With Bannisters' duo of hotels at Mollymook now a firm fixture on New South Wales' south coast, the accommodation brand is turning its gaze to the north. Later this year, Port Stephens will be in for a good dose of swank, with the company taking over the Soldiers Point site previously occupied by Salamander Shores. As at Mollymook, you can expect luxury. Of the 80 four-and-a-half-star rooms, 50 will afford views straight across Karuah River, while the other 30 will look over bushland. If you've cash to splash about, book the penthouse or one of four extra-fancy suites. Wherever you sleep, you'll be welcome to make the most of the infinity pool, hang out in the high-ceilinged lobby and kick back at the onsite pub over a pizza — or indulge in a course or three at the Rick Stein signature restaurant. "The abundance of top-quality seafood is a massive attraction, as is the proximity to the Hunter Valley's wineries," said Stein. "I will be working closely with head chef Mitchell Turner, designing a menu featuring local king prawns, Yellowfin bream, flathead, calamari and school whiting, not to mention the fabulous oysters." Looking the part, all these spaces — and the rest — will be sorted out by Bannisters' stellar design team, made up of architect Tony Freeman, interior designer Romy Alwill and landscape designer Will Dangar. And as for bringing the Bannisters brand to the area, general manager Peter Bacon said "there is so much potential in Port Stephens, and it is a natural progression for us to take a formula that works and replicate it." Find Bannisters Port Stephens at 147 Soldiers Point Roadd, Soldiers Point from later in 2018.
When Untitled Goose Game became such a honkingly huge hit, it was partly due to the joys of playing as a large waterbird wandering around an otherwise-peaceful village and annoying everyone in sight. That's a delight that no one knew they wanted or needed before this homegrown title came into their lives. Don't discount the influence of the game's score, however, with Dan Golding composing the perfect mischievous accompaniment to causing goose mayhem. Creating music for video games is particular art — and one that Indie Symphony II champions. As the first event did, this evening with Orchestra Victoria is getting a range of tunes from indie titles echoing live. The place: Hamer Hall. The dates: Thursday, July 3–Friday, July 4, 2025, both kicking off at 8pm. From ABC Classic's Game Show, Meena Shamaly is on hosting duties as more than 60 musicians pick up their instruments, and solo singers and a choir lend their voices to the event. Expect to hear tracks from Slay the Spire, Baldur's Gate 3, Hades II, UNDERTALE, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Darkest Dungeon, ABZÛ, Chants of Senaar and Cult of the Lamb, alongside Untitled Goose Game, of course. As a result, Indie Symphony II is celebrating compositions by Claud Aboud, Borislav Slavov, Darren Korb and Austin Wintory, Toby Fox, Jessica Curry, Stuart Chatwood, Austin Wintory, Thomas Brunet, Narayna Johnson and Golding. Event images: Casey Horsfield.
You'll find Tivoli Road Bakery tucked just off Toorak Road, where it's been slinging freshly baked goods for over eight years. Having launched under Frank Camorra as MoVida Bakery back in 2012, these days, it's run by the Little Cupcakes crew — and it's become a bit of a go-to lunch spot. The bakery is whipping up a range of natural breads and stone-ground sourdough, all starring certified organic ingredients, plus flaky sausage rolls and other savoury snacks. Coffee is by North Melbourne's Small Batch and the rotation of crafty sandwiches will have you coming back. There's also a lineup of pastries that's mighty hard to resist — think sugar-dusted apple and rhubarb tart, oozy jam doughnuts and macadamia and wattleseed praline. Deciding what to get at Tivoli Road Bakery, one of the best bakeries in Melbourne, is a might hard choice — just order a bunch of goodies and deal with the consequences later. Appears in: The Best Bakeries in Melbourne for 2023
They call it Tina — The Tina Turner Musical, oh Tina — The Tina Turner Musical — and it's finally coming to Australia. After premiering in London back in 2018, this stage ode to the music icon that's had Aussies dancing to 'Nutbush City Limits' for decades is making its way Down Under, locking in its first local stint in Sydney from May 2023. No, it isn't taking to the stage in a church house, gin house, school house or outhouse — or on highway number 19, either. But Tina — The Tina Turner Musical will obviously have Theatre Royal Sydney enjoying Turner's greatest hits in one massive show. The list of musical numbers includes 'Nutbush City Limits', naturally, as well as everything from 'River Deep, Mountain High' and 'Proud Mary' through to 'Private Dancer' and 'What's Love Got to Do with It?'. Tina — The Tina Turner Musical makes its trip Down Under courtesy of TEG DAINTY, Stage Entertainment and Tali Pelman, in association with Tina Turner herself. Announcing the news, the singer said that "Australia has always shared abundant love with me, going back to my early concerts in the late 70s through the uplifting partnership with the National Rugby League. It is very special for me that we will be reunited." "The joy, passion and message of resilience in my musical is so important now as ever. Thank you from the bottom my heart for welcoming me with open arms once again," Turner continued. The singer mightn't have mentioned her appearance in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, but she is indeed part of the beloved Mad Max franchise, too. Exactly what date in May the musical will open hasn't been revealed as yet, but it heads our way after also playing Hamburg, on Broadway, and in Utrecht and Madrid — and it'll tour North America from September. Penned by Tony Award-nominee and Pulitzer Prize-winner Katori Hall, plus Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, and directed by fellow Tony-nominee Phyllida Lloyd, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical clearly has quite the story to tell. The show steps through Turner's life and fame, including growing up in Nutbush, Tennessee, the hard work that led to her career, all of those aforementioned hits, her 12 Grammy Awards, her volatile time with Ike Turner and her huge solo success. If you're a fan, Turner herself summed it up — yes, it's simply the best. There's no word yet as to whether Tina — The Tina Turner Musical will head to other Australian cities, but cross your fingers while you're doing the Nutbush, obviously. Tina — The Tina Turner Musical will open its Australian-premiere season at Theatre Royal Sydney from May 2023, with the exact launch date still to be announced. To join the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website. Images: Manuel Harlan.
The Mornington Peninsula's luxury hotel complex Jackalope is where you'll find oddly named fine diner, Doot Doot Doot. Up there among Victoria's best, the menu consists of a multi-course degustation for $125, with plenty of luxe optional add-ons ranging from caviar to truffle honey crumpets. On this food journey you'll try the likes of a wallaby bolognese with Daniel's Run tomatoes; dry-aged duck teamed with davidson plum and beetroot; and slow-roasted celeriac finished with a pear, juniper and chestnut crumble. There's also a classical-meets-futuristic cocktail bar on premises, Flaggerdoot (apparently they're all Jackalope themed-names). And prepare to be wowed by the immaculate design — there are 10,000 lights on the ceiling that flash on and off randomly to mimic the bubbling fermentation process.
If you've been loitering up the northern end of Lygon Street late at night with a song in your heart, your time has come. Start working on your Beyoncé standard key changes and Mariah-level trills because Benjys — a karaoke bar with a dog-friendly beer garden — opened last week. The venue has a karaoke bar, live bands and musicians, an all-day kitchen (serving vegetarian and vegan fare) and — perhaps most importantly — a beer garden that welcomes all your four-legged friends. It also has an interesting interior design — think Barbie, disco balls and a colour scheme inspired by those candy necklaces you used to munch on in high school. The bar is, if nothing else, eclectic, but it certainly makes for a banger of a night out. Founder Tim Firth is steadfast in his belief in karaoke and music in general. "Music is the key to a happy place," Firth says. "We hope Benjys will be a place where people can connect through music." The bar has a host of events already lined up, too. There'll be Throwback Thursdays — with your faves from the '80s and '90s — drag shows and Disco Bingo! every Wednesday. The latter is a rollicking music game show hosted by a gal named Disco Dolly. In addition, there'll be themed nights every Sunday — Valentine's Day, Christmas in July and Halloween will all get a look in, says Firth, as will Pink when she comes to town later in the year. Best start oiling up those vocal cords and finding a partner to sing 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' with (even if it's your pup) — Benjys looks like it'll be the place to visit during the cold months. Benjys is now open at 285 Lygon Street, Brunswick East. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 5.30pm to 10.30pm.
Do you have the physical endurance of Cadel Evans and the creative genius of Picasso? Michael J. Wallace has found a neat way of combining both of these talents, all while getting the daily dose of fresh air and outdoor exercise that we so dearly need. Wallace creates bicycle routes in his hometown of Baltimore, and then rides them with the accompinament of a GPS tracker. Amazingly, all of these bicycle routes are in fact pictures. So as he pedals along innocently down the streets of B'more, he is in fact drawing his very own geographical masterpiece. Collected in the website WallyGPX, he's drawn and rode some characters and scenarios that are impressive in their complexity. These include a man surfing, a semi-trailer, and even a depiction of the landing on the moon. Given that one wrong turn could effectively ruin his canvas, you've got to appreciate this man's ambition. Do you have the energy and skill to create your own artistic bicycle or running routes? Give it a go in your hometown, and see if your friends can guess what picture you've mapped out. In effect, this could become a game of Draw Something - but way harder and infinitely more awesome.
Ostēr comes from the Italian word for host, and for Ostēr Eatery owners, chef Nicola Romano (Chapter 53, Stockroom567, Artusi) and front-of-house gun Osvaldo Tognella, the role of host is at the heart of what they do. Both hail from the north of Italy — Romano from Brescia and Tognella from Milan — and both have extensive experience in hospitality, working across Italy, Ireland, Japan, Brunswick East and the Yarra Valley. The duo's Italian heritage and experience are evident throughout Ostēr, which aims to be a traditionally casual, regional osteria — but in urban Melbourne. The Bridge Road space (designed by Romano's mother Monica, who flew over from Italy to do it) used to be a burger joint. Now, it features exposed brick and plaster walls, and a recycled timber bar with a concrete bench top. Sicilian maiolica tiles (colourful tin-glazed pottery made in Sicily since the Renaissance period) run along the front of the pass to the open kitchen and are a feature on the wall behind the bar. The food, as described by Romano, is "northern Italian in spirit, but open-minded". Like the space, it combines elements from both Italy and Melbourne. The menu changes according to what suppliers have available each season. But, regardless of the season, expect pasta — such as the house-made casoncelli ($20), which has quickly become the restaurant's signature dish. A traditional Lombardy recipe, casoncelli features silky sheets of pasta filled with spinach and ricotta, then pressed together and folded to look like a sweet wrapper. The stuffed pasta is served with a sauce of fried sage, 48-month aged grana padano cheese and a hint of nutmeg. You'll definitely want some of the house-made sourdough to mop up the leftovers. Elsewhere on the menu, you'll find a risotto with roasted red and sweet capsicum ($23) and gluten-free buckwheat gnocchi ($22). And despite spring making its sunny entrance, there's still room for comfort fare like the beef cheek ($35), which is braised with tomatoes and red wine, and served on soft rice polenta with sautéed nameko (a small brown mushroom). To end the meal, we highly suggest Romano's tiramisu ($10) — he makes his own coffee sponge, and the dessert is light and not overly rich. On the drinks front, Tognella has pulled together an all-Australian wine list, which he keeps fairly tight so that he can regularly change it when he discovers new wine. The aim was to keep the drinks list sustainable and local, but with a European attitude. "The wines on the list have to tick at least one box of four categories," Tognella explains. "They are either biodynamic, sustainable, single vineyard or European." For those wanting to imbibe without the alcohol, the restaurant offers two zero-alcohol wines from ex-Noma Chef William Wade's Non label. Choose from salted raspberry and camomile or caramelised pear and kombu — it's like a pét-nat minus the hangover. Coffee comes from husband and wife team, Wayne and Cleo Silva whose roastery, Silva, is in the Yarra Valley — and on weekdays between 7–9am you can get your cup of joe for just $3.
Now that the busy harvest season is over, winemakers have a little time to kick back. At Rochford Wines, that means hosting its Rochford Harvest 2025 Festival, a one-day event filled with wine, food and music at its picture-perfect Yarra Valley winery. Held beneath the Rochford Pavilion on Saturday, May 17, settle in to taste the full range of Rochford and Toolangi Vineyard wines. Meanwhile, other local outfits are also getting in on the fun, including Burton McMahon Wines, Timo Mayer Wines and Rob Hall Wines. Leading wine critic and educator Tom Kline will also make an appearance, presenting four masterclasses dedicated to diverse wine varieties and the art of pairing food and wine. Alongside top-notch food trucks, live music and cosy fire pits, expect this family-friendly affair to fill your cup with good vibes. Set an hour's drive from Melbourne CBD, Rochford Wines' 60-acre home offers a stunning backdrop for the day's festivities. Tasting tickets are available for $35, which includes 10 tastings and a fancy Rochford stemless wine glass.
In the heart of the Waterfront, a new culinary destination has set up shop in Geelong. Welcome to TEMPO Kitchen & Bar, which promises a vibrant atmosphere and a showcase of Victoria's finest growers and producers. TEMPO's approach is simple: celebrate local produce through an enticing seafood and grill menu. Seasonal ingredients sourced directly from the region's farmers and fishermen are transformed into dishes of simple, hearty fare that includes a selection of steaks and cuts from the grill, crowd-pleasers like the Bannockburn free range chicken with black truffle butter, a fresh seafood platter and a number of plates to share. It's not just about the food. You can settle in with the drinks list featuring a curated lineup of Australian wines (here's where the reach extends beyond Victorian borders to South Australia, WA and Tassie) and classic cocktails. Beyond the food and drink, TEMPO aims to become a hub for all things social in Geelong, with local DJs and musicians providing the soundtrack to guest's dining and bar experience. Whether you're a Geelong local or just passing through, stop and take in the view at one of Geelong's newest, aesthetically pleasing dining spots. Take your time, relax. It's all about tempo. TEMPO Kitchen & Bar is open for breakfast on Monday–Friday, 6.30am–10am and Saturday–Sunday, 7am–10.30am. Lunch sessions run every day from 11.30am–2pm, while dinner runs every evening from 5.30pm–9.30pm. The bar is open every day from 10.30am–late. Find TEMPO Kitchen & Bar at 10/14 Eastern Beach Rd, Geelong.
We've scored various incarnations of Pope Joan over the years, after the much-loved eatery moved from its OG Brunswick East digs into a new CBD site in 2019. And now, after an extended COVID-driven hiatus last year, she's back, delivering another new feasting format to see us through the tail end of summer. Pope Joan City is joining forces with Fitzroy's modern Indian diner Ish, serving up a special six-week collaboration from Monday, January 18. The Collins Street space will be turning out Indian-inspired eats for breakfast and lunch weekdays, along with a Friday night dinner session. Head on in to start your day with the likes of Punjabi-style scrambled eggs with spiced chilli and tomato, and a Parsi omelette featuring spiced pork sausage and potato rosti. Or, treat your lunchbreak appetite to a masala-spiced fried chicken sando, homemade milk buns stuffed with fried potato dumplings (vada pav), and cured kingfish with pomegranate and Indian crisps. Pope Joan favourites will also be on offer throughout the stint, while Fixation Brewing takes care of the drinks side of things with a lineup of IPAs, both classic and modern. Plus, pop in from 4–6pm each Friday for brewer chats, special-release tastings and happy hour specials. PopeISH is open 7am–4pm Monday–Thursday and 7am–late Friday. Images: Annika Kafcaloudis
If you've been talking about cutting out plastics and minimising your waste impact for years, but buying a keep cup and saying no to straws is about as far as you've gotten, this local health food shop will take your crusade to the next level. Led by naturopath Catie Gett, The Staple Store is overflowing with healthy, organic and locally sourced bulk foods — nuts, grains, honey, lentils, mueslis and more — plus beauty products, all-natural cleaning supplies and a sustainably conscious collection of homewares. Find brands such as Ecostore, Lavanila, Orchard St, Shokuiku and Ochre by Staple. It goes without saying that this is a plastic bag-free zone, so don't forget your tupperware, jars and cloth bags.
In the latest chapter of life imitating TikTok, Crown's all-day California-inspired bar and dining room Marmont is taking what is literally the hottest #DrinkTok trend of the moment and pouring it straight into your glass. That's right — jalapeño wine is now available in Melbourne. For the uninitiated, this riff pretty much does what it says on the tin: slices of frozen and seedless jalapeño are dropped into a glass of sauvignon blanc, creating a serve that's crisp, aromatic and surprisingly balanced. Think of it like the oenophile's take on the classic spicy marg. The Marmont version sees a handful of slices swimming in a glass of Motley Cru sauvignon blanc. The King Valley wine is an ideal candidate for the jalapeño treatment, thanks to its bright and aromatic nose that gives way to notes of tropical fruits, lime and gooseberries. It's being served up Monday–Friday from noon until late, for $19 a glass. Much like a TikTok trend, this one won't be around forever — so if you're looking to spice up your next get-together, you'll want to get in quick.
At the 2024 British Film Festival, when you're not watching movies starring Saoirse Ronan, Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh and Barry Keoghan, you'll be catching the latest performances from Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Pierce Brosnan and Helena Bonham Carter. There's never any lack of big-name talents gracing the screen at Australia's annual celebration of the UK's latest and greatest contributions to cinema, but this year's is particularly jam-packed — so much so that there's not just one feature boasting Ronan among its cast, but two. Blitz, which sees the Foe, Little Women and Ammonite actor team up with 12 Years a Slave, Widows and Small Axe filmmaker Steve McQueen, is the British Film Festival's 2024 opening-night film. Playing Down Under fresh from also launching the London Film Festival, the period drama heads back to World War II, and starts the fest's month-long run at Melbourne's The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino and Pentridge Cinema from Wednesday, November 6–Sunday, December 8 with one of the year's must-see movies. At the other end of the festival, the also highly anticipated We Live in Time will close out the event. Pugh (Dune: Part Two) and Garfield (Under the Banner of Heaven) lead the romance from Brooklyn filmmaker John Crowley, which follows a couple's relationship across a decade. The second Ronan-led flick on the full 2024 British Film Festival comes courtesy of page-to-screen adaptation The Outrun, where the four-time Oscar-nominee plays a recovering addict — and there's plenty more highlights on the program from there. Hard Truths sits in the fest's centrepiece slot, reuniting iconic director Mike Leigh (Peterloo) with his Academy Award-nominated Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Surface). Also boasting the coveted pairing of an impressive helmer and an exceptional on-screen talent: Bird from Andrea Arnold (American Honey), which is where Keoghan (Saltburn) pops up. As for Fiennes (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), he stars with Juliette Binoche (The New Look) in The Return, a British spin on Homer's Odyssey — and also in papal thriller Conclave with Citadel's Stanley Tucci, Killers of the Flower Moon's John Lithgow and Spaceman's Isabella Rossellini. Law (Peter Pan & Wendy) plays King Henry VIII opposite Alicia Vikander (Irma Vep) as Katherine Parr in Firebrand, while Brosnan (The Last Rifleman) and Bonham Carter (One Life) feature in romance Four Letters of Love. Other standouts include the century-hopping dark comedy Timestalker from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace alum Alice Lowe, the Gillian Anderson (Scoop)- and Jason Isaacs (Archie)-led The Salt Path, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (You Hurt My Feelings) facing death in Tuesday, and Kelly Macdonald (Operation Mincemeat) and Damian Lewis (Billions) in vampire comedy The Radleys. For music fans, there's a dedicated themed sidebar featuring both Blur: To the End and Blur: Live at Wembley Stadium — one about the band's most-recent chapter, the other a two-hour concert film — as well as the Led Zeppelin-focused The Song Remains the Same and The Rolling Stones-centric The Stones and Brian Jones. This year's British Film Festival is also peering backwards via retrospective sessions of Ratcatcher, the debut feature from You Were Never Really Here's Lynne Ramsay; the Bonham Carter- and Dame Maggie Smith (The Miracle Club)-starring A Room with a View; and classic British historical dramas such as A Man for All Seasons, Heat and Dust, The Lion in Winter and Kenneth Branagh's (A Haunting in Venice) Henry V.
Dramatising the events at Chernobyl in 1986, where a power plant accident caused the worst nuclear disaster in human history, was never going to make for cheery viewing. But the Chernobyl miniseries drips with so much dread and dismay that it oozes from the screen, infecting everyone watching and burrowing deep into viewers' souls. That's by design, and also 100-percent necessary. There's no way to revisit this chapter of history without being horrified. And that reaction applies not just to the intricacies of Saturday, April 26 in that fateful year, but to everything that lead up to the disaster, as well as the bureaucratic and government response that followed. Writer/creator Craig Mazin and director Johan Renck bring all of the above to the screen in devastating, meticulously researched detail, with exceptional help from stars Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson and Paul Ritter. The end result may only span five episodes, but it represents some of the best TV made in the 21st century.
"Mulder and Scully but in a country where nothing happens": that's how Taika Waititi described What We Do in the Shadows New Zealand television spinoff Wellington Paranormal on Twitter back before the hilarious supernatural series even hit screens. Across three seasons so far, those words have rung true in inventive and amusing ways — and viewers will be able to see them prove accurate yet again when the hit show returns on Wednesday, February 16. Wellington Paranormal's fourth season will start airing this week — via SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand in Australia and TVNZ 2 in New Zealand — which is as exciting as every time that police officers Karen O'Leary and Mike Minogue solve one of the mockumentary-style series' otherworldly (and highly entertaining) cases. But, this return also comes with sad news, because this will be the show's final run. That means you've got six more episodes, airing weekly, to spend with the Cops-esque spinoff, and with Wellington's trusty paranormal investigators — which also includes the always-eager Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu). Already, we've seen the crew try to keep the city safe from not only vampires and werewolves, but also ghosts, aliens and more; however, thankfully they've still got half a dozen cases left to solve. Equally funny and silly, and never afraid to bring other familiar What We Do in the Shadows faces, Wellington Paranormal was the first of two TV shows based on Waititi and Jemaine Clement's addition to the undead world — alongside the Emmy-nominated US television series also called What We Do in the Shadows that focuses on vampires sharing a house in Staten Island. We all know that bloodsuckers can be slain by staking them in the heart and lycanthropes aren't fond of silver bullets, but this undead franchise has just kept enduring after it initially jumped from a short film to a side-splittingly hilarious feature-length comedy, even if Wellington Paranormal is now coming to an end. In advance of the show's final episodes hitting screens, a trailer for Wellington Paranormal's fourth season has dropped, which you can check out below: Here's a sneak peak of Season 4 of #WellingtonParanormal, courtesy of our mates at @TVNZ. This Wednesday 16th February, Australia catch it on @SBSOnDemand and NZ on TVNZ 2 👍 pic.twitter.com/yDXq7EBWM7 — Wellington Paranormal (@WellyParanormal) February 13, 2022 Wellington Paranormal's fourth and final season starts screening on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand in Australia and TVNZ 2 from Wednesday, February 16.
Sunday afternoons were made for cold beers, tasty barbecue eats and good company. Your mates at Stray Neighbour know what's what, so they're wrapping up the first weekend of Good Beer Week in style with a good old-fashioned Sunday session. Head along to the Preston bar and eatery from 12pm on Sunday, May 16 to join in the fun, which is being co-hosted by the crew at local brewery Kaiju. Grab a $5 ticket and you'll enjoy a beer on arrival, plus a shot at Kaiju's Koin Shuffle game, offering the chance to win yourself some sweet beer merch. There'll be tunes spun by Stray Neighbour's house DJ, more games and prizes, and of course, plenty of Kaiju brews including both core drops and some special releases. The kitchen will also be firing up the barbecue, whipping up a tidy menu of meaty delights for you to purchase as you cruise through your afternoon. Top image: Stray Neighbour, by Brook James.
October is made for weird, wild and wonderful movies filled with shocks and scares. 'Tis Halloween season, after all. So, the world obliges, including on screens big and small — and, in 2023, via the return of Australia's genre film festival Monster Fest, which is dedicated to flicks of the spooky, dark, twisted, offbeat and out-there variety. Monster Fest doesn't always pop up in the month when everyone is worshipping pumpkins and thinking about costumes; however, the timing obviously couldn't be more perfect. As it always does, it'll run long in Melbourne, taking over Cinema Nova from Thursday, October 12–Sunday, October 22. Standouts titles on the 2023 program include Suitable Flesh, which stars Heather Graham (Extrapolations) as a doctor going mad, takes its inspiration from HP Lovecraft and boasts Joe Lynch (Creepshow) behind the lens; The Last Video Store, a horror-comedy set, yes, in one of the last video stores; and Norwegian flick There's Something in the Barn, about a gnome uprising that plagues an American family (including Party Down's Martin Starr) who've relocated to Scandinavia. Or, there's also sci-fi comedy Time Addicts, Australian slasher Bloodmoon getting a 4K restoration 33 years after its OG release and Trim Season's nightmarish trip to a weed farm. When Evil Lurks and its demonic infection will launch the Victorian capital's leg of the fest. From there, that's also where Red Rooms, which recently won Best Feature at the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, joins the program. And, so does the kung fu-filled The Invisible Fright, a 4K restoration of Jim Jarmusch's (The Dead Don't Die) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and a 30th-anniversary session of ninth Friday the 13th entry Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (screening on the appropriate date, of course). On the doco front, erotic thrillers are thrust into the spotlight in We Kill for Love, Satan Wants You looks back at 80s-era satanic panic and Enter the Clones of Bruce surveys the talents that endeavoured to replicate Bruce Lee after his death. Going all in on Bruceploitation, Monster Fest is also putting on a double of The Dragon Lives Again and Challenge of the Tiger, where Dracula and James Bond are among Bruce's foes.
Goodwater is Melbourne's rendition of a modern American cocktail bar, drawing inspiration from the vibrant cocktail scenes of cities like Brooklyn, Washington DC and New Orleans. This isn't an American-themed honky tonk. It's a classy cocktail joint with lots of American whiskies — about 200 bottles, including rare bottlings. The bar is the brainchild of a bunch of whiskey fiends and cocktail connoisseurs led by Nathaniel White (Bar Margaux), with drinks communicator and bartender Cara Devine (Bomba), drinks writer and bartender Fred Siggins (Whisky & Alement, Black Pearl and the now closed Kodiak Club), Yao Wong (The Elysian Whisky Bar), bar manager John Hallett (The Everleigh), April Hudson (The Keys), and Kia Rasteh. The American references extend beyond the drinks list and continue through to the menu with peculiar yet delightful versions of po' boys, including a classic shrimp and General Tso's chicken or eggplant. You can also snag southern style fried chicken, buffalo chicken ribs, sherry French onion grilled cheeses, potato salad with bacon bits and deep-fried pickles. Echoing the focus on American whiskey, the cocktail menu at Goodwater showcases inventive concoctions infused with American influences. Noteworthy mentions include the espresso martini on tap (dubbed a 'baby Guinness') and the Frozen champagne Old Fashioned made with whisky from local distiller Starward Whisky.
iFly Melbourne is reopening on Monday, June 22. Always wanted to soar though the air, but never felt the need to jump out of a plane? That's where iFLY comes in. Open on the Gold Coast since 2016 and in Brisbane from last month, the indoor skydiving chain has officially opened the doors to its first Melbourne outpost in late 2019. The $15 million centre is located in a warehouse in Essendon Fields, just off the Calder near DFO. It's hoping to cater to daredevils who like their thrills a little closer to home (and closer to the ground) with a purpose-built vertical wind tunnel that gives you the sensation of free-falling from the sky. (You can also pretend you're reliving whichever skydiving-based movie scene takes your fancy — finding your inner Keanu, Point Break–style, is our pick.) Here's how it works: the vertical wind tunnel whips up wind from above, which is then pushed down the sides of the structure. Next, the air is channelled up out of the floor, into the enclosed glass chamber. Eager adrenaline junkies then float on the kind of cushion that no one can see — while supervised by a certified skydiving instructor, because safety still matters. You'll be fully briefed on what to do beforehand — and you'll end up riding the wind for around a minute, which is approximately one-and-a-half times the usual tandem skydive length according to iFLY. For two flights (and all the training and gear), you'll be paying $79 off-peak. For four flights, it's $119 and family packages start at $365. iFly is open every day of the week from 9am until 10pm, so you can fly after work, too. [caption id="attachment_719318" align="alignnone" width="1920"] iFLY Brisbane[/caption]
When it comes to a snow holiday in Australia, Thredbo is at the top of a lot of people's lists. And, after the ski resort was named Australia's best for the fifth year running at the World Ski Awards earlier this year it makes sense that so many holiday makers flock there each winter. If you're not a regular at Thredbo, you might be wondering what exactly makes it stand out from other snow holiday destinations — and that's where we come in. Turns out there's a whole lot more on offer than exceptional alpine activities, from live music to excellent food and, of course, the top-notch skiing and snowboarding. We've teamed up with Thredbo to showcase all the cool ways to have fun there this winter. THE NIGHTLIFE A fully fledged nightlife scene might not be the first thing you imagine when you picture Thredbo. But, at this bustling alpine village, that's exactly what you'll find. The après ski sessions at Thredbo attract loads of snow lovers every year. And, the jewel in the crown at this year's winter festivities is the return of the much-loved evening soirée First Base happening across three Saturdays — July 26, August 20 and September 3. In the past the music event has featured artists like Hayden James, Mickey Kojack, Touch Sensitive and Joyride, and its 2022 lineup is set to be just as impressive. There'll also be regular music events on weekends at Merritts Mountain House and plenty of fun to be had at Alpine Bar. THE FEASTS Thredbo is filled with top-notch eats to keep you fuelled for those big days on the mountains. But it's not just delicious eats that the hospitality venues are serving up. Some of these incredible feasts are their own full-blown events. One upcoming highlight is the Bavarian-inspired dinner happening every Saturday evening from June 18 till September 17 at Merritts Mountain House. To get there, you'll ride a gondola under a starry night sky to your dining destination before enjoying a gluhwein on arrival and an unforgettable feast to follow. Another stand out culinary experience is the Kareela Hutte Snowcat Dinner happening on Wednesdays from July 13 till August 31 — complete with a snowcat ride, champagne and a four-course dinner at the cosy European-style hut, no less. THE SPECIAL SNOW EVENTS A trip to Thredbo wouldn't be complete without some time on the slopes. And there are loads of different ways to get your fix on the mountain that go beyond your standard snowboarding and skiing. Consider yourself an early bird? Wake up before the sun and see it rise from the top of Australia's highest lifted point with a sunrise session. You'll get to have breakfast at the country's highest restaurant, Eagles Nest, and then carve the first tracks into the longest run in the country after the overnight snowfall. If you time your trip right, you might even get to catch some of the action at the Thredbo Snow Series competition, the eighth Annual Transfer Banked Slalom snowboarding event or get involved in Australia's longest and fastest downhill race, Top to Bottom, for it's 30th race happening on August 6. Ready to lock in a trip to the snow this winter? For more information and to book, visit the website. Or, enter the competition before February 28 to win a VIP trip to the slopes this winter.
While the 'Vote No' skywriting above Sydney over the weekend stirred up plenty more discord in the same-sex marriage debate, it also spurred a flurry of positive action from marriage equality supporters, with five different people taking to GoFundMe to rally support for their own sky-high counter messages. Fast-forward a few days and these five staunch strangers have met and joined forces to work together on some equally unsubtle campaigning for the Yes camp. With news that the Sydney Skywriting Company — the only one of its kind in the city — is owned by active members of the Australian Christian Lobby, a piece of 'Vote Yes' skywriting was pretty unlikely. But the team scored a win when it hooked up with outdoor experimental media company Remarkable Media, who are all for supporting marriage equality. The result of this collaboration, and a very busy week of fundraising, will be pretty hard to miss. On Sunday, October 1, an enormous, 1000-square-metre rainbow flag will be towed by a helicopter across Sydney's skies. Almost $20,000 has been raised for the project, and any leftover funds will be heading to local LGBTIQ+ charities. You can donate here, and expect to see the Team Yes rainbow flag flying over Bondi at roughly 1pm this Sunday. Image: Letícia Almeida.
2023 is set to be a great year for art lovers, especially if you're a fan of Frida Kahlo. In Sydney from January, a multi-sensory installation will let visitors immerse themselves in Kahlo's works; however, that's not the only way to bask in the Mexican artist's creative glories. Come winter, the Art Gallery of South Australia will also pay tribute to the iconic figure, her well-known spouse Diego Rivera and the entire Mexican modernism movement. Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution will headline AGSA's 2023 program alongside another enormous and just-as-impressive exhibition: the already-announced Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media. That's three of the biggest names in 20th-century art, all gracing the Adelaide venue's walls and halls in the space of a few months, with the Mexican modernism exhibition running from Saturday, June 24–Sunday, September 17. [caption id="attachment_879279" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Frida Kahlo, born Mexico City 1907, died Mexico City 1954, Self-Portrait with Monkeys, 1943, oil on canvas, 81.5 x 63 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism, © Banco de México Rivera Kahlo Museums Trust/ARS. Copyright Agency, 2022[/caption] Visitors will be able to see more than 150 works during Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, spanning everything from paintings and photographs to works on paper and period clothing, as drawn from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Two key aims: examining why Kahlo's work, and Kahlo herself, holds such enduring appeal; and placing Kahlo and Rivera's art in context with their contemporaries. "Each generation brings a new lens through which to view the phenomenon that is Frida Kahlo. A 21st-century muse, Kahlo is today revered as a feminist and as a singular political and creative force. Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution speaks to the influence and ingenuity of art practice in Mexico and aims to recontextualise the foremost presence of Kahlo within our society today," said AGSA Director Rhana Devenport ONZM, announcing the exhibition. [caption id="attachment_879280" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Diego Rivera, born Guanajuanto, Mexico 1886, died Mexico City 1957, Sunflowers, 1943, oil on canvas, 90 x 130 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism, © Banco de México Rivera Kahlo Museums Trust/ARS. Copyright Agency, 2022.[/caption] "Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution is the most comprehensive exhibition of Mexican Modernism ever seen in Australia, from the unrivalled collection of Jacques and Natasha Gelman. Close friends of Kahlo and Rivera, the Gelmans were pioneering collectors who formed an outstanding collection of works representing Mexican modernism," explains Tansy Curtin, AGSA's Curator of International Art, Pre-1980s. [caption id="attachment_879281" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Martin Munkacsi, born Kolozsvar, Hungary (now Romania) 1896, died New York 1963, Frida and Diego, 1934, gelatin silver photograph, 35.6 x 27.9 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism.[/caption] Accordingly, while Kahlo, Rivera, and their art, connection, politics and influence all sit at the centre of this wide-ranging showcase, it'll also highlight pieces by Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, David Alfaro Siqueiros and more. Focusing on the first half of the 20th century, this an Australian-exclusive exhibition, too — meaning that you'll have to go to Adelaide to see it — as well as most comprehensive exhibition of Mexican modernism that the country has ever seen, as Curtin calls out. [caption id="attachment_879282" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nickolas Muray, born Szeged, Hungary 1892, died New York 1965, Frida with Red "Rebozo", 1939, Carbro print, 25 x 20.3 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism, © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives.[/caption] AGSA announced Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution as part of its full 2023 slate, which also includes the first-ever survey exhibition of Western Aranda artist Vincent Namatjira, which'll open in October during the venue's contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art celebration Tarnanthi Festival — and then tour to the National Gallery of Australia in 2024. There's also the return of the Tarnanthi Art Fair and the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize, the latter for artists under 40; ceramics exhibition Milton Moon: Crafting Modernism; Misty Mountain, Shining Moon, highlighting Japanese landscapes in art from the 16th century onwards; and Surrender & Catch: The Art of Brent Harris, focusing on the Aotearoa-born Australian artist. [caption id="attachment_879270" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Top image: Diego on my Mind, Frida Kahlo, born Mexico City 1907, died Mexico City 1954, 1943, oil on Masonite, 76 x 61 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism, © Banco de México Rivera Kahlo Museums Trust/ARS. Copyright Agency, 2022.[/caption] Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution will display at the Art Gallery of South Australia from Saturday, June 24–Sunday, September 17, 2023. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the AGSA website. Top image: excerpt of Diego on my Mind, Frida Kahlo, born Mexico City 1907, died Mexico City 1954, 1943, oil on Masonite, 76 x 61 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism, © Banco de México Rivera Kahlo Museums Trust/ARS. Copyright Agency, 2022.
The folks at the Astor Theatre have just released their latest program, and we've never been so happy to soak it in. In the wake of years of angst and uncertainty surrounding the future of the art-deco cinema, the new program marks the start of a veritable second age, after Palace Cinemas announced last month that they would be taking over the venue — guaranteeing its survival for (hopefully) many years to come. "As long as we're around, it's a cinema," says newly appointed general manager Zak Hepburn. "I think the main point of Palace getting involved with The Astor was so they could save it. To put the final word on it, and know that it won't be turned into a carpark or a high-rise apartment. It's all about preserving that legacy." Hepburn's involvement should help quash concerns about the legitimacy of The Astor's latest resurrection. A respected and enthusiastic figure in the Melbourne film scene, Hepburn has no shortage of cinema programming experience, beginning with the late night 'cult vault' sessions at Palace Westgarth, as well as a stint at The Shadow Electric. You might also recognise him from his weekly gig reviewing films on ABC News Breakfast. Like many local film buffs, Hepburn feels a particular connection with the cinemas he's now been charged with operating. "I grew up in Bacchus Marsh, where it was hard to access retrospective stuff," says Hepburn. "Then when I was probably around eight or ten, I heard of this place and asked my Mum to take me. I went to a matinee session of TYellow Submarine, and I thought it was just amazing... I'm 32 now, so I've been going steadily to The Astor, every calendar, for more than 20 years." Hepburn understands people's lingering sense of uncertainty, but is quick to assuage our concerns, including the idea that Palace might try and convert the cinema into a multiplex. "In the age of multiple exhibitors and Netflix and everything else, everybody is looking for a point of difference," says Hepburn. "The Astor is such a unique location, so to make it just like every other location would really defeat the purpose of investing in it. Palace has already got those multi-screen locations, so this is really the alternative pathway for fans of cinema." So what changes will Palace be making? In terms of the actual building, the answer is apparently very little. "There are absolutely no structural changes planned for the location," says Hepburn. "It's mostly maintenance... A bit of paint here, a few fixed seats, maybe some lighting. That's really about it." As for the candy bar, Hepburn says that we can expect to see a slight incorporation of Palace's coffee, wine and boutique beer range, before hastening to add that the famous (and delicious) Choc Ice ice-creams will still definitely be on the menu. Of course the most important thing — the thing that has always set The Astor apart — is the quality of the programming. In that regard, Hepburn promises it'll be business as usual, with calendars consisting of the theatre's typical blend of double bills and retrospectives, including screenings on 35mm and 70mm, along with a smattering of recent releases. A quick look at the new calendar confirms it, with everything from golden age Hollywood classics like The Maltese Falcon and Some Like It Hot, to iconic cult films including a double bill of Evil Dead and Carrie. There's also an Avengers double feature with prizes for best costume, as well as a 007 marathon on back-to-back weekends. "What I really want to do is have a curatorial kernel in each calendar," Hepburn explains. "So there'll be a sort of master film in there, and then strands hanging off. For example, in this first one, we have the gala premiere of the Gillian Armstrong documentary Women He's Undressed, which is based on the life of costume designer Orry-Kelly. So we've got quite a few Orry-Kelly films in the program, and are really touching on some classic Hollywood stuff." Ultimately, Hepburn considers The Astor "a destination cinema", one where "every cinema session should be an experience". Here's hoping that under Palace, it stays that way for a long, long time. The Astor Theatre officially reopens for business on June 7. To check out their latest program, visit their website. Image: Charlie Kinross Photography
After taking two years off, the Chapel Street Precinct Association has decided to bring back its Chapel Champion Awards for 2024, which sees the public vote for their favourite local businesses across a range of categories. But these awards don't just give the winners ultimate bragging rights. The winner of each of the 16 categories also receives a cash and marketing package to the value of a cool $5000. [caption id="attachment_902834" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Leonard's House of Love[/caption] The big hospo gongs — for best cafe, bar and restaurant — will be hotly fought over by big and small names in the game, but we've got our eyes on the brand-new top toastie award, which has seen a bunch of venues creating new eats just for the occasion. They've been tasked with making "out-of-the-box toasties that have the X-factor to make people travel from all over Melbourne and possibly Australia to try them out". And by the looks of it, this going to be a hard-fought fight. Windsor cafe Delilah has created an unbelievably spicy tiger bread toastie stacked with chorizo, chimichurri and chilli sauce featuring Carolina Reaper chillies — the second hottest chilli in the world. You've also got Naughty Nancy's Toasted Yorkie, which is basically a whole chicken roast dinner wrapped in a huge Yorkshire pudding and drizzled in gravy because why not, tbh. [caption id="attachment_963772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Entrecote[/caption] Entrecote has also joined the race by turning its famous steak frites into a baguette toastie, while Kaneffi has made a dessert toastie which sees a croissant stuffed with kaneffi cheese and topped with pistachio sauce, melted chocolate and gold flakes. Caffe e Cucina, Neptune, Rossi Bar, Norman South Yarra, Acai Brothers Prahran, Lasagna Lab, Reverie Cafe, Rustica, Kookaburra's Canteen, OPPEN Cafe and Abacus have also made their own unique toasties that could see them win that $5000 prize. [caption id="attachment_963773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Abacus[/caption] If you've got a favourite local business that you'd like to win an award, be sure to vote online during the first round before 12pm on Wednesday, July 10. Public voting for the finalists in each category then opens on Friday, July 12 and closes at 12pm on Friday, July 26. "We're ecstatic to announce the highly anticipated return of the Chapel Champion Awards to crown the best businesses our iconic strip has on offer," said Chapel Street Precinct Association General Manager Matt Lanigan. "Unlike the soulless shopping centres that litter Australia, Chapel Street prides itself on its individuality and unique assortment of businesses, many of which you can't find anywhere else in the country. "This makes crowning a select few as Chapel Champions so challenging, and with more than 100 new businesses launching since the 2022 awards, this year's competition is expected to be the biggest challenge yet." [caption id="attachment_961410" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Windsor Wine Room[/caption] The full list of categories includes: Best Toasted Sandwich Hair and Beauty Stay and Accommodation Cafe Restaurant Business Service Entertainment Venue Bar Retail Art Gyms and Fitness Health and Wellness Fashion Hidden Gems Customer Service Soul of Chapel [caption id="attachment_736968" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chapel Street Bazaar by Parker Blain.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_945738" align="alignnone" width="1920"] David's Prahran[/caption] [caption id="attachment_920570" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chapel off Chapel[/caption] You can vote in the 2024 Chapel Champion Awards via the Chapel Street Precinct Association's website. Top image: Lamb on Chapel.
This year, due to Australia's efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, Sydneysiders won't be heading to the now-cancelled Sydney Royal Easter Show. Brisbanites won't be heading to the Ekka, either, or Melburnians to the Royal Melbourne Show, with both of those events cancelled, too. But no matter where in Australia you're located, you can now order showbags online and get them delivered to your home. After the Sydney show's scrapping for 2020, showbag company Chicane Showbags is moving most of its range into a web store that's fittingly called Showbag Shop. Whether you can't get enough Bertie Beetles, have a hankering for a bag filled with KitKats, or would prefer pop culture-themed merchandise (think: The Simpsons, Star Wars and The Beatles), you'll find bags filled with your favourite items here. At the time of writing, only a small variety of bags are available; however Chicane Showbags is aiming to have the majority of its bags in its online store in the coming weeks. We mentioned Bertie Beetles first, of course, because they've become such a show favourite — and to reflect that fact, there are ten different options available. These self-isolating, stay-at-home, generally restricted times might go smoother with a big stash of insect-themed chocolates, after all, with three showbags available for $8, a huge 80-Bertie Beetle bag on offer for $29 and a box of 350 Bertie Beetles (with your choice of a Bertie Beetle mug or a Bertie Beetle plush toy) costing $99. [caption id="attachment_765741" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Chicane Showbags[/caption] Other items currently available include Smarties, Wonka and Snakes Alive bags stuff with lollies; Captain America and Black Panther bags filled with Marvel merchandise; Stella Athletic bags with sporty fashion items and Coast to Coast Skincare bags featuring the obvious. Bags ship Australia-wide, arriving in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane within one to three business days — and in Perth in around five to seven. There is a weight limit on each purchase, though, if you're currently thinking of filling your cupboards with showbags, with only 40 kilograms available per order. Chicane Showbags is now selling showbags online via the Showbag Shop — visit the store's website for further details. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Come September 24, Belleville is launching their inaugural Southern Fried Sundays feast. Described as a maple-drenched brunch/lunch of epic proportions, the poultry fiends have answered all of your deep-fried desires — and your morning-after-a-big-night-out needs. There'll be baskets of buttermilk-brined fried chicken that you can 'paint' sauce onto, plus waffles of both the japaleño cornbread and bacon and cheddar varieties, smothered in maple syrup. If you're really hankering for a feed, the Southern Style Spread will be right up your alley. Comprised of chicken skin butter garlic bread, leek and ham hock greens, roast potatoes, two types of waffles, and southern fried chicken with maple, buffalo and ranch dips, this whopping meal won't leave much room in the old tum tum. You'll have to forge on though, because the crew will also be putting on their favourite Southern Comfort cocktails and Pepperberry Bloody Marys to help wash down their hefty offerings. Mosey on down to Belleville between 11:30am to 5:30pm on Sunday — just so you can cradle your belly in contentment as you waddle back out.
Update, June 28: Due to overwhelming demand, Childish Gambino has announced a second Sydney show. The singer will perform again at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Thursday, November 15 — following his first show on November 14. Tickets will go on sale at midday, Friday, June 29 (AKA tomorrow) and as tickets for the first show almost sold out at today's pre-sale, we suggest heading to buy them here right as the clock strikes 12. After announcing yesterday that Childish Gambino would be headlining Canberra's Spilt Milk, the US hip hop star has this morning released dates for his full Australian tour. Fresh off the back of a #1 Billboard Charts debut for his single "This Is America", he'll be hitting up Sydney on November 14, Melbourne on November 10, and Perth on November 8 — as well as the aforementioned Spilt Milk festival on November 17. After, he'll head over to New Zealand to perform his multi-sensory concert experience PHAROS. This will be Childish Gambino's — AKA Donald Glover, AKA writer/director/star of Atlanta, if you haven't already worked that out — first Aussie shows since performing at Falls Festival in 2016. The shows are announced ahead of the release of his highly anticipated fourth album, which is set to follow Camp, Because the Internet and Awaken, My Love!. While you're waiting for tickets to go on sale, watch (re-watch) that "This Is America" video — it has already racked up over 300M views. Tickets for the three shows will go on sale at midday on Friday, June 29. You can also register for pre-sale access here. Childish Gambino will perform at HBF Stadium, Perth on November 8; Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne on November 10; and the Sydney Opera House, Sydney on November 14 and November 15.
Brunswick is known for many things — it's one of the city's best spots for paste-ups and yarn bombs, it's the place to go if you're after personally tailored jeans on the cheap or a trolley full of second-hand swag, and it's pretty much the only Melbourne suburb where you can still get a fully-fledged house with a backyard for under $180 per room. But as of last month, it has one more jewel in its tatty second-hand crown — it has the world's best pizza. Last month Johnny Di Francesco, pizza chef and owner of Lygon Street's 400 Gradi, took out the top honours at the Campionato Mondiale della Pizza (World Pizza Championships) in Italy. It was a strange victory. But, much like the fact a Tasmanian single malt took out the title at the World Whiskey Awards just a month earlier, it proved Australians are a worldly bunch — currently beating everyone at their own game. Now you get to reap all the benefits! In light of his unprecedented win, Di Francesco is hosting a pizza-making masterclass at his award-winning restaurant on Saturday, May 17. In what will be a regular affair — scheduled for the third Saturday of every month — Johnny will be going back to the basics teaching novice pizza-chefs how to make the perfect margherita pizza. Di Francesco is a big advocate of pizza napoletana, so the end result will look nothing like the kind you might find at Pizza Hut or Dominos. Chewy, foldable and made with traditional ingredients, the pizzas at 400 Gradi are the real deal and this masterclass will give you a special insight into tricks of the trade. Learn how to make the perfect dough, how to cook the most delectable napoletana sauce, and how to sneak some bocconcini while your world-class teacher isn't looking. For more advanced (or adventurous) students, 400 Gradi also offers pizza acrobatics classes on the second Saturday of every month taught by Australian champion Daniele Caputo. Because be honest, you've always wanted to be able to spin the dough on your finger like you're the Magic Johnston of the pizza world. Frankly, if you knew it was possible to be a champion in pizza acrobatics you probably would have given up your job years ago. Don't worry, it's not too late. All classes are $70 per person and come with a complementary glass of Italian wine (and some hard-earned pizza). To book a place call 400 Gradi on (03) 9380 2320.
Le1f, Bec Sandridge and Alex the Astronaut will headline the lineup of artists at this year's Gaytimes music festival. Set to take place over three days and two nights at the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort an hour and a half outside of Melbourne (where Paradise is held), the LGBTIQ-friendly event will feature more than 30 local and international music acts, as well as art shows, film screenings, speed dating and more. As the organisers put it: it's the camping festival "of your big gay dreams". The 18+ festival runs from February 16 to 18. Other standout acts who'll take the stage include Chicago DJ Chrissy, Paul Mac and Johnny Seymour's Stereogamous and Triple J Unearthed's Miss Blanks. In addition to the tunes, the festival will feature an array of additional action, from performance art and life drawing workshops to yoga and a drag race. Perhaps the most exciting thing will be a pop-up wedding chapel where same-sex couples will be able to get hitched (for real — it's legal now!) on the mountain. Shoot hello@gaytimes.com.au an email for more info on that one. The site will boast a cocktail bar, a coffee cart and food trucks, and you can even shell out for glamping if you're feeling extra. In keeping with their inclusive approach, Gaytimes will, as always, enforce a no tolerance policy for anti-social, homophobic, transphobic or racist behaviour. So don't be a jerk, and you should be A-okay.
Every year, on the last Saturday in March, Earth Hour focuses the world's attention on the planet via a vitally important symbolic gesture. Although carbon is saved by turning things off, the point is the unmissable demonstration — with a huge chunk of the world's population caring about the same thing at the same time. If we can manage this for Earth Hour, why not for grander environmental things? It all started in Sydney in 2007, and has become an international event in the years since, with hundreds of millions of people taking part in more than 7000 cities across over 180 countries. Of course, in 2020, things will be a bit different, with no out-of-home activities taking place — but Earth Hour is still asking everyone to join in by staying in the house and turning off the lights at 8.30pm AEDT on Saturday, March 28 (7.30pm AEST). While you're sitting in the dark, you can also live-stream a heap of performers thanks to Earth Hour Live, with Montaigne, Cody Simpson, Jack River, Polish Club, Bobby Alu, Ella Haber, Dulcie and Alice Skye all on the bill — and journalist Patrick Abboud on hosting duties. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ZegTD4buQ&feature=emb_logo And, although you won't be able to see them yourself, local and global landmarks and tourist spots such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, the Wheel of Brisbane, Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, the Eiffel Tower, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Tokyo Skytree, Brandenburg Gate, the Colosseum in Rome, Taipei 101, the Petronas Twin Towers, the Ali Qapu Palace, the Akropolis and Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong are all getting into the Earth Hour spirit by switching their lights off for an hour, too. Images: Earth Hour 2019. Sydney. Luna Park, The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, photographed from Lavender Street, Lavender Bay. Photography by Quentin Jones. 30 March 2019. © Quentin Jones / WWF-Aus The Melbourne Star turns out its lights for Earth Hour 2018. © Alain Nguyen / WWF-Aus Story Bridge, Brisbane with lights switched off to celebrate 10 years of Earth Hour, Brisbane, 25 March 2017. © Anastasia Woolmington / WWF-Aus.
After a year spent largely cooped up at home, it's safe to say that most Melburnians are itching to get out and explore. But with the odd COVID-19 outbreak turning interstate travel into a risky holiday game, it seems that now is the absolute best time to embrace the staycation — especially thanks to a suite of new government-funded initiatives designed to entice you to step away from the airline booking page and unearth some of the goodness right here in this very city. Nine local precinct associations have scored themselves extra activation funding from the City of Melbourne, as part of its $100 million Melbourne City Recovery Fund in collaboration with the Victorian Government. And that translates to a raft of new initiatives and programs for local staycationers to take advantage of. If they're quick, of course. One of these, dubbed the Docklands Dollars program, could see you score rebates of up to $210 from the Docklands Chamber of Commerce just for kicking it local. Recipients can access a $100 cashback offer when they book two night accommodation in the Docklands area, as well as up to $110 via a rebate for purchases at the precinct's stores, restaurants, fast food spots, services and attractions. And yep, that includes things like the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, the O'Brien Icehouse and even those self-drive GoBoat picnic boats. To access the Docklands Dollars initiative, you'll need to submit your interest and register via the program's website. After that, you've got 30 days to book your stay and activate your account for the rest of the rebates. As part of the City of Melbourne's new funding, there's also a competition offering you the chance to win a staycation for you and five mates within the Yarra River Precinct. You can enter that one online as well. More initiatives are set to be rolled out by other City of Melbourne precinct associations, too, including the Chinatown Precinct Association, Carlton Inc and the Collins Street Precinct Group. Find out more about the Docklands Dollars program over at the website. Registrations are open now. Top image: Emily Godfrey via Visit Victoria.
In 2017, Australia scored a brand-new arts festival: Asia TOPA, aka the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts, which fills Melbourne venues with a banquet of Asian arts and culture. Then came the early days of the pandemic, putting the event on hiatus since 2020. Thankfully, that gap is ending in 2025 — and bringing a lineup featuring 33 performances, 18 of which will make their world premiere, to locations across the Victorian capital. Asia TOPA is announcing its roster for Thursday, February 20–Monday, March 10, 2025 in stages, with its performance strand its headline program, as well as the first to unveil its details. One big highlight, which was revealed in October: KAGAMI, a mixed-reality concert experience that lets audiences watch a virtual avatar of the late, great Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto at the piano. Making its southern-hemisphere premiere at the festival, the production sees attendees don headsets, enjoy ten original Sakamoto compositions and pay tribute to the music icon. KAGAMI heads Down Under after seasons in New York and UK, and also Singapore prior to Asia TOPA. [caption id="attachment_979460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tin Drum[/caption] Another of the fest's standouts was also unveiled before the full performance lineup drop — and it's another event with an interactive element. Home Bound by Daniel Kok and Luke George is asking a variety of Melbourne communities to come together to make a woven installation that'll transform Arts Centre Melbourne's forecourt. Whether you take part or not, the results will be a sight to see. Just announced in Asia TOPA's opening-night slot: Milestone from William Yang. As he'll also do at 2025's Sydney Festival, the now 80-year-old artist will reflect upon his life at the one-night-only event, with his photos and stories paired with a new score by Elena Kats-Chernin performed live on stage. In Melbourne, Milestone is headed to Hamer Hall — and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will also be part of the show. [caption id="attachment_979461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Gittoes[/caption] Dance company Chunky Move joins the lineup with U>N>I>T>E>D, which will take to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl stage, feature techno beats inspired by Javanese trance and gamelan, and feature six dancers wearing exoskeleton costumes. At Arts Centre Melbourne's Playhouse, Yolŋu, Paiwan and Amis artists hailing from North East Arnhem Land and Taiwan will join forces for cross-cultural collaboration Gapu Ŋgupan (Chasing the Rainbow). And Chinese mourning rituals provide the spark for Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim's Opera for the Dead (祭歌) at Space 28 at the University of Melbourne. Patrons can also look forward to Ane Ta Abia, a choral concert featuring singers and musicians from Papua New Guinea and Australia; the tunes, lasers and projections of Oblation by Tamil Australian electronic composer Vijay Thillaimuthu; queer Indigenous arts collective FAFSWAG's dance piece SAUNIGA; and an ode to cute animals via theatremaker Ran Chen's Tiny, Fluffy, Sweet. Or, there's also the return of A Nightime Travesty after its YIRRAMBOI Festival 2023 sellout run, Yumi Umiumare's ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II turning Abbotsford Convent into a nightclub and family-friendly puppet show Goldfish. [caption id="attachment_979462" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cam Matheson[/caption] With the NGV about to go dotty for Yayoi Kusama — starting to already, in fact — for it summer blockbuster exhibition, Melanie Lane's Pulau (Island) is another of Asia TOPA's must-sees. Specifically commissioned for the festival, it's a site-specific response that'll be performed beneath Kusama's Dots Obsession installation, and it's only on the program for two days. "I hope this edition of Asia TOPA resounds with the resilience, joy and creativity of the artists from our region. We want the triennial to be a way for people to build new connections and imagine new futures," said Asia TOPA Creative Director Jeff Khan, announcing the performance strand program. "I hope you join us for this celebration of the inspiring artistry, ideas and possibilities that are so unique to Asia-Pacific art and culture." [caption id="attachment_979463" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gianna Rizzo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979464" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chen Chou Chang[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979465" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michael Pham[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979466" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dewie Bukit[/caption] Asia TOPA 2025 runs from Thursday, February 20–Monday, March 10, 2025 at venues across Melbourne. Head to the festival's website for more details and tickets. Top image: Samuel James.
To those in the know, Michael White has long been the epicentre of the London entertainment scene, spreading his producing talents across the stage and screen in everything from Oh! Calcutta! to Monty Python and the Holy Grail to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. To those outside his orbit, his name remains unfamiliar even as his impact is inescapable. Documenting the untold story of his life and legacy, The Last Impresario dwells in the space between both extremes. Australian actress and filmmaker Gracie Otto once fell into the latter category, until spotting White at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. There he sat, surrounded by the who's who of the industry, and her curiosity was instantly piqued. They quickly made each other's acquaintance, formed a firm friendship, and the idea for the film was born. In keeping with her enigmatic introduction to the now elderly entrepreneur, it is not White that monopolises Otto's insider look at his influence, but the myth of the charming man and the many people and projects that came under its thrall. A septuagenarian with declining health, he has a limited ability to tell his own tale, but there is no shortage of famous faces — from John Waters to John Cleese, Kate Moss to Anna Wintour, and Australians Greta Scacchi, Naomi Watts, Lyndall Hobbs and Barry Humphries — able to regale viewers with amusing anecdotes. Of course, much of the fun comes in reliving his celebrity experiences with Jack Nicholson, David Bowie and the like, as meticulously photographed by avid snapper White and further catalogued in decades' worth of memorabilia. His life and the documentary that results is the ultimate act of star-spotting, filtered through a charismatic figure who should be better known than those he interacts with. Scacchi succinctly puts it best; he is "the most famous person you've never heard of". Making her first full-length effort after a series of award-winning shorts, Otto is a naturalistic documentarian afforded ample access undoubtedly aided by her own movie pedigree (in addition to forging her own career, she is the daughter of Bliss's Barry and the sister of The Lord of the Rings' Miranda), yet only occasionally does she overplay her hand. Her visuals are vibrant, her interviews probe, but it is her tone that best impresses, celebrating the feature's subject while never shying away from the underlying melancholy of his less-than-ordinary existence. Two areas skirted around — White's illness and finances — provoke unfulfilled intrigue; however, what does comprise the film paints a very interesting picture nonetheless. The feature's thesis, that they just don't make them like White anymore, is easily proven. In name and in nature, The Last Impresario colourfully charts the final remnants of dying breed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mRbUZA161vc
In Disney's non-stop quest to not only remake its animated hits, but to make them look as lifelike as possible, the Mouse House has already brought Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King back to our screens so far this year alone. But it's not done yet, with the company's new streaming platform set to welcome another high-profile do-over before the end 2019: a live-action version of Lady and the Tramp. To answer the question you've all been wondering, yes, it'll feature real spaghetti and meatballs. In all seriousness, the film does actually star real dogs — not photo-realistic canines cooked up by a special-effects team. The adorable pooches will still be given human voices, of course, with Tessa Thompson lending her tones to everyone's favourite pampered pupper and Justin Theroux doing the honours for her street-smart love interest. Playing an American cocker spaniel and a schnauzer, Thompson and Theroux aren't the only big-name talents going to the dogs. A Star Is Born's Sam Elliott will get gravelly as a bloodhound, Catastrophe's Ashley Jensen is a Scottish terrier, Avengers: Endgame's Benedict Wong voices a bulldog and Janelle Monae pops up as a pekingese. They'll be joined by a few cast members who'll stick with their two-legged forms, including Hearts Beat Loud's Kiersey Clemons, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl's Thomas Mann, and Community co-stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Ken Jeong. Story-wise, the film will wag the same tale, as the upper middle-class Lady crosses paths with — and then eats pasta with — a downtown stray called Tramp. Directed by The Lego Ninjago Movie's Charlie Bean and co-written by US indie filmmaker Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess, Results, Support the Girls), Lady and the Tramp will sport a few changes when it drops on Disney+ upon the service's November launch, however. Monae is reworking 'The Siamese Cat Song' to remove the original's offensive connotations, and will also perform two new tunes for the soundtrack. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2ZDDU34gYw The live-action Lady and the Tramp remake will be available on Disney+ when it launches Down Under on November 19.
Having a bad day? Had a forgettable week, month or start to 2022 so far? Here's something that cures all woes: Nicolas Cage. It's impossible to be annoyed or frustrated when you're watching one of the greatest actors alive make on-screen magic as only he can, whether he's in an excellent or awful movie. And when he's going all in on being himself, as he is in the new trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it's balm for even the crankiest and weariest of souls. As announced back in 2021, and dropping its first sneak peek last year, too, Cage's new movie stars Cage as Cage — and he's visibly having a ball doing so. Whether the film itself turns out to be any good is clearly yet to be seen, but the Cage glimpsed in the two trailers so far knows everything that's ever been said or written about him, leans in and goes for broke. Serious Cage, comedic Cage, out-there Cage, OTT Cage, short-haired Cage, floppy-haired Cage, slick Cage, gun-toting Cage, every-facial-expression-imaginable Cage: they're all accounted for. There is a story behind the film's excellent idea, obviously. The fictionalised Cage is in a career lull, and is even thinking about giving up acting, when he accepts an offer to attend a super fan-slash-billionaire's birthday. Getting paid $1 million is just too much to pass up, and he needs the money. But when it turns out that he's now working for and palling around with one of the most ruthless men on the planet (played by Pedro Pascal, Wonder Woman 1984), as a couple of intelligence agents (The Afterparty co-stars Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) eventually tell him, things get mighty chaotic. Also joining Cage playing Cage — not to be confused with his work in Adaptation, where he played two characters — are Sharon Horgan (This Way Up) and Neil Patrick Harris (The Matrix Resurrections). And, Are We Officially Dating? filmmaker Tom Gormican sits in the director's chair, because if there's anything else that this movie also needs, it's the director of a Zac Efron and Michael B Jordan-starring rom-com pivoting to total Cage worship. Again, whether this'll be one of Cage's undeniable delights or pure cinematic mayhem won't be discovered until the film hits cinemas — but seeing him play and parody himself really does demand everyone's eyeballs. And, although we're never too far away from a new Cage project, nothing yet has indulged the world's collective case of Cage fever like this appears to. That's the thing about Cage: when an actor adds new movies to their resume quickly — popping up in new flicks every couple of months or so, and never proving far from their next film — there's a chance they might run out of worthy on-screen opportunities, but that never applies to him. He's prolific, he stars in far too many terrible flicks, when he's at his best he's downright brilliant, and he always has something interesting around the corner. In 2021 alone, he shouted expletives from Netflix, battled demonic animatronics and teamed up with one of Japan's most out-there filmmakers. He also played a truffle hunter on a quest for revenge after his pet pig is stolen, in the aptly named Pig, which was one of the year's definite movie highlights. The latter saw him turn in one of the best performances of his career, in fact, but Cage has obviously been preparing for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent his entire life. Yes, we've seen Cage break out of Alcatraz, sing Elvis songs, run around the streets convinced that he's a vampire, let his long hair flap in the wind and swap faces. He's voiced a version of Spider-Man, driven fast cars, fought space ninjas and stolen babies as well. Staying in his own shoes definitely stands out, though, with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent hitting cinemas in April. Check out the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent below: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will release in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on April 21, 2022.
In attempting to engage the lucrative teenage market, a film could do worse than conclude its opening monologue with the line, "Everybody knows where they belong... except me". "Oh my god," say those teenagers, "that's basically what I think! I need to get all my friends and see this movie eighteen more times!" There's a reason more than 17 million copies of the novel by Veronica Roth are in print worldwide with no signs of slowing down. Sure, there's the plot about a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world in need of courageous teenagers to save humanity, but at its heart, Divergent remains a simple story about teenage isolation and the possibility that a cute boy might actually like you. Set 'after the war' (that's as much detail as we're given), the survivors of this Chicago 2.0 have instituted a new form of social order to ensure the sustained peace. The community is divided into five factions: carers, pacifists, protectors, thinkers and truth-speakers. When the teenagers come of age, they're subjected to a series of tests to determine their factional predisposition, and while 99 percent of them fall clearly into one group or another, every so often a 'divergent' individual comes along whose skills and feelings cross into multiple factions. A simple but boring version of this idea would be: In a world of left-handers and right-handers, some people are ambidextrous. And then those ambidextrous people are hunted down and murdered. The problem with divergents, you see, is that they can't be controlled. They're a threat to the system because they don't play by the rules. So now, in addition to cute boys and isolation, there's a heady dose of 'screw you mum — you can't tell me what to do!' The divergent in this instance is 15-year-old Beatrice (Shailene Woodley), a daughter of two 'Abnegation' parents who dreams of being one of the 'Dauntless' caste, the fearless (if also reckless) group charged with maintaining order in the city. But some, like Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet), believe the system is broken, and as the balance of power begins to shift with dictatorial-like qualities, 'Tris' finds herself having to choose between faction and family. Woodley is the standout in Divergent; an undeniably talented young actress whose performances since The Descendants have shown both range and maturity beyond her years. She commands attention in every scene and convinces as the conflicted heroine who prefers not to pull the trigger but can and will without hesitation if necessary. Around her is a substantial supporting cast, including Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney and Zoe Kravitz, with Theo James as her sufficiently attractive and brooding love interest, Four. In the end it's all very Hunger Games Lite, mixed in with a bit of Brave New World for good measure. With much of the film centred around Tris's training instead of any actual conflict, it suffers from a lag that struggles to shake free until well into the second hour, by which time what action there is feels rushed and unsubstantiated. Fans of the books will be happy, especially given the film's fidelity to the material; however, newcomers may struggle to get on board. https://youtube.com/watch?v=336qJITnDi0
If you've ever copped a solid dose of the midnight munchies and found yourself begrudgingly out the front of the kebab shop you were at just last weekend, we hear you. Feeling peckish while out on the town is a given at some point, and sometimes there's not a lot standing between you and that lukewarm kebab choice. No judgment — we're just here to remind you that questionable 'babs aren't all there is to Melbourne post 9pm. In fact, eating delicious late-night snacks (such as a truffle-cheese toastie — more on that later) is just the start of your nocturnal adventures around the city. There's a whole lot more to check out around town that won't just make your stomach happy. Read on for the post-9pm things to do, see and ingest and get some inspiration for the next time you're doing the late-night city wander. CATCH SOME LATE-NIGHT ART AND BEATS AT NGV FRIDAY NIGHTS One of the highlights of Melbourne's summer (and what can make a hot, packed tram ride down St Kilda Road worth it) is the annual NGV Friday Night series — after-hours shenanigans at the city's (and Australia's) biggest art gallery. With a schedule lined up that includes DJ sets (Andy Bull, KLP, Eilish Gilligan and Japanese Wallpaper), dance and electro (Albrecht La'Brooy) and other music (anon performing Bach compositions), it's worth reminding yourself that you also get free entry to the main exhibition (Between Two Worlds | Escher X Nendo) with your ticket price. Add a pop-up bar into the mix, and you've got yourself a pretty arty date night – all open until 10pm to help kickstart your Friday night. [caption id="attachment_694046" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Roadshow.[/caption] SEE A POST-11PM FLICK AT CINEMA NOVA Carlton's Cinema Nova has long been a provider of quirky flicks, foreign films and cult hits to the masses (or the 22 people that can fit in its smallest cinema), and the choc-tops are right up there with some of the greatest cinema snacks our city offers. The cinema also holds late night film sessions on Fridays and Saturdays, so you can wander in after you've had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks and want to keep your night going. Latest sessions are from around 11pm, and the cinema lets you take alcoholic beverages from the bar into your flick, so if you've been planning on a late-night cry to A Star Is Born, why not do it here, and into your wine and choc-top. TRAVEL TO ANOTHER ERA OF PARTYING AT SPEAKEASY HQ'S THE VAULT Another city venue where you're not really sure what's in store for you until you get there, Speakeasy HQ runs the full gamut from weekly comedy sessions to Ella Fitzgerald cover artists to illusionists. But mostly, Speakeasy HQ is the veritable ringleader of Melbourne's vaudeville scene and at its Mercantile Place theatre, The Vault, you can really dive into the vintage vibes of burlesque. Hidden within a former gold rush bank vault, the historic space hosts a slew of late-night acts, including the weekly 'Burlesque Extravaganza' and a 'Tassel and Tease' situation. You can also find one-off shows playing each week. Pull up a seat and settle in for the show — with the variety of shows each night, you won't miss any of the 'spectacular spectacular'. DIG INTO STOMACH-LINING LATE-NIGHT EATS AT FERDYDURKE Getting down to perhaps the most important aspect of late-night Melbourne adventures now – appeasing your rumbling stomach – head to Ferdydurke for a whammy of a midnight sanga. Having just launched its late night food menu, Ferdydurke is serving up the goods for cheese-lovers. Pop in to line your stomach and say thank you to the cheese gods, because the late-night munchies are available 9pm till late on Friday and Saturdays. There's a truffle cheese toastie featuring two types of cheese on the go, as well as loaded tater tots and a Royale hot dog with a veg option, too, and not a single kebab in sight. All comes served up hot, fresh and quick to have you on your merry way to check out the local DJ collectives that play at the venue every Friday and Saturday night. Or, forget the d-floor altogether, and just stay to eat truffle cheese toasties until you want to cry (not recommended, but we're not telling you how to live your life). GET AMONG THE ARTY HAPPENINGS AT LOOP PROJECT SPACE & BAR This CBD space is a hodgepodge of art, culture and music on any given night — you can probably safely bet on coming across something interesting during a visit. Open every day except Sundays and kicking until 3am on Friday and Saturdays (and 11.30pm every other night), the space incorporates downstairs Loop Bar, a watering hole and event space, as well as upstairs Loop Roof, a rooftop cocktail bar/beer garden. Besides spending pleasant summer nights in the beer garden, you can expect to find film screenings, DJ sets, and art exhibitions going on at the same time. Check the online calendar to see what's going on and ready your scorecard to add several key Melbourne culture points. FIND YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER AT STORYVILLE Jazz your drinking habits up a little and opt for something quirkier than the regular three pints of lager for you and your mates. Lonsdale Street's Storyville provides a down-the-rabbit-hole vibe in its whimsical setting – think big mushrooms, swings and neon/pastel hues — that'll have you feeling like you've stepped inside a Lewis Carroll hallucination. This is the place to spend your cocktail budget for the month. Try a Harry Potter-inspired Polyjuice (gin, ginger liqueur, kiwi, basil and lime served in its own little potion pot) or an Alice-themed Through The Looking Glass (vanilla tea, Havana rum and cream, serves two and comes in a teapot featuring dry ice). Full marks for creativity and a little indulgence over here — it's definitely an after-dark adventure. LET THE JUKEBOX TUNES SET THE MOOD AT HEARTBREAKER If it's late night and you're looking for somewhere to sit and have a heart-to-heart with a hard drink in hand, look no further. Despite the name, dive-bar Heartbreaker was born to provide you and your late-night D&Ms a black leather seat and red neon illumination for dramatic effect. The bar is a moody yet warm venue that makes you think of both Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga at once, somehow, and promises that you'll be taken care of. Pop a song on the jukebox, sip your whiskey and dive into some good chats. However you choose to plan out your next late night out, don't forget to fuel (or refuel) up. Ferdydurke's got you covered with its new late-night menu, available from 9pm till late on Friday and Saturday. Top image: Jasmine Sim.
Melbourne is set to get a dose of unapologetic neon-lit Tex-Mex when El Camino Cantina opens in the old Fitzroy Social space on Brunswick Street this month. The restaurant features a 400-seat dining room and bar with giant margaritas, lively Tex-Mex fare — including unlimited free chips and salsa — and rock 'n' roll jukeboxes playing 80s, 90s and early-00s bangers. The menu includes fiery buffalo wings, sizzling fajitas, burritos and more. A happy hour will run from 4–6pm every weekday, featuring $7.50 margaritas, house beer, wine and tequila. And there'll be a bunch of daily specials to take advantage of, too, including $2 tacos on Tuesdays, 10-cent chicken wings on Wednesdays (when you buy select drinks) and $19 brunch on weekends. Oh, and those giant margaritas we mentioned? El Camino's massive 15-ounce and 24-ounce margaritas are available frozen or on the rocks in classic, mango, strawberry and tropical Red Bull flavours. It has a solid collection of over 100 mezcals and tequilas, too. This buzzing funhouse is set to open on Friday, June 14 and it's celebrating with a huge party. Running right across the weekend, the venue will be slinging free tequila shots and limited-edition sombreros on arrival for those with bookings. Plus, all margaritas, house wines, house tequilas and 'chalices' of beer will be $7.50. El Camino Cantina's grand opening celebration will kick off at 6pm on Friday, June 14 and run until Sunday, June 16. You can make a booking via El Camino Cantina's website.
Animal lovers of Melbourne — the hunt for pet supplies that are both stylish and sustainable just got a whole lot simpler, now that a sweet little store called Nice Paws has set up shop in Fitzroy. Off the back of a successful online store, the Smith Street pop-up is open now until the end of March and it's got just about everything you need to keep that four-legged mate of yours living the good life. Inspired by their own pooch Wanda, Nice Paws owners Bec and Nelson have sourced a careful curation of pet-focused wares that are both good-looking and good for the planet. There's a focus on clever, contemporary design as well as sustainably produced pieces, with most products either extra durable, made from recycled materials, handcrafted, small batch or all of the above. It's the sort of gear that'll go the distance, while totally complementing the rest of your home. You'll find elegant feed bowls, boutique grooming products, handmade toys, a range of dapper leads and collars, and pet beds that won't ever look scruffy. Nice Paws even has feed-time sorted, slinging a selection of 100 percent Australian owned, sourced and produced pet food and treats. Find Nice Paws at 65 Smith St, Fitzroy, open Wednesdays through Sundays until the end of March. Image: Howlpot via Nice Paws
In these multi-purpose, multi-tasking, multi-hyphenate-filled times, the idea of a winery simply featuring rows of vines, the facilities to make vino, and somewhere to buy and drink it is long gone. Sure, all of the above are still included — but so are sculpture gardens, luxury hotels and four-acre spaces filled with edible greenery, plus giant five-storey cubes. The latter is the standout attraction at South Australian winery d'Arenberg, which opened its new centrepiece in McLaren Vale on December 14. More than 14 years and $15 million in the making, the towering structure looks like a partially twisted Rubik's Cube floating above the plants below. Of course, even over-sized versions of everyday puzzles don't usually feature an art gallery, a wine inhalation room, a virtual fermenter, a blending bench, a video room or a smartphone app-linked functionality that's being dubbed an "alternate reality wine museum." A cellar door and a restaurant are part of the space as well, the former boasting panoramic views over McLaren Vale, the Willunga Hills and the Gulf St Vincent, and the latter serving up seasonally changing degustations over two levels. Anyone visiting for a sip and to stock up their own wine reserves can expect to pay $10 to enter, then try 30 different grape varieties, 70 wines and choose from four different premium tasting flights (for an extra fee). Meanwhile, hungry attendees can feast on a menu cooked up by husband and wife team Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Durr. Other highlights include 115 televisions, and a glass roof that features 16 hydraulic umbrellas — which lift in a choreographed sequence. As well as proving unlike any other winery in the country, it's anticipated that the massive square will become a tourist attraction. "The d'Arenberg Cube has been a once in a lifetime project – high tech, yet grounded in the dirt of our McLaren Vale vineyard, with views to the future," explains d'Arenberg Wines chief winemaker and viticulturalist Chester Osborn. Images: d'Arenberg.
Switch its modern-day Texas setting for the American frontier of several centuries ago, and its noble thieving heroes for gunslingers roaming the range, and there's no mistaking it: Hell or High Water is a western through and through. These days, every second film or thereabouts is deemed a contemporary take on the genre, from Mad Max: Fury Road to The Dressmaker. Director David Mackenzie doesn't take on the Old West lightly, however, and his sun-scorched drama proves to be the genuine article. Bullets fly, law and order collides, and the distinctively dusty US landscape looms large over morally murky exploits. It all harks back to times (and films) gone by, while also proving ever-so-relevant to today. Sons of Anarchy actor turned Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan cleverly steeps every recognisable western element in timely commentary on our have-versus-have not society. Brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner Howard (Ben Foster) fall into the latter category — but as the movie's title intimates, they're determined to make a change. Their primary opponent: the banking system. Specifically, a local financial establishment that happily gave their mother a reverse mortgage on the family farm, and now wants to swoop in and take it all away. So the siblings react Robin Hood-style, holding up the bank's various branches to raise the funds needed to retain control of the property. Of course, rangers Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) are soon on the brothers' trail, one trying to hold on to the past by staving off retirement, the other grinning and bearing his colleague's old-school ways. In a film built dirt-up from the tiniest of details — a parade of sepia-tinted small towns here, a slow drawl masking unspoken pain there — paying close attention to the furrowed brows of Pine and Bridges is highly recommended. Like the film they inhabit, their characters are broken men moulded from familiar pieces. And yet the actors still manage to convey depths that trump the feeling that you've seen it all before. Watching them weather their respective battles — against systems trying to keep them in their places, against their internal demons, and against each other — is quietly revelatory. Though tasked with the least nuanced role of the three main players, Foster also ensures his ex-con character is more than simply a unhinged comic foil to his morally conflicted brother. To put it simply, it's stellar work from most involved. That applies to Mackenzie as well, who provides not only an evocative sense of the genre he's happily playing with, but balances Hell or High Water's solemn tone with his lightness of touch. The journeyman filmmaker continues to serve up new highlights such as his previous prison effort Starred Up, and now this. He's ably assisted by the fine work of cinematographer Giles Nuttgens, as well as by a soulful score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
Finding a designated driver on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve is not an easy feat — nan is stuck into the boozy pud, dad has pulled a dusty one out of the cellar and you don't really want to carpool with that weird uncle. Public Transport Victoria understands and is easing the pain of commuting on the two big days (slightly) by offering all public transport for free. Over Christmas Day, all trains, trams, buses and V/line services will be free from 3am on Saturday, December 25, till 3am on Sunday, December 26. All public transport services will be running on the regular public holiday timetable. If you are planning to catch a reserved V/line service you still need to book ahead but you'll be provided your ticket free of charge. A few days later, over New Year's Eve, the same public transport services will be free from 6pm on Friday, December 31 until 6am on Saturday, January 1. And, the first V/Line train services departing Melbourne that morning will also be free, even if they leave after 6am. If that's now made your NYE plans easier — and cheaper — metro trains will be running every 15 minutes from midnight till 1am, every 30 minutes between 1am and 2am and every hour after 2am. Most tram services will also be running every all night, every 15–20 minutes from midnight to 2am and every 60 minutes from 2am. On both days, you won't need to touch on (or be carrying) your Myki — if you do, you won't be charged. You do still need to check in, though, and wear a mask. For more information on the free travel periods, and for updates to services, head to the PTV website.
NAIDOC Week is always a special occasion on the cultural calendar. But in 2025, the event takes on even more significance, as it reaches its 50-year milestone as a week-long extravaganza. Though the seeds of this event stretch back much further — usually pinned to 1938, when Indigenous activists held the Day of Mourning — NAIDOC Week has grown into a national movement, offering up a thriving annual event filled with rewarding experiences. Each year, NAIDOC Week has a unique theme. In 2025, it speaks to a promising path — 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy'. Celebrating the achievements of the past while stepping into tomorrow, expect a nationwide event grounded in community, where culinary experiences, cultural encounters and kid-friendly activities build towards a bright future. Ready to get involved? Here's what you can't miss during NAIDOC Week 2025. KOORIE HERITAGE TRUST NAIDOC WEEK MARKET — MELBOURNE Fed Square bursts to life with NAIDOC Week each year, with cultural non-profit Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) central to the action. This year, the organisation is hosting the KHT NAIDOC Week Market – a free celebration featuring 20 Indigenous-run stalls that showcase the creativity of Victorian First Peoples makers. Stock up on fashion from Clothing the Gaps, discover handmade jewellery at Haus of Dizzy, or make your home smell better than ever with Mob Melts candles. Held from 1–6pm on Friday, July 11, the market coincides with the free 'NAIDOC in the City' concert, where artists like Electric Fields, Isaiah Firebrace and Scott Darlow take over the stage. NATIONAL INDIGENOUS ART FAIR — SYDNEY Returning to the Overseas Passenger Terminal in The Rocks for its sixth edition from Saturday, July 5–Sunday, July 6, the National Indigenous Art Fair (NIAF) highlights almost 100 Indigenous artists from 30 of Australia's most remote communities. Most prominently, this year's event features the work of Regina Pilawuk Wilson, an internationally renowned Ngan'gikurrungurr creative and cultural leader behind the Northern Territory's Durrmu Arts. Plus, guests can get immersed in live performances, discussions, bush tucker tastings, celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, interactive weaving circles and more. Entry is $3, with proceeds supporting the artists attending the event. LITTLE MOBS AT THE NATIONAL INDIGENOUS ART FAIR — SYDNEY Getting down to the National Indigenous Art Fair? Don't leave the kids behind. Just in time for the first weekend of the school holidays, the NIAF presents Little Mobs — a cultural activity program for children guided by First Nations artists. Young visitors are invited to get hands-on with art, nature, movement and culture, with activities such as ochre painting, gumnut jewellery-making, shellwork and more. Meanwhile, inclusive dance workshops led by renowned Indigenous organisations make for an even more interactive encounter. Activities at NIAF are free, with entry to the fair costing $3 per adult and free for kids under 12. '50 YEARS OF NAIDOC' AT THE AYERS ROCK RESORT — NORTHERN TERRITORY The Ayers Rock Resort has gone big for its '50 Years of NAIDOC' feast for the senses, with renowned chef Mark Olive, aka 'The Black Olive', transforming its Arnguli Grill & Restaurant with a set menu teeming with bush food and Indigenous wines. Meanwhile, Olive will also host an intimate dinner on Wednesday, July 9, recounting fascinating stories and insight behind the ingredients. The resort also brings numerous art experiences and cultural activities to the celebration. Aṉangu artists Billy and Lulu Cooley present wood carvings in the Town Square Circle of Sand, while the Sunrise Journeys encounter sees guests connect to Country at dawn through an absorbing combination of laser projection, music and the natural environment. FIRST NATIONS FILM FESTIVAL — NATIONAL There are few better mediums for reflection, celebration and storytelling than film. That means catching a movie or two is ripe for making the most of NAIDOC Week, as online streaming platform FanForce offers the First Nations Film Festival 2025 from Sunday, July 6–Wednesday, August 6. With the Reconciliation Week Collection now extended to Wednesday, August 6, the platform is adding the NAIDOC Collection too, featuring four more features and seven short films. Highlighting cultural strength, connection to Country and intergenerational resilience, the flicks include Warwick Thornton's We Don't Need a Map and Beck Cole's Here I Am. Each collection is available to stream for $38. DOCPLAY NAIDOC WEEK 2025 — NATIONAL Need even more content to stream? DocPlay celebrates Indigenous storytelling by making 11 incredible documentaries free to watch throughout NAIDOC Week. Covering a wide range of topics, from sport and the education system to Canberra's long-standing Aboriginal Tent Embassy, some of the biggest highlights include the Adam Goodes-focused The Australian Dream and You Can Go Now — an examination of influential Australian Aboriginal artist and activist, Richard Bell. With this collection of stories offering rich insight into the community and culture, expect deep dives into remarkable achievements and complex challenges on the road to a brighter future. 'BLING MY HOODY' AT THE HAUS OF DIZZY — MELBOURNE Guided by self-proclaimed Queen of Bling and Wiradjuri designer Kristy Dickinson, 'Bling My Hoodie' is a fun two-hour session made for engaging with First Nations peoples, culture and community. Held at Fitzroy's Haus of Dizzy from 11am on Saturday, July 5, this hands-on lesson invites kids aged six and up to test their eye for design. Customising a blank hoodie using various techniques, Dickinson will teach guests the ins and outs of direct-to-film transfers, iron-on patches and heat-pressed decals to make their piece resonate with big colours and powerful messages. Tickets are $99 and include your hoodie. NAIDOC WEEK AT OPERA BAR — SYDNEY Perched on Sydney Harbour, Opera Bar has a scenic dining experience that will level up your NAIDOC Week adventure from Sunday, July 6–Sunday, July 13. Crafted by a First Nations culinary team, expect four innovative takes on native ingredients, including kangaroo salami pizzetta and lamb sliders with bush tomatoes. Dessert is also unskippable, as a wattle seed pavlova with poached quince and crème fraîche delivers a rousing finish. Plus, the experience also extends to the drinks, with a signature cocktail duo highlighting foraged plants, like mountain pepper and samphire. Rounding out this delicious encounter are stunning visuals created by Indigenous artist Kyara Fernando, which adorn the menus.
If you're in the market for a blisteringly good weekend tipple, why not make it a premium concoction from the 2018 winner of Diageo's World Class Bartender of the Year? Melburnians can enjoy that very enviable situation this week, when internationally renowned mixologist Orlando Marzo launches his new line of bottled cocktails, dubbed Loro. Marzo is taking up residency at Gertrude Street venue At The Above, to showcase and celebrate his four new unconventional sips; including the deep, fruity Cherry & Cacao Manhattan and a fragrant Bergamot Negroni. On Saturday, February 26, head along to catch a festive launch party, where you'll have the chance to sample all Loro cocktails and a few other drinks at some very special prices. $25 gets you entry to the shindig and your first cocktail, plus an evening of DJ tunes, art installations and snacks — by Napier Quarter's Eileen Horsnell — to enjoy alongside the libations. Backing it up on Sunday, February 27, the pop-up bar will be open for casual walk-ins from 1–9pm, serving the full cocktail range for you to taste-test at your leisure. [caption id="attachment_844057" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 2018 Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year Orlando Marzo[/caption]
Chef Tom Sarafian is opening his debut restaurant, ZAREH, on Smith Street in Collingwood next week — a 40-seat ode to his grandfather Zareh, whose journey from Egypt to Melbourne sparked a multigenerational love of hospitality. Expect the warmth of Middle Eastern hosting, filtered through a sleek and moody inner-north lens. "This restaurant is a new chapter in a story that began generations ago," says Sarafian. "My grandfather set the tone for all us Sarafians to follow a career in the food world. Some tried to steer away but we've all ended up working with food in one way or another." At ZAREH, the kitchen finds the centre of the room — fully open and built around a charcoal barbecue and woodfired oven by The Brick Chef. "I've worked in too many kitchens where the chefs are hidden away in basements or behind stainless steel walls," says Sarafian. "[The kitchen is] part of the dining room, because it is central to the experience." The restaurant's menu draws on a mix of Sarafian's family heritage, his stints in renowned Melbourne and London kitchens (Cumulus Inc, Rumi, Petersham Nurseries, St John, to name just a few) and travels through North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East — but is ultimately defined as Armenian-Lebanese. Expect fresh Victorian produce seasoned with 'Mouneh' (pantry goods sourced directly from organic farms in Lebanon) like high-quality za'atar, sumac and pomegranate molasses, plus pine nuts, cedar oak honey and fermented pepper pastes. ZAREH's wine list spotlights producers from Armenia and Lebanon, alongside thoughtful local and international labels. Bartender Matt Linklater leads the cocktail program, with a focus on arak (an anise-flavoured alcohol traditionally served in Middle Eastern countries) — including Arak Farid, discovered by Sarafian and partner Jinane Bou-Assi in Lebanon and now imported to Australia for the first time. Notable drinks include the Zareh Gilda Martini, an icy martini laced with arak and finished with Sarafian's take on the classic Gilda, plus a selection of world-class Armenian brandies. The space, designed with Min Tseng and MIC Projects, channels family nostalgia and Beirut's colour palette: soft green banquettes, pink-hued limestone walls and a flowing tahini-coloured curtain, anchored by a warm timber bar wrapped around the open kitchen. There are details nodding to Sarafian's grandparents' house, too — from bar tiles to a retro glass sliding door. ZAREH will also retail Sarafian signature pantry favourites alongside authentic Lebanese mouneh — distilled waters, vinegars, honey and jams, spices, za'atar and freshly ground sumac — via a partnership with Droubna, a mother-and-daughter team in South Lebanon preserving traditional farming practices and village food culture. It's an invitation to take the flavours home with you. ZAREH will open at 368 Smith Street, Collingwood, from Wednesday next week — dinner service only to start, with lunches added in early spring. Online bookings are now open. Images: Kristoffer Paulsen
If you've managed to nab a ticket to Paul Kelly's Making Gravy tour back in 2017, 2018 and 2019, then you were one of the lucky ones. If you weren't and have been lamenting ever since, you can stop. The songwriting legend has just announced that he'll be performing the show all over again this December, this time heading to Melbourne and Brisbane — in the lead up to Gravy Day itself, December 21. Like the song, the tour — now in its fourth year — is becoming a bit of an Aussie Christmas tradition. Time to start thinking about getting the tinsel and ugly jumpers out of storage. As in past years, you can expect to hear a stack of songs from Kelly's four-decade long career. Listen out for all the hits, from 'Dumb Things', from the album Live, May 1992, to 'Love Never Runs On Time' from Wanted Man (1994). The Christmas classic 'How To Make Gravy', first released in 1996 on an eponymous EP, is on the menu, too. The tour will coincide with the release of Kelly's new Christmas Train record, his first-ever festive album — and yes, it includes a new version of 'How To Make Gravy'. Kelly won't be hitting the road alone, either — he's inviting a bunch of special guests. He'll be joined by Ball Park Music, Sycco and Emma Donovan & The Putbacks. MAKING GRAVY DATES 2021 Melbourne — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Thursday, December 9 Brisbane — Riverstage, Saturday, December 18 Paul Kelly Making Gravy pre-sale tickets will be available from midday AEDT on Thursday, November 4 with general sales from 1pm local time on Monday, November 8.
Kickstart your post-work drinks or wind down in style at W Melbourne's bold Italian eatery Bar Lollo, which is offering a weeknight feast that could prove too tempting to skip. From the hotel's luxe surrounds on Flinders Lane, these 90-minute Sip and Slice sessions feature bottomless wine and beer alongside woodfired pizza for $55 per person. For the hungry office workers who are bound to pour into the venue every weekday evening from 5pm, there are three tantalising pizzas up for order. Served fresh from the oven, you can't go wrong with a classic margherita. Not only does it taste good, but it's perfect for soaking up one too many drinks. You're also welcome to take things up a notch, as Bar Lollo includes two of its more artisan creations in this boozy offer. Check out the pepperoni, featuring buffalo mozzarella, Aleppo peppers and castelvetrano olives; or opt for a prosciutto calzone, decked out with rocket, gorgonzola dolce and honey. As for the beverage offering, choose from sparkling, pinot grigio or shiraz, with each variety hailing from the Yarra Valley. Plus, there's a selection of tinnies that are sure to go down easily after a long day of kicking goals at the desk. For days when the idea of stuffing yourself with bottomless food and drink sounds a little much, these Sip and Slice sessions also invite guests to order pizzas individually for $15. Alternatively, you can match a pizza with any drink on offer for $20. Whether you're heading along to this new weeknight shindig for a one-off feast or making it a routine ritual with colleagues, getting your fill of top-quality pizza, paired with more than a few drinks, is made easy. Bar Lollo's Sip and Slice runs Monday–Friday from 5pm at W Melbourne, 408 Flinders Lane. Head to the website for more information.
Nowadays there are subscription services for just about anything. Board Games? Check. Booze? Check. Legos? Check. Organic period products? You betcha. Meet Juuni, a subscription that delivers a customisable box of organic tampons, pads and liners to your doorstep each month. If you're anything like us, every 28 days, you'll find yourself digging around the bottom of your bag or making a desperate run to the convenience store. To help save you from the stress of being caught out — because, face it, periods are stressful and annoying enough as they are — founder Erica Stewart created a line of organic products that look and feel more like a gift set than a necessity. Unlike your typical tampons, Juuni's products are bleach-free, pesticide-free and 100-percent biodegradable. The certified organic cotton is hypoallergenic and contains no synthetic dyes or fibres. In order to show you why you should go organic, Junni is giving you your first box of products for free and throwing in a free pack of Spot Nix acne patches, overnight patches that clean your face and remove pimples. All you have to do is pick what products you want included in your box, use the code ALIDADDO at the checkout and you'll be shipped your complimentary products. You won't even pay for shipping. If you enjoy your first box of goodies, the monthly subscription is very affordable. Tampons are $3.99 for a ten pack, pads are $3.20 for a five pack and panty liners are $3.20 for ten. Plus, each month's box contains a surprise bonus gift and a sweet treat to make you feel good, even if your period's gotten the better of you. Juuni is also supporting the fight against period poverty in Australia in collaboration with the Happy Boxes Project, an organisation that sends toiletries to woman in remote communities. Juuni's support helps send woman throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia period products. You can help by donating via Juuni here. To order your Juuni subscription and receive your first box of products and a pack of Spot Nix acne patches for free, head over here and use the code ALIDADDO at the checkout. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
The dockless bike sharing phenomenon hasn't exactly proved a roaring success here in Australia, with rogue bikes clogging up footpaths, or winding up broken and abandoned in dangerous locations, and oBike withdrawing from Melbourne entirely. And still, yet another company is keen to give the concept a whirl locally — this time, featuring electric scooters. Aussie start-up Ride has announced it has launched a trial program of its ride share service, giving locals in Melbourne the chance to road-test its fleet of electric scooters. Riffing on the scooter systems that have been going gang-busters over in the USA, the local company is still nailing down its technology, launching the pilot program in St Kilda, before rolling out across CBD areas. At this stage, riders simply locate a scooter, scan and pay via the Ride smartphone app, before jetting off on their two-wheeled adventure. The company held a short trial in the area last month, which, according to founder Aaron LaLux, was a success, so it decided to re-launch for the busy summer holiday period. "We've decided to re-launch for the holiday season to gift St Kilda with this new way of getting around and to help get cars off the road. It's my wish that it won't be long before we see more clean energy alternatives to the carbon emitting vehicles that currently exist." Riders pay $1 to start the scooters then 25 cents per minute to use them. The only downfall of the service is the speed, with scooters going a maximum of ten kilometres an hour (to comply with Victorian road rules surrounding scooters) compared to Sydney's newly launched electric bikes, which go up to up to 23kmh. So, for example, a journey from St Kilda to the CBD would take about 45-minutes and cost around $12–13. When riding the scooters, be aware that Victorian rules also stipulate that you must wear a helmet and that the scooters can't be used on separated bike paths or on roads with a speed limit of more than 50kmh, but they can be used on footpaths. Well, for the moment. LaLux is hoping the extended Ride trial will give the State and Federal Government time to draft more comprehensive rules surrounding electric scooters. As the scooters are electric, they'll be picked up after 10pm each night by employees, charged and returned to designated spots around St Kilda. Ride's trial program is running now for an indefinite period. You can download the Ride app here.
