As the world ramps up for the latest edition of the world's largest sporting competition later this month, many of us are looking at our bank accounts and finding we're short a few bucks to afford the flights to Paris. Fret not — you can grab a small slice of the Olympic action right here in Melbourne, all for free, at Melbourne Quarter. Never one to miss an opportunity for celebration, the inner city precinct is bringing Parisian delights on Thursday, August 1 and Wednesday, August 7. Those delights start with an Olympic-inspired eclairs pop-up on August 1 from Glacé Desserts, where you can enjoy some creamy pastry treats in the flavours of raspberry, chocolate and caramel, matcha, coffee milk chocolate and passionfruit. There's also a special offering on August 7, with chocolate-covered strawberries available with any purchase at a retailer in the precinct, so hold onto those receipts. Throughout the week, there'll be live music and game highlights broadcast live on the big screens. Paris Olympic Popups will be taking place at Melbourne Quarter on Thursday, August 1 and Wednesday, August 7. Entry is free.
¡Viva el cine español! Australia's carnival of Spanish-language cinema is on the verge of adulthood and is celebrating the occasion in style. Commemorating its 17th birthday in 2014, the Spanish Film Festival will once again showcase the best of the Spanish and Latin American film industry, from twisting crime tales to slick ensemble love stories, heart-warming comedies and searing social dramas. This year's festivities will be bookended by two big favourites from Spain's prestigious Goya awards. Opening night features the sixties-set road-trip movie Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed, winner of six statues including Best Picture, Director and Actor. Two-a-half-weeks later, the macabre comic fantasy Witching and Bitching, featuring Best Supporting Actress Terele Pávez, will bring the festival to a close. Other highlights on the 30-film program include The Golden Cage, which won Best Cast at the Cannes Film Festival, and Scorpion in Love, a boxing drama in which Javier Bardem plays a neo-Nazi gang leader. (Not such a heartthrob now, is he ladies?) For the full Spanish Film Festival lineup, visit the festival website Image: Still from Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=xAPS2uPFNkY
It's a tale as old as time, again — but in an escape room-meets-scavenger hunt way. An interactive IRL game based on Beauty and the Beast will have fans running around the streets of Sydney in 2023. This new pastime hails from CluedUpp, which has already busted out CSI, Jack the Ripper, and witchcraft and wizarding-themed activities around Australia — plus Alice in Wonderland games, too. Here, the company wants you to be its guest to get sleuthing. Its Beauty and the Beast game involves roaming around outdoors on an adventure that takes its cues from the classic 18th-century fairy tale that's earned such a following, as combined with a whodunnit-style mystery. Beloved story? Tick. Inserting fans into said narrative? Tick again. Working in the ever-popular genre that is the whodunnit? Tick once more. Throw in the whole escape room and scavenger hunt elements, and it does sound like something that an algorithm would come up with — and a lot of fun. Hitting Melbourne on three Saturdays — July 15, August 12 and September 30 — this spin on Beauty and the Beast starts with the latter getting cursed again. Forget love — this time, there's challenges to complete, clues to crack and fairy tale characters for you and your mates to interrogate. Participants get involved in teams of up to six, roaming around outdoors with their phones to help. And yes, if you want to dress up to fit the theme, you can.
Since its founding in 1989, the story of Bangarra Dance Theatre has been the story of First Nations culture and tales leaping, spinning, swirling and twirling across the stage via some of the best dance works that Australia has ever produced. Sometimes, including in the films Spear and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, those stories and that unparalleled artistry has also swayed across the screen. Wherever Bangarra's talents have spread, the end results have always proven a must-see. In the organisation's 35-year history so far, however, it hasn't ever put together a show like Horizon before. Playing Arts Centre Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country from Wednesday, August 28–Saturday, September 7, this is the iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company's first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration, expanding its focus to include tales from across Oceania. Joining forces: Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, a veteran of Atamira Dance Company who is now the Chief Executive and Artistic Director at The New Zealand Dance Company; and Deborah Brown, a Helpmann Award-winning senior Bangarra dancer for 13 years with Torres Strait and Scottish heritage. In a production that takes its name to heart by pondering the space where the sky and sea meet, Patterson and Brown's The Light Inside pays tribute to the duo's respective countries while musing on what it means when we peer at the horizon looking for guidance and the way home. Beforehand, audiences are also treated to Sani Townson's Kulka, with an expanded form from its 2023 debut at Dance Clan opening Horizon. Images: Daniel Boud.
Back in 2018 for its 12th instalment, Opera Australia's popular Mazda Opera in the Bowl returns to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for a wonderful night of opera under the stars — and it's absolutely free. Featuring some of Australia's top vocal talent in soprano Natalie Aroyan, mezzo-soprano Sian Pendry, tenor Virgilio Marino and baritone Luke Gabbedy, Opera in the Bowl will have you whistling along to famous tunes you didn't even know you knew. Gather the crew (and your trusty picnic basket) and settle in for a night of some of opera's most famous and most beautiful moments. But don't worry if you don't actually own a picnic basket — a whole heap of the city's best food trucks will be there cooking up a storm and the garden bar will be slinging all sorts of cusp-of-summer drinks. As for the soundtrack, a parade of famous arias, duets and overtures is sure to delight all music fans, whether you are an opera aficionado or you don't know Bellini from a bellini. If nothing else, it's a perfect cheap date idea.
Short, smart and sharp as a tack, The Party flies in the face of one of modern-day cinema's worst instincts. When we say it's short, we mean it, with this hilarious social satire clocking in at just 71 minutes. As an argument in support of concise, compact filmmaking (and against protracted running times with pointless meandering and overdone special effects), the movie really couldn't be stronger. Who needs to spend two to three hours watching '80s nostalgia, giant robots or whatever other bloated spectacle keeps coming our way when you can laugh heartily and frequently through this brief, biting take on Britain's bourgeois? Of course, we're generalising. Not all lengthy blockbusters overstay their welcome, but few do exactly what they need to in the exact right amount of time like The Party. That said, the latest film from writer-director Sally Potter (Ginger & Rosa) doesn't just win over viewers with brevity and succinctness. Among its considerable charms, the movie also boasts scathing humour and a stellar lineup of talent. The fast-paced shenanigans start with Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) opening the door to her London home, staring directly at the camera and looking incredibly unhappy. Jump back to earlier in the evening, when she's just been appointed Shadow Minister for Health and is preparing to host friends to celebrate. Her husband Bill (Timothy Spall) seems to be getting into the mood with a few drinks, although he's rather maudlin given the occasion. Entering at their own leisure, the guests are a motley crew of emotions and moods. The snarky April (Patricia Clarkson) fights with her soon-to-be-ex Gottfried (Bruno Ganz); expectant couple Martha (Cherry Jones) and Jinny (Emily Mortimer) bicker over their approaches to motherhood; while banker Tom (Cillian Murphy) bides his time by doing cocaine in the bathroom — and trying to find somewhere to hide his gun. With The Party confining its characters to Janet's house and charting their actions almost in real time, things get heated rather quickly. Secrets are spilled, tempers seesaw, relationships threaten to unravel and acidic one-liners fly thick and fast – with a few earnest confessions thrown in for good measure. The specific surprises and revelations are best discovered by watching, but Potter and co-writer Walter Donohue (a story editor on much of the filmmaker's work) do more than just thrust seven people into close quarters and wait for them to erupt. As the conversation flows, the movie covers everything from class clashes to gender roles to political instability, in a manner that very much feels like a product of its post-Brexit timing. In what is perhaps a surprise for such a dialogue-heavy piece, the arguing and antics are shot in crisp black-and-white, with gorgeous roaming imagery that isn't afraid to get up close and personal. As a result, the movie sparkles not only in its comedy but in its visuals, which also helps overcome an obvious issue. Yes, The Party can sometimes resemble a play, albeit a particularly brisk and snappy one. Still, if Potter had plonked the same scenario and actors onto the stage, it'd still be an utter delight to watch. As for her cast, there are no weak links among the high-profile bunch — although Clarkson gets all of the best lines and Murphy will make you wish he flexed his comic chops much more often. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb4FF6lCqFw
Remember how good it felt to run around barefoot as a kid? The team at Sole Mechanics want to give you back that feeling by helping you reinstate natural movement, starting from the soles of the feet. Offering an extensive range of natural movement shoes (which basically feels like you're wearing nothing at all), the brand aims to help customers naturally increase lower limb strength, improve posture and increase efficiency and performance. You will have heard the phrase 'move it or lose it', but the talented bunch behind Sole Mechanics knows it isn't always that easy. That's why they stock a wide range of natural motion footwear to help your body get back on track.
Mirek Aldridge is one of a new breed of indie brewers: a ragtag bunch of beer nerds, home brew and craft enthusiasts whose love for beer has driven them toward turning pro. But brewing independently needn't mean recklessly. A vintage arcade machine sits in the corner. "I bought it from America, 10 years ago," says Aldridge, which was roughly around the same time he began home brewing. He'd bought the machine to one day go in his bar. "It actually came with a stack of quarters and a bible stashed inside of it, which was pretty weird." In the corner opposite, hidden behind a row of shiny chrome fermenters, is Aldridge's old 70L all-grain home brewing kit. All of the recipes being brewed at The Mill Brewery, Aldridge's first venture into commercial brewing, were captured initially on this 70L system. It's no match for the 600L system he's brewing on now and which dominates the rear third of the bar and brewery, but it's the perfect size to test out a new batch or to brew a limited one-off keg. "Because we're so small it makes it hard to lock in contracts," says Aldridge. "We're not asking for 100 kg of hops at a time, we're asking for maybe 5 kg. But in saying that, it opens up opportunities for us to go and talk to hop growers directly and actually go out to the hop farms and pick our own hops." The Mill will be running up to eight taps in total but upon opening with brews and food trucks over the weekend of March 25 and 26, Aldrige intends to keep things simple. Three taps pouring an American-styled pale ale, a black Indian pale ale and a vanilla porter will round out the offering in addition to another guest beer tap and a cider tap. Just as much attention has been poured over the wine list which features a bold selection of Victorian varietals, a pinot noir from New Zealand's North Canterbury, a Barossa GSM and Canberrian cool climate shiraz. The Mill, from the homemade red gum tables to the self-confessed obsession with hops and aromatics, has been a lifelong labour for Aldridge. The Mill is pet-friendly and will be serviced by a roster of food trucks on launching. Find The Mill Brewery at 40 Sackville St, Collingwood. For more information, head to their Facebook page.
Since 2017, the Melbourne-based National Gallery of Victoria has hosted the NGV Triennial art showcase every three years, with this summer's iteration from Sunday, December 3, 2023–Sunday, April 7, 2024 the third. Designed to provide a portrait of the world each time it is staged — art trends and breakthroughs; the artists making them; and the themes, ideas and events they're responding to — each NGV Triennial delivers a hefty program. This time, there's 75 works from 100-plus artists, complete with more than 25 world-premiere projects, all tying into the themes of magic, matter and memory. A big highlight: Boston Dynamics robot dogs, which are showing off their very good painting skills. This clearly isn't Black Mirror, with Polish-born Agnieszka Pilat training the robot dogs to make art, as NGV Triennial attendees can watch happen. They're creating a monolithic durational work, with Pilat exploring technology's power in modern life in the process. While attending NGV Triennial is free, you don't have to go inside the NGV International on St Kilda Road to see Yoko Ono's contribution. Drawing upon six decades making art, including her famed Instruction Pieces and major public art commissions, she has provided a large-scale text-based piece that displays on the building's façade. One of the joys of an exhibition like this is the sheer variety of works — although Paris haute couture house Maison Schiaparelli's involvement would be a standout anyway. Artistic Director Daniel Roseberry has picked items from recent collections to display, plus a range of gilded surrealist accessories and body adornment. And, as well as showing his penchant for pushing boundaries and pairing art and fashion, there's a celestial theme. Also immersive: Tokyo-based artist Azuma Makoto's room-sized homage to nature, specifically plants and their magic, beauty and life force. The artist has frozen Australian flowers and botanicals into acrylic blocks, then combined them with a multi-screen film about the life and death of blooms. Yes, you'll be thinking about nature while you take it in. Tracey Emin has contributed a series of works, including five-metre-high text-based neon light installation based on the British artist's own handwriting. From Paris-based and American-born sculptor Sheila Hicks, Nowhere to Go stacks her blue-hued bulbous sculptures against a wall. Or, there's David Shrigley's Really Good — a seven-metre-high thumbs-up. Elsewhere, the massive one-hundred-metre-long woven fish fence Mun-dirra was made over two years by ten artists and their apprentices from the Burarra language group Maningrida, Arnhem Land — while large-scale commission Megacities tasked ten street photographers to snap Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Delhi, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Seoul, Lagos, Tokyo and Mexico City in all their urban glory. Don't miss Hugh Hayden's The end installation, which recreates a primary-school classroom but gets apocalyptic with branches and dodo skeletons. The full list of featured artists also spans Petrit Halilaj, Betty Muffler, Hoda Afshar and Fernando Laposse, plus Flora Yukhnovich, Yee I-Lann, Joyce Ho, Shakuntala Kulkarni and SMACK — and more, obviously. Images: installation views of Azuma Makoto's work, designs by Maison Schiaparelli, Agnieszka Pilat's work Heterobota and Yoko Ono's work I Love You Earth, on display as part of NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne. Photos: Sean Fennessy.
Flight Facilities are mixing it up. Flying high from their Triple J House Party Tour, the Sydney-based duo will be performing their world-famous series of DJ mixtapes for the first time ever. The mixes, entitled Decades, will be performed over two nights. Friday will uncover the rhythmic prowess of 1972-1992, and Saturday will delve into 1992-2012. Given the band’s reputation for touring with flying goggles and aviator jackets, make sure you come dressed to impress. There are prizes for best costume each night, and the shows don't start 'til 11pm so you'll have the cover of darkness to hide your glitter on the way in. Mostly, just come prepared for some pretty vigorous dancing. If you’re craving an excellent night out, this is it.
Back in March 2020, Victoria implemented a State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move it has extended monthly since. So, while originally due to expire at midnight on Monday, April 13, the State of Emergency has been prolonged every time it has approached its end date. And, although it's now 2021, it has just been extended again. The state is currently working through its roadmap to ease out of lockdowns. That said, because things can change quickly where the coronavirus is concerned, the Victorian Government also recently implementing new restrictions in response to the most recent COVID-19 outbreak. Accordingly, extending the State of Emergency is hardly surprising news. It was prolonged from 11.59pm on Sunday, January 3, 2021, and now runs through until 11.59pm on Sunday, January 29, 2021 — although, of course, it could be continued again then. The State of Emergency declaration allows the state's authorised officers to "act to eliminate or reduce a serious risk to public health" as directed by Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton. That means restricting movement, preventing entry to premises and venues, and detaining people — measures that have been in place for almost a year now as the state responds to the coronavirus. Victoria had also been in a declared State of Disaster since the beginning of August, which gives police additional powers to ensure that Victorians are complying with public health directions — but that was allowed to lapse in November. Fines continue to be handed out to folks who breach the restrictions — with the state's on-the-spot financial penalties spanning up to $4659 for individuals if you test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms and are awaiting test results, but fail to isolate at home. People who repeatedly break the rules can also be sent to the Magistrates Court and fined up to $20,000. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Victoria and how to protect yourself, head to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website.
Melbourne is a city of cyclists. Sure, the bike paths in the CBD could use more work. Sure, tram tracks are basically the enemy of everyone on two wheels. But still, there's no better place to be on a bike. Except maybe Amsterdam. They're so good at it, they don't even have to wear helmets. Urban Bicycles is a store that gives you the best of both worlds — Dutch-made bikes sold in Melbourne's inner suburbs for cheaps. This weekend they're having a one-off warehouse sale where bikes from premier brands Lekker and Vanmoof will be discounted up to 50 percent. As well as helmets, saddles, lights and locks, there will be everything from leisurely single speeds to slick European wheels befitting a pro. Get down to 392 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne between 11am and 5pm on either Saturday or Sunday and barter your way into a slick Dutch ride.
Sure, Melbourne has a lot of cool things happening, pretty much all of the time. But White Night is something special. It's hard to find anything much cooler than an entire night of live music, movies, roving performers and pop-up art. It attracted huge audiences in its inaugural run last year, and the recently released 2014 program looks even better; a cultural playground from dusk 'til dawn. In a celebration of music, art, fashion, theatre and performance, White Night will feature a mix of free and ticketed entertainment, spread out over 12 hours. The events on offer are quite extensive so the program has been separated into regions defined by areas of the diverse cityscape for your convenience. The Lucky Dip region will feature a kaleidoscope of sideshow spectaculars, promising the thrills and delights of carnival culture all the way up central Swanston Street. Of particular note is A Vogue Idea, which sees Matthew Linde lead a group of more than 30 identically dressed models through some of Melbourne’s fanciest venues, in an exploration of how fashion informs human interaction and the tradition of opening night. Flinders Street Station and Fed Square will again be a focal point this year as they showcase projections, installations, photography and dance. The station will again be transformed into a stunning light display (Wonderland) and an extensive program list is available at ACMI and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia as well. Bourke Street Mall will feature the J+R&B Music Stage, dedicated to rhythm and blues that will be programmed by Julie O’Hara. And the Vortex region of Southbank Pedestrian Bridge will become an immersive cocoon of light — a dazzling installation in the centre of the river. The great thing about White Night last year that it had something for everyone. You don't have to be into dance or theatre or art to appreciate the fun. It's a night to celebrate the city's passions, yes, but it's also a chance for all Melbournians to explore their city in a way that is otherwise impossible, in the night that is like no other. White Night 2014 will be on February 22 from 7pm 'til 7am. Check the website to see the full program.
The Social Network isn't a rowing film, but the Henley Royal Regatta sequence in David Fincher's (The Killer) 2010 triumph quickly became one of cinema's most-famous oar-sweeping moments. Prestige, money, tradition, opulence, power, competition, determination: they all wash through the tightly shot segment, which gleams with the water of the River Thames, the sweat on the crew's faces and, just as importantly, with status. Definitely a rowing film, The Boys in the Boat paddles into the same world; however, a commentator's line mid-movie sums up the focus and angle of this old-fashioned underdog sports flick. "Old money versus no money at all" is how the usual big and rich names in the field and the University of Washington's junior varsity team are compared. George Clooney's (The Tender Bar) ninth feature as a director doesn't just spot the class-clash difference there — his entire picture wades into that gulf. Drawn from 2013 non-fiction novel The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown, reuniting Clooney with his The Midnight Sky screenwriter Mark L Smith in the process, The Boys in the Boat is about the UW's rowing efforts, rower Joe Rantz and coach Al Ulbrickson, too — plus an against-the-odds quest, bold choices, the struggles of the Great Depression, the reality of an Olympics held under the Nazi regime and the looming shadow of war. But thrumming at its heart like a coxswain is setting the pace is the mission to keep afloat one stroke at a time, and not merely in the pursuit of glory and medals. What rowing means to Rantz (Callum Turner, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore), the character at its centre, as well as to the classmates-turned-crewmates catching and extracting with him, is pure survival first and foremost. Rantz is the engineering student who lines his shoes with newspaper to cover the holes in their soles, has no reliable place to sleep and hasn't been a stranger to going hungry for years. He's had zero family to support him since he was 14, thanks to his remarried dad, and he'll no longer be at college if he can't come up with his tuition fees. If the details weren't all true, and if The Boys in the Boat wasn't so matter-of-fact about them — patient in its overall pacing, handsome in its imagery, and clear-eyed about the dire and desperate situation its protagonist is in when everything changes — then the movie's plot might seem to be a Hollywood confection. Indeed, Clooney's current jump behind the lens feels like a throwback thanks to its sincerity, and its understatement along with it. Finding emotion in the specifics of Rantz's life and feats isn't hard, so there's no forceful poking and jabbing needed. That existence-shifting turn comes via trials for UW's JV rowers, not out of affinity for or interest in the sport but because his similarly doing-it-rough pal Roger Morris (Sam Strike, American Outlaws) mentions that there'll be lodging and pay for whoever gets picked. Hundreds show up. Only eight will make it. The gratitude in their eyes is the antithesis of the entitlement spied when The Boys in the Boat enrols them in races against competitors from cashed-up schools, and as The Social Network's time in racing shells splashed around so successfully. Where Rantz's journey glides from there isn't difficult to guess, as seen in training montages, rising passion for his new endeavour, gaining more confidence about falling for childhood friend Joyce (Hadley Robinson, Anyone But You), butting heads with the stoic Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton, I'm a Virgo) and receiving words of wisdom from boatbuilder George Pocock (Peter Guinness, Jack Ryan). And yet, in a move that separates it from the clumsy breeziness of the other underdog sports flick based on real-life hitting silver screens of late, Next Goal Wins, it's always told with the utmost earnestness. The Boys in the Boat is solid, then — an apt state for a film about securing sure footing atop a substance that's anything but. Clooney's fellow key craftspeople, including cinematographer Martin Ruhe (who shot The Tender Bar and The Midnight Sky), editor Tanya M Swerling (returning from The Tender Bar as well) and composer Alexandre Desplat (also back from The Midnight Sky), make their pivotal contributions just as reliably. Scenes with oars in hand are a particular thrill, contrasting the exertion, resolve and grit to persist within the UW boat with the shimmering water and scenic surroundings. Peering at Turner and Edgerton, their characters pitched as opposites who aren't really, proves equally revealing in conveying why Rantz and the crew's toils — and Ulbrickson's tough love — is all about persevering no matter what, too. As a filmmaker, Clooney started out making movies that he'd also act in, albeit regularly leaving the leading parts to his co-stars. In his 2002 directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as in 2017's Suburbicon, 2021's The Tender Bar and now The Boys in the Boat, for example, he's been perfecting the art of enlisting other talents to play roles that he might've once (or easily could've, but has chosen not to). Edgerton's performance as Ulbrickson slides into that category. That said, he brings his own interiority and intensity to a figure who rarely cracks a smile, appears dedicated to winning above all else — putting the JV squad in races over their senior counterparts if it'll improve his chances of victory, in fact, and regardless of the uproar sparked — yet also clearly cares, even if his way of showing it is simply going about the team's business as usual. Evident in Edgerton's portrayal, and Turner's — the movie would sink if it wasn't — is tenacity that goes past the promise of prizes, fame and acclaim. As much as the film sees the desolation of the period, its push against the privilege, elitism and affluence that's often synonymous with rowing shines through strongest in its characters. This can't be called a scrappy picture in any sense but, as Turner and Edgerton ensure with help from Strike, Luke Slattery (New Amsterdam) as coxswain Bobby Much and Jack Mulhern (Pet Sematary: Bloodlines) as crew member Don Hume, it's filled with scrappers. While The Social Network will remain the pinnacle of rowing on-screen for now, telling a familiar tale well, The Boys in the Boat brings stirring depth.
From the shaken to the stirred and everything in-between — this May, the country's world-class mixology scene will be celebrated in a very big way at a brand-new month-long drinks festival. The inaugural Australian Cocktail Month is set to kick off Saturday, May 1, descending on venues across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide with a diverse lineup of crafty collaborations and exclusive concoctions. Here in Melbourne, 18 venues will help the event make its grand debut, including local favourites Nick & Nora's, The Everleigh, Black Pearl, Heartbreaker and Lover. They'll spend the month whipping up creative-charged festival cocktails (and mocktails) using drops from both local brands — think: Melbourne Gin Company, Brix Distillers, Mr Black and Starward — and international labels like Diplomatico Rum, Naked Grouse Whisky and Fords Gin. To get among the best of it, grab a $20 Australian Cocktail Month ticket and enjoy full access to all of the participating venues' cocktail creations. Alcoholic drinks will be priced at $14 a pop, with low-alcohol and booze-free options clocking in at $10. [caption id="attachment_719907" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Everleigh, Gareth Sobey[/caption] Top image: Nick & Nora's, Brook James.
Atop iconic Curtin House on Swanston Street, illuminated by the moon and the lights of city skyscrapers, the screen at Rooftop Cinema & Bar is about to flicker back to life. Fresh on the heels of The Shadow Electric in Abbotsford and Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinema in St Kilda, the folks at Melbourne’s highest-altitude outdoor picture house have just unveiled the first half of their summer program, with plenty of awesome choices to whet cinephilic appetites. The party begins on December 5 with a screening of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Other recent releases on the schedule include Gravity, Francis Ha, The Counselor and, perhaps the year’s most talked about film: Sharknado. As fun as those titles might be, it’s the retro picks that show the team have really outdone themselves. Unlike Ben & Jerry’s, the program at Rooftop leans heavily on nostalgia, with titles like Pulp Fiction, Casablanca and The Blues Brothers barely scratching the surface of the film-buff favourites on offer. The latter flick is just one in a kick-ass '80s stream that also includes Labyrinth, The Goonies and Stand by Me. The following decade is similarly well represented by Reality Bites, Point Break and Dazed and Confused, amongst numerous others. This year also sees Rooftop teaming up with the gang from Speakeasy Cinema for a Tuesday sidebar that includes Lena Dunham’s breakout feature Tiny Furniture, David Lynch’s divisive Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and the new film from David Gordon Green, Prince Avalanche. The week leading up to Australia Day, meanwhile, features a trio of great local flicks in the form of Muriel’s Wedding, BMX Bandits and the newly released Mystery Road. Seating at Rooftop begins at 9:00pm for a 9:30pm start. The good news is that the bar begins operations at midday, as does the All Day Burger shack. One floor down, Mesa Verde opens at 5:00pm and offers a wide selection of beer, wine, tequila and Mexican cuisine. For more information about Rooftop Cinema including the full December-January program, see here. The February-April program will be announced at the end of January.
Nine pinball machines, six nights and a collection of rare Mountain Goat seasonals — this is what you'll find at the Peacock Inn Hotel for their free mini-tournaments from. Players can jump into an oversized shirt with a stranger or blindfold a friend and hurtle instructions at their trusting side from 12pm for six days during the festival. We're no doctors, but the only way to work out that carpal tunnel strain is to knit that brow of yours and keep playing, right? This event is part of Good Beer Week's 2015 program, running from May 16-24. For more festival picks, click here.
Your mouth has never been more important in determining what other people should eat, thanks to The Village who are hosting a Food of Origin series over five weekends in August, showcasing cuisines from different continents. Each weekend, The Village (formerly the Belgian Beer Garden) will bring together some palate-packing delights from North America, Central & South America, Europe and Asia. Your role? Go famished. Get fuelled up. Then vote for your favourite. This weekend is the grand finale: when the four food trucks that were voted crowd favourite at the previous four week's Trailer Park get togethers come back for one big best-of. We don't know who will be there yet, but it will be a four of these tasty contenders who are battling it out for a spot in the showcase: August 1-2 - North America: Mr Burger, Smokin Barrys, TOASTA, Jay's Yogurt. August 8-9 - Central & South America: Taco Truck, Iv's Burritos, La Revolucion, Señor Churro. August 15-16 - Europe: Greek Street Food, Happy Camper Pizza, Jakob's Kitchen - Gourmet Sausages, The Brûlée Cart. August 22-23 - Asia: White Guy Cooks Thai, Hammer & Tong Food Truck, Nuoc Mama's, Gorilla Grill. August 29-30 - Best Of: The four chosen weekly winners will come back for the Trailer Park Showcase.
A much-loved Melbourne legend is set to have his legacy memorialised, with a fitting permanent tribute set to be unveiled early next year. The City of Melbourne has today announced that a memorial table and plaque created in honour of the late Pellegrini's co-owner Sisto Malaspina will be installed out the front of his famed Bourke Street Italian restaurant. The news comes one year after the Melbourne hospitality pioneer was killed in the Bourke Street terrorist attack in November, 2018. The table will be engraved with a portrait of Malaspina by acclaimed Melbourne illustrator Oslo Davis and the words "Sisto loved Melbourne – and Melbourne loved him back". It'll be placed streetside, where the Pellegrini's mainstay would often be found sitting, chatting and watching the world go by. [caption id="attachment_749741" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Some of the tributes left outside Pellegrini's after Malspina's death in November 2018.[/caption] Malaspina arrived in Melbourne from Italy in the 1960s, purchased Pellegrini's with his business partner Nino Pangrazio in 1974 and operated it together right up until Malaspina passed away last year. He was a familiar face for scores of locals and visitors, renowned for his generous personality and welcoming nature. And for decades, the venue he helped create has been one of the CBD's go-to Italian coffee bars and eateries, famed for its classic pasta and friendly vibe. Malaspina's son David, who's in negotiations to purchase Pangrazio's half of the business, said in a statement that the family is proud of the memorial and he "look[s] forward to looking out of the window of Pellegrini's and watching people learn about Dad while enjoying a coffee at his table". Find Pellegrini's Espresso Bar at 66 Bourke Street, Melbourne. It's open from Monday–Saturday 8am–11pm and Sunday 12–8pm.
They're sticky, cinnamon scrolls, drenched in glaze and famous all across the USA. And at the end of last year, they finally became available Down Under when Seattle-born chain Cinnabon opened its first Australian store in Brisbane. Now, a second store is set to open next Friday, February 14. That store — sorry everyone else — is also in Brisbane. While the first one is located in Toombul Shopping Centre, this one will be on the other side of the city inside Westfield Garden City. So both north and south Brisbane will be in close proximity to the sticky baked goods. When it opens next week, Brisbanites will be able to grab a scroll from 8am seven days a week — but be prepared to queue. The Toombul store still regularly has a lengthy line, even two months after opening. Just like the Toombul store, this one will sling a trio of Cinnabon cult classics, including the classic cream cheese cinnamon roll, the popular chocolate-drizzled Chocobon and very extra Caramel Pecanbon. They're available in both mini and large sizes, along with packs featuring either four or nine 'minibons'. There's coffee and lots of sugary drinks to pair with your snacks, too, including a cinnamon bun frappe. [caption id="attachment_755764" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cinnabon Toombul[/caption] If you're yet to get acquainted with the decadent dessert creations, prepare yourself for aromatic, cinnamon-spiked dough made to a long-held recipe, decked out with stacks of signature cream cheese frosting and loaded with extras. They're notoriously tough to replicate. The Australian launch was first announced in January 2019, when family-run Queensland company Bansal Foods scored the Aussie rights to Cinnabon. Cinnabon has been going strong in America since 1985, so it has already picked up plenty of Aussie fans along the way. But this is the first time that we're able to get our hands on those sticky, cinnamon-infused baked goods on home soil. And if you're not in Brisbane, you might just need to be patient. Since opening in December, Cinnabon has run multiple pop-ups around Brisbane and — according to Bansal Foods Group Director Gaurav Bansal — the group is "exploring opportunities to have more pop-ups around the country". In a statement, he also 'promised' to open more permanent bakeries in other cities soon. Cinnabon will open at 8am on Friday, February 14 on level two of Westfield Garden City, Kessels Road, Upper Mount Gravatt.
Splendour might be done and dusted, but that doesn't mean you have to pack away your rainbow wellies until summer shows its face. Rekorderlig, ever keen to demonstrate that we Aussies should be tackling winter with a tad more brio than a pack of grizzlies, has just announced the headliner for free upcoming music event Sounds in the Snow. On September 13, just as the flakes start to melt and smack bang in the middle of the Toyota One Hit Wonder Mountain Festival, Sydney synth pop boys Panama will appear in Thredbo to deliver their so-called hopeful house music live. Fronted by Perth-born songwriter and classically-trained pianist Jarrah McCleary, the trio are currently touring Europe and the United States on the back of sophomore EP Always. The only thing we can't tell you is where in the Alps you'll find them, as Rekorderlig is keeping the venue top secret — for now at least. To be among the first to find out, join the Rekorderlig Facebook page. Sounds in the Snow is just one of the many excuses that Rekorderlig's giving you to head to the snow this season. Afternoon sessions are happening at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel every Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 3pm and 6pm; fire pits are burning; the Rekorderlig Hot Pool is providing serious apres-ski relaxation; and their tasty cinnamon and vanilla-fused Winter Cider is at the top of the drinks menu. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UylPrMcurB8
When we take that first sip of our barista-brewed coffee on a workday morning, a lot of us can't actually imagine living without coffee. But what about living without a roof over your head or a guaranteed meal? Unfortunately, this is what many homeless people around Australia face each day, but on Friday, August 4, you can help your fellow Aussies out simply by buying a coffee as part of CafeSmart. CafeSmart is an annual event from StreetSmart that raises money and awareness for the homeless and is back for its seventh year running. This year over 500 cafes will aim to raise more than last year's total of $160,523. So how does it work? From every coffee purchased on August 4 at a participating cafe around Australia, $1 will be donated towards local projects. So if your go-to local isn't participating, shake things up for a day and head to one that is. Prefer a hot chocolate? You can also donate at the counter. Simply by aiming for a bighearted cafe, you'll be helping some of our country's most in-need humans, so treat yourself to a third or fourth coffee guilt-free. There are a heap of cafes participating across the city, but some include: Seven Seeds Assembly Proud Mary Top Paddock Tivoli Road Bakery Dr Morse Barry Axil Earl Sensory Lab
Victorians have become accustomed to a specific pattern over the past few months. When Premier Daniel Andrews takes the podium at a press conference to announce the latest easing of restrictions, he often reveals just when he'll next be hopping behind the microphone to do it all over again. So, since Sunday, November 22, the state's residents have known that more information would be coming today, Sunday, December 6. On the agenda: a heap of new changes, with most coming into effect tonight at 11.59pm. As keeps proving the case at each stage, you'll be able to gather in more places with more people with fewer limits, including at home and in public gatherings with your friends and family outdoors; at cafes, bars and restaurants; and at entertainment venues. Last month, Premier Andrews revealed that Victorians would be able to host more people in their houses before Christmas, with the cap going up from 15 to 30 (and from any number of other households). That's a daily limit, so you can only have 30 people over across one whole day, even if they come at different times in different groups — but it'll now kick in a week earlier than initially planned, from 11.59pm on Sunday, December 6. It's important to note that your home also includes your front and back yards, though. Fancy heading outdoors with your nearest and dearest elsewhere, beyond your own patch of land? In good news, public outdoor gatherings will increase to 100. So your next trip to the beach or the park with your mates can now feature quite the crowd. Also, travel-wise, you'll be able to head out of town in line with the private at-home gathering cap (so in groups of 30 people from any number of other households). https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1335375495131660289 In the hospitality sector, all venues are moving to a density quota only, rather than a strict numbers limit. One person will be allowed for every two square metres of space both indoors and outdoors, including at food courts. For smaller venues, they can welcome in up to 25 people before the density quotient applies. The above is only permitted to come into effect in tandem with electronic record-keeping for contact-tracing purposes, though — so if there's no QR codes to track who is in a venue, the one-person-per-four-square-metres rule applies. Oh, and standing service is now allowed. Places with a dance floor will also have a stricter limit applied to said space for making shapes. One person will be allowed to show off their fancy footwork per four square metres of dance floor, up to a maximum of 50 people. Yes, that includes nightclubs — which'll be permitted to serve drinks to standing patrons. Both indoors and outdoors, seated entertainment venues (such as cinemas and theatres) will be able to up their capacity to 75 percent, maxing out at 1000 people at a density of one person per two square metres. Again, that's contingent on venues using QR codes. So, again, if they don't, the one-person-per-four-square-metres rule kicks in. Indoor non-seated entertainment venues, like galleries, can move to 50-percent capacity, up to 1000 people, at a density of one person per two square metres — and again, that's only with QR codes. Outdoors, it's just the one-person-per-two-square-metres rule that has to be abided by, with no patron limit. Gyms and fitness studios will increase to a maximum of 50 people per class, with one person per four square metres. Indoor pools can have one person per four square metres, while outdoor pools can host one person per two square metres. And religious gatherings, weddings and funerals will be able to have one person per two square metres with no caps — unless they're in a private residence, where the 30-person limit kicks in. Regarding masks, the rules are changing there as well. You'll need to keep wearing them only in certain situations, such as large and busy indoor indoor shops, and on public transport. You will always need to carry one with you, though. Work-wise, offices in the private sector can increase the number of employees working onsite to 50 percent of workers from January 11, and to 75 percent from February 8. The public sector will move to 25 percent of workers in the office from January 11 and to 50 percent from February 8. Running through all of the above, Premier Andrews noted that Victoria is now at a phase the government is calling a "COVID-safe summer", and that it'll "be in place until at least the end of January, giving Victorians a bit more certainty about what the next couple of months will look like". As always, the usual rules regarding hygiene, social distancing and getting tested if you display any possible COVID-19 symptoms all still apply as restrictions keep easing. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Department of Health and Human Services website — and for further details about Victoria's steps for reopening, head to the roadmap itself. Top image: Kate Shanasy.
Make the most of the summery Melbourne weather with a twilight visit to the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Giving you an after-hours to explore Mirka Mora's Pas de Deux — Drawings and Dolls and Danica Chappell's Thickness of Time exhibitions, the gallery is extending its opening hours until 8pm and hosting a couple of laidback shindigs as the sun goes down. From 5pm — on Friday, January 25 and Saturday, February 16 — visitors will be able to scope out the exhibitions, wander through Heide's beloved sculpture park, and enjoy music from percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson and experimental music producer Martin Ng. There'll also be food and wine available to purchase, because no jaunt through a gallery is truly complete with a glass of bubbly in hand. That's just a straight-up fact — and, if you're organised, you can also bring your own picnic. Entry in Art by Twilight starts at $10 for Heide members, $15 for concession holders and $20 for adults. Image: Jeremy Weihrauch
Bodies, faces, identities — we all have them, we're all happy with some aspects of them and unhappy with others. This complex relationship we have with ourselves is put under the lens in This Is Beautiful. The piece has three actors engaging in a soul-searching discourse about identity and body image while eating a banquet on stage. All the while, behind them a film projection portrays their bodies in transformative ways, beautiful to grotesque and back again. It comes from The Public Studio, an interdisciplinary company that is the brainchild of Ming-Zhu Hii and Nicholas Coghlan (Secret Life of Us). Their style, a blend of visual and performance art that sometimes presents as theatre, sometimes as installation, could be a study in complicated identity itself so they should be well suited to taking on the subject matter. Followed by a series of themed short films, this visual feast will surely give you some food for thought.
Reading-list inspiration, sorted: even if you've devoured plenty of books by the authors on the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival program, there's still much more to discover and explore. Whether you're keen to start leafing through pages now or plan to finish the fest with a stacked pile of new material by your bed, get excited — more than 200 events are on the lineup, featuring 40-plus international guests and over 100 Australian talents, and showcasing 34 authors among that group that are releasing new books this year. Sydney Writers' Festival's latest roster isn't just great news for Harbour City literary fans. When it runs from Monday, May 19–Tuesday, May 27, it'll also livestream some sessions around the country, so joining in isn't only about being there in-person in Sydney. Either way, there's something on the program for all reading tastes, fans of a wealth of genres, and attendees looking to hear from beloved scribes and discover their next favourites alike. Taking over Carriageworks, Sydney Town Hall, State Library of New South Wales and other venues around the city, SWF 2025 is also budget-friendly with more than 50 events costing nothing to attend — and 30 of those free sessions are at Carriageworks alone. What opens with Torres Strait Islander writer and activist Thomas Mayo, Yuwaalaraay writer and performer Nardi Simpson, plus poet Lemn Sissay and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit writer Jeanette Winterson, all responding to the theme 'in this together'? This festival. What closes with Anna Funder examining writing in artificial intelligence-heavy times? This fest again. What includes 2024 Booker Prize-winner Samantha Harvey, Brooklyn author Colm Tóibín and Australian Big Little Lies wordsmith Liane Moriarty as well? Yes, this program. Harvey will chat about the International Space Station-set Orbital, while Tóibín has Long Island, the sequel to Brooklyn, to dig into. Also the creative force behind Nine Perfect Strangers and Apples Never Fall on the page, Moriarty will discuss everyday life stories becoming smash hits with David Nicholls, as well as careers and having a literary family with her sisters Jaclyn and Nicola. Plus, Winterson isn't just part of opening night, but will celebrate 40 years since her debut novel and also explore the impact of AI. Similarly on the SWF 2025 bill: Torrey Peters, the first openly trans woman nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction; Ian Rankin speaking about the 25th instalment in the Inspector Rebus series; plus everyone from The Ministry of Time's Kaliane Bradley and The Safekeep's Yael van der Wouden through to Vanishing World's Sayaka Murata and After You'd Gone and Hamnet's Maggie O'Farrell. You've likely seen actor Harriet Walter in Succession, Silo and Ted Lasso — and This Is Going to Hurt, Killing Eve and Rocketman in the past few years as well — and now you can add this fest to that list, where she'll be unpacking Shakespeare's female characters. Other highlights span Entitlement's Rumaan Alam, Discriminations' AC Grayling on cancel culture, stepping into the world of espionage stories and getting a hankering for pastries — the latter with Flour and Stone's Nadine Ingram, Beatrix Bakes' Natalie Paull and Lune's Kate Reid. The return of the Great Debate is a starry event, featuring Annabel Crabb, David Marr, Nicholson, Matilda Boseley, Justine Rogers, Jennifer Wong and Yumi Stynes. And from there, other topics on the SWF lineup also include the situations in Gaza and Ukraine, sleep, First Nations storytelling, life in exile, queer culture, dwindling workers' rights, Robodebt and Miles Franklin. [caption id="attachment_994843" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reynaldo Rivera[/caption] Sydney Writers' Festival images: Jacquie Manning.
There's stellar bushwalking to be found all over the Victorian Pyrenees region, but you can quickly access some of the best with a short drive to Beaufort. Here, you'll find the challenging Ben Nevis Walk – a 9.6-kilometre circuit that kicks off with a seriously steep climb up an old 4WD track. As the terrain levels out, you'll have the energy to admire the wildflowers and panoramic views that adorn this landscape. Although this adventure will definitely put even the fittest bushwalkers through their paces, the views from the peak make this journey supremely worthwhile. To plan your trip and check for travel alerts, check out the website. Image: Elliot Kramer
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." They're words famously spoken by Hippocrates, way back when, and lived diligently by so many foodies, even today. They also sum up the concept at the heart of bright new Prahran café Market on Malvern, which opened its doors in October. The brainchild of Dr Anthony Yeuong, who's also behind adjoining health practice Beingwell Healthcare, MOM was dreamt up in response to a growing number of patients with dietary dramas and allergy issues. Dr Yeuong has long been a champion of food that both tastes good and feels good afterwards, and now he's treating the good folk of Melbourne with a bit of pre-emptive edible 'medicine', Hippocrates-style. With an ex-Nobu chef helming the kitchen, MOM's catering to clean eaters and flavour seekers alike; its thoroughly-researched menu is packed full of paleo, vegan, allergen-free, and FODMAP-friendly goodness. Dishes are categorised according to their specific properties and benefits to the body. You might find yourself boosting those energy levels with the caramelised sweet potato and hemp protein hummus, or you might opt for the red rice and miso eggplant, to help soothe any digestive issues. Backing up all those healing food options, there's a slew of juices and smoothies, coffee by Allpress, and a list of caffeine-free lattes that runs from beetroot right through to mushroom. Market on Malvern is open daily from 7am till 4pm at 388 Malvern Road, Prahran. For more info, visit momcafe.com.au.
What do you get when you cross three fine dining heroes with decades of combined experience that spans pretty much the entire world? Although this sounds a lot like a punchline that would force you to unfollow a close friend, the real answer is Etta, the new home for Hayden McMillan, Hannah Green, and Dominique Fourie McMillan. The trio, who have an insane resume that includes Cutler & Co, The Roving Marrow (which won a hat under Hayden's charge), Attica and Neil Perry's Rosetta, will open up their new joint tonight — Thursday, March 23 — at the Brunswick East end of Lygon Street. With restaurants all over the place trending towards a more healthy-meets-delicious selection of dishes, it's no surprise to see the trio's newest venture taking up the mantle of the balanced yet tasty diet. When we met Hayden back in 2013, when he was killing it in the kitchen at Auckland's TriBeCa, he told us that his dish of choice at home was a "massive bowl of vegetables and sweetcorn with sliced almonds and butter". Whether or not that's still the case, this focus on vegetables is key to the menu at Etta. It's not a case of a strictly vegetarian joint, but he says to expect "a heavy representation of produce over protein". While it's easy to give in to our inner child and assume that everything that is good for you tastes rubbish, Hayden is aiming to blast that notion back into the past — where it belongs. "It's the kind of eating that makes people feel good," he says. "And it's delicious." So expect dishes like mozzarella pasta with peas and broccoli, King George whiting with lentils and lemon, and a rich charcoal lamb dish with goats' cheese. The 80-seat restaurant will be a 'contemporary neighbourhood bistro', and the wine list, curated by Hannah, will share that focus on locality, too, championing small producers and family-owned operations from both at home and abroad. The fit-out has been crafted by IF Architecture (the folks responsible for Gertrude Street's Marion), and will feature a botanical mural by local artist Robert Bowers. As well as lending the bistro her name, blues legend Etta James once said that "the two things you can't fake are good food and good music". With a track record like the one belonging to the trio behind Etta, you'd best believe that they ain't faking. Etta will open on Thursday, March 23 at 60 Lygon Street, Brunswick East. It will open Wednesday to Saturday from 4pm and Sundays from 12pm. For more info, visit ettadining.com.au.
UPDATE, January 18, 2022: MIFF's Hear My Eyes: Two Hands screenings were originally meant to take place in August 2021; however, the festival moved online due to lockdown and these sessions are now being held in January 2022. This article has been updated to reflect that change. Whenever you hear Powderfinger's 'These Days', do you instantly imagine a fresh-faced Heath Ledger and Rose Byrne? If so, congrats — you've seen one of the best Australian films of the 90s, and one of the best Aussie movies in general, too. The song played a significant part in Two Hands, but you mightn't hear it at the Melbourne International Film Festival's big-screen session of the classic flick. It's screening at the fest's regular Hear My Eyes gigs — playing out of season in January 2022 due to 2021's COVID-19 chaos — which pairs must-see features with a reimagined score that's also played live on the night. Doing the honours this time around: The Murlocs. So, you'll be watching them bust out their rhythm and blues sounds as Gregor Jordan's (Dirt Music) exceptional crime film unfurls. They're taking to the stage at The Astor Theatre for four sessions across Saturday, January 29 (at 6pm and 9pm) and Sunday, January 30 (at 3pm and 6pm) and, unsurprisingly, these sessions are set to prove mighty popular ticket-wise. Need a refresher on the movie? Haven't seen it yet, somehow? It follows Jimmy (the one and only Ledger), an ex–street kid and strip-club bouncer who is charged with delivering some cash for his boss (Bryan Brown, Hungry Ghosts). That doesn't turn out as planned, so soon he's on the run — alongside Alex (Byrne, worlds away from her recent role in Physical), the girl of his dreams.
Whoever said an encyclopaedic knowledge of a cartoon about a dysfunctional yellow family would never come in handy was a real narc. So, for its latest edition on Sunday, July 26, Isolation Trivia is pulling the Comic Book Guy out of every Simpsons fanatic. If you don't know squat about Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie — and their escapades over the long-running animated series' first nine seasons in particular — then consider yourself warned. This virtual trivia event is definitely for fans. You should at least know the name of Lionel Hutz's law practice, and the monikers of Lisa and Bart's hockey teams coached by Apu and Chief Wiggum. It'll also help if you know who the two other Sideshows were besides Bob and Mel, and the identity of Lisa's first hook-up. These are elementary questions, and their answers should be written into your brain like it's a chalkboard. Play along from home from 6.25pm — and, if you've ever been to a Simpsons trivia night in-person, you'll understand these can get pretty intense, with some competitors near crazed with cartoon intelligence. So be prepared for the moment you stare at the leaderboard, hypnotised by self-doubt, and repeatedly, self-pityingly mutter to yourself, "I'm not so S-M-R-T". Isolation Trivia's The Simpsons trivia night takes place from 6.25pm at Sunday, July 26.
Not one to miss a party, Gelato Messina is joining this winter's black fungus craze by rolling out a country-wide truffle service. Launching across its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane stores on Monday, July 1, it'll cost just $6 extra. For that six bucks, you can get a full three grams of the fancy fungi freshly grated onto any and all gelato flavours. Choose from classic flavour combinations like dulce de leche, salted caramel, hazelnut and chocolate — or add truffle to one of the more out-there combos. Truffled blood orange, pear and rhubarb gelato? Check. Rum and raisin topped with this decadent fungus? Sure. Fairy bread and truffle gelato? Why not. And, if you missed out on this year's fully sold out truffle degustations, this is a good budget way to still get your fix — the Messina way, of course. The truffle special will be available in limited stores and only while supplies last. Gelato Messina's truffle service will be available from July 1 at Messina in Melbourne's Fitzroy, Brisbane's Fortitude Valley and Circular Quay, Rosebery and Darlinghurst in Sydney. For other places to hunt down decadent treats this winter, check out our truffle guides for Sydney and Melbourne.
Now, a weekday trip to IDES might sound like pure madness to anyone who wants to pay their rent this month. You usually wouldn't get out the door without a hefty bill (fair payment for a very satisfied stomach), unless you're brave. The IDES sample tables are offered on Tuesday and Wednesday, and you'll get a four-course meal for only $70 a head. But there's a catch — the dishes on your menu aren't on the menu. It's a chef's selection of new dishes, so you'll effectively be the guinea pig for a very experimental (and ex-Attica) chef Peter Gunn and, frankly, we can't think of a more exciting way to spend a mid-week evening.
New season, new you? This month, you can blast away the winter cobwebs with some well-deserved self care, when VicHealth's Wellbeing Village descends on Fed Square for a weekend of nurturing and nourishment. Running from Friday, August 26–Sunday, August 28, the pop-up wellness hub aims to inspire people to kick-start some new healthy habits — which of course is excellent timing as we all clamber reluctantly out of hibernation mode. It's hosting a hefty program of classes, workshops, talks and screenings; all of them free. You can perfect the bend with a yoga class led by Lululemon or Cello Yoga, try guided meditation or a mindfulness walk, bust out your green thumb at CERES' workshop on growing veggies, or experience a sound healing session presented by the Peninsula Hot Springs team. All classes and workshops are free, but you're encouraged to reserve a spot online. There'll be healthy eats galore when food trucks take over the Main Square on Saturday and Sunday, and expert-led chats on everything from urban farming to mental health throughout the weekend. And if you head along to the Bike 'n Blend stall, you can even jump on a bike to whizz up a smoothie using your own pedal power. [caption id="attachment_865779" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bike 'n Blend[/caption]
Each year, come August, there's one thing that Melburnians can't complain about. Say all you like about the frosty weather, the inevitable rain and the feeling that winter will never end, but don't even pretend that there's nothing to watch. The eighth month on the calendar and the Melbourne International Film Festival have long gone hand-in-hand, delivering a feast of flicks to entice you into warm, darkened rooms. In fact, this year's MIFF boasts a huge 375 titles on its jam-packed lineup. The just-announced full program spans many a highlight, including one of the year's most anticipated movies: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. If you fancy seeing Quentin Tarantino's latest before it reaches regular cinemas — and Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie on 35mm film, too — then MIFF has you covered. If you're eager to view much, much more between Thursday, August 1 and Sunday, August 18, the debut bill from first-year Artistic Director Al Cossar won't let you down there either. While opening night documentary The Australian Dream, centrepiece gala pick Little Monsters and family gala selection H Is For Happiness have all already been announced, MIFF will fill out its last high-profile slot with closing night's The Farewell — a hit at this year's Sundance, it stars Crazy Rich Asians' Awkwafina as a Chinese American woman visiting her family to say goodbye to her dying grandmother. Other standouts throughout the fest include a slew of movies from top directors arriving straight from Cannes, such as Xavier Dolan's Matthias & Maxime, Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You, Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's Young Ahmed, and Diao Yi'nan's The Wild Goose Lake, with the latter marking the newest release from the acclaimed Black Coal, Thin Ice filmmaker. https://youtu.be/RofpAjqwMa8 Also worth keeping an eye out for (and then roving your eyes over) are Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum, which sees the Spring Breakers auteur keep the party going with Matthew McConaughey; Chris Morris' The Day Shall Come, his long-awaited next political satire after Four Lions; much-talked-about Chinese epic Long Days Journey Into Night, complete with its 55-minute single take in 3D; and Hong Sang-soo's regular MIFF appearance, thanks to Hotel by the River. On the documentary front, Wu Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men reunites all nine living members of the band to talk about their ups and downs, Memory: The Origins of Alien ponders the basis of one of the best science-fiction films of all time, and Seahorse explores a trans man's complicated pregnancy. And from the local selection, Ryan Corr and Anthony LaPaglia team up for black comedy Below, Hugo Weaving goes Shakespearean in Measure for Measure, and No Time for Quiet heads to a Melbourne band camp for girls with Courtney Barnett and Cable Ties. https://youtu.be/fuKQfEX1Xy4 Acclaimed Aussie flicks The Nightingale, Hearts and Bones, Animals, Dark Place, Emu Runner, Judy & Punch and In My Blood It Runs, which all premiered elsewhere, will also finally make their way to Melbourne. Indeed, if you felt more than a little envy when Sydney Film Festival rolled around back in June, you'll be able to see many of that fest's top picks — including must-sees like Les Miserables, In Fabric, Scheme Birds and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, as well as favourites such as Pain and Glory, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Ray & Liz, Bacurau, Come to Daddy, Dirty God and The Dead Don't Die. Need more? How about an all-night Jeff Goldblum movie marathon, complete with The Fly, Independence Day, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Thor: Ragnarok. Retrospective strands focusing on filmmakers Penelope Spheeris, Agnieszka Holland and Peter Strickland help round out the lineup, as does the usual selection of fulldome shorts at the Melbourne Planetarium. Because MIFF has been dropping parts of its 2019 selection for the past few months, all of the above titles join the fest's initial batch of flicks — plus its live movie-and-music performance by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and a screening of fantastic French drama Girlhood with an all-new live score.
There are a few certified methods for keeping the winter blues at bay and one of them involves holing up in a cosy restaurant with some good company, some great eating and a few whisky cocktails to wash it all down. Handily enough, that's the very situation that will soon await you at Victoria by Farmer's Daughters each Saturday. Running from May 13–July 29, the Winter Saturday Sessions promise to warm your cockles with an enticing blend of booze and produce-driven fare. Choose one of two weekly sittings (11.30am–1.30pm, 2.30pm–4.30pm) and you'll sit down to a seasonal brunch feast guided by the kitchen's passion for celebrating top-notch Victorian ingredients. Expect bites like a flaky roasted root vegetable pie, barbecued pork belly skewers, farmhouse-style cheeses and chips made using Spud Sisters' famed potatoes. Meanwhile, a bar takeover by the legends at Starward will sort you out with bottomless sips to match, including reworked classics like a whisky-infused dark and stormy, and the cherry lemon old fashioned. A range of local beers and vino is also on offer. Victoria's Winter Saturday Sessions clock in at $99 per person, which'll get you a hearty spread of food teamed with two hours of free-flowing drinks. Images: Arianna Leggiero
Ring in the Year of the Monkey with a little bit of monkey business at Queen Victoria Market. From February 16 to 20, the market is hosting a series of Chinese New Year food, music and cultural events, along with a pair of artistic installations. See traditional lion and dragon dances, take part in a guided market tasting tour, and celebrate with Yuan Xiao Jie: a lantern festival complete with live entertainment and a variety of Asian food stalls. Whichever event you decide to attend, make sure you walk down Queen Street Parade — where 14 columns have been erected featuring traditional Chinese opera masks — and pay a visit to Shed A which will be lit up with 70 red lanterns.
If jungle vibes while shopping for greenery sounds like your perfect outing, head along to the Jungle Collective's indoor plant sale on Saturday, December 12–Sunday, December 13. It's the latest greenery-filled market from the Melbourne nursery, which stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. And, after hosting plenty of online-only events this year, this sale is a 100-percent in-person affair. Also: it's slinging 30-percent off the usual price of all plants and pots. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. Get inspired by greenery aplenty and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces, all while browsing and soaking up some tunes. Jungle Collective is turning this event into a bit of a maze, too, so you'll enter in one spot, wander along a designated path and leave in a completely different area. Best get in quick though — these markets are always popular, with more than 170 different species usually on offer. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in 30-minute sessions across both days, and attendees will need to register for free tickets in advance.
Australians all let us rejoice, for the public holiday is here and we plan on making the most of it. As happens every year, our calendar is full to bursting, loaded with events and parties that celebrate our multicultural country and our shared exaltation of the humble snag. Whether you’re looking to take in a live performance, satisfy your tastebuds or just want to go for a dip in the sea, this list will make sure you have yourself a cracker of a day. And yes, we've included plenty of places where you can listen to the Hottest 100. Of course, it's a day of great contention in Australia, often called ‘Invasion Day’, ‘Day of Mourning’, ‘Survival Day’ or ‘Aboriginal Sovereignty Day’ (since 2006). There's a huge protest happening on the steps of Parliament House if you're interested.
Sweet tooths, assemble. Pastry chef Pierre Roelofs and his team of wicked enablers have packed up their summer soft serve pop-up and resurrected their legendary Dessert Evenings, shattering our halfhearted plans to cut down on the sweet stuff like the ears on all those chocolate Easter bunnies we devoured over the weekend. Oops. After five years at Cafe Rosamond in Fitzroy and a short stint at Adriano Zumbo's Fancy Nance in South Yarra last year, Roelofs' dessert extravaganzas are making the move to a new home: Milkwood in Brunswick East. Hosted every Thursday night at the cosy Nicholson Street cafe, diners can expect a four-course degustation — the catch being that all four courses are dessert. The menu is top secret and changes every time. We can tell you that previous evenings have involved ridiculous concoctions of mascarpone, strawberry, honey, orange, cardamom and speculaas, as well as a deconstructed bread and butter pudding served in one of Roelofs' famed dessert test tubes. The first dessert evening will kick off next week on Thursday, April 7 with sittings at 7pm, 8.20pm and 9.40pm. You'll need to book in advance — so for the love of the dessert Gods, do so right away.
There's no reason Christmas shopping should be hell. You don't have to stampede into Myer or David Jones at the last minute. No one's making you stuff those stockings with garbage no one wants. This year you have the opportunity to do things right. The QV are opening up their summery little grass oasis once more for a special kind of Christmas market. With 40 stalls on display, the Melbourne Designed Twilight Markets will be offering up the best of our city's independent artists and designers. There'll be mouth-watering fashion from EAT.ME.DO, original art from Neon Pear, and kooky jewels from Vicki Leigh. But that's not all, every Friday night from 5pm-10pm, this relaxed little space will also be served by a pop-up bar, music, and free picnic rugs for ultimate post-work chill sessions. Don't stress if you miss it either — this gift-giver's dream come true will also be open on weekends. Though you'll have to cope without the bar, the markets will be served with a pop-up cafe from 12pm-5pm on both Saturdays and Sundays.
Christmas is coming, and so is the anxiety that comes with needing to grab prezzies for partners, mates and the fam. You can always get some hi-fi stuff during Black Friday sales or throw cash at them, but buying one-off or limited-edition wares from local makers has got to be up the top of the list of things to get as a gift. Enter, the Smith Street Studio Christmas Market Pop-Up. For just one day — from 10am–5pm on Saturday, November 23 — the studio is hosting a heap of independent lifestyle, fashion and beauty brands that'll be selling all kinds of merch. [caption id="attachment_979126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elas Crochet[/caption] The community-focused holiday pop-up will feature the recently-launched beauty brand By Katia, scents from Ficifolia, handmade accessories from Elas Crochet, staple wardrobe pieces from Studio Marlene, luxe silk pillowcases from Night Babe, jewellery from Minimum Studios and Smudge, and sensual care from BRUXA. You also don't need to use this as a gift-buying opportunity, simply rocking up to see what you want to get yourself. [caption id="attachment_979125" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Minimum Studios[/caption] Top images: Smudge
How do you find a single missing person in a country of over a billion? That's the terrifying dilemma faced by a desperate father, after his 12-year-old son goes missing. A sobering portrait of a pandemic concern in poverty-affected India, Richie Mehta's film works thanks to his unexaggerated approach to the subject matter. There's not a hint of melodrama here, and the tale is all the more compelling for it. For a film set half a world away, Siddharth hits very close to home. The film takes its title from the name of the missing boy, who in the opening scene we see being loaded onto a bus by his father, Mahendra (Rajesh Tailang). Siddharth is on his way to Ludhiana, hundreds of kilometres away, where he's due to start work in a trolley factory. Child labour is illegal in India, but commonplace nevertheless. And for the family of four, no longer able to survive on Mahendra's meagre wages as a street corner zipper repairman, the second source of income will be crucial. When Siddharth fails to return to Delhi for the Diwali festival a month later, the assumption is that he simply couldn't secure passage home. But as time passes without any word, Mahendra and his wife, Suman (Tannishtha Chatterjee), grow increasingly concerned. When they finally call the owner of the factory, he tells them that the boy ran away more than a fortnight ago. Unable to believe Siddharth wouldn't simply return home, the fear then becomes that he has been kidnapped. Based on a first person anecdote Mehta — a Canadian filmmaker of Indian descent — heard while travelling in Delhi, the story examines multiple social issues facing India. Recent statistics show that nearly 40,000 children disappear in the country each year, many of them sold into slavery or prostitution or forced out onto the streets to beg. Indeed, the problem is so endemic, so normalised, that at one point someone suggests that Mahendra simply have another child. Such callous pragmatism extends to the police force and child protection agencies, overworked and undermanned as they are. But so too does it extend to Mahendra himself, who is soon confronted with the financial cost of continuing the search for his son. It costs him a month's savings just to pay for a train ticket to Mumbai. Suman blames him for sending Siddharth away, and it's easy to agree with her. But then again, did he even have a choice? The grim economic reality of the family's situation is the stark spotlight under which Mehta's film unfolds, and ultimately makes it that much more confronting. https://youtube.com/watch?v=wNMDwpMrxmQ
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.
In the early 1970s Patti Smith and Sam Shepard illicitly shacked up in the notorious Chelsea Hotel and co-wrote a play in just two nights, literally shoving a typewriter back and forth across the table until Cowboy Mouth was complete. Forty years on director Emily O'Brien Brown and Exhibit A: Theatre pay homage to the self-destructive lovers' attempt to immortalise their young wild selves through the play’s two characters, Slim and Cavale. Cavale is French for “escape” and Slim is “a rock ‘n’ roll Jesus with a cowboy mouth” — a far cry from Slim Shady. Cavale and Slim fight, drink and wrestle with their own egotistical fantasies of themselves; their unravelling mental states mirrored by the literal deterioration of their decrepit, rundown hotel room. Like a rock royalty version of Vladmir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot, both express a desire to leave but neither follow through. Instead, they play games or musical instruments and survive, barely, on dreams, Cavale’s stories and lobster take-out. Adorned with a baseless mattress, tatty drawings and a drum kit, the stage at GoodTime Studios is cleverly used to show the two characters trapped in their perceived corner. Cavale cuddles a dead bird and tells stories of dead French poets as she avariciously stalks Slim across the stage. He is edgy and practically aquiver with artistic torment: he’s left a wife and child (or she’s left him) for Cavale’s feverish artistic blatherings. Partnered in psychotic torment the two ricochet from happy to wretched, from lustful to fearful, from psychiatrists to podiatrists. Comic relief comes, happily, when they call up the Lobster Man — an inarticulate delivery dude outfitted in full crustacean uniform. The theatre group has breathed new life into this rock ‘n’ roll tale of psychotic infatuation with two impossibly attractive leads, an eclectic soundtrack and even a Rock Lobster. Regardless of whether Cavale and Slim are drunk, demented or simply defiant of spiritual demarcation it's surprisingly easy to relate — we all know what it's like to look around and find ourselves trapped in a corner. Image via Exhibit: A Theatre
After two years of COVID cancellations, Australia's most interestingly named beer festival is finally back. Blobfish makes its much-anticipated return to North Melbourne's Meat Market this month, once again pulling together a lineup that celebrates the sour, the funky and the delightfully different. Founded and helmed by the team at Footscray's own Hop Nation Brewing, the tasting party will run across two sessions on Saturday, July 23, offering punters the chance to sample a whole swag of rare and unusual beers from 19 leading Aussie and New Zealand labels. You'll spend 4.5 hours sipping your way through a diverse range of sours, saisons, barrel-aged brews, fruity concoctions and rare small-batch runs, from the likes of NZ's Garage Project, Sydney's Wildflower, Van Dieman out of Tasmania and Queensland's AWOL. Locals among the lineup include Future Mountain, La Sirène, Collingwood's Molly Rose and regional favourite Bridge Road Brewers, as well as Hop Nation's own funky, barrel-aged spin-off label, Site Fermentation Project. The options don't end there, either, with a 'lager lounge' where you can cleanse the palate between tastings, a range of food vendors and an oyster bar shucking all through the day. Plus, there'll be DJ tunes to soundtrack your sipping. A ticket will cost you $85, which includes entry, a keepsake Blobfish beer glass and tastings from each brewery. Blobfish sessions run from 11.30m–4pm and 5–9.30pm.
Concrete Playground talks to Melbourne street artist Baby Guerilla about her catchy alias, latest work and what art means to her. At the unveiling of her newest commission at Union Dining, Baby Guerilla summed up her take on art in one sentence, "I want more art everywhere". Baby Guerilla works purely for the love of art and the hope that she can inspire others in what she does. Why the name Baby Guerilla? It's the name my dad used to call me, my nickname. It was his running joke that I couldn't be domesticated; couldn't be tamed. It was his way of showing affection. It is exactly who I am. I changed the spelling to reflect the political component of street art. It also keeps my identity hidden. Tell me about how you have come to be the artist you are today. I guess I always wanted to be an artist ever since I was young. I went to the Victorian Collage of the Arts and studied fine arts with a major in painting. I've exhibited pretty widely, had pieces in the National Gallery of NSW had solo shows. Street art started out as a hobby for me, kind of my second life. Then I started to become more experienced, I got bolder. I love art in whatever form. But at the moment I'm obsessed with street art and doing large-scale murals. I still love galleries and I know at some point in my career I'll go back. But for the moment there is still a lot I'd like to do outside. What is your creative process and who's your audience? Ideas often come to me when I'm listening to music, out walking the dog. It feels like the scene in Billy Elliot, when he is jumping on the bed? That's how I feel. I like street art, as it's a great leveler. It comments on the type of society we live in. We are often powerless as we are surrounded by billboards and advertising. I love that you don't need to have money to have a voice with street art. How would you describe your work to someone who had never seen it before? I think it's detailed and probably a bit surreal. I've been told its feminine; which I would probably agree with. What motivates and inspires you? I'm motivated to always try to be better. I want to inspire people. Put something out there in the world to share with other people. I'm always inspired by others and at the moment it's instillation artist Anish Kapoor. The internet has also made it easier to connect with other artists and inspire each other across the world. How does your work fit into the broader context of Melbourne's street art scene? I think there is a renaissance in street art at the moment. It's such a diverse scene. So many different motivations and sub cultures. Anything you say; the opposite is also true. Lots of people love it and follow it and that's exactly what artists want. It's incredible and exciting and encouraging. I don't know exactly how I fit into it. I just do. I think street art is a brilliant way of testing an idea. You do something a couple of times on the street you get better at it. It's a great way to practice. A lot of people say what can you do to help street artists? I think you just have to go out and do it. Your latest work was a site-specific piece commissioned by Union Dining for a space on their terrace wall. What's this work about? It is somewhat of a self-portrait. The eagle represents life and the journey that we go on. The force of nature. It can fuel the best and the worst of life. It can be so beautiful, and cruel at the same time. Where to now for Baby Guerilla? I want to continue doing large-scale public art work and I want to incorporate more colour so I'm working out the logistics for that. My focus has changed a little bit from street art to commissioned large-scale pieces. You can do a better job if it's commissioned. They take time and machinery. Images courtesy of and all rights reserved by artist.
