If you're a fan of northside craft beer haven Carwyn Cellars, then you're probably familiar with the hefty Day of The Dead party it serves up each November. But you've never seen an instalment quite as big as this year's event, which happens this Saturday, November 4. Not only will the party help launch two new Day of the Dead-inspired beers from good mates at New Zealand brewery Garage Project, it also coincides with the debut of the bar's freshly renovated beer garden, giving the al fresco space a fittingly beery baptism. Lubricating the celebrations, a ten-strong Garage Project tap takeover will star a habanero, rosewater and watermelon lager called La Calavera Catrina, and the Day Of The Dead chilli, cacao and vanilla dark lager, alongside a range of the label's more familiar offerings. If beer's not your thing, there'll be Paloma jugs to get you into the spirit instead. Rounding out the fun with some delicious Mexican morsels, Old El Luci will be slinging his famous taco creations, including the El Jefe, with pulled beef rib, corn and chipotle mayo, and the El Pescado, with cured salmon, guacamole and coriander. What's more, you'll get to enjoy it all from the comfort of that brand new beer garden.
Pasta and parmesan are one of Italian cuisine's perfect pairings. Eat the former without the latter, and your tastebuds will know the difference. And while sprinkling your spaghetti with fine shavings of hard, granular cheese is all well and good and delicious, that's nothing compared to devouring a bowl of pasta that has been cooked in a parmesan wheel. If it sounds like all of your culinary dreams come true, that's because it is — and it's the dish in the spotlight at Cucinetta's Parmesan Wheel Week. After a successful event in late July, the South Yarra restaurant is doubling down in mid-November, once again serving up the Italian traditional specialty pasta Cacio e Pepe straight out of a wheel of 18-month Grana Padano. Given that Cacio e Pepe is a spaghetti concoction already made with parmesan and pepper — think fancier, tastier mac 'n' cheese — the results promise quite the cheesy meal. Available for lunch and dinner, it's the kind of dish that has to be eaten to be believed. We'd tell you to arrive hungry, but we're sure you already are just thinking about it. Image: Naotake Murayama via Flickr.
The best thing about film festivals? The surprises. And boy oh boy does the 2017 Russian Resurrection Film Festival have a great one. The touring fest has plenty of ace picks, including a drama set inside the Bolshoi Theatre, aptly called The Bolshoi; Attraction, the first Russian flick about aliens landing in Moscow; and the innovative Tolstoy adaptation that is Anna Karenina: Vronsky's Story. It also has the 1989 action flick Tango & Cash starring none other than Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. Why is this big hair-loving, US-made buddy cop movie on the bill? Because it was primarily directed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky, who collaborated with the great Andrei Tarkovsky early in his career, and then spent a big chunk of the '80s and '90s working in America. It's the kind of nostalgic selection that is best appreciated with retro fun in mind (and a few beverages in hand). It's not quite so-bad-it's-good, but it is something that has to be seen to be believed. In more serious offerings, Arrhythmia explores the erratic pulse of a complicated marriage, Spacewalkers jumps into the Cold War space race, and the comedic The Kitchen: Final Battle pits chefs against each other. Catch them and more at ACMI from November 4 to 19.
Last year, Fitzroy's Rose St Artists' Market teamed up with the Heide Museum of Modern Art to launch the monthly Heide Makers' Market. Now, with the weather finally starting to turn sunny again, the collaboration is back on. Taking over the lush surrounds of the gallery's sculpture park on the second Saturday of every month, the market will once again celebrate talented local makers. It'll showcase a broad range of handmade goodness, across art and design, jewellery and homewares. Visitors will get the chance to chat one-on-one with stall holders, or just saunter through the gallery's grounds with a cup of coffee in hand. While you're there, be sure to check out what's happening at the museum itself. Current exhibitions include Call of the Avant-Garde: Contructivism & Australian Art, and Albert Tucker: Australian Stories.
Seinfeld's George Costanza once wisely told Jerry: "Just remember: it's not a lie…if you believe it". And although it's unclear whether that advice holds up in a game of trivia, you're welcome to give it your best shot. Themed around everyone's favourite hapless character, George's Bar opened its doors in early 2016 and received its fair share of hype thanks to international news coverage and the man himself, Jason Alexander, tweeting about the opening. George's Bar hosts a weekly Wednesday trivia night covering everything from general knowledge to music, film, pop culture, and of course a few Seinfeld curveballs thrown in for good measure. Located at the heart of Fitzroy on Johnston Street, get your pals together and find out which one is the true Costanza, Lord of the Idiots.
If justice and equality were concepts that truly applied to everyone, I Am Not Your Negro wouldn't need to exist. In fact, it wouldn't be able to. Author and social critic James Baldwin wouldn't have lived through the murders of three of his high-profile friends, civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. A decade later, he wouldn't have felt compelled to put his fingers to the typewriter to capture his experiences of America, intending to write a manuscript but only jotting down 30 pages of notes. He wouldn't have been shaped by standing out in a white man's world, and spent his life rallying against it. The list goes on, and the answer remains the same: none of this would've had to happen. Alas, as filmmaker Raoul Peck so powerfully and passionately conveys in his documentary, that was not Baldwin's reality — or ours now. And, as I Am Not Your Negro also makes plain, the difference between the past that Baldwin lived through and our present is virtually non-existent. With Samuel L. Jackson's solemn, patient tones reading the essayist's probing words, the movie steps through the complicated state of American race relations. The deaths of Baldwin's friends provide the framework for not only a picture of history drawn from Baldwin's observations, but of a struggle that still continues. Indeed, when talk show host Dick Cavett asks Baldwin, "is it at once getting much better and still hopeless?" in a clip from 1968, it couldn't feel more relevant now. In a film driven by eloquent statements of harsh facts, such comments keep on coming. "The truth is that this country does not know what to do with its black population," is just one telling utterance of many. Every line feels like a lament and a curse, the former spoken with sadness for humanity's true nature, the latter evidenced by the lack of progress to this day. And yet, I Am Not Your Negro isn't a lecture, as informative as its contents are. Baldwin's writings might dictate the movie's shape and structure, but this is a documentary driven as much by images as words. Peck demonstrates the reality of Baldwin's remarks through a deftly edited array of footage, pairing voiceover with historical photographs, benefiting from archival clips of spirited speeches, and weaving in appropriate snippets from movies that deal with race both overtly and implicitly. Glimpses of King, Evers and X understandably hit home hard, though so do modern parallels and pictures of recent police shooting victims. Indeed, the entire feature lands with the full force that its harrowing, heartbreaking material demands — in sharp contrast to the elegant and poetic way it has been pieced together. Any frame could sit in a history text, and many do. However, as a blend of sights and insights, I Am Not Your Negro could hardly offer a more urgent, perceptive or illuminating viewing experience. With the wisdom of someone who lived, lost, struggled, strived for change and saw others struck down in the process, Baldwin understood that knowing something to be true and facing it aren't one and the same, and that America's history of racial trouble is as built on well-meaning folks failing to act as it is by open violence and hatred. The question that Peck and his film ask is whether the audience can understand that too. Once again, Baldwin says it best: "we are cruelly trapped between what we would like to be and what we actually are." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG6VE1BRF9I
It has been almost 50 years since Philip K. Dick pondered whether androids dream of electric sheep, and 35 years since Blade Runner brought that question to the cinema. In celebration of the long-awaited big screen sequel, Blade Runner 2049, Melbourne's Cinema Nova is throwing another query into the mix: do replicants have a hankering for themed cocktails? Eagle-eyed fans of the first film will have spotted that, yes, bioengineered beings can have a beverage. And we all know that the trackers tasked with retiring them can too. Accordingly, downing a few drinks like Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard seems like a fitting way to mark his return. When Bar 2049 pops up for a month from September 28 — a week before the new movie releases on October 5 — here's hoping there's some of his booze of choice (that is, whiskey), in Cinema Nova's two new tipples: the Nexus 9 and The Offworld. Bar 2049 won't just boast drinks to match the occasion, but will transform the existing Nova Bar & Kitchen into an immersive, eye-catching Blade Runner-like space that takes its cues from both Ridley Scott's original flick and Denis Villeneuve's forthcoming, Ryan Gosling-starring follow-up. Custom wall murals from street artist Chris Hancock of Blender Creative and video installations from filmmaker Ben Helweg will create a striking, futuristic look, while an audio soundscape will blend Vangelis' iconic score with synth pop. Other touches searing themselves into your memory include neon lighting and lasers, LCD screens, floor decals, mannequins and silver unicorns. If that doesn't cause an emotional reaction that proves you're not a robot, then a 'Tastes From The Future' food menu should. The latest example of Cinema Nova's Blade Runner love — with the theatre screening the classic movie several times over the years — Bar 2049 is open from 10am daily, licensed from midday, and serves up dinner from 5pm weeknights and midday on weekends. Images: ©2017 Alcon Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved via Sony Pictures Releasing International.
If you're a fan of things that are good – including good movies, good food and good company – then you're going to be doubly happy about this particular event: a Sophia Coppola double bill at the historic Astor Theatre. They'll be showing Coppola's recent release The Beguiled followed by Lost in Translation, in a pairing that's sure to have movie-lovers salivating. But what makes this one really special is the food, with the cinema teaming up with Supernormal Canteen to celebrate the eatery's opening in St Kilda Earlier this year. FYI – Supernormal Canteen is the younger, chiller sibling of beloved establishment Supernormal. They'll be serving a cinematic variation of their famous peanut butter delight dessert. Think of a waffle cone, stuffed with parfait, slathered in salted caramel and topped with roasted peanuts. And look, we realise that a Sophia Coppola double and a gourmet choc top is peak Melbourne. But you can't deny it's damn appealing.
As one of Australia's most prestigious arts awards, the Archibald Prize presents the year's most-loved portrait paintings, with artworks typically featuring the full spectrum of celebrities, politicians, sportspeople, authors and artists. The 2017 award was taken out by Sydney-based painter Mitch Cairns, whose figurative painting depicting his wife, and fellow artist, Agatha Gothe-Snape was a near-unanimous winner. Cairns had previously been short-listed for the award four times, and was runner-up twice, but this time came away with the award — and the $100,000 prize to boot. This year's prize is exhibited exclusively in Victoria by the Geelong Gallery and presents the many engaging, and often controversial works, created by Australia's leading and up-and-coming painters. The entire 43 finalist's paintings are on display — use our handy guide to the Archibald to help you navigate it. Plus, don't miss the pop-up cafes, bars and weekly events taking place throughout the exhibition.
Flip out, circus fans — there's a new acrobatic collective in town. And, even better, the all-female collective is putting on a free, one-night-only performance that draws attendees into an immersive dystopian world. At Testing Grounds on February 23, Tons of Sense will present Stand Here. And no, you don't have to take the title's advice. In fact, as seven performers do their circus best, audience members are encouraged not only to watch and listen, but to move, touch, taste, smell and interact with the cast and the set. In short: don't expect your usual kind of show. Aiming to probe the bystander effect — that is, how people around us influence our behaviour — is one of the performance's aims according to director Latonya Wigginton, an alum of the Beijing International Art School and the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne. "Stand Here is a circus show, you can expect to see flips and tricks," she explains, "but we also hope that our work leaves the audience with a sense of being involved in something greater than themselves."
If Pitch Perfect 2 taught us anything, it's that bigger isn't always better. The so-so 2015 sequel didn't exactly make the original look like a one-hit wonder, but in trying to repeat the same beats (only louder), it couldn't find quite the same catchy refrain. Still, it's a toe-tapping triumph compared to the third instalment in the a cappella-focused franchise. Like mid 2000s-era Britney Spears, whose 'Toxic' the film trots out more than once, Pitch Perfect 3 is desperately trying to recapture some old magic with very little success. Britney's track is actually the best thing about the movie, which is why it keeps popping up. As the Barden Bellas sing, dance and channel their inner pop star, they're doing what they love — and it shows. Sadly, director Trish Sie (Step Up 5), returning screenwriter Kay Cannon and franchise newbie/co-writer Mike White (Brad's Status) insist on overcomplicating matters again and again. And so it is that our heroes find themselves belting out the tune on a boat that's suddenly besieged with action and explosions. If you're thinking that the franchise has completely run out of ideas, then you're right. The singing silliness starts when record producer Beca (Anna Kendrick), pals Chloe (Brittany Snow) and Aubrey (Anna Camp), outspoken Australian Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and the rest of the gang wrangle their way into a gig entertaining American troops — which then turns out to be a competition to support DJ Khaled at the finale of the tour. Unhappy in their adult lives now that college is but a distant memory, the experience sees the group back in their aca-element, hopping across Europe and riffing off against bands with actual instruments. Commentators John (John Michael Higgins) and Gail (Elizabeth Banks) tag along to make a documentary, while Fat Amy also has to deal with her estranged Aussie father (John Lithgow). While Britney gives Pitch Perfect 3 its high point, it heads in the opposite direction every time Lithgow opens his mouth. Like Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained, it's another case of an American actor completely missing the mark when trying out an Australian accent — not that he seems to be trying that hard. The fact that it'll stick in your mind says just as much about the film around it, however, with the movie brightly shot and zippily paced but unable to rise above a bland screenplay. It doesn't help that the main cast seem barely interested, as they trot through the expected motions, jokes and character tics. At least they give the various jukebox-like musical numbers the requisite energy. Everything else in the film feels like exactly what it is: filler. The end product is a movie that, much like its characters, is happy just to relive past glories. Ironically, the film's message — about moving on and letting go of the past — is one that it seems incapable of taking on board. As a result, while Pitch Perfect 3 is packaged as the Bellas' last hurrah, no one will be surprised if we end up with a fourth instalment. If it forces the group onto a reality TV singing show — and, really, where else can they go? — then it really will be scraping the bottom of the barrel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rv_aNPMRv0
This month, a few of Melbourne's best chefs are joining forces, combining their talents to help raise awareness about anxiety and depression within the hospitality industry. Kitchen guns like Ryne's Donovan Cooke, Anchovy's Thi Le, Oakridge's Matt Stone and Lûmé's, Shaun Quade will be cooking up a storm on February 12, for a one-of-a-kind cocktail party aboard Arbory Afloat. At the helm is Food for Thought, a local initiative that runs annual charity dinners to help encourage conversation and break through the stigma surrounding these mental health issues. The team of chefs will be whipping up a diverse eight-course canapé menu for 350 guests. Tickets cost $100 and include all food and three hours of drinks — and all profits from the night will go straight to R U OK? and beyondblue. If you want to donate more, there will be raffles and auctions throughout the night. "In our industry we do witness the effects that long hours, high-pressure work environments and an often 'just deal with it' attitude can have, causing those suffering from anxiety and depression not to speak out," said chef and Food for Thought founder Mal Meiers. "Having personally faced this, I felt a huge importance to support this cause."
Nestled on the banks of the Yarra between Abbotsford and Kew, Studley Park Boathouse is the perfect place to escape the city chaos without actually leaving it. And this Friday, February 23, it's hosting its first ever twilight street food festival. The Boathouse isn't just offering food, either — it's also giving anyone that purchases a main meal a free turn in a rowboat. But if hopping on a boat doesn't go down well with your post-meal bloat, Furphy will be setting up a cocktail and a pop-up beer bar, which is sure to pair well with the sun setting over the river. The oldest boathouse on the Yarra, Studley Park will be a change of pace from your usual dining haunts. American hot dogs, Mexican fajitas and tacos andor a Greek gyros will all be on offer. Add live music to the mix, and this is the ultimate Friday date night. Make the most of the dwindling summer evenings — there aren't many left.
You can never have too many occasions to eat cheese, but this Melbourne cheese festival isn't just keen to shower cheese fiends with creamy goodness. A collaboration between Bruny Island Cheese Co. cheesemaker Nick Haddow and the organisers of Pinot Palooza, Mould wants dairy lovers to explore and devour the mild, hard and soft bites that Australia's best cheese wizards have to offer. Returning for a second year, the festival will paint North Melbourne's Meat Market yellow on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5. Alongside unlimited tastings of Australia's best cheeses — there will be over 80 types from the likes of Bruny Island, Yarra Valley Dairy, Stone & Crowe — it'll feature flavoursome fare from toastie masters Maker & Monger, Burn City Smokers and more. Think of it as a cheese tasting trip around Australia without leaving Blackwood Street. Of course, snacking on samples and purchasing slices and slabs to take home with you are just two ways to enjoy cheese. The fest will have cooking demonstrations, masterclasses and talks so you can stretch your cheese knowledge as well as your cheese stomach. And it wouldn't be a cheese festival without beverages to wash it all down with, so expect a bar serving Aussie wines, whisky, beer and sake — all of which match nicely to a bit of cheese. There will be an evening session on Friday from 5–8pm and two sessions (from 11am–4pm and 5–9pm) on Saturday. Tickets cost $45, which includes tastings, classes, one free glass of vino and a wine glass to keep.
If you've ever worked in hospo, you've been in this situation. And even if you haven't waited, tended bar or cooked up a storm in a professional kitchen, you can probably still relate. Finding a decent place to relax, eat great food and drink fabulous cocktails after the clock strikes midnight isn't as easy as it really should be these days. And so, with that in mind, the Late Night Harlem Supper Club became a reality. After a super successful, sold out debut event back in October last year, the CBD bar Nieuw Amsterdam is bringing back the post-midnight feast in the wee hours of Sunday morning of March 26 (or, really late on Saturday night). This Supper Club will see chefs Ved Navghare and Kay-lene Tan in control of the kitchen. Given that they are head chef and pastry chef (respectively) at Tonka, their three-course menu is sure to have an Indian undertone to it. The $70 ticket includes the three courses and an arrival cocktail, with all other drinks will available to purchase separately. Night owls, get booking.
When 11-year-old Toni (Royalty Hightower) looks at the world, she does so from a specific perspective. That might sound obvious; however The Fits doesn't just follow her journey — it embraces everything that makes the shy pre-teen who she is. When the camera isn't peering from her point of view, it's showing how her body reacts to everything around her. And with movement Toni's main way of processing her thoughts and conveying her feelings, the movie's editing tries to mirror its protagonist's distinctive presence. Indeed, if most coming-of-age films champion the universal nature of growing up, then Anna Rose Holmer's feature filmmaking debut endeavours to celebrate Toni's individual experience. The first-time writer-director understands that everyone encounters similar issues and situations at a young age, including the awkward prospects of trying something different and making new friends. But with her co-scribes Saela Davis and Lisa Kjerulff, Holmer also acknowledges that it's the unique details, rather than the broader strokes, that make each story interesting. Accordingly, The Fits burrows deep into Toni's mindset as it explores her attempts to join local dance drill ensemble The Lionesses. When the film opens, she's a tomboy happily tagging along to her older brother's boxing training sessions at the local community centre — until the cheering and chatter emanating from another gymnasium in the complex attracts her attention. Soon, she's testing out their moves when no one is around, and working up the courage to audition. Alas, as Toni moves closer to the group, something strange happens: the rest of her teammates mysteriously start fainting and convulsing. Of course, it's not an accident that The Fits' title has multiple meanings. As Toni tries to fit in, her peers are literally having fits, which the jerkiness of their chosen style of dance unmistakably resembles. Such a sense of synergy is just one of the layered touches that makes the movie so simultaneously intimate and expressive. While the film brings a particular narrative to the screen, it's more concerned with the emotional voyage that eventuates, rather than the underlying plot points. As a result, even though a number of eye-catching dance numbers feature throughout its 72-minute running time, The Fits isn't a dance film in the usual sense. Instead, it's a tale that can only be told through movement and a heightened awareness of physicality, and through the stylistic and acting choices that emphasise the difference between stepping up and communicating a psychological state. Holmer displays rare confidence behind the camera, especially when it comes to the film's immersive soundtrack, symmetrical framing and rhythmic choreography. But it's the cast of non-professional actors that ensure the film hits home. Led by Hightower, they're the reason the movie doesn't just look striking, but feels like an authentic glimpse into the mind of a pre-teen girl. The Fits is screening as part of She Speaks First, a female-focused film series presented by Grey Gardens Projects. The film will be followed by a conversation with choreographer and dancer Holly Durant and artist Clare Rae.
If you're the kind of dog owner who takes your fur baby out to dinner with you and feeds them from your plate, you'll love this event. Witchmount Winery — which is just 25 minutes outside of Melbourne in Plumpton — is hosting Doggy Winery Cinema. The name says it all: dogs, wine, outdoor cinema. On Saturday, February 11 from 6.30pm, they'll be playing Red Dog: True Blue — which is no Napoleon, but your dog will appreciate it all the same. Along with the film, the ticket price includes a healthy plate of paella as well as a glass of wine or a local brew. An endless supply of popcorn will see you through the film and Ben and Jerry's will be on hand to sate your ice cream cravings. As for your pooches, their treats can be bought from Australia's first food truck for dogs (yes, really), the Canine Wellness Kitchen Food Truck.
If you're the kind of Melburnian who dedicates the entire month of October to all things spooky, then you'll want to make a date with the latest acclaimed stage show that's heading Australia's way. Sure, Ghost Stories will start its local season in September, but it's definitely arriving at the right time of year for bumps, jumps and unleashing eerie tales. Hitting our shores for the first time, Ghost Stories will bring its thrills and chills to the Athenaeum Theatre between Friday, September 16–Saturday, October 22. And, it'll be doing so with the team behind a couple of other unsettling recent experiences: Melbourne-based Realscape Productions, who've been responsible for shipping container installations Seance, Flight and Coma, plus a number of horror audio experiences since 2020. Created, written and directed by Andy Nyman (Derren Brown) and Jeremy Dyson (The League of Gentlemen), and first staged in the UK back in 2010, Ghost Stories offers exactly what its name suggests. Leading the charge is fictional Professor of Parapsychology Phillip Goodman, who takes audiences through three of his cases. If it sounds familiar even though the production hasn't ever made it to our shores as yet, that's because Ghost Stories was turned into a film with The Office, The Hobbit and Sherlock star Martin Freeman a couple of years back — and also featuring Nyman as Goodman. This is the type of show where the less you know going in, the better. You want to experience those frightening tales afresh, after all. Audience members have been known to physically jump in their seats while they're watching, too, which is part of the point. "If people are paying their hard-earned money to see the show, we have a responsibility to give them more than they pay for," said Dyson in a statement when the show first announced its plans to hit Australia, with its initial 2021 dates postponed to 2022. "We knew that we wanted to craft a play that would deliver something of substance to an audience, some solid ground underneath the fun, that would leave a deeper, darker residue and be harder to shake off," continued both Dyson and Nyman. Yes, the show has been likened to watching a horror movie play out on stage — so if you that sounds like your ideal way to spend 80 minutes, prepare to be in your element. If you're easily scared, you probably already know to stay away. For its Aussie run — with a stint in Adelaide set to follow Melbourne — Ghost Stories will star playwright and actor Steve Rodgers (Savage River, Kenny) as Professor Phillip Goodman, and also feature Jay Laga'aia, Darcy Brown and Nick Simpson-Deeks. Check out Ghost Stories' Australian trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfabPFfTm6g Ghost Stories will hit Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre from Friday, September 16–Saturday, October 22. For further details and to buy tickets, head to the production's website. Images: Eugene Perepletchikov.
Melbourne's various arts festivals aren't short on highlights, but fans of cinema and music can usually look forward to a Hear My Eyes session come Melbourne International Film Festival time. That's when a beloved flick comes back to the big screen, accompanied by a live — and all-new, completely original — score that's played while film lovers sit, watch and listen. In 2023, however, Hear My Eyes is heading to citywide cultural festival RISING in June first. On the agenda: a film that's not even a decade old but is already a classic, as well as just one piece of proof in a long list that Robert Pattinson makes stellar role choices when he's not playing a sparkly vampire. In 2017, heist thriller Good Time was a standout. Following one wild night in New York City as small-time criminal Connie (Pattinson, The Batman) tries to find some cash to get his brother out of jail, it's a pulsating effort from directors Benny and Josh Safdie — who went on to make the also-exceptional Uncut Gems afterwards. Usually, Good Time boasts a helluva thumping, nerve-shredding electronic soundtrack by Oneohtrix Point Never, who also did the same for Uncut Gems. But Hear My Eyes is tasking Big Yawn and Teether with coming up with a brand-new live score on Friday, June 9 at the Melbourne Recital Centre. That means rhythm and rap, as designed to suit the film's relentless pace and vibe. This movie-and-music session joins past Hear My Eyes gigs such as Pan's Labyrinth, Chopper, Two Hands, Drive, Girlhood and Suspiria. Obviously, these shows are never the same twice. It also continues Melbourne's spate of gigs celebrating cinema, thanks to orchestral screenings of everything from Toy Story and Home Alone to Frozen and Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back either recently, or to come. And, it sits on a packed RISING 2023 lineup that spans more than 400 artists over 12 days of visual art, culture, music, performance and food. A fellow highlight for movie lovers: Euphoria, a multi-screen film installation starring Cate Blanchett, which will fill Melbourne Town Hall. Check out the trailer for Good Time below: Hear My Eyes' Good Time screening with Big Yawn and Teether will debut at Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday, June 9. Head to the RISING website for tickets and further details. Also, read our full review of Good Time. RISING will descend on venues and spaces across Melbourne from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18. For the full program and tickets, head to the festival's website.
Most Melbourne eateries that create specials for Easter tend to make one showstopping treat. But the crew at Pidapipo Laboratorio are given the freedom and resources to dream up all kinds of delicious things year-round. For Easter this year that includes hot cross bun gelato sandwiches, three Easter-inspired gelato flavours and a heap of different chocolate eggs. Single-origin Dominican Republic cacao will be showcased throughout each of the Easter eggs at Pidapipo, from the milk and dark chocolate eggs to its famed filled eggs that were a huge hit last year. The dark chocolate eggs are pumped full of salted caramel, the milk chocolate filled with hazelnut gianduja and its white chocolate eggs are stuffed with almond praline and caramelised coconut. Then we have the three limited-edition gelato flavours. The most exciting creation is inspired by the classic Italian sweet bread Colomba, made with layers of raspberry curd, Colomba, stracciatella gelato and chocolate cookie crumbs that are topped with whipped cream and maraschino cherries. This beast of a gelato will only be available in a take-home tub. Punters can also try the milk chocolate gelato with amarena cherries and toasted chocolate hot cross bun crumbs, or the honey gelato with blueberry jam and toasted hot cross bun crumbs. These hot cross buns have been baked in-house and are not only used to top the new gelatos. They'll also be available either on their own or stuffed with gelato to make an epic ice cream sandwich. Choose from a chocolate hot cross bun served with a scoop of milk chocolate and amarena cherry gelato, or a spiced raisin hot cross bun chock full of honey and blueberry jam gelato. Rather eat these bad boys at home? If that's the case, the team will send you off with a pack of six fresh buns and a one-litre tub of gelato. No need to worry about them getting soggy bottoms during the drive. The easter eggs and special edition gelato flavours will be available at all Pidapipo stores in Melbourne, but the hot cross buns can only be found at Pidapipo Laboratorio. For more information and to pre-order some Easter treats, visit the venue's website.
Is Love Story the first crowd-written film? Indie filmmakers have been financing their projects directly from fans for a while, but this pseudo-documentary rom com credits “the people of New York City” as screenwriters. Affable, skinny-jeaned Kiwi, Florian Habicht, sees a beautiful young woman, Masha, on the streets of New York. He misses his chance to get her number, but can’t forget her. Armed with a steadycam and a gutload of courage, he asks regular New Yorkers what he should do. The suggestions of strangers prompt his next moves and the development of the romance. What emerges is less of a love story and more of a testimony to the fact that Americans will truly say and do anything on camera. But this film’s directive isn’t realism or even true love. It's cleverness and kitsch, of the stripey socks and frosted cupcake variety. It’s all pretty meta: in these post-everything times, Love Story takes the idea of a film within a film, and rewrites it on the fly. It doesn’t work like Hollywood and it doesn’t work all the time. But it’s so sweet and silly and earnest, and goofy Florian is such an entertaining host, that the film’s foibles are forgivable — just. Love Story is a fun and admirable cinematic experiment - the trick is not to think too much.
Parallel universes, inconsequential decisions, and the results of pure chance can change things at any moment. What would have happened if you didn't miss that train, or hadn't snoozed that alarm one more time? Unless you're Gwyneth Paltrow, you'll never know. Harold Pinter Award 2012 winner Nick Payne takes us deep into the questioning of these exact moments in his play, Constellations. A modern-day Romeo and Juliet, with logically very little reason to ever cross paths, experience a moment that alters their existence irreversibly. Originally commissioned for the Royal Court Theatre in London's West End, this play stars Alison Bell and Leon Ford and is directed by Leticia Cáceres, the newly appointed MTC associate director, in her debut on the mainstage. Let us ask, what if?
Jose James blends sexy jazz with drum 'n' bass. But stay with us — this isn't Skrillex with a saxophone; it's more like Gil Scott-Heron with turntables and a time machine. James makes jazz for the electronic and hip-hop generation, fusing '70s jazz soul with modern influences, new technology, and his own smooth vocals. Last year James made a fleeting visit to Australia to play Melbourne International Jazz Festival and Sydney's Future Now show, and this month he's returning to command the Hi-Fi. The musician will present his brand-new album, No Beginning No End, an album which has really allowed James to dust off the remains of the jazz singer tag and show him for the genre-blending spearhead that he is. If you like your jazz dirty and your DnB barely recognisable, expect only good things. https://youtube.com/watch?v=5Gz2kqOupCI
Melbourne is a cycling city. The total sum of bikes on the road has been consistently rising for the past five years, and the culture is on the rise: you can't look anywhere these days without seeing a bike nut slogging along on a sleek, fancy fixie. If you are part of the fast-growing population on two wheels, prepare for BikeFest: a truly Melburnian festival that brings cycling, food and music together. With dozens of events dotted around the city over the next three weeks, you can expect to get a workout, too. BikeFest is a sprawling umbrella encompassing events of all sorts. Some are on the intimate side of things, such as the bicycle workshops at Coburg boutique bike shop Pedal Cyclery. Restricted to four pupils at a time and run by the friendly and helpful shop owner Chris, they are a chance to get some hands-on experience with basic bike maintenance and repair that will stand you in good stead for any future mishaps. At the other end of the spectrum are several group activities, many of which begin with a big group ride and end with a slice of Melbourne culture. The Coburg drive-in cinema is overrun by bikes for a night, hordes of Superheroes on cycles take over Nicholson Street, and the Abbotsford Convent's Shadow Electric cinema is hosting a lovely picnic that marries food, cinema, and cycling. A highlight is the Full Moon Ride, a 25km group trek interrupted only by a midnight picnic. Pushy Women, meanwhile, is a more of a boisterous night out, with a panel of some of Melbourne's foremost female comedians and columnists sharing anecdotes about their long and illustrious cycling careers. Finally, rounding out the festival is Crossy's Gig, a benefit for cyclist James Cross, who was tragically killed in a cardooring incident in 2010. A host of Melbourne bands will play at the event to raise money for the James Cross Memorial Fund, which is aimed at making Melbourne's roads safer for cyclists. Whether you're a die-hard cyclist or just starting out, there's plenty to send you well on the way to taking off the training wheels at BikeFest. Image via http://aarline.info
Australia, the beautiful brown land that she is, can often be cruel. One of her many weapons, the raging bushfire, takes centrestage in Love Me Tender. In the aftermath of devastation, a community comes together in grief and confusion, as one man searches for his missing daughter. Written by acclaimed Australian writer Tom Holloway (a graduate of both Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art and London's Royal Court Theatre International Playwriting Studio), directed by Patrick McCarthy, and brought to us by Melbourne-based Mutation Theatre, the play can be expected to ask the hard questions and really challenge the audience. In a beautiful portrayal of modern Australian society, questions of sex, love and community come together as characters grapple with the question of what to do when everything has fallen apart.
It's true, Melbourne has a lot of festivals. Big festivals, piccolo festivals, and "why in hell is there a festival for that?" festivals. Well, we like to celebrate, alright? Just like Kimmy K, we'd go to the opening of an envelope if there was a chance of our face making it into the society pages. White Night Melbourne is another festival, but with a nocturnal twist — it all takes place over 12 hours, from 7pm until 7am (it's after my bedtime too, but worth it). Since its establishment in Europe in the early '90s, White Night has expanded all over the world, with Melbourne the latest city to join the line-up. The program is teeming with activities, spread out across eight themed areas, mostly within the CBD grid but extending to Birrarung Marr and the Melbourne Museum. Expect projection art, performance, film, lights, and live music — a bombardment of colour, noise, and merriment that will display Melbourne’s thriving cultural scene, or a concentrated, hyperactive, crack-fuelled version of it, anyway. Before you break out in a stress rash because it's all a little 'whelming, regain control in this crazy world of chaos by reading our roadmap to the festival to find out how to make the most of Melbourne's funnest night watch.
Iggy Pop is a legend's legend. The American juvenile delinquent teamed up with the only other guys in his midwest town who liked the Velvet Underground to form the Stooges. Then the Ramones and a dozen other seminal bands formed based on being the only guys in their town who liked the Stooges. Back in the day, Iggy rolled around on stage, shirtless, covered in honey, peanut butter, and glitter (or all three) and invented crowd surfing (which he did standing up ). Though now much older, the Godfather of Punk still seems largely averse to wearing shirts. This is what he and his band of legends look like rocking out nowadays, with Minuteman Mike Watt on bass. But does their music still hold up? Oh yes. The Stooges are playing the Hordern, and this may be your last chance to see them live in Oz.
Compton was the epicenter of West Coast hip-hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. NWA and then Dr Dre were the gangsta kings of Californian rap, so it’s appropriate that Dre has lent his approval to the new kid on the block, Kendrick Lamar, who hails from the same neighbourhood in Los Angeles. Dre appears on and executively produced Lamar’s second album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, and although it’s unlikely Dre will land in Sydney any time soon, Lamar will perform a first show at the Palace Theatre on December 21. A member of LA collective Black Hippy, Lamar released his first album Section 8.0 last year after the obligatory run of free mixtapes. The 24-year-old rapper has already sold out some of his Australian shows, so hip-hop fans are likely to be queuing on Gumtree and round the block come December. Apparently a significant moment of Lamar’s creative life was witnessing Dre and Tupac Shakur film the video for California Love in 1995. Fast forward 17 years, and Lamar is bringing his West Coast love to Melbourne.
Important food news: Birrarung Marr is set to turn into a dumpling lover's paradise for 18 delectable days this November. That's right, Downtown Dumpling Market is coming to town, making its debut on Thursday, November 9 and running through to Sunday, November 26. The openair festival will boast an array of vendors ready to steam, fry and sizzle their way into our hearts (and stomachs). With a hefty number of choices ranging from traditional pork, Japanese gyoza and Polish pierogi through to the more adventurous butter chicken and even a white chocolate variety, there's a little something and dumpling for everyone — even your four-legged friends, as this market is dog-friendly. The market isn't just about the dumplings. There's a whole array of other dishes to dig into including noodles and Filipino chicken skewers. Pair these with a drink from the dedicated sake bar or a refreshing yuzu spritz cocktail, and you've got yourself a feast. If beer is more your vibe, there's plenty of Sapporo and Coopers to go around. As for the vendors, expect some heavyweights in the dumpling game to be on show. We're talking ShangDong Mama, Oriental Tea House and Pierogi Pierogi, to name a few. Other standouts include Bao+, Bubble Tea Story, Wonderbao, IScream & Juice Bar and Hoy Pinoy. It's a good thing the market runs for the better part of a month, as you'll definitely want to return to try it all. The market is more than just a feast for the tastebuds; it's a feast for the senses, with nightly live entertainment in one of the most picturesque parts of Melbourne. So, mark your calendars, text your mates and come hungry. And here's the best part — entry is completely free. Lovely. The Downtown Dumpling Market runs from Thursday, November 9–Sunday, November 26 at Birrarung Marr, operating from 4.30pm on weekdays and from 12pm on weekends.
Did you hear that? We think someone just said free dumplings and beer. Prepare to get all a-quiver because someone actually, absolutely did just say free dumplings and beer. In honour of the foodstuff that fuels drunken nights out across the country, 206 Bourke Street is hosting the first Melbourne Dumpling Festival, complete with a huge (free!) sit-down dumpling tasting event. Dump dump wizards Tim Ho Wan, China Red, China Chilli and Dragon Boat are working with Brooklyn Brewery to bring you a night of dumpling indulgence. From 5-10pm on Friday, October 21, groups of 30 will be seated for 30 minutes to enjoy a gratis dumpling and beer pairing, including three serves of dumplings and three beer samples. Seems weird that it's totally free, but we won't question it. It goes without saying though that you can only sign up to one booking. Tim Ho Wan will also be premiering their lava bomb dumpling, free to the first 200 people who rock up to the pop-up. The lava bomb, just FYI, is exactly what it sounds like - an explosive dumpling, filled with sweet gooey custard. Here's a schedule of the dishes available so you can book accordingly: Sitting one and two by Dragon Boat: Siu Mai dumpling (pork and prawn) Sitting three and four by China Red: spicy Won Ton dumpling (pork dumplings with spicy Schezwan sauce) Sitting five and six by Tim Ho Wan: wasabi prawn dumpling (prawn, crispy casing and wasabi mayonnaise) Sitting seven and eight by China Chilli: Master Zhong's dumpling (mixed cabbage, pork and home-made sweet spicy sauce) Aside from the dumpling pairing, the one-night festival will also hold a host of dumpling-making demos, calligraphy workshops and live music. You'll also be able to get dumps to eat in or take away. The event is being held at 206 Bourke Street, which is the retail precinct Tim Ho Wan is located in and connects Bourke Street with Chinatown. The Melbourne Dumpling Festival will take place from 5-10pm on Friday, October 21. You can book your dump dump sesh here and check out all the other cool stuff happening at the festival website.
A ten-minute dance session for ten people at a time, held in a caravan. A future-focused art party featuring live performance, projection, visual art and music. A photo exhibition exploring the transformation of Australia's premier drag performers. Now that's how you mark three decades of celebrating Melbourne's LGBTIQA+ community and showering the city in queer arts and culture — and it's only the beginning of Midsumma Festival's 2017 lineup. Hitting the big three-oh is a spectacular affair and then some for the annual fest, complete with more than 130 events in the program. Keeping the impressive numbers going — and growing, as they have since Midsumma first kicked off in 1988 — the forthcoming iteration will also feature the work of over 1200 artists and culture creators in more than 70 venues and outdoor space, including hubs at Arts Centre Melbourne, Gasworks and The Hare Hole at Hares & Hyenas. As always, the annual Pride March through St Kilda proves one of the festival's must-attend highlights, alongside the fellow returning flagship event that is the Midsumma Carnival and T Dance. At the former, everyone will dance, strut, sing, catwalk, vogue, placard, drag and move together in a display of difference, acceptance and equality. At the latter, prepare to party all day and night, watch queer sports and even see a dog show, all at Alexandra Gardens. Other standouts include a showcase of portraits of LBTI women by photographer Lisa White, a new take on Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince by the folks behind Psycho Beach Party, a reimagined version of Fringe favourite dance piece HardQueer DeathPony, and UK drag stars Jonny Woo and Le Gateau Chocolat working their way through musical theatre hits such as Les Mis, The Lion King, Cabaret and Annie. Or, hear marriage equality activist and Queen of Ireland star Panti Bliss share her experiences, catch a comedy cabaret about how to be a wingman, enjoy the Cuddle Puddle (yes, it's exactly what it sounds like), pay tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, show off your interpretative dance skills and participate in the Muddy Gras obstacle course. It's going to be a fun and busy three weeks, that's for sure. Midsumma 2017 runs from January 15 to February 5. For more information about the festival, including the full program guide and ticket sales, visit midsumma.org.au Image: Coal Photography.
It's perfectly natural to smash through bad days, good days or any day with a helping hand from some sugary indulgence. Here in Melbourne our cafes cater to those with a sweet tooth, which means we have some of the tastiest dessert-for-breakfast treats at our fingertips. Here's our list of Melbourne's finest spots to stroll into and loudly declare "Bring me your sweetest treat, post haste!". Rules are made to be broken – dessert should come first every now and then. [caption id="attachment_585127" align="alignnone" width="1279"] Operator 25's matcha almond hotcakes with grilled pears, berry sauce, dark chocolate and freeze dried raspberry.[/caption] OPERATOR 25 The best thing about Operator 25 is that every dish they serve looks like a colourful work of art (the eyes do eat first you know). The cafe has a range of options for a dessert-brekky, but our favourite is their matcha almond hotcakes served with grilled pears, berry sauce, dark chocolate and freeze dried raspberry. The fruit content means you can pass it off as "healthy". [caption id="attachment_585195" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Caramel doughnut at Rustica Canteen.[/caption] RUSTICA CANTEEN At Rustica Canteen you could very well smash a bite-sized sweet treat and then tuck into a balanced brekky if that's your bag. Rustica are renowned for their sourdough, so naturally their menu is full of bakery-esque delights including pistachio cronuts and poached pear danishes. There's a decent quinoa pudding to wash it down with too. [caption id="attachment_585219" align="alignnone" width="1279"] Lindt's signature chocolate waffle with vanilla white chocolate ice cream. Photo by royceluo.[/caption] LINDT CHOCOLATE CAFÉ If the traditional box of assorted Lindt chocolates balls always incited family debates about which kind was best, you'll be thrilled to know that there's a Lindt café in Melbourne CBD and it's all kinds of great. We recommend you try the winter menu, it's perfect for those cold mornings when you can't deal with the cold weather. Their signature hot chocolate (your pick of dark or milk) is a mouthful of heaven, and if have any space left over after, try the waffles. They're fresh, crunchy and served with white chocolate ice cream and a pot of melted Lindt chocolate. What? No you're drooling! [caption id="attachment_585149" align="alignnone" width="1275"] Hash Specialty Coffee's quinoa fruit salad with labneh, mint and orange blossom syrup.[/caption] HASH SPECIALTY COFFEE Hash Specialty Coffee does great food, but that's not really what we're after. Shoo away the menu and ask for a hot chocolate, heavy on the fairy floss. You'll be served a beaker of hot chocolate and a puff of fairy floss to experiment with. But if you want your dessert-for-breakfast experience to step it up a notch, order the crème brulee French toast or the quinoa fruit salad with orange blossom syrup. Everything is pretty as a picture, and may just send you into a sugar frenzy (in a good way). SHORTSTOP COFFEE AND DONUTS We'd all like to consume our weight in chocolate once in a while, but time and circumstance make fools of us all. If you're after that sugar hit but you're low on time, make your way like a flying arrow straight to Shortstop Donuts and grab a take away gourmet doughnut. Our favourite is the sea salt cruller. Pro-tip: pre-order online so you can skip the queue and jump straight to the donut-in-face experience. Lindt Chocolate Café's signature chocolate waffle and drink is available now for $16 at 271 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Two of our favourite things — good food and fantastic film — are coming together at Caulfield Racecourse this March. After a sold-out debut season last year, Gourmet Cinema will return for two weeks starting on Thursday, March 2 to pair menus from some of Melbourne's top restaurants with a critically-acclaimed film. So bring your picnic blankets, but leave the baskets at home. Each film on the program has been matched to a corresponding restaurant. Lost in Translation should go quite nicely with Japanese nosh from Tokyo Tina, while Slumdog Millionaire seems better paired with Horn Please's much-loved Indian food. Alternatively, you can 'find yourself' in a big bowl of pasta from Baby during Eat Pray Love, watch Frida with a feast from Fonda, or revisit Amélie with a French picnic from L'Hotel Gitan. Other vendors on the list include Kong, Saigon Sally, Meatmaiden and The Atlantic. While each restaurant will present a specific screening, you don't have to worry about picking your favourite, as each night a rotating roster of five restaurants will be slinging film-friendly foods. You won't have to line up for it either — you can just have it delivered to your picnic blanket via Deliveroo. Gourmet Cinema will run for 11 consecutive days, and will this year include two matinee screenings. For all the others, gates open at 6pm with the film set to commence around 8pm. Tickets are $17.60 (plus booking fee) for adults, or you can shell out $35 for a reserved deck chair. For more information and to book tickets, visit gourmetcinema.com.au.
It was an incredibly sad day when iconic St Kilda venue Stokehouse burned down in 2014. Now, after a two and a half year hiatus, it's finally coming back, renovated and designated into a 'precinct' of multiple bars and restaurants, set to dominate that seaside like only Stokehouse can. Last month fish and chip kiosk Paper Fish opened as the first stage of the new precinct, and this weekend second venue Pontoon — a casual beachside bar and eatery — will open on the ground floor. This chic new 400-capacity beach-inspired establishment precede the opening of the highly anticipated relaunch of Stokehouse St Kilda restaurant, which is slated to launch on December 6. The Pontoon menu will be casual and over the counter (think of the kind of food you can eat while standing with a drink in the other hand), and will put their four-metre grill to good use. You can expect a lot of seafood, wood-fired pizzas, and noms like the wood-roasted beef brisket toastie. The epic 18-metre-long bar will house a strong wine list, 18 beer taps and of course, cocktails. They'll also be serving up globally trending anomaly 'frosé', because how could they not. Peppered with the furniture and trimmings of local Melbourne designers, the interior has been designed by George Livissianis (the design dynamo behind recent Sydney renos of The Dolphin Hotel, The Apollo and Cho Cho San). Expect a casual layout and a mixture of warm, natural materials (think wood, leather and cane) offset by concrete and brick. "Looking out onto St Kilda beach was a great starting point in considering colours and materials that would compliment the concrete and blackened timber building," said Livissianis. Pontoon will open at midday on Saturday, November 12 on the ground floor of the rebuilt Stokehouse building, 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda. They'll be open from midday, seven days a week. For more info, visit pontoonstkildabeach.com.au. Images: Kristoffer Paulsen.
After three years in the brewing biz, Exit Brewing finally has a place to call home — but, in a distinct point of difference from every other brewery in the industry, the bar has a name all its own. Uitgang Bar, a collaboration between Exit co-founders Fraser Rettie and Craig Knight and their beer loving friend David Pike, officially opened its doors early April. "The name is Flemish for Exit and is an homage to where we were first inspired to brew in Belgium," says Rettie. "We fell in love with beer and first began to home brew there, and the name is just a little something different." All three owners are Richmond locals, and Rettie had specifically eyed the space enviously many times on previous occasions. "I used to walk past the space almost every day and I'd always stick my head in and think 'this would be a great place to showcase the Exit range," says Rettie. "When we found out it was becoming available, we moved fast." The space boasts exposed brick and arches, as well as a sizeable beer garden — a commodity along Bridge Road. They hope to grow a few hop plants in the garden, which will be used both for show and as ingredients in pilot brews only available at the bar. The bar features an extensive range of taps, including ten beer, one cider and one carbonated coffee tap, produced nearby at North St. Of the beer taps, four will be dedicated to Exit, one is reserved for Kaiju! Beer — who they share brewing facilities with — and the additional four will act as rotating taps for other Australian craft breweries. The venue's local focus goes deeper than most — all of the booze in Uitgang will focus on Australian producers, including independently made spirits and wine. Keeping with their community focus, the bar is offering takeaway food services from three of their favourite neighbourhood haunts — pizza and pasta from St Domenico, burgers from Three One 2 One and Vietnamese fusion from Mr Minh. "There are so many quality food places around Bridge Road and we chose to partner with restaurants we love and eat at ourselves," says Rettie. Having a bar doesn't mean you'll stop seeing Exit beer around town, either. "We have a lot of really loyal retailers and customers so we're very conscious that we don't want to hog all of the limelight with the new bar," says Rettie. Exit will even throw their third birthday at the nearby Royston Hotel, who have been loyal supporters of the brand and have hosted events for them in the past. Uitgang Bar is now open at 406 Bridge Road, Richmond; opening hours are Wednesday through Thursday from 4pm to 11pm, Friday through Saturday from noon to 11pm and Sunday from noon to 10pm.
Get ready to feel your age. After the definition of a runaway debut album, a couple of Grammys, a world tour, a collaboration with Disclosure and worldwide fame, Lorde is returning to Australia for a handful of shows — and she's still only 20 years old. The New Zealand artist — also known as Ella Yelich-O'Connor — has this morning announced she will tack on four Australian shows to her Melodrama world tour in November. All outdoor venues, she will play in Sydney's iconic Opera House Forecourt, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Kings Park in Perth and Brisbane's City Botanic Gardens. It will be Lorde's first visit back to Australia since 2014, when she toured Pure Heroine as a wee 16-year-old. This time around, she will showcase her new album Melodrama, which is set to be released next week. General tickets go on sale at noon on Monday, June 19, but if you're a Frontier member or signed up to the Sydney Opera House's newsletter, you can access pre-sales ahead of time. Find more info on the tour here. LORDE MELODRAMA AUSTRALIAN TOUR Saturday, November 18 — Kings Park, Perth Tuesday, November 21 — Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney Thursday, November 23 — Riverstage, City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane Saturday, November 26 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
South Yarra's Forrest Hill precinct continues to boom, with the announcement of a lofty, openair atrium to sit at the base of Claremont Street's new luxury residential development, Yarra One. Drawing inspiration from Melbourne's famed laneway culture, the ambitious project will see the thoroughfare between Daly Street and Yarra Lane transformed into a vibrant community hub, and a lifestyle destination in itself. Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects (MONA), the ground floor space is nothing short of stunning, boasting sprawling, sun-dappled interiors and a soaring timber trellis entwined by lush foliage. Not only will it feature a diverse collection of cafes, restaurants, and retailers, but also rows of tiered seating overlooking a small stage area, marking the space's potential as a cultural hub. Counting favourites like Zumbo Patisserie and Two Birds One Stone as neighbours, this dynamic addition is on track to becoming one of Melbourne's new wave of large-scale lifestyle destinations. Construction for the Yarra One project, including the atrium, will be completed by 2020.
Not content with serving up live tunes and relaxed brews, Brunswick venue The Penny Black has added a new kitchen to the mix. Fittingly called the Penny Counter, it's bringing Southern-style food to the cruisy hangout, in what they're dubbing a new dining experience. Menu-wise, that means burgers — of course — including The Old School with beef, cheddar, relish and pickles; the King Charlie V, which doubles up on everything and adds bacon; the Adobo Stinger, for spicy chicken fiends; and the Field of Dreams, aka a vegetarian option with stacked mushrooms and crushed avocado. Five types of pizza are also on offer, plus share plates of shoestring fries with creole aioli, poutine, sticky pork ribs and mini eggplant parmas. For those keen on a big meal, so are hefty dishes of 16-hour beer-braised pork shoulder roll, twice-cooked crispy chicken and fish tacos. Plus, to celebrate their new addition, the Sydney Road joint is serving up cut-price burgs from July 1 to 16, with The Old School, Adobo Stinger and Field of Dreams available for $6. You could call it a burger bonanza, and you'd be right. Costing less than half their usual rate, each burg also comes with fries. Find the Penny Counter at The Penny Black, 420 Sydney Road, Brunswick. For more information, head to their website or Facebook page.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Melbourne is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you celebrate the little things that bring a sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Melbourne. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, wander through a maze of mirrors after work, treat yourself to a new pair of tailored jeans for just $60 and pull on a bib for a traditional (and messy) crab boil. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
She might be one of the grand old dames of Brunswick Street, but The Provincial Hotel is certainly keeping things fresh this spring, opening up her doors to a brand new rooftop bar. Launching Friday, September 15, the sky-high space looks set to be hot property as Melbourne's weather starts playing ball, with vintage patio furniture and shabby chic styling mingling to create an al fresco hangout as relaxed as the suburb it calls home. The drinks offering hits all the right notes. Think easygoing, with just enough attitude, starring signature cocktails like the fruity 'You're Punching, Mate' and a new-school riff on the classic Pina Colada. They're backed by a fuss-free, ten-strong tap beer rotation and a globe-spanning wine list that's got a little something for everyone. Meanwhile, the food situation is a hands-on affair that'll see you getting stuck into burgers like The Fitzy (laced with cheese Doritos) and The Sticky Smith Street (featuring a combo of battered sausage, sticky pork and pickles). In an extra win for the wallet, you'll find a whole range of $10 burgers on offer from 4-7pm each Friday. Visit the Northside's newest rooftop bar at The Provincial Hotel, 299 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. For more information check them out on Facebook.
Shortstop are celebrating their birthday in the best possible way: by giving away a boatload of free donuts! Friday, September 8 marks three tasty years since the coffee and donut specialists started slinging rings of dough and cups of joe from their Melbourne store. To mark the anniversary, they've crafted a special limited-edition Birthday Cake Donut, a vanilla bean concoction topped with glaze and sprinkles, which they'll be giving away free with every purchase. "It's a small way for us to say thank you to all our customers for their loyal support over the past three years," says Shortstop's Anthony Ivey. The donut giveaway will take place at Shortstop's Melbourne and Sydney stores for as long as stocks last. One per customer, so don't get any bright ideas. Find Shortstop Coffee & Donuts in Melbourne at 12 Sutherland Street, Melbourne and in Sydney at Shop 3, 23 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo.
If you've ever been to Japan, enjoying a taste of the country's delicious cuisine as often as you can is likely one of your highest priorities. Even if you haven't, if you've ever picked up a hankering for edamame, karaage or katsu, that's an urge you probably share. Melbourne musicians Neddwellyn Jones and Pete Spark know how you feel. After their own overseas jaunts unleashed some serious culinary and cultural love, they've set up a pop-up ode to the flavours of Tokyo. Atop Fitzroy's Labour In Vain Hotel every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening until April 2, Tokyo Terrace is serving up izakaya fare — aka food that'll make you feel like you've been whisked away to another place, and tastes even better when paired with a frosty brew. That includes the aforementioned bites, offered up as sea salt-sprinkled delights, extra-crispy chicken morsels and in two types of burgers (eggplant and chicken), respectively. Also on the menu: renkon chips served with your choice of kewpie, plus cucumber salad. That should be enough to send you flocking to Brunswick Street over the next month, particularly if your idea of a great weekend feed involves an affordable Japanese meal (with prices ranging from $4 to $14) in a rooftop garden with city views. And, in great news for anyone keen for more, the short-term eatery is just the first in Jones and Spark's planned series of similar ventures. Find Tokyo Terrace atop the Labour In Vain Hotel, 197a Brunswick Street, Fitzroy from 6pm to 9pm Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until April 2nd. For more information, visit their Facebook page. Images: Darren Gill.
The opportunity to get your hands on a Neil Perry hamburger in the CBD just increased twofold. Following on from the opening of his first Melbourne budget burger venture in St Collins Lane in May last year — and the Chadstone outpost that has sprung up since — the Rockpool chef is today firing up the grill on a third Burger Project location in Melbourne Central. The first Burger Project, which opened in Sydney three years ago, began its life primarily as a means of bringing the next best thing to Perry's much drooled-over $24 Rockpool beef burger to the masses — without the prohibitive price tag. If you're not yet acquainted with the menu, expect 14 variations on the humble hamburger, including the chilli cheese, Magic Mushroom and the katsu fried chicken, the names of which are all fairly self-explanatory. The new location is one of their biggest yet, with room for around 100 diners across two levels. It's located on the ground floor of Melbourne Central, and has been designed by the architect responsible for other Burger Project stores, Grant Cheyne. Since opening in Sydney back in 2014, the celebrity chef's high-end fast food joint Burger Project has expanded rapidly, particularly after Perry's Rockpool Group was acquired by the Urban Purveyor Group last year. The Melbourne Central store will be their third in Melbourne and their tenth Australia-wide, having recently opened one in Brisbane and Parramatta. Burger Project Melbourne Central opens at 11am on Friday, March 24 on the ground floor of Melbourne Central, 211 Latrobe Street, Melbourne. For more info, visit their website.
The Premier's Active April is here once more — a whole month-long bonanza of free classes, discounts on sportswear and sport programs, and some pretty great deals that'll have you rediscovering your inner kid and the energy you once had (you can go to Legoland, you're never too old). A yearly campaign run by the Victorian Government, Active April encourages Victorians to do 30 minutes of physical activity every day during the month of April. To take part, you just need to register online — it's free and you can download an app to log your progress and explore what's going on in your local area. Just to start, you get heaps of free stuff, including ten free passes to participating YMCA facilities, free tennis court hire, free croquet coaching sessions and five free dance lessons at Dancesport Victoria. There are also a heap of discounts, including 15 percent off at Sportsmart — so you can stock up on activewear — and a two-for-one offer at Golf Victoria courses. Then there's the two-for-one Otaway Fly Treetop Adventures scenario, plus 30 percent off entry at the Legoland Discovery Centre and Melbourne Aquarium, too. By signing up and participating, you also go into the draw to win a slew of prizes, which include tickets to the 2020 Australian Open finals. As well as snaggin' some sweet discounts, you'll be able to prove your "drunk talking New Year's Eve post-midnight" self right – you will get more fit this year. Head online to register for Active April — you have until April 30 to signup — and start popping squats all over the place.
Hosting pre-drinks can be a lot of pressure. The playlist has got to be on point and create the right vibe. The snacks need to be that perfect mix between 'line your stomach' and 'small enough to eat with one hand while straightening hair'. And the drinks have to be knockouts because they're kind of like the marker for the night ahead; pick a great drink, you're in for an even greater night. And you can't go past prosecco; The dramatic 'pop' will immediately liven up the crowd, and the versatile Italian bubbly can be enjoyed on its own or heroed in a bunch of tasty cocktails. (And no, not just in a spritz.) To make sure you serve up some real humdingers, we've partnered with the prosecco masters at Dal Zotto Wines and crafted five prosecco cocktail recipes to try before your next night out. Bottoms up, bubble lovers. PASSION PIT Let this be our little secret... This cocktail is like a fancy, adults-only version of Passiona. It tastes just like an Aussie summer (read: pavlova and bubbly). — 70g castor sugar — 70ml lemon juice — 70ml triple sec — pulp from 4 passionfruits — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled (serves four to six) Mix together the lemon juice and sugar, dissolving it as best you can. Next add the triple sec and passionfruit pulp. Pour the mixture over a couple of ice-filled glasses, then top up with chilled prosecco. Garnish with passionfruit, mint and pineapple. You'll be feeling higher and higher in no time. EL LOCO Forget frozen margaritas — it's all about sparkling margaritas, amigos. This fizzy twist on the classic will send your mates loco in all the right ways. Cocktail: — 90ml blanco tequila — 90ml triple sec — 120ml chilled simple syrup (recipe below) — 240ml lime juice — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled — coarse salt — lime wedges Simple syrup: — 250 ml water — 250 ml castor sugar (serves six to eight) First, you need to make the simple syrup which is, well, super simple to make. Grab a medium saucepan and over medium-high heat stir together the sugar and water until all the granules have dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge. Next, add the tequila, chilled simple syrup, triple sec and lime juice into a cocktail shaker along with a good handful of ice, then give it a good shake. Grab your tumblers — or margarita glasses, if you've got 'em — and run a lime wedge around the rim of each glass before dipping them into a small plate of course salt. Add a handful of ice to each glass and divide the tequila mixture among the glasses. Finally, top with a wedge of lime and a splash of prosecco for that all-important fizz. PRINCESS PEACH Just like everybody's favourite crown-wearing Mario Kart character, this tipple is sweet yet punchy and will always score first place. — 2 ripe peaches, seeded and diced — 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice — 1 teaspoon sugar — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled (serves six) Chuck the peaches, lemon juice and sugar into your trusty food processor, and blend until smooth. Pass the mixture through a sieve and get rid of all the chunky peach bits. Place 2 tablespoons of the puree into each champagne glass and top with well-chilled prosecco. Yeah, Peach has got it! LEMON DROP This cocktail is a riff on those zingy, sherbert-filled lollies you probably ate as a kid. And it's got two Italian heavy-hitters, limoncello and prosecco, so you know it's going to be good. — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled — 250ml limoncello, chilled — blueberries — thyme — lemon slices (serves four) Pour the prosecco and limoncello into a jug and stir together. Next, press your lemon slices into the bottom of a large highball glass (a hurricane or sling will work equally well), top with ice and fill with the prosecco mixture. For added pizzazz, garnish with thyme and blueberries. PURPLE RAIN Just like Prince, this tipple is kinda strange but, also, utter genius. If it were to change its name to a symbol it would be an exclamation mark, because it's that delicious. Cocktail: — 1/4 cup blackberries — 90ml blackberry syrup (recipe below) — juice from one lime — mint — 120ml light rum — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled Blackberry syrup: — 2 tablespoons water — 1 cup blackberries — 1/3 cup granulated sugar (serves two) First, you'll need to whip up the blackberry syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, mash together the sugar, blackberries and water. Once the mixture is thick and the sugar dissolved, pass it through a fine mesh strainer and let it chill. Add the blackberry syrup, blackberries, lime and a handful of mint to a cocktail shaker and muddle well. Next, chuck in the rum and a few ice cubes and shake it like you mean it. Strain the mixture into martini glasses and top with chilled prosecco and fresh blueberries or blackberries. Then, get ready to party like it's 1999. Keen for more fizz? Visit The Osborne, Auburn Hotel, The Cove, Captain Melville, Jimmy Watsons, La Manna or Parkhill Cellars for a glass of bubbly perfection. Plus, as part of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2019, Dal Zotto winery is hosting an Italian lunch feast on Saturday, March 16. For more information and to book tickets, head this way.
After a year of streaming flicks on our laptops and phones, it's time to put bums back on seats at actual cinemas. Excitingly, you can do that at IRL film festivals, pop-up cinemas and even car park rooftops across Melbourne. There are lots of places to catch a film in Melbourne RN. We've rounded up a few of our faves right here. Order an extra large popcorn and get ready for some serious viewing.
