learning for all those who consider themselves feminist writers or readers — or just feminists in general. The program (running from May 25–27 in Melbourne and May 26 in Geelong) includes, on opening night, a gala surrounding the legacy of feminist texts. There's also a forum on writing about violence against women in the public eye, workshops to aid in finding a feminist voice, and discussions with prominent female activists. Artists such as Jax Jacki Brown, Tasneem Chopra, Clementine Ford and Tara Moss will take to the stage along with many others. Check out the website for the incredible array of feminist writers, editors and activists that attendees will be lucky enough to hear from. Head along to learn, engage, ask questions or just listen — you can buy tickets to individual sessions, a full day, or the whole weekend.
There are no shortcuts to cooking the perfect Texas barbecue, so when approached to launch San Antone by Bludso's BBQ at Crown Melbourne late last year, Kevin Bludso had one condition: it had to be done right. The original Bludso's BBQ is located on Long Beach Boulevard in south central Los Angeles. It might seem like a strange place to go for authentic Texas barbecue, but Bludso's Compton dive — where ribs are served to-go in styrofoam take-out containers — is the only barbecue restaurant to be named by LA Times Pulitzer Prize-winning food journalist Jonathan Gold in his essential restaurants list each year. It's also perhaps the only restaurant to have its brisket likened to a Monet painting by the critic. So how did LA-born and bred Kevin Bludso come to be one of the best Texas barbecuers in the US? As he explains it, it's all about his childhood. "Back in the day, people in LA had migrated from everywhere," Bludso says. "You had Texans plus Mexicans in south central LA; you had Texas barbecue, you had Memphis barbecue, you had Kansas City barbecue." Then, as a nine-year-old boy, Bludso found himself shipped off for the summer to spend time with his grandmother, Willie May Fields, in Corsicana, Texas. "She had this semi-legal, semi-illegal smokehouse — a juke joint, halfway house — where she used to sell barbecue," he says. "And she had a small little room right off the highway, and she used to sell there on weekends." Corsicana was where he earned his chops. And while he "hated it" — working in the smokehouse in almost 50 degree heat, prepping the meat, cleaning greens — the ritual (or the rewards) of the work must have resonated with him. Bludso still uses his late grandmother's smoker today. If barbecue is in the blood in Texas, then the brisket is its heart and soul. It's prepared simply — a dry rub of salt and pepper, then cooked over wood. "Slow and low like a '64 Impala," says Bludso. It's also regional. Memphis barbecue is particularly famous for its use of sauces, and a lot of places in Tennessee don't use wood. It all depends on what's accessible at the time and in the region. Trying, then, to recreate authentic Texas barbecue in a foreign country is no easy feat. But we asked Kevin Bludso for a few tips on doing Texas barbecue in Melbourne. Here's what he divulged. STEP ONE: SELECTING THE WOOD There's a special reverence reserved for pitmasters. Working with wood is difficult, and it's their craft to find that perfect piece that will burn slowly and flavour the meat accordingly. "We use pecan, red oak and apple in the States," says Bludso. "We use apple here, but all the woods were totally different." That's where Noah Galuten comes in. Galuten, a former food writer and Bludso apprentice, is now a pitmaster in his own right. Trying to find the right wood was a long process, Galuten says. "First we were trying out bull-oak — which was the closest oak [to what we use in LA] we could find — but it was burning too bitter. Eventually, we ended up trying ironbark, which turned out pretty well." The issue with most Australian woods is that they burn too quickly and too hot. This might be good if you're hoping to throw a shrimp on the barbie — but in a smoker it catches and gives what Galuten calls a "bitter smoke". At San Antone, the ironbark is rounded out with Australian pecan and apple wood. The result is intoxicating. STEP TWO: CHOOSING THE BRISKET Finding a good brisket has been another challenge Bludso has faced in his Melbourne venture. The brisket — a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest — is essentially made up of two muscles: the flat (the leaner, flatter portion) and the point (the thicker section on the side of the cut). It's important that the cut has the right amount of fat on it too, and Bludso has had to work with a specialist butcher to meet his exact specifications and get the cuts just right. "We don't want no healthy briskets," says Bludso. "We want all our cows with high blood pressure and cholesterol." With fat comes flavour and, according to Bludso, you want at least an inch of fat if possible — especially on the point. On the underside, a little marbling is also important. STEP THREE: KNOWING WHEN IT'S DONE The brisket goes fat-side up into the smoker for anywhere between 12 to 15 hours. But knowing when it's done isn't a science — it's art. "You just know it by feel," says Bludso. "As time goes on you just know by picking it up, how it feels in the hand, poking it. You just know when it's done." Of course, Bludso 'just knows' because he's well practiced in the art of smoking. But as long as the smoker can maintain a consistent temperature — around 115 to 120 degrees celsius — there's no real reason to fuss over it. The fat cap protects the brisket from burning and maintains the moisture in the meat. Once off the smoker, the brisket gets wrapped in butcher's paper to rest before serving. But is it authentic? "Of course, you can't get it exactly as it is [in LA] because it's different, you know?" Bludso says. "I mean, we got holes in the wall where we can get some of our stuff from [in LA] that we just can't get out here. But — like I said — I really feel we got as close to American as our products and locations [allowed us]." If you've got access to a smoker, give this Texas barbecue thing a go. And if you don't, well, you know you can get the real thing at San Antone by Bludso's BBQ. The pit is even modelled on the smoker Bludso grew up cooking with, as used by his granny Willie May Fields.
A few months ago, Federation Square's Skyline Terrace was a winter wonderland filled with pop-up igloos and an ice-skating rink. But come January 3, the openair space above Flinders Street Station's eastern railway tracks will be whacking on the sunscreen and shades, and transforming into a warm-weather paradise for the debut of Summertime Social. Sticking around until early April 2020, the huge al fresco summer playground will take over the rooftop space with whole swag of sun-soaked fun. For those after a break from their own backyard, Summertime Social's grassy communal lawn is the place to be. It'll host a stack of free lawn games, including giant Jenga, though it's also your go-to for picnics and sunny chill sessions, as you make the most of the pop-up's food and drink offering. On Sundays, punters can duke it out for prizes and glory at the lawn's weekly giant games battle, while Fridays and Saturdays promise a lineup of sunset DJs spinning from 5–10pm. More games, from bocce to shuffleboard, will be going down in the games lane. These ones you'll need to book when you're there and are $10 for a 20-minute session. For a more private summer do, nab your crew one of the comfy huts or converted caravans. The huts can be booked for up to 20 people, while the boho-style caravans have space for 10, customised with your choice of picnic eats, boozy ice cream, beer-filled eskies and board games. Pop-up bars throughout Summertime Social will be serving up tap cocktails, booze-infused slushies (including mango daiquiris and margaritas), beer, wine, spirits and even stocked mini-eskies. Meanwhile, a weekday happy hour means $6 Furphy, cocktails, rosé and prosecco from 4–6pm. As for the food, you'll be able to settle in with woodfired pizzas; Dirty Birdie's fried chicken, salad bowls and burgers; and boozy frozen treats from a pop-up ice cream cart. If you fancy making a day of it, a range of picnic baskets are also up for grabs, including the two-person Classic Basket, loaded with cheeses, party pies, chicken tenders and potato salad. On Saturdays, you can enjoy Summertime Social's bottomless brunch, offering 90 minutes of free-flowing beer, prosecco, mimosas and tap cocktails and your choice of brunch dish for $49. To eat, you can choose from a PBJ ice cream sanga, a BLT, a veggie burger or calzone. Find Summertime Social at Federation Square's Skyline Terrace. It's open from 11am–10pm Monday–Sunday.
If you live in the inner city, next time rubbish collection day rolls around, you could be wheeling out three bins to the kerb — and one of them could be filled with food waste. The City of Melbourne announced today that it's considering trialling compost bins in a bid to reduce the amount of local waste sent to landfill. While the trial still needs to be voted on at a council meeting next Tuesday, April 16, if it goes ahead it will see new bins rolled out to 700 Kensington homes before the end of the year. The bins could be filled with garden and food waste and would be collected once a week. At the moment, food scraps make up 50 percent of the council's household waste, with an estimated 12,000 tonnes of the stuff heading to landfill between 2016–17. So, if the trial is successful and rolled out to all council residencies, it could see the amount of waste sent to landfill halved. https://twitter.com/cityofmelbourne/status/1116505044772196352 Th council hasn't announced how it'll use the food waste just yet, but similar trials in the city have seen the scraps processed and transformed into compost for use in Victorian agricultural and horticultural projects. The food waste bins are part of the council's plan to be zero waste by 2030, which is outlined in its broader Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy. Other measures it's looking to implement this year include shared waste hubs for businesses in the city and the removal of some commercial bins, freeing up laneways and allowing for the launch of community events and businesses in them instead. The City of Melbourne's announcement follows similar trials in City of Darebin and Perth in 2017 and a more recent trial by the Moreland City Council. The City of Sydney will also be trialling food waste collection later this year. Glen Eira and Hume councils already allow for food scraps to be places in their green waste bins. Food waste is not just an issue for Australians, either, with OzHarvest reporting that around 1.3billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted around the world each year. The food waste trial will be voted on at a City of Melbourne council meeting next Tuesday. If successful, the food waste bins will be rolled out to 700 residents in Kensington later this year.
Treat yo'self to something sweet, help save one of Australia's most beloved animals: that's what's on the menu right now thanks to Lindt. The brand has just launched a limited-edition item that not only looks adorable, but also assists a great cause — with its new koala-shaped chocolates raising funds for the Australian Koala Foundation. Everyone knows Lindt's gold Easter bunnies, so consider this the suitably silver and thoroughly Aussie version, all to support the AKF's work to ensure the Aussie marsupial's survival. Beneath that shimmering foil and its cute red ribbon with a heart-shaped pendant, the 100-gram chocolate is shaped like a koala, obviously. It's hollow inside, but you'll taste notes of both caramel and honey within the milk chocolate itself. For each koala purchased — with the new choccies only available via Lindt's retail stores and its website — the brand is donating $1 to the AKF. And, for every dollar that Lindt donates, AKF is matching it. Those funds are specifically earmarked for the foundation's 'Koala Kiss Project', which is all about finding where the species' fragmented habitat comes close to joining up, then regenerating the landscape to create a koala conservation corridor — with the first stage of the project focusing on developing software and collaborating with scientists to plot out all those 'kiss points' over a 1.5-million-square-kilometres patch between Cairns and Melbourne. "The Lindt koala is more than just chocolate. We want our Lindt koala to raise awareness and educate the community of the important role the Australian Koala Foundation plays in the long-term survival of our beloved native animal," said Lindt Australia CEO Michael Schai. "If we achieve contiguous habitat across the entire stretch of the koala range, then all creatures great and small could traverse through the bush unthreatened. With over 30 years of research behind the Koala Habitat Map, AKF's next grand vision could redirect the fate of the koala," added Deborah Tabart OAM, Chair of Australian Koala Foundation. "Lindt's support will help kickstart those efforts, with an ultimate vision to save the koala with 'kisses' through chocolate." Lindt's chocolate koalas are available to purchase for $6.25 at Lindt stores and via the Lindt website for a limited time.
For those who like their comedy tinged with a little melancholy, Michael Workman is the stand-up for you. Over the past couple of years, the West Australian comic's strange and occasionally bleak (but always entertaining) sets have been amongst the best things on offer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His latest routine is titled Nothing You Do Means Anything, and is billed as "manic", "frightening" and "the most iconoclastic show" of his career. In other words, don't expect his outlook to have gotten any sunnier. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll question your place in a cold, unfeeling world. Sounds like a fun night out, right?
If you don't mind waiting 97 minutes for a really cute little animation at closing credits, then check out Filth. If waiting annoys you, then give this one a miss. If you must see it, do yourself a favour and read the book first. That might help. Adapted from the acclaimed novel by iconic author Irvine Welsh, Filth falls short of even the most casual of expectations. Directed by Jon S. Baird from his own screenplay, Filth stars James McAvoy with a supporting cast including Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Imogen Poots and Eddie Marsan. McAvoy is Bruce Robertson. He's a tormented, bigoted cop who snorts, smashes and sleazes his way through the festive period. What he really wants for Christmas is a promotion and he'll do whatever he needs to get it — screwing wives, exposing secrets and trampling self-esteems is all in a day's work. The problem is, well, just about everything. Take Bruce. There's no descent into despair, no spiral out of control, no ride for us to belt up for and settle in. When we meet him he's an asshole, and he stays an asshole, with a few tears and moments on stairs with understanding colleagues thrown in. I laughed twice, once about a boat and once because the c-word was very well-placed. The characters are half-baked and predictable — when the next line is in your head before its spoken then something has gone very wrong. Any aspect of Bruce's personality or past we're even vaguely interested in gets resolved in a lazy tell-all monologue revealing just what we had figured out 80 minutes and two buckets of popcorn ago. And this is no Trainspotting situation; the violence is lame and without context, the sex is nothing to hang your hat on, the madness is stereotyped and disjointed and there's next to no opportunity for us to even begin to understand any of the two-dimensional characters or why they do all the annoying things they do. Except for the little piggy, right at the end, who is not annoying, and is completely adorable. Filth gets one small point for the smashing soundtrack and the animation and McAvoy's beard, which is very neat and coped well with all the jaw clenching. https://youtube.com/watch?v=tymWDB7gtK4
Crossing acclaimed restaurants off your dining bucket list is a little easier when they're within touching distance of the city. But one that some have yet to check off is Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel — a lauded two-hatted restaurant situated in Dunkeld at the foothills of the Grampians National Park. However, scratch any plans you had to head west, as the Royal Mail Hotel is coming to town to host a special winter dining series at the Rippon Lea Estate. Transforming its grand ballroom into an intimate fine-dining destination across four July and two August dates, Executive Chef Robin Wickens is bringing all his garden-to-plate ideas to the table for this three-hour experience. Featuring produce harvested directly from the Royal Mail Hotel's abundant organic kitchen garden, each multi-course menu will honour the richness of the Grampians' winter cuisine. Think slow-grown root vegetables, fragrant brassicas, cool-climate citrus and bitter herbs. Prepared with a minimalist approach, Wickens and his team let the ingredients speak for themselves. Not to be overlooked — it's one of Victoria's finest estates after all — guests will also receive a Rippon Lea-inspired cocktail or mocktail on arrival, with curated beverage pairings available. "This is about bringing the essence of what makes Royal Mail Hotel special — our connection to place, season and exceptional produce — to Melbourne diners who might never make the journey to Dunkeld," says Wickens. Images: Emily Weaving / Kristoffer Paulsen.
"I’m preoccupied of late with the possibilities of shrinking," Phillip Adams says of his latest work. Thumb is a cross-disciplinary performance piece that stretches the limits of dance, theatre and visual art. Though this artistic director has achieved significant success at home and abroad over the past 25 years, his company are calling this Adams’ first solo work. Drawing on classic shrink-themed cinema like Fantastic Voyage, as well as strong elements of participatory theatre (with part of the performance offering optional hypnosis) Thumb interrogates its audience's psychology of scale by toying with space and perspective. These genre-bending ambitions, together with the opportunity to see Adams in action, makes Thumb a promising piece not just for fans of contemporary dance but lovers of art of all shapes – and sizes.
One of North Fitzroy's most legit barbecue houses, Bluebonnet Barbecue, is taking their show on the road after launching their very own food truck. The truck, a 1970s C1300 named 'Mabel' by previous owners, was salvaged by Bluebonnet owner Chris Terlikar after years of neglect in an open paddock. Mabel has gone through many reincarnations, most recently acting as a delivery vehicle for Princess Laundries. Now, hand-painted with barbecue mantras, the old girl is back in action and ready to serve up some damn tasty barbecue plates and sides. Mabel will tow one of Terlikar's hand-built smokers, turning out a menu that will focus, not surprisingly, on barbecued meat plates — think black Angus brisket, oak smoked chicken and Berkshire pulled pork. And since you can't have barbecue without the requisite sides, they're serving up some Bluebonnet classic like their apple and kohlrabi slaw with a poppy seed vinaigrette and their russet potato salad with blackened jalapeno crème fraiche. If you can't get enough of the house-made barbecue sauces, they'll also be available to purchase by the bottle (or two) at the truck. For Mabel's big unveiling on Saturday April 1, at Melbourne's permanent food truck park Welcome to Thornbury, the team gave away fifty free barbecue plates. If you're now kicking yourself because you missed it, the truck will all around town this month, including back at Welcome to Thornbury this Sunday, April 9, at the Four Pillars cellar door April 7-9 and the Boogie Festival April 14-17. Unfortunately, the freebies were a one-time only event, but this barbecue is certainly worth paying for.
The Victorian Government's designs for an elevated rail on the Cranbourne/Pakenham train line have brought plenty of controversy; however, once the $1.6 billion Skyrail project is completed, it looks like they'll also bring a hefty increase of open spaces to Melbourne's south east. Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan yesterday revealed plans to use the area freed up by the line's elevation to create "11 MCGs worth of new open space." Included in the proposal is a 17-kilometre walking and cycling track running from Caulfield to Eastlink, as well as multi-purpose sports courts, rock climbing walls, skating facilities, parks and play areas. Clayton and Noble Park will also each score a fenced dog park, while an extra 4000 trees are set to be planted in the area as well. The proposed plans come as the government prepares to remove nine level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong. "By removing the most dangerous and congested level crossings we are making our communities safer," the minister said. "And, by providing more open space we're making them a better place to live." The government says the plans are the result of extensive consultation from a Community Open Space Expert Panel, which was chaired by Director and Chief Executive at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Tim Entwisle.
Pond want to give you a giant tortoise, Pitchfork have the hots for Jagwar Ma, and Cheyenne Tozzi has the voice of a chain-smoking angel. Here are five new tracks to put on high rotation this weekend. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qE9Dz0pl5mk 1. 'GIANT TORTOISE' — POND Pond just dropped this thrasher at lunchtime today, meaning that if you go here and download it for free you'll be one of the first (thousand) people in the world to get a taste of Hobo Rocket, the follow-up album to last year's wildly successful Beard, Wives, Denim. Crank up your speakers first. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qFLIU0Km3So 2. 'REACH YOU' — VAN HOORN When she's not doing Vogue covers or cavorting around Los Angeles with Paris Hilton, the Sutherland Shire's Cheyenne Tozzi sings in a band called Van Hoorn. And Van Hoorn is a pretty good band too, with plenty of dirty vocals and bluesy down-home guitars. They celebrated the launch of their EP last night at Bondi's Canteen. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1vU6a7Haw78 3. 'THE THROW' — JAGWAR MA The newest members of the Future Classic family, Jagwar Ma, have their Pitchfork-approved psychedelic dance track 'The Throw' visualised in this buoyant, neon-lit video. You can purchase the song and its 6:54 extended edition here. 4. 'CRANK' — JAYSWAYS When I was 16 I was still pretending not to like Good Charlotte, and here is this kid from Sydney making some of the best electronic music around right now. It would probably make you angry at him if he wasn't giving it away for free. https://youtube.com/watch?v=LRBCoXw4RDQ 5. 'IN A DREAM' — HIGH HIGHS Brooklyn-via-Sydney boys High Highs finally released their debut album Open Season last Friday, and celebrated with their first proper Australian show at the Oxford Art Factory last night. Here is the latest single from that record, a folksy and lyrical yet grounded combination of honeyed harmonies and subtly arranged synths.
Could this be the most missed-the-mark themed eatery yet? East London's latest pop-up might have taken things a little too far down the provocatory rabbit hole. For £50 a head (around AU$80), punters can make a reservation at a new temporary eatery called Death Row Dinners — a 'high security restaurant' with a five-course menu inspired by the last meals of death row inmates. According to the website, "for a short time only in beautiful Hoxton you can enjoy the idea of the last meal, without the nasty execution bit." DEATH ROW DINNERS IS COMING TO TOWN. The dates for your sentence have been confirmed and your meal tickets are now on sale. — Death Row Dinners (@DeathRowDinners) September 4, 2014 Capitalising on the apparently "age-old question" — "What would your last meal be?" — Death Row Dinners works like this, according to the website: "On the night of your incarceration, you will join 80 fellow inmates and experience a night behind the bars of one of London’s toughest high security restaurants where our prison chefs serve up a five-course feast of their culinary twists on some of death rows most interesting and popular last dinners. You don't need to know anymore than that really, but prepare to be charged, sentenced, searched and frisked." Because nothing says bon appetit like cheerfully chowing down on someone's final request before they're killed by the state. The website featured real photos (before they were taken down) of inmates with their last menus around their necks. Reactions were pretty angry across the board, ranging from pure anger to bluff-calling. Publications like Vice are calling it "an elaborate ruse set up by art students," while Twitter has inevitably erupted. @DeathRowDinners using pictures of people who were executed with "menus" round their necks, how on earth did you think that was okay?! — Primrose Prints (@PrimrosePrints) September 16, 2014 Hi @DeathRowDinners I want the full "death row" experience but without any of the trials, imprisonment, death or indignity. Can you do that? — linkshund (@linkshund) September 16, 2014 But some thought the idea 'genius' and chose novelty over thematic implications. Am I a bad person because I actually love the idea of #deathrowdinners ? Only in East London. #EC1forever — Alex (@girlfridayx) September 16, 2014 When you move past the eery factor, it's sort of genius. I would absolutely go there. #deathrowdinners #njom-njom pic.twitter.com/O36uBx5W8z — Cubcake (@iBearo) September 16, 2014 After sufficient cons (heh) outweighed the pros the team had no choice but to put the whole thing on pause and formally apologise. This statement was issued on the Death Row Dinners website: "We're shocked and saddened by the response to Death Row Dinners and are genuinely very sorry for any offence caused. The pop up is intended to explore the concept of last meals; anyone who has ever been to a dinner party has probably had this conversation – what would they love their last meal to be." After such a unanimously opposed reaction to the idea, Death Row Dinners are considering their next steps; promising to update the angry mob with their decision. Via Vice and Buzzfeed. Top image: British artist James Reynolds recreated Death Row meals in 2010.
Museum lovers, we know you miss visiting your favourite galleries and taking in all the beautiful art the world has to offer, so we have some good news for you: you can now join The Museum of Modern Art's top curators every Thursday (or Friday, Down Under) to explore the famed museum's exhibitions. Different gallery tours will be uploaded to the museum's website every week, ranging from film exhibitions to deep dives into the work of some of America's most iconic artists, including Great Depression photographer Dorothea Lange and sculptor Donald Judd. If you prefer to get a bit more hands-on with your art, the gallery is also offering a heap of free online courses, covering everything from postwar abstract painting to fashion and photography. Top image: MoMA by Gorup de Besanez for WikiCommons
Normally a fire that burns out a warehouse doesn't exactly spell good fortune, but for the creators of new events space The Third Day things turned out pretty well. Originally a costume warehouse in the 1920s, the space in North Melbourne was struck by a fire seven years ago and has laid dormant ever since — that is, until about a year ago, when The Third Day team took ownership and started work. Venue manager Rob Anthony says it's been a work in progress since then, at times slow thanks to the council, but is gaining momentum now in the new year. "We've had the venue for a year, and feel like we've been sitting on it since then and nobody knows," he says. "There's a big social media roll-out happening now and we're looking at lots of events too." The venue's first party was on Boxing Day last year, and since then they've played host to a number of other parties, mostly house music-centric and with the distinctive flavour of the Berlin club scene. "Being in Melbourne is a bit like the Berlin way too," says Rob. "You've got to seek out your parties. It might not look like much from outside, but inside it's huge — people are saying they've never seen anything like it here." The warehouse block is large, and the venue sprawling: think more openair art bar than cramped club, with space enough to expand themselves — and plans to do so soon. "Our plan in the future is to open five or six nights a week with food offerings too, and perhaps a couple of different music options and sounds. For now, we'll just do these events until we get into the groove of things. But we've got a little kitchen next to the bar and plan on moving a guy who does woodfire pizzas in by next summer." After a year ofbuild-upp, The Third Day seems to be easily in the swing of summer parties; keep an eye on their social media pages as it seems like there are hotter things still to come (no more fires though). Find The Third Day at 290 Macaulay Road, North Melbourne and www.thethirdday.com.au. Check their Facebook page for events.
If you're looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and reconnect with nature, then it's time to pack the car, cruise through Anglesea and Lorne and head to the Otways. Not only does the National Park have rugged coastland, beaches, rainforest and mountains, but it's also home to Otway Fly Treetop Adventures where you can walk in the treetops, climb to the canopy and zip through lush greenery. Located just 20 minutes from the Great Ocean Road, the adventure park features a stunning 600-metre treetop walk ($25). The elevated track is 25 metres from the ground (acrophobics beware), putting you right among the branches so you can observe the flora and fauna more closely. There's also a cantilevered lookout above Young's Creek and, for those wanting to scale to new heights, the 45-metre tall Spiral Tower provides unparalleled views. For those seeking thrills, Otway Treetops Fly Adventures has a forest zipline tour ($120), where you'll be flying through the trees at 30 metres above the forest floor. The guided tour lasts about 2.5 hours and you'll learn all about the forest's history. Your ticket also includes access to the Treetop Walk. Otway Fly Treetop Adventures is open from 10am–5pm every Thursday–Monday, with last entry at 3.30pm. Prices range from $20–120.
You've binged your way through HBO's excellent Chernobyl mini-series. If you're a Melburnian, or you've taken a trip to the Victorian city recently, you may have wandered through a recreation of the exclusion zone around the exploded nuclear reactor as well. Soon, you also might be able to sip shots of vodka from the region — made from grain from the Ukrainian area that has been off limits for more than three decades. The tipple in question is called Atomik Vodka. Brewed by a team of scientists from the UK and Ukraine, it's part of a three-year research project investigating the transfer of radioactivity from the soil to crops grown in the closed-off spot, as well as in the Narodychi District within the Zone of Obligatory Resettlement. (People still live in the latter location, but the land isn't officially allowed to be used for agriculture.) While the grain itself showed some signs, all traces of Chernobyl-derived radioactivity was lost in the distilling process, which inherently reduces impurities — leaving the vodka with the same level of natural radiation that you'd find in any other spirit. The vodka also uses local mineral water, sourced from a deep aquifer below the town of Chernobyl, around 10 kilometres south of the nuclear power station. It's been found to possess chemistry similar to water from limestone aquifers, like the one in the Champagne region of France, and was used to dilute the distilled alcohol to 40 percent. At present, only one bottle of the vodka exists. And, if you're curious about giving it a taste, it's not for sale. But the team behind Atomik hope that will change, and, that after clearing a few legal hurdles, they'll be able to begin a small-scale experimental run of the grain spirit by the end of this year. If they're successful in their efforts, they plan to donate 75 percent of Atomik Vodka's profits back to the affected Ukrainian community. It's also hoped that the research project will assist residents around the exclusion zone by showing that the land is now safe to be used for agriculture, opening up further investment and economic benefits. For more information, visit the Atomik Vodka website. Via the University of Portsmouth.
Every year, Australia's finest horse riders converge on stunning Werribee Park for three days. And you're invited to watch them in action. The competition will start on Friday, June 6 with dressage, which carries into Saturday. The following day, the riders will let loose on a cross-country course around the property's beautiful grounds. Then, come Monday, it's show-jumping time. Whoever performs best across all three events will be announced champion and take home some serious prize money. In between watching, head to the Trade Village to wander among horsey-related stallholders. You'll come across apparel (for animals and people) by Valley Horsewear, saddles by Bates, equestrian gear by Castlefin and loads more. Plus, on Sunday evening, catch the indoor speed jumping competition, set to music. Entry on Friday is free; tickets range from $12.50–$110 Saturday–Monday. You can book ahead online.
While it doesn't always feel like it, Melbourne is closing in on the home-stretch of this latest lockdown. A handful of restrictions were eased from 11.59pm on Sunday, October 18 and Premier Daniel Andrews has also confirmed the state's on track to November 1. But just in case you were thinking there'd be some wiggle room during step two, the Victorian Government is cracking down hard on rule-breakers and bumping up the penalties for any illegal gatherings. Break the rules now and you could cop a hefty fine of almost $5000. The Premier has warned that the penalties for flouting current restrictions on public and private gatherings will now be increased to match the fines given for travelling into regional Victoria without a valid reason: $4957, to be exact. The no-nos include having a picnic with more than ten people, or people from more than two households, and having anyone over to your house that isn't an intimate partner or in your 'single social bubble'. You can brush up on all the gathering rules over here. Victoria Police has also confirmed it'll maintain a strict approach in enforcing the rules. In a press conference, Chief Commissioner Shane Patton urged the public to help police by phoning in any suspected rule-breakers to the Police Assistance Line. And, ahead of the balmy picnic weather forecast for this weekend, he warned police would be stepping up its presence, keeping an eye on busy parks and even knocking on doors. "We will be out and we will be enforcing," he said in the Facebook video. "We'll be doing everything we can to make sure that people are adhering to these guidelines." If you are caught doing the wrong thing, it seems there'll be little chance of walking away with just a slap on the wrist, with the Chief Commissioner saying, "The use of discretion will be only in the most extreme circumstance and very rarely applied". While the penalty increase was announced on Sunday, September 27, Victoria Police today confirmed it's doled out over 67 fines to individuals for breaching the Chief Health Officer directions in the past 24 hours. They included penalty notices issued to six men gathered at a home in Greater Dandenong, with police tipped off after multiple cars registered to different addresses were seen in the driveway. 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. Updated October 20, 2020.
Keen for a beachside beverage and in the vicinity of the St Kilda foreshore? Don't go rushing to the sand with a drink in hand just yet. The City of Port Phillip has extended its existing temporary ban on boozing, which was initially put in place after a wild Christmas day party and will now last through until April 3. That means that coastal Easter shindigs will also need to be drink-free, as the council contemplates its next steps. A long-term ban has been under consideration since approximately 5000 people gathered at the popular spot on December 25, resulting in unruly behaviour through the afternoon and evening, 29 tonnes of rubbish and a clean-up bill of around $23,000. "This is about doing our best to balance safety with celebration," said Mayor Bernadene Voss following the Council meeting on February 7. "We heard, and sympathised, with some residents who told us they want the right to be able to drink responsibly on our beautiful St Kilda foreshore... but we also heard local traders, residents and emergency services personnel telling us that alcohol is a problem and is getting worse." The council will engage with the community to ascertain views on the effectiveness of the current trial ban, and whether it was encouraging or deterring use of the area. Possibly permitting well-managed events to supply alcohol on Christmas Day, rather than visitors bringing their own, will also be explored. Restrictions were initially planned to run over the New Year's Eve period, were first extended prior to Christmas and then subsequently increased to continue until February 15 following the unruly incident. The area affected spans from Marina Reserve to West Beach. Via The Age.
Ivan Sen has always gone it alone. In the world where we live, filmmakers have set decorators, editors, production managers, post-production technicians, concept artists, storyboard artists and legions of other scurrying assistants. Not Ivan Sen. He's an Australian filmmaker who does it all himself, and his outsider approach has so far taken him from his native rural New South Wales to places like Sundance, Cannes and Berlin film festivals. This directive — hands-on, honest, thoughtful, singular filmmaking — now stretches into the guts of his latest film, an outback murder case, Mystery Road. It's a quiet, steady yet thrilling film, held together by Aaron Pedersen's staggering performance as a lone, Aboriginal detective. To talk about Ivan's films, you have to talk about equality. In Sen's film worlds (Toomelah, Beneath Clouds), as in this world, some people are more equal than others. When Julie Mason, an Indigenous girl, is found with her throat cut off Mystery Road near Massacre Creek, no one gives a shit — not the cops, not anyone. This is the crime genre plot-point that opens up to a chasm of inequality. Underneath the high skies and low plains of Mystery Road, something else surfaces — a frighteningly beautiful, dead-on look at a troubled country. THE START OF MYSTERY ROAD "It's been a bit of a journey, this film," says Ivan. "I first mentioned it to Aaron in 2006 in Kings Cross, around midnight. We were passing like ships in the night, and I said, 'brother, I got an idea for you'. And he said, 'alright'. Then five years later, I ring him up and say, 'here's this idea, here's the script, it's time to do it'. It's a story that's come from my own experiences, my own heart, from my family and their experiences. So everything you see in some way comes from reality. The whole thing about Jay Swan being this cop caught between two worlds is something that's very close to my heart, coming from a small town, growing up, not quite belonging to the Aboriginal part of town, and not quite belonging to the white part of town. That's what I've always been fascinated by: the turncoat, the black tracker, the black trooper, the Native American scout. The person who's got a foot in both worlds, walking along the edge." Mystery Road comes at the crest of a wave of Indigenous storytellers making movies for all audiences — films like Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires. "There are all kinds of young warriors trying to change the face of the industry, trying to tell our stories," says Aaron. "I've done a lot of mainstream material before on television. People used to always tell me, 'you play too many coppers!' Not now, because all those cops got me this job! Ivan wrote the role for me. It's something I'll never forget and a job I'll never get again." "I think [the murder storyline] is something that affects a lot of Indigenous families," says Ivan. "A distant cousin of mine was found underneath the roadway in very similar circumstances, a long time ago now. The killer has never been brought to justice. If you actually pursue reality in a film, that can make things more interesting and suspenseful than all this artificial and contrived conditioning." Adds Aaron, "This film is important to this country, the lessons of healing and understanding. It's about our lives. There are a lot of cold cases in this country, a lot of people left behind after murders." THE ONE-MAN BAND What's behind the all-encompassing role of director, writer, camera operator, editor and composer? "It's just easier to do it yourself," Ivan says. "I just started doing it a long time ago, back in the 1990s. And now technology's caught up and I can edit on the laptop, soundtrack on the plane, write in a cafe. For me, why should film production be the way Hollywood says it is? What right do they have to define all these things?" "Let's hope he doesn't learn how to act, because then there'll be no work for actors!" Aaron's having a go, but you suspect he might be right. "Ivan had all these hats that he'd been wearing [on set], but I'll keep saying 'till the day I die, if he was stressed out, you wouldn't have known. Incredible leader. I was so glad to be part of the project on this big scale — not just as a hired gun, but as someone who helped implement the operation. It was kind of like ceremony in a way. It was really beautiful, really personal. You don't usually have that relationship with a director. We became brothers." SEN GOES SCI-FI I've heard Ivan's next film is a science-fiction epic set in China, his new home. "Yeah, sci-fi," says Ivan. "Set in the future. Big action, romance. Commercial." At first it seems worlds away from the art-film vibe of Mystery Road. How do you cater for the largest possible audience without turning your film to shit? "Someone like Christopher Nolan is in massive demand," Ivan continues. "He puts his heart and soul into what he does, and really wants to give the audience something unique. There's not many other guys with the talent and heart trying to give the masses something special. Because it's all controlled by suits. Chris Nolan's not a suit, but he wears one. He gets the deals without losing any freedoms or destroy his personal approach." It's true — you see a big budget movie with heart and talent and intelligence (Robert Zemeckis's classic space movie, Contact, springs to mind), and you think, hey, that's what Hollywood could be for, that's what all those big budgets and beautiful faces could be doing all the time. They could have big ideas, too. "There's a big hole there, in the commercial arena, for quality," says Ivan. "There's so many shit films for big audiences. You go to the cinema and it's like, 'which crap movie do I have to pick?'" "I actually don't go to the movies very much 'cause of that," admits Aaron. "Too many people are spoon-fed their opinions in this world. That's another audience [than the one for Mystery Road]." Ultimately, for Ivan, leaping into sci-fi just makes sense to him as a filmmaker. "I don't want to make the same film over and over. It's boring. I'm a lover of cinema. Watching cinema gave me emotions that I'd never felt before in my whole eight-year-old life. I'd never felt that connection before." Mystery Road carries this sensibility — beyond being a genre piece, is cuts to the emotional heart of a country that's been torn by dysfunction for too long. At a screening of the film in Sydney's inner west, Aaron spoke plainly, and passionately. "History did not start 225 years ago in this country ... This role is more than a job, it's a chance for me to show my ancestral trauma. This film is larger than this script: it's a cinematic campfire. Sit around it. Take something from it. Be smarter for it. Be a better nation for it."
