We've been waiting for Bon Iver's third album, 22, A Million, for ages now. The exact release date is set for tomorrow, September 30, but it looks like Melburnians might get to hear the sweet magical tones of Justin Vernon's voice a little bit earlier than everyone else. Last night the band posted a photo on Instagram hinting that something will be happening tonight — Thursday, September 29 — at 6.30pm at 121 Johnston Street, Fitzroy. A photo posted by Bon Iver (@boniver) on Sep 28, 2016 at 2:19am PDT The photo is part of a series of eight so far, which have been posted on the account over the last 24 hours. The images all allude to some kind of event happening in cities around the world at the same time, including New York, Paris, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Eau Claire in Wisconsin (like the song, geddit?). Brooklyn is the latest location to be announced — it was posted less than an hour ago. Apart from the date, time and location, we don't really have any more details. Seeing as Bon Iver probably can't be in all those locations at once, we're not holding out hope for an IRL appearance. It sounds like they could be premiering the new album with a listening party. The Melbourne address is the location of Fitzroy cafe Sir Charles. Or maybe they're just launching a retail pop-up, Kanye-style — we actually don't know. All will be revealed in some way or another by tonight. Keep your eyes on Bon Iver's Instagram or just grab a camping chair and some snacks and head down to Johnston Street for a good old mystery stake out. Just in case.
Did you hear that? We think someone just said free dumplings and beer. Prepare to get all a-quiver because someone actually, absolutely did just say free dumplings and beer. In honour of the foodstuff that fuels drunken nights out across the country, 206 Bourke Street is hosting the first Melbourne Dumpling Festival, complete with a huge (free!) sit-down dumpling tasting event. Dump dump wizards Tim Ho Wan, China Red, China Chilli and Dragon Boat are working with Brooklyn Brewery to bring you a night of dumpling indulgence. From 5-10pm on Friday, October 21, groups of 30 will be seated for 30 minutes to enjoy a gratis dumpling and beer pairing, including three serves of dumplings and three beer samples. Seems weird that it's totally free, but we won't question it. It goes without saying though that you can only sign up to one booking. Tim Ho Wan will also be premiering their lava bomb dumpling, free to the first 200 people who rock up to the pop-up. The lava bomb, just FYI, is exactly what it sounds like - an explosive dumpling, filled with sweet gooey custard. Here's a schedule of the dishes available so you can book accordingly: Sitting one and two by Dragon Boat: Siu Mai dumpling (pork and prawn) Sitting three and four by China Red: spicy Won Ton dumpling (pork dumplings with spicy Schezwan sauce) Sitting five and six by Tim Ho Wan: wasabi prawn dumpling (prawn, crispy casing and wasabi mayonnaise) Sitting seven and eight by China Chilli: Master Zhong's dumpling (mixed cabbage, pork and home-made sweet spicy sauce) Aside from the dumpling pairing, the one-night festival will also hold a host of dumpling-making demos, calligraphy workshops and live music. You'll also be able to get dumps to eat in or take away. The event is being held at 206 Bourke Street, which is the retail precinct Tim Ho Wan is located in and connects Bourke Street with Chinatown. The Melbourne Dumpling Festival will take place from 5-10pm on Friday, October 21. You can book your dump dump sesh here and check out all the other cool stuff happening at the festival website.
A ten-minute dance session for ten people at a time, held in a caravan. A future-focused art party featuring live performance, projection, visual art and music. A photo exhibition exploring the transformation of Australia's premier drag performers. Now that's how you mark three decades of celebrating Melbourne's LGBTIQA+ community and showering the city in queer arts and culture — and it's only the beginning of Midsumma Festival's 2017 lineup. Hitting the big three-oh is a spectacular affair and then some for the annual fest, complete with more than 130 events in the program. Keeping the impressive numbers going — and growing, as they have since Midsumma first kicked off in 1988 — the forthcoming iteration will also feature the work of over 1200 artists and culture creators in more than 70 venues and outdoor space, including hubs at Arts Centre Melbourne, Gasworks and The Hare Hole at Hares & Hyenas. As always, the annual Pride March through St Kilda proves one of the festival's must-attend highlights, alongside the fellow returning flagship event that is the Midsumma Carnival and T Dance. At the former, everyone will dance, strut, sing, catwalk, vogue, placard, drag and move together in a display of difference, acceptance and equality. At the latter, prepare to party all day and night, watch queer sports and even see a dog show, all at Alexandra Gardens. Other standouts include a showcase of portraits of LBTI women by photographer Lisa White, a new take on Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince by the folks behind Psycho Beach Party, a reimagined version of Fringe favourite dance piece HardQueer DeathPony, and UK drag stars Jonny Woo and Le Gateau Chocolat working their way through musical theatre hits such as Les Mis, The Lion King, Cabaret and Annie. Or, hear marriage equality activist and Queen of Ireland star Panti Bliss share her experiences, catch a comedy cabaret about how to be a wingman, enjoy the Cuddle Puddle (yes, it's exactly what it sounds like), pay tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, show off your interpretative dance skills and participate in the Muddy Gras obstacle course. It's going to be a fun and busy three weeks, that's for sure. Midsumma 2017 runs from January 15 to February 5. For more information about the festival, including the full program guide and ticket sales, visit midsumma.org.au Image: Coal Photography.
It's perfectly natural to smash through bad days, good days or any day with a helping hand from some sugary indulgence. Here in Melbourne our cafes cater to those with a sweet tooth, which means we have some of the tastiest dessert-for-breakfast treats at our fingertips. Here's our list of Melbourne's finest spots to stroll into and loudly declare "Bring me your sweetest treat, post haste!". Rules are made to be broken – dessert should come first every now and then. [caption id="attachment_585127" align="alignnone" width="1279"] Operator 25's matcha almond hotcakes with grilled pears, berry sauce, dark chocolate and freeze dried raspberry.[/caption] OPERATOR 25 The best thing about Operator 25 is that every dish they serve looks like a colourful work of art (the eyes do eat first you know). The cafe has a range of options for a dessert-brekky, but our favourite is their matcha almond hotcakes served with grilled pears, berry sauce, dark chocolate and freeze dried raspberry. The fruit content means you can pass it off as "healthy". [caption id="attachment_585195" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Caramel doughnut at Rustica Canteen.[/caption] RUSTICA CANTEEN At Rustica Canteen you could very well smash a bite-sized sweet treat and then tuck into a balanced brekky if that's your bag. Rustica are renowned for their sourdough, so naturally their menu is full of bakery-esque delights including pistachio cronuts and poached pear danishes. There's a decent quinoa pudding to wash it down with too. [caption id="attachment_585219" align="alignnone" width="1279"] Lindt's signature chocolate waffle with vanilla white chocolate ice cream. Photo by royceluo.[/caption] LINDT CHOCOLATE CAFÉ If the traditional box of assorted Lindt chocolates balls always incited family debates about which kind was best, you'll be thrilled to know that there's a Lindt café in Melbourne CBD and it's all kinds of great. We recommend you try the winter menu, it's perfect for those cold mornings when you can't deal with the cold weather. Their signature hot chocolate (your pick of dark or milk) is a mouthful of heaven, and if have any space left over after, try the waffles. They're fresh, crunchy and served with white chocolate ice cream and a pot of melted Lindt chocolate. What? No you're drooling! [caption id="attachment_585149" align="alignnone" width="1275"] Hash Specialty Coffee's quinoa fruit salad with labneh, mint and orange blossom syrup.[/caption] HASH SPECIALTY COFFEE Hash Specialty Coffee does great food, but that's not really what we're after. Shoo away the menu and ask for a hot chocolate, heavy on the fairy floss. You'll be served a beaker of hot chocolate and a puff of fairy floss to experiment with. But if you want your dessert-for-breakfast experience to step it up a notch, order the crème brulee French toast or the quinoa fruit salad with orange blossom syrup. Everything is pretty as a picture, and may just send you into a sugar frenzy (in a good way). SHORTSTOP COFFEE AND DONUTS We'd all like to consume our weight in chocolate once in a while, but time and circumstance make fools of us all. If you're after that sugar hit but you're low on time, make your way like a flying arrow straight to Shortstop Donuts and grab a take away gourmet doughnut. Our favourite is the sea salt cruller. Pro-tip: pre-order online so you can skip the queue and jump straight to the donut-in-face experience. Lindt Chocolate Café's signature chocolate waffle and drink is available now for $16 at 271 Collins Street, Melbourne.
This city is no stranger to the humble (and not so humble) doughnut. From Shortstop to Doughboys to the van at Queen Vic Market, Melburnians are spoiled for choice when it comes to deep-fried dough, be it glazed, iced, covered in cinnamon or bursting with piping hot jam. The organisers of the Flour Market even ran a doughnut-only event back in 2015. So, really, it makes perfect sense that our sweet, sweet obsession it about to be taken to its logical conclusion: a full-blown festival featuring beer, bingo and all the doughnuts you can eat. Set to take place at The Village on St Kilda Road, Donut Fest will arrive in Melbourne on Sunday, March 12 — although, despite taking the same name, it's not related to the huge Chicago-originated Donut Fest that we wrote about last year. From 2pm sugar fiends will be able to gorge themselves on freshly made doughnuts from a variety of local vendors, as well as coffee from Melbourne beanheads and a selection of boutique beers. There'll also be live entertainment – keep your eyes on the Donut Fest website for details as they drop. Entry into Donut Fest is free, although organisers are encouraging punters to bring a gold coin donation along for charity. If nothing else, it should help assuage the guilt you'll feel after eating yourself into a coma. Donut Fest will take place at The Village from 2pm on Sunday, March 12. For more info, visit donutfest.com.au.
Two of our favourite things — good food and fantastic film — are coming together at Caulfield Racecourse this March. After a sold-out debut season last year, Gourmet Cinema will return for two weeks starting on Thursday, March 2 to pair menus from some of Melbourne's top restaurants with a critically-acclaimed film. So bring your picnic blankets, but leave the baskets at home. Each film on the program has been matched to a corresponding restaurant. Lost in Translation should go quite nicely with Japanese nosh from Tokyo Tina, while Slumdog Millionaire seems better paired with Horn Please's much-loved Indian food. Alternatively, you can 'find yourself' in a big bowl of pasta from Baby during Eat Pray Love, watch Frida with a feast from Fonda, or revisit Amélie with a French picnic from L'Hotel Gitan. Other vendors on the list include Kong, Saigon Sally, Meatmaiden and The Atlantic. While each restaurant will present a specific screening, you don't have to worry about picking your favourite, as each night a rotating roster of five restaurants will be slinging film-friendly foods. You won't have to line up for it either — you can just have it delivered to your picnic blanket via Deliveroo. Gourmet Cinema will run for 11 consecutive days, and will this year include two matinee screenings. For all the others, gates open at 6pm with the film set to commence around 8pm. Tickets are $17.60 (plus booking fee) for adults, or you can shell out $35 for a reserved deck chair. For more information and to book tickets, visit gourmetcinema.com.au.
It was an incredibly sad day when iconic St Kilda venue Stokehouse burned down in 2014. Now, after a two and a half year hiatus, it's finally coming back, renovated and designated into a 'precinct' of multiple bars and restaurants, set to dominate that seaside like only Stokehouse can. Last month fish and chip kiosk Paper Fish opened as the first stage of the new precinct, and this weekend second venue Pontoon — a casual beachside bar and eatery — will open on the ground floor. This chic new 400-capacity beach-inspired establishment precede the opening of the highly anticipated relaunch of Stokehouse St Kilda restaurant, which is slated to launch on December 6. The Pontoon menu will be casual and over the counter (think of the kind of food you can eat while standing with a drink in the other hand), and will put their four-metre grill to good use. You can expect a lot of seafood, wood-fired pizzas, and noms like the wood-roasted beef brisket toastie. The epic 18-metre-long bar will house a strong wine list, 18 beer taps and of course, cocktails. They'll also be serving up globally trending anomaly 'frosé', because how could they not. Peppered with the furniture and trimmings of local Melbourne designers, the interior has been designed by George Livissianis (the design dynamo behind recent Sydney renos of The Dolphin Hotel, The Apollo and Cho Cho San). Expect a casual layout and a mixture of warm, natural materials (think wood, leather and cane) offset by concrete and brick. "Looking out onto St Kilda beach was a great starting point in considering colours and materials that would compliment the concrete and blackened timber building," said Livissianis. Pontoon will open at midday on Saturday, November 12 on the ground floor of the rebuilt Stokehouse building, 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda. They'll be open from midday, seven days a week. For more info, visit pontoonstkildabeach.com.au. Images: Kristoffer Paulsen.
After three years in the brewing biz, Exit Brewing finally has a place to call home — but, in a distinct point of difference from every other brewery in the industry, the bar has a name all its own. Uitgang Bar, a collaboration between Exit co-founders Fraser Rettie and Craig Knight and their beer loving friend David Pike, officially opened its doors early April. "The name is Flemish for Exit and is an homage to where we were first inspired to brew in Belgium," says Rettie. "We fell in love with beer and first began to home brew there, and the name is just a little something different." All three owners are Richmond locals, and Rettie had specifically eyed the space enviously many times on previous occasions. "I used to walk past the space almost every day and I'd always stick my head in and think 'this would be a great place to showcase the Exit range," says Rettie. "When we found out it was becoming available, we moved fast." The space boasts exposed brick and arches, as well as a sizeable beer garden — a commodity along Bridge Road. They hope to grow a few hop plants in the garden, which will be used both for show and as ingredients in pilot brews only available at the bar. The bar features an extensive range of taps, including ten beer, one cider and one carbonated coffee tap, produced nearby at North St. Of the beer taps, four will be dedicated to Exit, one is reserved for Kaiju! Beer — who they share brewing facilities with — and the additional four will act as rotating taps for other Australian craft breweries. The venue's local focus goes deeper than most — all of the booze in Uitgang will focus on Australian producers, including independently made spirits and wine. Keeping with their community focus, the bar is offering takeaway food services from three of their favourite neighbourhood haunts — pizza and pasta from St Domenico, burgers from Three One 2 One and Vietnamese fusion from Mr Minh. "There are so many quality food places around Bridge Road and we chose to partner with restaurants we love and eat at ourselves," says Rettie. Having a bar doesn't mean you'll stop seeing Exit beer around town, either. "We have a lot of really loyal retailers and customers so we're very conscious that we don't want to hog all of the limelight with the new bar," says Rettie. Exit will even throw their third birthday at the nearby Royston Hotel, who have been loyal supporters of the brand and have hosted events for them in the past. Uitgang Bar is now open at 406 Bridge Road, Richmond; opening hours are Wednesday through Thursday from 4pm to 11pm, Friday through Saturday from noon to 11pm and Sunday from noon to 10pm.
Get ready to feel your age. After the definition of a runaway debut album, a couple of Grammys, a world tour, a collaboration with Disclosure and worldwide fame, Lorde is returning to Australia for a handful of shows — and she's still only 20 years old. The New Zealand artist — also known as Ella Yelich-O'Connor — has this morning announced she will tack on four Australian shows to her Melodrama world tour in November. All outdoor venues, she will play in Sydney's iconic Opera House Forecourt, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Kings Park in Perth and Brisbane's City Botanic Gardens. It will be Lorde's first visit back to Australia since 2014, when she toured Pure Heroine as a wee 16-year-old. This time around, she will showcase her new album Melodrama, which is set to be released next week. General tickets go on sale at noon on Monday, June 19, but if you're a Frontier member or signed up to the Sydney Opera House's newsletter, you can access pre-sales ahead of time. Find more info on the tour here. LORDE MELODRAMA AUSTRALIAN TOUR Saturday, November 18 — Kings Park, Perth Tuesday, November 21 — Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney Thursday, November 23 — Riverstage, City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane Saturday, November 26 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
South Yarra's Forrest Hill precinct continues to boom, with the announcement of a lofty, openair atrium to sit at the base of Claremont Street's new luxury residential development, Yarra One. Drawing inspiration from Melbourne's famed laneway culture, the ambitious project will see the thoroughfare between Daly Street and Yarra Lane transformed into a vibrant community hub, and a lifestyle destination in itself. Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects (MONA), the ground floor space is nothing short of stunning, boasting sprawling, sun-dappled interiors and a soaring timber trellis entwined by lush foliage. Not only will it feature a diverse collection of cafes, restaurants, and retailers, but also rows of tiered seating overlooking a small stage area, marking the space's potential as a cultural hub. Counting favourites like Zumbo Patisserie and Two Birds One Stone as neighbours, this dynamic addition is on track to becoming one of Melbourne's new wave of large-scale lifestyle destinations. Construction for the Yarra One project, including the atrium, will be completed by 2020.
Not content with serving up live tunes and relaxed brews, Brunswick venue The Penny Black has added a new kitchen to the mix. Fittingly called the Penny Counter, it's bringing Southern-style food to the cruisy hangout, in what they're dubbing a new dining experience. Menu-wise, that means burgers — of course — including The Old School with beef, cheddar, relish and pickles; the King Charlie V, which doubles up on everything and adds bacon; the Adobo Stinger, for spicy chicken fiends; and the Field of Dreams, aka a vegetarian option with stacked mushrooms and crushed avocado. Five types of pizza are also on offer, plus share plates of shoestring fries with creole aioli, poutine, sticky pork ribs and mini eggplant parmas. For those keen on a big meal, so are hefty dishes of 16-hour beer-braised pork shoulder roll, twice-cooked crispy chicken and fish tacos. Plus, to celebrate their new addition, the Sydney Road joint is serving up cut-price burgs from July 1 to 16, with The Old School, Adobo Stinger and Field of Dreams available for $6. You could call it a burger bonanza, and you'd be right. Costing less than half their usual rate, each burg also comes with fries. Find the Penny Counter at The Penny Black, 420 Sydney Road, Brunswick. For more information, head to their website or Facebook page.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Melbourne is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you celebrate the little things that bring a sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Melbourne. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, wander through a maze of mirrors after work, treat yourself to a new pair of tailored jeans for just $60 and pull on a bib for a traditional (and messy) crab boil. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
Freedom Time — the free-spirited festival synonymous with balmy summer days, dance-fuelled nights and lush DJ sets — is gearing up for another huge season, today dropping the lineup for its jam-packed third summer series. This time around, the Freedom Time gang are spreading the love even further, adding a January 7 visit to Sydney's Manning Bar and Gardens on top of the usual shows in Perth on New Year's Eve and at Melbourne's Coburg Velodrome on January 1. As always, the festival's gifting us with a diverse lineup of musical guests, assembling a mix of international greats and homegrown heroes that'll have you dancing your little feet off no matter your style. Headlining this eclectic bunch is famed Chicago house producer Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers), Jamaican dancehall legend Johnny Osbourne and an inter-generational collaborative effort from Leroy Burgess and Melbourne's own Harvey Sutherland. Meanwhile, Rhythm Section International's Bradley Zero will present a handpicked label showcase in each city, featuring a crop of local acts performing alongside modern soul duo, Silentjay and Jace XL. Melbourne will also be grooving to sets from beloved local DJ CC:DISCO, Haiatus Kayote vocalist Nai Palm and singer-songwriter Sampa The Great. FREEDOM TIME 2018 LINEUP Larry Heard (aka Mr. Fingers) Leroy Burgess Harvey Sutherland Johnny Osbourne Sassy J Bradley Zero CC:DISCO Nai Palm Sampa The Great Wax'O Paradiso Nozu Jordan Rakei J'Nett SilentJay & Jace XL Band Krakatau 30/70 Prequel Heartical Hi Powa Phil Stroud Samantha Goldie Big Rig Umut Jeremy Spellacey Winters Cazeaux Oslo Pjenné Millú Freedom Time will take place on New Year's Day at Coburg Velodrome. Tickets will go on sale at 9am, September 26. Grab yours here. Images: David Smiley.
She might be one of the grand old dames of Brunswick Street, but The Provincial Hotel is certainly keeping things fresh this spring, opening up her doors to a brand new rooftop bar. Launching Friday, September 15, the sky-high space looks set to be hot property as Melbourne's weather starts playing ball, with vintage patio furniture and shabby chic styling mingling to create an al fresco hangout as relaxed as the suburb it calls home. The drinks offering hits all the right notes. Think easygoing, with just enough attitude, starring signature cocktails like the fruity 'You're Punching, Mate' and a new-school riff on the classic Pina Colada. They're backed by a fuss-free, ten-strong tap beer rotation and a globe-spanning wine list that's got a little something for everyone. Meanwhile, the food situation is a hands-on affair that'll see you getting stuck into burgers like The Fitzy (laced with cheese Doritos) and The Sticky Smith Street (featuring a combo of battered sausage, sticky pork and pickles). In an extra win for the wallet, you'll find a whole range of $10 burgers on offer from 4-7pm each Friday. Visit the Northside's newest rooftop bar at The Provincial Hotel, 299 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. For more information check them out on Facebook.
Shortstop are celebrating their birthday in the best possible way: by giving away a boatload of free donuts! Friday, September 8 marks three tasty years since the coffee and donut specialists started slinging rings of dough and cups of joe from their Melbourne store. To mark the anniversary, they've crafted a special limited-edition Birthday Cake Donut, a vanilla bean concoction topped with glaze and sprinkles, which they'll be giving away free with every purchase. "It's a small way for us to say thank you to all our customers for their loyal support over the past three years," says Shortstop's Anthony Ivey. The donut giveaway will take place at Shortstop's Melbourne and Sydney stores for as long as stocks last. One per customer, so don't get any bright ideas. Find Shortstop Coffee & Donuts in Melbourne at 12 Sutherland Street, Melbourne and in Sydney at Shop 3, 23 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo.
If you've ever been to Japan, enjoying a taste of the country's delicious cuisine as often as you can is likely one of your highest priorities. Even if you haven't, if you've ever picked up a hankering for edamame, karaage or katsu, that's an urge you probably share. Melbourne musicians Neddwellyn Jones and Pete Spark know how you feel. After their own overseas jaunts unleashed some serious culinary and cultural love, they've set up a pop-up ode to the flavours of Tokyo. Atop Fitzroy's Labour In Vain Hotel every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening until April 2, Tokyo Terrace is serving up izakaya fare — aka food that'll make you feel like you've been whisked away to another place, and tastes even better when paired with a frosty brew. That includes the aforementioned bites, offered up as sea salt-sprinkled delights, extra-crispy chicken morsels and in two types of burgers (eggplant and chicken), respectively. Also on the menu: renkon chips served with your choice of kewpie, plus cucumber salad. That should be enough to send you flocking to Brunswick Street over the next month, particularly if your idea of a great weekend feed involves an affordable Japanese meal (with prices ranging from $4 to $14) in a rooftop garden with city views. And, in great news for anyone keen for more, the short-term eatery is just the first in Jones and Spark's planned series of similar ventures. Find Tokyo Terrace atop the Labour In Vain Hotel, 197a Brunswick Street, Fitzroy from 6pm to 9pm Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until April 2nd. For more information, visit their Facebook page. Images: Darren Gill.
The opportunity to get your hands on a Neil Perry hamburger in the CBD just increased twofold. Following on from the opening of his first Melbourne budget burger venture in St Collins Lane in May last year — and the Chadstone outpost that has sprung up since — the Rockpool chef is today firing up the grill on a third Burger Project location in Melbourne Central. The first Burger Project, which opened in Sydney three years ago, began its life primarily as a means of bringing the next best thing to Perry's much drooled-over $24 Rockpool beef burger to the masses — without the prohibitive price tag. If you're not yet acquainted with the menu, expect 14 variations on the humble hamburger, including the chilli cheese, Magic Mushroom and the katsu fried chicken, the names of which are all fairly self-explanatory. The new location is one of their biggest yet, with room for around 100 diners across two levels. It's located on the ground floor of Melbourne Central, and has been designed by the architect responsible for other Burger Project stores, Grant Cheyne. Since opening in Sydney back in 2014, the celebrity chef's high-end fast food joint Burger Project has expanded rapidly, particularly after Perry's Rockpool Group was acquired by the Urban Purveyor Group last year. The Melbourne Central store will be their third in Melbourne and their tenth Australia-wide, having recently opened one in Brisbane and Parramatta. Burger Project Melbourne Central opens at 11am on Friday, March 24 on the ground floor of Melbourne Central, 211 Latrobe Street, Melbourne. For more info, visit their website.
The Premier's Active April is here once more — a whole month-long bonanza of free classes, discounts on sportswear and sport programs, and some pretty great deals that'll have you rediscovering your inner kid and the energy you once had (you can go to Legoland, you're never too old). A yearly campaign run by the Victorian Government, Active April encourages Victorians to do 30 minutes of physical activity every day during the month of April. To take part, you just need to register online — it's free and you can download an app to log your progress and explore what's going on in your local area. Just to start, you get heaps of free stuff, including ten free passes to participating YMCA facilities, free tennis court hire, free croquet coaching sessions and five free dance lessons at Dancesport Victoria. There are also a heap of discounts, including 15 percent off at Sportsmart — so you can stock up on activewear — and a two-for-one offer at Golf Victoria courses. Then there's the two-for-one Otaway Fly Treetop Adventures scenario, plus 30 percent off entry at the Legoland Discovery Centre and Melbourne Aquarium, too. By signing up and participating, you also go into the draw to win a slew of prizes, which include tickets to the 2020 Australian Open finals. As well as snaggin' some sweet discounts, you'll be able to prove your "drunk talking New Year's Eve post-midnight" self right – you will get more fit this year. Head online to register for Active April — you have until April 30 to signup — and start popping squats all over the place.
Hosting pre-drinks can be a lot of pressure. The playlist has got to be on point and create the right vibe. The snacks need to be that perfect mix between 'line your stomach' and 'small enough to eat with one hand while straightening hair'. And the drinks have to be knockouts because they're kind of like the marker for the night ahead; pick a great drink, you're in for an even greater night. And you can't go past prosecco; The dramatic 'pop' will immediately liven up the crowd, and the versatile Italian bubbly can be enjoyed on its own or heroed in a bunch of tasty cocktails. (And no, not just in a spritz.) To make sure you serve up some real humdingers, we've partnered with the prosecco masters at Dal Zotto Wines and crafted five prosecco cocktail recipes to try before your next night out. Bottoms up, bubble lovers. PASSION PIT Let this be our little secret... This cocktail is like a fancy, adults-only version of Passiona. It tastes just like an Aussie summer (read: pavlova and bubbly). — 70g castor sugar — 70ml lemon juice — 70ml triple sec — pulp from 4 passionfruits — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled (serves four to six) Mix together the lemon juice and sugar, dissolving it as best you can. Next add the triple sec and passionfruit pulp. Pour the mixture over a couple of ice-filled glasses, then top up with chilled prosecco. Garnish with passionfruit, mint and pineapple. You'll be feeling higher and higher in no time. EL LOCO Forget frozen margaritas — it's all about sparkling margaritas, amigos. This fizzy twist on the classic will send your mates loco in all the right ways. Cocktail: — 90ml blanco tequila — 90ml triple sec — 120ml chilled simple syrup (recipe below) — 240ml lime juice — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled — coarse salt — lime wedges Simple syrup: — 250 ml water — 250 ml castor sugar (serves six to eight) First, you need to make the simple syrup which is, well, super simple to make. Grab a medium saucepan and over medium-high heat stir together the sugar and water until all the granules have dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge. Next, add the tequila, chilled simple syrup, triple sec and lime juice into a cocktail shaker along with a good handful of ice, then give it a good shake. Grab your tumblers — or margarita glasses, if you've got 'em — and run a lime wedge around the rim of each glass before dipping them into a small plate of course salt. Add a handful of ice to each glass and divide the tequila mixture among the glasses. Finally, top with a wedge of lime and a splash of prosecco for that all-important fizz. PRINCESS PEACH Just like everybody's favourite crown-wearing Mario Kart character, this tipple is sweet yet punchy and will always score first place. — 2 ripe peaches, seeded and diced — 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice — 1 teaspoon sugar — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled (serves six) Chuck the peaches, lemon juice and sugar into your trusty food processor, and blend until smooth. Pass the mixture through a sieve and get rid of all the chunky peach bits. Place 2 tablespoons of the puree into each champagne glass and top with well-chilled prosecco. Yeah, Peach has got it! LEMON DROP This cocktail is a riff on those zingy, sherbert-filled lollies you probably ate as a kid. And it's got two Italian heavy-hitters, limoncello and prosecco, so you know it's going to be good. — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled — 250ml limoncello, chilled — blueberries — thyme — lemon slices (serves four) Pour the prosecco and limoncello into a jug and stir together. Next, press your lemon slices into the bottom of a large highball glass (a hurricane or sling will work equally well), top with ice and fill with the prosecco mixture. For added pizzazz, garnish with thyme and blueberries. PURPLE RAIN Just like Prince, this tipple is kinda strange but, also, utter genius. If it were to change its name to a symbol it would be an exclamation mark, because it's that delicious. Cocktail: — 1/4 cup blackberries — 90ml blackberry syrup (recipe below) — juice from one lime — mint — 120ml light rum — 1 bottle of Dal Zotto prosecco, chilled Blackberry syrup: — 2 tablespoons water — 1 cup blackberries — 1/3 cup granulated sugar (serves two) First, you'll need to whip up the blackberry syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, mash together the sugar, blackberries and water. Once the mixture is thick and the sugar dissolved, pass it through a fine mesh strainer and let it chill. Add the blackberry syrup, blackberries, lime and a handful of mint to a cocktail shaker and muddle well. Next, chuck in the rum and a few ice cubes and shake it like you mean it. Strain the mixture into martini glasses and top with chilled prosecco and fresh blueberries or blackberries. Then, get ready to party like it's 1999. Keen for more fizz? Visit The Osborne, Auburn Hotel, The Cove, Captain Melville, Jimmy Watsons, La Manna or Parkhill Cellars for a glass of bubbly perfection. Plus, as part of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2019, Dal Zotto winery is hosting an Italian lunch feast on Saturday, March 16. For more information and to book tickets, head this way.
After a year of streaming flicks on our laptops and phones, it's time to put bums back on seats at actual cinemas. Excitingly, you can do that at IRL film festivals, pop-up cinemas and even car park rooftops across Melbourne. There are lots of places to catch a film in Melbourne RN. We've rounded up a few of our faves right here. Order an extra large popcorn and get ready for some serious viewing.
The daily COVID-19 press conference has become ritual watching for many Victorians, as Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos and Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton front the cameras to hash out the latest pandemic details for the masses. But, if you're the kind of person that likes to dig a little deeper, you'll now find a goldmine of virus data and extra information over at the Victorian Government's new data dashboard. Available to view on the Department of Health and Human Services website and updated regularly, these new live logs share details of outbreaks, active case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths, as well as the figures relating to COVID-19 cases in aged-care settings. There's also a new colour-coded map showing the active cases in each local government area and postcode, per 100,000 residents, which you can take a peek at below. The DHHS has had a COVID-19 case map on its website for a while now, but this is the first one to show data by postcode. [caption id="attachment_781463" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victorian cases numbers by location as of 12.30pm on Monday, August 24.[/caption] The DHHS is also now releasing information about the state's 'high-risk locations', as identified by public health experts during contract tracing. If you find you've been at any of these spots on the dates indicated, the DHHS recommends keeping an eye out for any COVID-19 symptoms and getting tested immediately if you get even a sniffle. Locations will stay listed here for 14 days after the date of the most recent exposure. On the list at the moment: Danny's IGA X-Press in Armadale, Bendigo Marketplace, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Woolworths Docklands, Bunnings Fairfield and Coles in Hallam. Highlighting these locations will become increasingly important as the state's stay-at-home restrictions are eased. The dashboard has been introduced in response to strong public demand, as a way to help locals stay on top of information relating to the pandemic. "We've heard loud and clear that Victorians want to know more about coronavirus in their community — as part of their efforts to keep themselves and their loved ones safe," said Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos in a statement. The mine of data will continue to be updated as more information is made available, gathered with the help of local councils, health providers and community organisations across Victoria. For more information about COVID-19 in Victoria, head to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website. You can also check out more figures and graphs on its Victorian coronavirus data page.
Has anyone checked if the team over at Gelato Messina HQ is, in fact, sleeping? Not only has it been whipping up sell-out cookies pies — with new flavours almost every month — it's been dropping specials so frequently you'd think its mantra was a chorus by Snoop Dogg. We've had an Iced VoVo gelato, a super-fancy Viennetta and, now, a collab with long-time friends Hoy Pinoy. Messina has previously teamed up with with the Filipino barbecue and street food experts for Messina Eats events and they're both frequent stallholders at the always-popular Night Noodle Markets. Whether or not the markets will go ahead this spring — with many restrictions on gatherings still in place — is up in the air, but the two food experts are letting you recreate a small part of it at home this winter. They're releasing Messina X Hoy Pinoy dinner packs for $65, which come filled with a heap of sweet and savoury snacks. Inside, you'll find two sticky pork skewers, chicken adobo and sticky rice and popular Messina dessert Coco Phangan. The latter comes with coconut and pandan sticky rice, mango sherbet, salted coconut sauce and toasted coconut flakes, and looks like this: You will need to finish off each dish at home, but there's nothing more difficult than a little boiling, a little baking and a little creative plating. The packs are available to pre-order from 10am on Wednesday, August 12 to pick up from select Melbourne and Sydney stores between Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15. The packs are available from Newtown, Parramatta, Penrith, Rosebery, Tramsheds and Bondi in NSW — and from Richmond, Windsor, Fitzroy and East Brunswick (Deliveroo only) in Victoria. If you're in Melbourne, keep in mind you are only allowed to travel five kilometres from your home. Gelato Messina X Hoy Pinoy dinner packs will be available to pre-order from 10am on Wednesday, August 12, for pick up between Friday, August 14–Saturday, August 15 — keep an eye on the Messina website for further details.
Keen to go on a leisurely walk on your next trip to Beechworth? Beechworth Gorge Walk is a seven-kilometre circuit of the town, which was once a hideout for the infamous Kelly Gang. It's a low grade stroll that provides views over Beechworth and takes around two hours to complete. You'll come across waterfalls, rugged countryside and wildflowers, depending on the season, and there are plenty of historical sites such as Rocky Mountain Tunnel, which dates back to the area's mining days. Image: Beechworth, Visit Victoria
You've worked all week. You've earned your thirst. And this Sunday you will be rewarded with a big cold beer. Make tracks to your local pub this weekend because Victoria Bitter is shouting a round all across Australia. The free beer giveaway will go down at over 280 venues around the country this Sunday, May 26 from 2–4pm, including 50 venues across New South Wales, over 80 venues across Victoria and a whopping 120 Queensland venues. A few things you should know: the free brews will be limited to one per person and only while supplies last, so you can't count on a completely free afternoon out. The pub will decide the size of the beer, so it could be a pint, pot or schooey — you'll just have to rock up and see. If you're in Sydney, you can head to the New Brighton in Manly, Pyrmont's Harlequin Inn, and the Crows Nest, Kirribilli and Greenacre hotels — and a heap more locations up north and out west. In Melbourne, punters can go along to Young and Jacksons in the CBD, Elsternwick Hotel, Brunswick's Moreland Hotel, the Royal Oak in Richmond and Essendon's Royal Hotel. Up in Brisbane, the CBD's Victory Hotel is slinging the freebies, as is the Valley's Brunswick Hotel, and the Newmarket, the Breakfast Creek, the Stones Corner and Sunnybank hotels. VB's Our Shout giveaway will run from 2–4pm on Sunday, May 26 at venues across the country. Check NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, SA and ACT venues here, and Queensland and WA venues here.
For big chunks of 2020, a selection of normal, everyday activities have been off the cards for Melburnians. But with restrictions starting to ease again across the Victorian city after the latest lockdown, that is slowly changing. And for those who want to picnic while cruising along the Yarra, you'll be able to do that again — even if you don't own a boat. From the long weekend, starting on Friday, October 23, GoBoat's eco-friendly picnic boats are once again setting sail from Sandridge Wharf at Southbank, near Flinders Street Station. Aimed at making the whole boating caper more accessible for everyday folk, the outfit's Scandinavian-designed vessels are slow-moving, a breeze to operate and don't require a boating licence, making for fuss-free sailing sessions. In a win for the planet, they also run on silent, pollution-free, electric engines, and are crafted from a mix of reclaimed timber and recycled PET bottles. Oh, and did we mention they're pet-friendly? Surely you've got a very good boy who deserves a river jaunt. However, due to COVID-19, GoBoat will be doing things a little differently — just as it did when it returned after the city's first stay-at-home stint earlier in 2020. While the vessels have an eight-person capacity, and you'll be allowed to reach that capacity, you'll only be permitted to hop aboard with people from a maximum of two households (and all your delicious snacks, of course). You'll also be required to physically distance from anyone from that other household, and to wear a fitted face mask. And, given the 25-kilometre rule that's presently in place, you'll need to live within that exact distance of both Southbank and your sailing route. There'll also be hand sanitiser available at the arrival to the dock, and the boats will be sanitised before every use. Only one vessel will sail out at a time, with each group given its own assembly area. Also, you'll have to register digitally before you can board. Each of the contemporary GoBoats clocks in at 18-feet long, boasting a central picnic table with room for all the necessary snacks and booze. And despite what you might be thinking, they're pretty affordable — simply BYO food and drinks, round up enough of your housemates to jump aboard and a GoBoat session will cost you less than $22 per person, per hour. That's $109 hourly in total, or $189 for two hours, $269 for three hours, $349 for four hours, $429 for five hours and $509 for six hours. Yes, you can really make a whole day of it. For more information about GoBoat, or to make a booking, visit the service's website. Images: Lean Timms
Earlier this week, Premier Daniel Andrews raised the possibility of bringing forward November 1's expected restriction changes, as Victoria's daily new COVID-19 cases plummeted to as low as one. But this plan has been put on hold due to an outbreak in Melbourne's north. In a press conference today, Sunday, October 25, the Premier said: "We had hoped today to be able to announce that metropolitan Melbourne would take significant steps, not from today, but from midweek, around retail, hospitality and a whole range of other important next steps. We are not in a position to do that today because we have at least 1000 test results from that northern metropolitan outbreak that are in the labs." The Premier said that this decision was not a setback, but a "cautious pause" and is hopeful the next step of restrictions will still go ahead next week, saying a definitive announcement will be made on Tuesday when the test results come back. The November 1 restriction changes are set to include the scrapping of the 25-kilometre rule and the four reasons for leaving home, as well as allowing hospitality venues and drive-ins to reopen and two people to visit another household. The next step of eased restrictions is part of a five-step plan to bring Victoria to 'COVID normal' announced by the Premier back in early September. The possibility of early eased restrictions meant that some hospitality venues had confidently planned to reopen midweek, with establishments, such as Welcome to Thornbury, already starting to accept bookings from Wednesday. View this post on Instagram Alright team... we're confident this time. Book now for Wednesday 28 October onwards! LET'S DO THIS 💪🏾 BOOK NOW via the link in bio. A post shared by Welcome To Thornbury (@welcometothornbury) on Oct 19, 2020 at 11:39pm PDT Seven new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Victoria yesterday — with six linked to cases associated with the northern metropolitan outbreak — following another seven the day before that. In a bid to contain the outbreak, the government is calling on anyone in Melbourne's north with even the mild symptoms to go and get tested today. "This is a northern Metro suburbs outbreak. This affects everybody who lives in the northern Metro area. So, if you have the slightest of symptoms, particularly in those northern metro areas, you must come forward and get tested today," Jeroen Weimar, Victoria Government's commander of testing and community engagement, said today. While metropolitan Melbourne will not be enjoying any eased restrictions this week, regional Victoria — which is a couple of steps ahead of Melbourne — will have some changes from 11.59pm on Tuesday, including the reopening of gyms and indoor pools and allowing religious gatherings of up to 20 indoors and 50 people outdoors. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Department of Health and Human Services website — and for further details about Victoria's steps for reopening, head to the roadmap itself. Top image: Julia Sansone
Think about all the good times in your life. Now think about the bad times. Was pizza there for all of them? Probably. Similar to how it's perfect as a snack and an entire meal, pizza is just as appropriate for commiserations as it is celebrations. And if you're having a bit of a bad day, pizza is a sure-fire way to make it a little bit better. For those times, you need some cheesy, doughy go-tos. So we've teamed up with affordable ridesharing platform DiDi to compile this very tasty list of pizzerias serving some of the best slices in the city. Side note: DiDi offers super competitive rates for getting you to your pizza palace, so you'll have more cash in your pocket for a few extra slices once you get there. MARGHERITA AT SLICE SHOP PIZZA, FOOTSCRAY This Footscray pizzeria the latest offering from Burn City Smokers' Steve Kimonides and Raphael Guthrie. The menu rotation runs to around seven core creations, with a daily special and a vegan option thrown in for good measure. There might be a pork and fennel number, a classic capricciosa, or maybe a mushroom, thyme and truffle concoction. One thing you can count on is the classic margherita, which showcases the chewy base crafted on tipo 00 flour and fired in an Italian Moretti Forni oven. Best part? All slices at five bucks and can be enjoyed as you wander over to Mr West just across the street. [caption id="attachment_707900" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] PEPPERONI AT LEONARDO'S PIZZA PALACE, CARLTON While it's located smack-bang in the middle of Carlton's cheese and dough dynasty — and super close to some of Melbourne's best pizzas at D.O.C, Ti Amo and Caprica — Leonardo's Pizza Palace holds its own with some seriously good slices backed up with a seriously good vibe. The menu runs from the classics (margherita) to the extreme (Chinese bolognese) to the divisive (ham and pineapple), but we recommend you order the pepperoni which comes dotted with perfect buttons of meat. Plus, each pie comes with a side serve of ranch dressing for dipping, so there's no excuse not to eat your crusts. [caption id="attachment_683821" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] CLASSIC CHEESE AT CAPITANO, CARLTON This Rathdowne Street restaurant's reputation is founded on two delicious things: its bone-in veal parmigiana and classic pizzas. For the sake of this list, we're going to gush about the latter. Capitano is a master of a crisp, blistering crust and a dough that will have you dreaming of infinite slices. The classic cheese features fresh and aged mozzarella with pecorino for bite. If you want to up the ante, opt for Grandma's Square Pie, which adds stracciatella into the mix. GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA AT SHOP225, PASCOE VALE SOUTH If you can't eat gluten, or just appreciate a fine slice, Shop225 is calling. This neighbourhood Pascoe Vale pizzeria is dishing up a rare culinary combination: it's championing pizza that is both top-notch and gluten-free. Boasting Coeliac Australia accreditation, the restaurant's got two woodfired ovens — one for regular pizza bases, and one for gluten-free — and all the proper processes in place to minimise cross-contamination for coeliacs. The gluten-free bases swap the usual wheat situation for a blend of Ardor gluten-free flour and rice, tapioca, maize, soy and pea flours, and come at $4 extra — pricey but worth it. And, as an added bonus, plant-based options abound, crafted with lactose-free Local Craft cheese and vegan-friendly meat alternatives. Hot tip: there aren't too many tables at Shop 225, so be sure to book or plan to take away. MARGHERITA AT 400 GRADI, BRUNSWICK Diners have spoken, reviewers spoken, hell, even the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana has spoken — this Lygon Street gem is one of the world's best pizzerias. And — no biggie — but the Margherita Verace won the title of World's Best Pizza in 2014. So there's no question of what pizza you should order; this is dough, cheese and tomato at its best (with a bit of basil and olive oil thrown in for good measure). Better yet, head in between 4–6pm and you'll get bottomless slices and free-flowing drinks for two hours for $45. Switch to DiDi and spend the cash you save on what's important in life — like good pizza. To start riding, download the app here and use the code CONCRETE to score up to $50 in vouchers. Top Image: Leonardo's Pizza Palace by Kate Shanasy.
This November, the bustling Night Noodle Markets will return to Birrarung Marr for 18 nights of tasty things on sticks, bowls of noodles, bao and extravagant frozen desserts. Taking over the riverside inner city park from November 7–24, the latest iteration of the fairy light-lit markets will see over 20 of Australia's favourite food stalls set up shop — serving humans and dogs alike. Wait up — dogs? Yep, this year, the NNM have launched the aptly named Night Poodle Markets. On Saturday, November 9 from 4–7pm, the NNM will be filled with floofs galore, a roaming dog photographer and dog treats. Tickets to the one-off event are just $5 — which include a doggy portrait and treat — with 100 percent of proceeds going to RSPCA Victoria. You can sign-up for this very exciting event over here. In terms of food for humans, the NNM has just unveiled its full menu. And Gelato Messina is preparing to wow Melburnians once more with a brand new menu. While last year's frozen treats were inspired by the Philippines, this year, they're an ode to Thai sweets. Choose from the Bangkok Banana, a Thai milk tea cheesecake sandwich with sponge and meringue; the Phuket Bucket, banana fritters served with caramelised banana gelato and peanut crumble; the Coco Phangan, mango sorbet with coconut sticky rice; or the Eye of the Thai-ger, a multi-layered dessert of condensed milk pudding, condensed milk crumble, shaved ice, lychee gelato and jellies. Or don't choose and eat them all — you can spread them out over 18 nights, after all. [caption id="attachment_742360" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eye of the Thai-ger[/caption] Elsewhere on the NNM menu, you'll find Bangkok street food snacks, foot-long potato fries, bao, spicy Dainty Sichuan noodles and Drumplings' unconventional dumplings (including cheeseburger, mac and cheese, and pizza numbers). Japanese soufflé pancakes, 'flying' noodles, lobster rolls and puffles (extremely cheesy waffles) will all make an appearance, too. Naturally, there will be plenty of booze stations as well, including a Jacobs Creek tipi wine bar, a beer garden and a 20s-inspired diner serving beer floats and spiders. So start scheduling your visits the market — and cross your fingers for good weather. The Night Noodle Markets run from November 7–24 at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. They'll be open from Monday and Tuesday 5–9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 5–10pm, Friday 5–11pm, Saturday 4–10pm and Sunday 4–9pm. Image: Kimberley May Moore.
Australian spirits are having a serious moment right now. Even so, you won't find many watering holes celebrating them as completely as newly hatched St Kilda bar Land of Plenty. Taking over the site once home to Uncle, this latest venture from Stacy Kewish-Lucas is putting local booze firmly in the spotlight — everything behind the bar and in the kitchen is sourced from inside Australia. The space itself has been transformed into a comfy, moody drinking den, with warm timber and a touch of corrugated iron. Upstairs, a cosy rooftop space is decked out with native Australian bamboo and grass trees, and a mural of bar mascot Wade flying the Whipper Snapper (a Perth whiskey distillery) plane splashed across one wall. Alongside a lineup of local craft brews and wines, native ingredients and Aussie spirits star throughout the cocktail list. Try concoctions like the Sunburnt Country — with house-made macadamia orgeat, dark rum, spiced rum and orange juice — or the vibrant Flamin' Galah, a revamp of the classic Clover Club infused with house-made rosella syrup. A big charcoal grill is put to clever use for the food menu, another all-Aussie lineup that trips from drinking snacks to larger feasting options. Snack on the likes of charred corn on the cob teamed with salted ricotta and chipotle aioli, a saltgrass lamb tartare starring native sea succulents and crispy saltbush, or the kingfish which is cured in Australian breakfast tea. A range of skewers pulls inspiration from across the globe — think, Basque-style chicken thigh, or the lamb souvlaki with sheep's yoghurt tzatziki — and there's a lineup of snags, handful of steaks and a slew of vegan and vegetarian options, too. And for a true-blue dessert, you'll find it hard to pass by the Milo damper paired with a wattleseed cream. The weekly Thursday special is primed for date night, offering a shared starter or dessert, a 500-gram dry-aged rib eye, two sides and a bottle of wine for $80. Find Land Of Plenty at 188 Carlisle Street, St Kilda. It's open Wednesday–Thursday 5–11pm and Friday–Sunday midday–11pm.
When you've been screening movies under the stars for 25 years, it's worth celebrating that fact. And when you're hosting your newest season of outdoor flicks after a year of significant worldwide change, giving viewers something comfortable and reliable to watch is a mighty sensible approach. Moonlight Cinema is doing both when it returns to Melbourne in January 2021, all by packing its program with a heap of film favourites — so get ready to kick back on the grass and watch Love Actually, Bohemian Rhapsody, 10 Things I Hate About You, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Toy Story and Dirty Dancing. Indeed, there's a definite retro air to Moonlight's lineup this year — which arrives after the outdoor cinema first announced that it was definitely returning in this chaotic period, and then revealed its exact dates. Between Thursday, January 7–Sunday, April 25, the event will head to Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens with a heap of old-school flicks. You'll also be able to see some recent releases, in case you haven't had the chance since cinemas started reopening (back in November in Melbourne). In the classic camp, a heap of rom-coms will help you feel warm and fuzzy, with The Holiday, Pretty Woman and Notting Hill on the bill. From 2020 and 2021's new releases, there's a little bit of everything. Happiest Season keeps the romantic comedy theme going, the Sia-directed Music will screen in the evening air and new Aussie crime drama The Dry will play surrounded by plenty of grass. There's also Russell Crowe getting angry over the phone and in his car in thriller Unhinged, superhero flick Wonder Woman 1984 doing its thing and stellar documentary I Am Greta. Some slots in the program haven't been filled yet, so it's worth checking exactly what's playing on your preferred date. And, because Moonlight announces its lineup month by month, it has only revealed its January slate. It's also worth remembering that the outdoor cinema is BYO — and there'll be food trucks, a bar, snacks and (if you'd like to pay for them) bean bags as well. And, in great news for movie-loving pooches, you can bring them along, too. Moonlight Cinema kicks off in Melbourne on Thursday, January 7, running through until Sunday, April 25. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the cinema's website.
Melburnians, if you've recently returned from Perth or you've spent some time at the airport, a COVID-19 test and a stint in self-isolation might now be in your future. In response to the city's latest coronavirus case — in a Victorian man who tested positive upon his return to Melbourne after spending 14 days in hotel quarantine in Perth — the Victorian Government has listed both a Qantas flight from Perth and Melbourne Airport's Terminal 1 as new exposure sights. With the former, the classification only relates to a specific flight; with the latter, to a specific window of time. Qantas flight QF778 from Perth to Melbourne, which arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, April 21, is listed as a Tier 1 site. That means that anyone who was on the plane must get tested for COVID-19 immediately, then self-isolate for 14 days regardless of their initial test result. Melbourne Airport's Terminal 1 is on the Tier 2 list, referring specifically to the half hour between 7–7.30pm on Wednesday, April 21. Anyone at the terminal during that timeframe must also get tested for COVID-19 immediately, and self-isolate until a negative result is received. https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1385433509557198848 Folks who've returned from Western Australia recently are also asked to look at a list of exposure sites issued by the WA Government and, if you visited them within the time frames identified, to contact the Victorian Department of Health immediately. It's a lengthy list, spanning shopping centres, restaurants and an aquatic centre, all between Saturday, April 17–Friday, April 23 so far. Back to Victoria, Melburnians can keep an eye on the local list of exposure sites at the Victorian Government Department of Health website — as it may change if more sites are identified. For those looking to get tested, you can find a list of testing sites including regularly updated waiting times also on the Department of Health website. Border requirements are also changing in response to the current case, and after Perth started a three-day lockdown at 12.01am today, Saturday, April 24. Victoria has classified the Perth metropolitan area and Peel region in Western Australia as red zones under its traffic light border system, which means that non-Victorian residents can't enter the state without an exception, permit or exemption. And, anyone currently in Victoria who has been in the metro Perth or Peel region between Saturday, April 17–Friday, April 23, other than to transit through either, is required to isolate, get tested within 72 hours and stay isolated until receiving a negative result. For further details on the latest exposure sites and updated public health advice, see the Department of Health website.
2020 might have seen Melburnians consume more beer than usual, but there was still a big, brew-shaped hole where Good Beer Week normally would have been. Like most events, the annual celebration got the pandemic chop last year, with its normal festivities cancelled due to restrictions and swapped out with an all-virtual version. But now, the wait is finally over. Good Beer Week is set to return this May with its tenth anniversary edition. And if the program is anything to go by, Melbourne brew lovers are in for a couple of very busy weeks. Running from Friday, May 14–Sunday, May 23, the lineup spans parties, feasts, tastings, masterclasses and more. The brews will start pouring at a grand opening night shindig at Beer DeLuxe in Fed Square, then descend upon venues across both Melbourne and regional Victoria. This year's program will see you dosing up on some girl power at a special screening of Thelma & Louise paired with Two Birds brews, rocking out at a Daft Punk tribute party and eating oh-so-much seafood at Miss Katie's Crab Shack's Crab-A-Palooza. Elsewhere, Hop Nation hosts a dog-friendly 'do, wrestling returns to one Moon Dog site, a beer treasure hunt will take place at the brand's other venue, and Good Beer Week's first-ever non-alcoholic celebration sees Carlton North wine bar Henry Sugar teaming up with UpFlow Brewing. [caption id="attachment_806494" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ryan Wheatley[/caption] Of course, there'll be plenty of return favourites featured throughout the ten days as well, including the Fox Hotel scavenger hunt, Atticus Finch's Beer vs Pig dinner, the Hair of the Dog breakfast session and GABS Festival — the huge tasting event hitting the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Friday, May 21–Sunday, May 23. Good Beer Week 2021 runs from Friday, May 14–Sunday, May 23, at venues across Melbourne and Victoria. Hit the festival's website to check out the full program and score tickets. Top image: Moon Dog World, Kate Shanasy.
The actors change. The story gracing the stage, too. But every trip to the theatre usually unfolds in a familiar fashion. You sit in your seat, direct your eyes towards the performance and watch on. And you definitely don't normally walk around the space as the show happens around you. When Because the Night makes its debut at Malthouse Theatre from Tuesday, March 23, however, the audience will be on its feet — because wandering around the set after the curtain is raised is all part of the production. For the immersive show, 30 new rooms are being built inside Malthouse's Southbank site. As the actors play out their parts in Because the Night's narrative, those in attendance can explore freely, with the production happening around them. Whether you choose to stick with the main storylines and follow the cast, or you'd rather just mosey at your own leisure — that's completely up to you. For those keen to go looking, the set will feature hidden rooms, too. The inventive format was devised by Malthouse Theatre's artistic team in response to COVID-19, the reduced patron numbers required during the pandemic, and the need to keep both actors and audiences safe. Only six actors will perform each show, and the audience is capped at 60. As for what you'll be watching — and wandering through — Because the Night takes its cues from Hamlet, and is set in a fictional wood logging town called Elsinore in the 80s. The king dies suddenly, an uprising from workers puts the crown in jeopardy, rumours swirl inside the palace and the ancient forest outside the village has its own secrets, all as the townsfolk prepare for their annual winter solstice carnival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkDxm6r36ls "We are creating an entire fictional world that an audience is empowered to walk around and explore. It invites you to follow your own curiosities — to open doors and follow the stories that entice you — to escape from the outside world and be immersed in an alternative reality," explains Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director and Co-CEO Matthew Lutton. "The Hamlet narrative of a murder covered up, regime change, and a son seeking revenge is one narrative unfolding. But we have invented entirely new stories for the other characters we have ripped from the Hamlet myth. We've created a country where everything is in flux; the ruling family is cracking, the timber workers are revolting and the forest is fighting back." Two rotating casts will bring Because the Night to life, including Keegan Joyce (Cloudstreet) and Khisraw Jones-Shukoor as Hamlet, Jen Vuletic (My Dearworthy Darling) and Belinda McClory (Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.) as Gertrude, and Nicole Nabout (Good Muslim Boy) and Maria Theodorakis as queen Claudia — plus Tahlee Fereday (Blackie Blackie Brown) and Artemis Ioannides as Ophelia, Harvey Zielinski and Ras-Samuel Welda'abzgi (WEYA Ensemble) as Laertes, and Rodney Afif (Good Muslim Boy) and Syd Brisbane as Polonius. And, as part of the show, all audience members will be required to wear a mask and cloak — which'll be provided to you upon entry, collected as you exit and managed in a COVID-19-safe way. The theatre will also be cleaned thoroughly between performances, and actors and audiences will maintain social distancing as the show happens. Because the Night opens at Malthouse Theatre on Tuesday, March 23. For further details or to book tickets — from 9am on Wednesday, January 20 for Malthouse Muses and Mates, and from 9am on Wednesday, February 10 for the general public — head to the theatre's website.
We've all been racking up some serious at-home time of late, while that social life takes a backseat to social distancing and our favourite venues take an enforced hiatus. So it's safe to say we're itching to get back out and soak up the best of Melbourne's legendary, creatively charged nightlife scene. The only tough bit will be figuring out which spot to hit first. So, we've teamed up with Miller Genuine Draft to round up five nighttime activities that should be top of your hit list after lockdown. In celebration of Miller Design Lab — the home of creativity and self-expression built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology and fashion — we want to help you celebrate and support the businesses and experiences that make Melbourne great. From DJ-fuelled dance parties to intimate basement gigs, these are the late-night favourites we've been missing the most. They're set to get one heck of a workout as soon as 2020 allows it, so read on and start plotting your return to reality. CATCHING A LIVE GIG AT HOWLER If you're feeling a Howler-shaped hole in your heart these days, you sure aren't alone. The Brunswick bar and live music venue has been a go-to for memorable northside nights out since launching way back in 2013. Punters flock to the artfully repurposed wool store for burgers, beers and a jam-packed, diverse calendar of performances and live tunes. It includes, of course, the odd cheeky surprise show — who could forget The Killers' 2017 visit? Lock in a live gig here as soon as those doors reopen, whether it's a big-name music act, dance-friendly sounds from a local legend, or a stand-up show delivering some much-deserved chuckles. ENJOYING AUDIO-VISUAL DELIGHTS AT LOOP PROJECT SPACE & BAR A fixture of Melbourne's arts and music scene for close to two decades, Loop Project Space & Bar is one venue that's been sorely missed from a whole lot of weekend plans right now. And, while its new COVID-friendly live-stream program is helping to fill the void, fans are hanging out for the return of Loop IRL. Here, no two nights out are the same, thanks to a broad rotation of immersive performances, projections, screenings, DJ sets and more. Get set to sink your teeth into some fresh local tunes, alternative club nights, or audiovisual delights when this one makes its grand post-lockdown debut. CHECKING OUT A BASEMENT DANCE PARTY AT SUB CLUB Below street level in the heart of the CBD, this much-loved spot rocks all the attitude you'd expect from an underground club, fused with a healthy appreciation for subcultures. A music venue, art space and bar rolled into one, the ultra-inclusive Sub Club is a favourite after-dark playground for alternative-minded partygoers. Its 10,000-watt sound system and progressive programming make for some big, escapist nights spent celebrating a diverse melting pot of art forms and music genres. Strap yourself in for a techno gig, hard-hitting resident DJ set, or immersive art installation as soon as nightlife normality returns. GETTING YOUR ART FIX AT WHITEHART A double-decker shipping container laneway bar dishing up a program of visual treats, DJ tunes and food truck eats, Whitehart is one of those nightlife experiences that's unmistakably Melbourne. It's an all-weather, any-mood kind of haunt, with big energy that'll see you kicking well into the night. Thankfully, the CBD favourite is gearing up to return as vibrant as ever — pay a visit if you fancy letting down your hair to some lush DJ sounds, scoping some fine local street art and performance work, and generally soaking up some urban magic from within its art-covered walls. A juicy calendar of gigs, dance parties and creative events awaits. [caption id="attachment_771632" align="alignnone" width="1920"] By Duncographic[/caption] HAVING A BOOGIE AT A COMMON ROOMS DANCE PARTY An ongoing Melbourne Fringe project that delivers the goods year-round, Common Rooms is an inclusive party and performance space celebrating culture, community and creativity. Its main focus is on supporting our local, independent artists, but it sure has a good time doing so. The events calendar is typically stacked with just about every flavour of gig, performance and workshop imaginable — not to mention, dance parties for days. And you can bank on Common Rooms coming back with a bang after lockdown, with a loaded lineup already in the works. Get yourself amped to break a sweat at the return of beloved monthly dance fiesta, Mr McClelland's Finishing School. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way.
When, towards the end of May, Premier Daniel Andrews announced the next stage in Victoria's gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, he advised that more limits would lift in mid-June if the state continued to make progress. That's been the case over the past few weeks, so Premier Andrews has today, Sunday, June 14, revealed exactly what's in store — and allowing more people into more venues is at the top of the list. Since June 1, Victorians have been able to dine-in at cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs with 20-person limits, and visit galleries, museums, drive-in cinemas, historic sites, zoos and outdoor amusement parks with the same caps in place, too. The state's residents have also been able to gather with 20 people both inside and outside of homes, and head away on holiday and stay overnight, as part of a sizeable range of relaxed restrictions. Next, from 11.59pm on Sunday, June 21, the Victorian Government is expanding the list of permitted activities — and increase the corresponding person limits. That date coincides with when the state's current State of Emergency is next due to end, and the list of changes is considerable, with all of the following back on the cards: Cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs can host up to 50 seated patrons — and, at pubs and clubs, you'll no longer be required to purchase a meal with your drinks. Gatherings of up to 50 people in libraries, community centres and halls, in addition to the people needed to operate the space. Religious ceremonies of up to 50 people, in addition to those required to conduct the service. Cinemas, concert venues, auditoriums and theatres will be allowed to reopen with 50-person limits per space. 50-person limits at galleries, museums and amusement parks. All sports training and competition for people under 18 years of age. All non-contact sports for people of all ages. Indoor sports centres and physical recreation spaces, including gyms, can reopen with 20 people per space — and a cap of up to 10 in each group for those over the age of 18. Local football teams, soccer clubs and other contact sports can resume training for over-18s from July 13, then resume their full competitions from July 20. Clubs and community facilities can reopen their changerooms. Holiday accommodation and camping sites will able able to reopen communal spaces such as showers and kitchens. Ski season can begin, and ski accommodation can reopen. The majority of the above changes had already been flagged back in May; however Premier Andrews has now confirmed that they'll definitely be going ahead. https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1271963165903872003 Announcing the eased restrictions, he also noted that maintaining COVID-19-safe practices is essential. "For every small step we take, our own personal responsibility grows," he explained. "If Victoria was its own nation, our testing rates would be amongst the highest in the world. But we can't afford a backwards step. These changes — and any further that follow — must be determined in accordance with the data." Accordingly, as has proven the case throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the standard social-distancing requirements will still apply — so sticking with physical distancing, maintaining four square metres per person indoors, hand and cough hygiene, and frequent cleaning and disinfection. Victorians are also advised to still continue to work from home. "If you can keep working from home — you must do that too," Premier Andrews said. "We still want to limit the number of people moving around our state and help protect those who do have to go to the workplace." To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Kate Shanasy
Any plans for Bali escapes, treks across Mexico or food-filled Japanese getaways have been put on ice for 2020 and into 2021, but that doesn't mean you can't indulge in a bit of escapism. And, no, we're not just talking about daydreaming and spending hours scrolling through Pinterest. As first announced back in October, Australian Venue Co is helping to ease the wanderlust a touch by transforming a heap of its pubs and restaurants into some of the world's most popular holiday destinations for summer. It's giving more than 20 sites around the country a getaway-themed makeover, with Sydney and Brisbane venues already reaping the benefits — and, with summer officially here, the same thing is now happening at seven Melbourne watering holes. That means Melburnians can sip frozen margaritas surrounded by cacti, eat karaage chicken under cherry blossom trees and wear flower crowns (if that's your thing) on a Coachella-inspired rooftop. Called Summer Staycations, the transformations are taking place until February and March at The Smith in Prahran, The Duke of Wellington in the CBD, Imperial South Yarra, The Provincial Hotel in Fitzroy, Prince Alfred Hotel and Fargo & Co in Richmond, and Newmarket Hotel in St Kilda. Of course, the visual makeovers — which include giant teepees, citrus-themed decor and flowers aplenty — are being paired with appropriate food and drink menus. On the Amalfi Coast, you'll find bottomless pizza and sorbet spritzes; in Mexico, there are unlimited tacos and many margaritas; and in Bali, you'll find bottomless satay and buckets of Bintang. SUMMER STAYCATION LINEUP Amalfi Coast Prince Alfred Hotel — December 1, 2020–March 2021 The Provincial — December 1, 2020–March 2021 Spring in Tokyo The Smith — December 1, 2020–March 2021 The Duke of Wellington — December 1, 2020–March 2021 Mexico Fiesta Imperial South Yarra — December 1, 2020–March 2021 Coachella, Palm Springs Fargo and Co — December 4, 2020–February 28, 2021 Beach Club, Bali Newmarket Hotel — December 1, 2020–March 2021 For more information about Australian Venue Co Summer Staycations, which run from December 1, 2020–March 2021 at Melbourne's Prince Alfred Hotel, The Provincial, The Smith, The Duke of Wellington, Imperial South Yarra, Fargo and Co and Newmarket Hotel, head to the website.
When Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) heads from Cleveland to Los Angeles for his job, he discovers a previously unknown passion for acting after he stumbles into a class held by veteran thespian Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). The catch? Barry is a hitman, and that isn't a line of work that you can leave easily, especially when you become caught in the Chechen mafia's violent and deadly dramas. As Saturday Night Live fans will already know, Hader is an on-screen treasure, but he's never been better than he is in this part-comedy, part-tragedy series. Barry's struggle mightn't seem that relatable on paper, but it proves just that with Hader in the role. Also excellent is Winkler, expectedly, as well as Bill & Ted Face the Music's Anthony Carrigan as a Chechen gangster who befriends Barry, isn't that great at the whole crime business and quickly becomes one of the most memorable characters to ever grace a TV series.
For years, a train line connecting Melbourne's CBD to Tullamarine Airport has felt like one of those projects that's constantly discussed, and that everyone wants, but has never seemed particularly close to actually becoming a reality. That has been changing since 2017, however, with the Victorian Government finally committing to building Melbourne Airport Rail Link (MARL), and then the Federal Government throwing in funds. The state also pledged to match its Commonwealth counterparts, and the two governments also signed a Heads of Agreement confirming the arrangement. Now, today, Saturday, November 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews have announced a few more details — and confirmed the route the Airport Rail Link will be taking. The pair also revealed how long the journey will take, how often Melburnians will be able to hop on a train, and when it's all set to kick in. It has been a long (long) time coming, but construction will start in 2022 and be completed by 2029 — which is two years earlier than the last target date of 2031. If all goes to plan, that's when you'll finally be able to banish the SkyBus from your life forever. Route-wise, Melburnians will head from the CBD to Tullamarine via Sunshine, and it's expected that the journey will take less than 30 minutes. Even better — MARL trains will run to the CBD every ten minutes, so you won't need to wait for long to make the trip that either gets you to the airport for your next journey or takes you home after your getaway (or spirits you to wherever you're staying if you're a tourist visiting Melbourne). [caption id="attachment_701575" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Visit Victoria, Josie Withers[/caption] With the line linking in with the $11.3 billion Metro rail tunnel — which will supposedly open in 2025 — folks from the city's south-eastern suburbs won't need to change trains, while the majority of other Victorians will be able to make the journey with one interchange. At Sunshine, those heading to or from Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo will be able to hop on or off the MARL, while those coming to or going from Gippsland will be able to connect at a number of stops along the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. Both the Victorian and Australian governments have committed $5 billion each in funding to the project, which is still in the planning and development stage. And yes, it's all about time. Sydney and Brisbane already have airport rail links, and Perth is currently in the process of building its own. Maybe this will finally kill or clarify that myth around the airport's secret underground 'station' as well. For more information about the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, which is due to start construction in 2022 and be completed by 2029, head to the website for the project. Image: Global Panorama via Flickr.
You've read the books, you've watched the flicks, you've sat through both parts of the theatre production and you've devoured your fair share of pop-up potion bars and themed experiences. But if you're yet to get your fill of Harry Potter-related goodness (I mean, not possible, right?), then you're in luck. This spring, a series of immersive, HP-themed high tea events is coming your way, popping up in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. The Harry Potter High Tea will grace all three cities with a run of multiple sessions each, held at top-secret locations. It all kicks off in Sydney from September 23–26, before visiting Brisbane from October 15–17 and heading down to Melbourne from October 21–24. So what sort of magical shenanigans are guests in for, you ask? Well, each session will host between 200 to 300 people (COVID depending), with daytime sessions open to all ages (11am–12.30pm, 2.30–4pm) and the night events reserved for adults only (7–9pm). There'll be butterbeer, polyjuice cocktails and appearances from some of the franchise's hit characters, as well as immersive activities including potion-making classes. Of course, the high tea spread will have a distinct HP lean to it, though exactly what's on the menu is being kept under wraps for now. Ticket-holders will be sent clues to the location of their high tea 30 days before the event, with the exact address revealed one week out. Tickets to the 'daybreak' sessions are $60, with 'twilight' passes coming in at $85. You can also nab a family ticket to any day session for $220 (two adults and two kids). The Harry Potter High Tea will hit Sydney (September 23–26), Brisbane (October 15–17) and Melbourne (October 21–24) this spring. Tickets are on sale now.
If you've been oscillating between "alright" and somewhere south of "fine", here's a little story to brighten up your day. Like most businesses in Sydney's lockdown, the Art Gallery of NSW has been forced to close and get creative — a situation Melburnians know all too well. Its solution? Pair up artwork from its huge historical collection with Instagram captions that are so clever and on the nose that we here at Concrete Playground expect someone to get a pay rise after all this is over. Seriously. Check out some of the best memes below if you need a giggle. You can also follow the Art Gallery of NSW's Instagram page for more content. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) Top images: Wenceslaus Hollar, after Albrecht Dürer, A stag lying, after Dürer, 1649, etching, Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased 1979. Photo: AGNSW. David Davies, From a distant land, 1889, oil on canvas, Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased 1968. Photo: AGNSW. Roddam Spencer Stanhope, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?" St Luke 24 v5,1870s, oil, gesso, goldleaf, wax medium, on canvas, Art Gallery of New South Wales, gift of Arthur Moon KC in memory of his mother, Emma, born in Sydney in 1860, the daughter of John de Villers Lamb 1950. Photo: AGNSW.
After taking on the entire Nazi high command in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt's second foray into the WWII genre feels significantly closer to reality. Directed by David Ayre, Fury follows the trials of a five-man American tank crew, played by Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal, as they push deep into German territory during the closing months of the war. Brutal and unflinching, the film's been compared in many reviews, including our own, to Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning Saving Private Ryan. On Saturday December 6, Concrete Playground will present a special screening of Fury at Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinema. Gates open at 6pm for a 7.30pm live performance by Melbourne-born singer-songwriter JR Reyne, who'll be cranking out an openair live set until sundown. Tickets are selling fast, so grab them while you still can. Concrete Playground presents: Fury is on Saturday, December 6. Thanks to Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas, we have five double passes to give away. Winners will have a spot reserved for them in a premium location at the site. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address at win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au. Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinema runs from November 30 to December 21 at South Beach Reserve, next to the St Kilda Sea Baths. For the full program see their website.
Victoria's Hot Chocolate Festival is back again this August. And it's just in time, too. To save Melburnians from these blustery days, they'll be churning out 31 hot chocolate flavours over 31 days. This year, the festival will be run across two locations: the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie in Bellbrae. Eight different flavours will be served up each day, so make sure you plan your visit(s) carefully as to not miss out on the best. Fan favourite flavours like triple chocolate brownie and Nutella will return to this year's menu, along with the more adventurous likes of Mad Camper — made with smoked dark chocolate and charcoal ice-cream — Ohh La La, which is served with a mini almond croissant, and an insect-spiked Jiminy Cricket. All limited edition hot chocolates will be served with an extra shot of hot couverture chocolate and a giant handcrafted marshmallow. Some of the highlights will arrive topped with edible bugs, exploding choc balls and edible drinking cups — the perfect antidote to any winter blues. The chocolateries together creates over 6000 hot chocolates per year, so newcomers can trust they know their way around this winter-warmer. If exploring the festival and enjoying all the free chocolate tastings isn't enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, you can also book into a 45-minute tasting session at both the Yarra Valley and Great Ocean Road stores. For $20 you'll be able to sample eight hot chocolates and make three of your own 'hot chocolate spoons' from over 50 ingredients to take home. The Hot Chocolate Festival will run daily from 9am–5pm, August 1–31 at the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie, 1200 Great Ocean Road, Bellbrae, and the Yarra Valley Chocolateire, 35 Old Healesville Road, Yarra Glen.
If you've ever spent hours falling down the wildlife and nature video rabbit hole online late at night, this one's for you. National Geographic's Symphony for Our World will combine the best of the footage from the organisation's 130-year archives with a live orchestral performance, synchronising the triumphant moments of both music and nature under one spectacle. And, that soundtrack will feature a Hans Zimmer-flavoured score and feature a live choir as well. The natural history footage will be drawn from years of past images, drawing from Nat Geo's shots from all over the world. The accompanying symphony will be created by Bleeding Fingers Music, featuring the work of composers such as the legendary Hans Zimmer, as well as Austin Fray and Andrew Christie. Just like the recent Planet Earth II Live in Concert, Zimmer's score especially will make you feel things you didn't know you could about animals you'll never meet. A five-part composition that'll tour Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, Symphony for Our World will take the audience on a journey from the sea, along the coastlines, across the land, through the mountains and then finally into the sky, with differing orchestral movements for each world environment. It's the story of our planet, but brought to life in a different way — so why not get out of the house and off YouTube and go see some fully immersive nature.
Stuffing wall-to-wall ABBA songs into a flimsy rom-com story, 2008's Mamma Mia! always felt like it was mere seconds away from two things happening. "Have you met my friend Fernando?" Meryl Streep's overalls-clad hotel owner might say, before asking if he can hear the drums. Or Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård's trio of long-lost exes might compare their romantic plight to history, starting with the words "my my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender". Neither actually occurred in the original big-screen jukebox musical, which adapted the successful stage production of the same name. But if they had, and in such a groan-inducing, eye-roll-worthy fashion, they wouldn't have felt out of place. Shameless cheesiness and trying to shoehorn in as many of the Swedish pop group's tracks as possible was the name of the game the first time around — and it's a tune that sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is still blasting. Thankfully, there's slightly more nuance, plot and comedy in this repeat spin. Slightly. Crucially, as returning and new cast members alike croon and swoon against the movie's bright, breezy Greek island setting, there's also a boost in singing talent. First things first: 'Fernando' and 'Waterloo' do get a whirl in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and in situations very close to those described above. The off-screen team is mostly new here, but it still feels like these films write themselves. In fact, while writer-director Ol Parker (Now Is Good) works with a story also credited to romantic-comedy maestro Richard Curtis (Love Actually) and Mamma Mia! playwright Catherine Johnson, he's basically rehashing the same tale. In the first movie, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) sent wedding invitations to the three men (Firth, Brosnan and Skarsgård) that her mother Donna (Streep) had flings with when she was conceived. This time around, the movie jumps between Sophie's present-day preparations to relaunch her mum's hotel and Donna's (Lily James) amorous exploits with the guys in question (Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine and Josh Dylan) 25 years ago. Here we go again, indeed. The line in 'Waterloo' about history repeating itself also springs to mind — and if you start framing your thoughts in ABBA lyrics minutes into this follow-up, then the film has done its job. Collecting fans' money, money, money, taking few chances, and asking viewers to cheer and sing along when their favourite songs pop up, the Mamma Mia! franchise does what lazy pop culture celebrations tend to do. In the most superficial, crowd-pleasing, fan-service manner, it mistakes recognising something exists for actually engaging with it. Ready Player One did the same thing earlier this year, just with a different focus — throwing sci-fi and gaming references at the screen to nod to beloved characters, movies and titles, but without ever delving any deeper. Still, in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again much more than in its predecessor, the approach hits a few melodic notes. Or rather, the exuberant James does, alongside the other series newcomers that play younger versions of existing characters, and Cher as Sophie's grandmother. It helps that the story feels a little less like dead air between songs in this second outing, that the film has a pronounced rhythm rather than just smashing tracks together, and that the song-and-dance choreography is more polished. That said, having energetic talent who can hold a tune helps even more. Battling it out with Christine Baranski (playing one of Donna's life-long best friends) as the franchise's true star, you'll thank James for the music. Courtesy of her performance, you'll also be able to somewhat overlook the fact that the flick is mostly just famous faces making ABBA music videos amidst gorgeous scenery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcSMdhfKga4
Throughout history gold has been one of the earth's most sought after materials. And for Melbourne Art Week 2018, Station Gallery teams up with Berlin-based Arndt Art Agency to showcase a free exploration of the precious metal with a group show of leading contemporary artists from Europe, Asia and Australia. Focusing on the materiality of gold, Au also considers its more esoteric connotations, including alchemy, the divine and some people's extreme greed for wealth. Across existing and newly commissioned work by 15 Australian and international artists, audiences will get a chance to explore both the gluttonous, spiritual and practical concepts behind gold. Featuring works from leading international creatives such as Swiss installation artist Thomas Hirschhorn, German filmmaker Julian Rosefeldt and Indigenous Australian painter Danie Mellor, Au presents a range of interpretations of gold and its real-world applications and implications.
