The music video is a wonderful place. Used well it can transform a song into a story. They have the ability to fall over the line into short films and are known to use insane sets and props as a backdrop. ACMI is celebrating everything about the music video in its exhibition Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition where local and international acts will feature alongside a collection of installations, projections, sets and original props and costumes. Spectacle is set to feature 350 works from some of the most innovative players in the genre, including Michel Gondry, who has made films for The Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, Spike Jonze who worked with Bjork and Fatboy Slim and Mark Romanek who has worked with the likes of Lenny Kravitz and Jay Z. Australian artists also get a run including Temper Trap, Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue. At the end of the day, the exhibition highlights that innovation, originality and genuine love of the game goes a long way when bringing sound and screen together.
Alpine, mountainous, snow-capped — these aren't words you would normally associate with our sun-kissed country. But Australia is a land of extreme seasons and surprises. The High Country is right on our doorstep, only a few hours' drive from Melbourne, but it's almost a different world, especially in autumn. The transitional season between the sun-drenched summers and snowy winters is one of the most fascinating times to visit the High Country. Before the mountains go into full alpine retreat mode, they come alive with apple trees, autumnal colours, and the emotive, alluring scent of deciduous environments that we only get to experience once a year. Not to mention the bountiful gastronomic opportunities that the harvest season presents to the High Country's many wineries, pubs, cafes and farm doors. Because we know that no mountainous hike is the same without something delicious to sustain and motivate you, we've paired the region's best hearty bites with its most invigorating treks. BRIGHT AND TIKI COCKTAILS Start in Bright, a historic village that acts as the gateway to some of the region's best treks. Bright itself is worth the trip in autumn for both its glorious autumn foliage and its inspired culinary scene. To fuel up (and you're going to need it), head to Tomahawks — a cool, cosy bar and restaurant in the middle of town. Try the chargrilled broccoli served with smoked butter and almonds and the dukkah lamb ribs for a hearty snack, or go one of their brioche buns if you want more energy. Make sure to try their Tiki cocktails while you're there — they pack a flavoursome punch. Afterwards, drive about an hour north of Bright to Diamantina Hut and trek up Mount Feathertop. From there, it's an 11-kilometre hike up the mountain — about seven hours return. It's a steep climb but will take you into another world in autumn: a misty, mossy, fantasy land with spectacular views. If you end up back in Bright, reward yourself with a drink at distillery Reed & Co, whose signature Remedy dry gin is made with native pine needles and eucalyptus. The venue also boasts a custom-made fuel grill so you can count on a nourishing meal to fill you up. WANDILIGONG AND MUSHROOM FORAGING If a seven-hour hike is a little intimidating, try this alternative. Start, once again, in the beautiful town of Bright with a mushroom foraging class. They run throughout May (prime mushroom foraging season) at a local cooking school. You'll hunt for local mushies before learning five Italian recipes to make the most of your haul. Then put your new skills to the test on a six-kilometre trek to Wandiligong, a tiny gold-mining town to the south of Bright. In April, the town hosts a seasonal nut festival where the growers of the region harvest and show off their produce, both nut and otherwise. Get on down there for the chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire smell alone. Make the most of your time in Wandiligong by stopping at some of its other foodie haunts: Wandiful Produce, where you can gather your own freshly fallen chestnuts at this time of year and take a tour of the farm, and Nightingale Brothers orchards, the spot to imbibe fresh apple cider and stock up on edible gifts. MOUNT HOTHAM AND VIENNA SCHNITZEL Go properly Sound of Music with an Alps-inspired mountain adventure. Start the proceedings at Zirky's, the Mount Hotham resort founded by Austrian Peter Zirknitzer, who came out here in the 1950s to teach skiing. His family still runs this operation, and their European roots shine through in the dining room, where Austrian-style schnitzel is served on Wednesday nights. Then, in stark contrast to such luxury, head on down to Mount Hotham and brave the three-day alpine camping trek. It's a 37-kilometre trek from Mouth Hotham to Falls Creek, and autumn is the perfect time to go. It's cold enough to use all that shiny, high-tech camping gear you love, but not so cold that you'll need cross-country skis. The manageable track winds through snow-gum woodlands and snow grass plains, with a few summits and historical sites along the way. This trek requires a bit of pre-planning because of the camping element, but it's well worth it. Consider overnighting at Cope Hut or Dibbins Hut, where there are new camping platforms. MOUNT BULLER AND A CELLAR DOOR If you lean more towards the food and wine side of the trek and treat adventure, opt for an easier hike between the twin peaks of Mount Buller and Mount Stirling. The moderate 7-kilometre trail takes about 2.5 hours through pretty snow gum forest. Those seeking truly iconic scenery can take a detour to a nearby cabin, used in the movie The Man From Snowy River. You'll want to make a stop on your way down Mount Buller at Delatite Wines. Their cellar door serves simple antipasto platters made with local ingredients — a fine accompaniment to the European-style wine and rolling hillside views. MOUNT BUFFALO AND AN OLIVE GROVE If you want to get your hands on some local produce, stop by the local olive grove and farm gate at Mount Buffalo Olives. Extra virgin olive oil is, as we all know, the nectar of the Gods, and it doesn't get much better than this. The Mount Buffalo olive vineyard has incredible views of the region. As well as olives and olive oil, they produce lots of tasty treats to fill out a picnic basket. Once you have your picnic ingredients sorted, head to Lake Catani campground. It's a great picnic destination to gorge yourself on all that freshness, and it's the starting point for plenty of 2-3 hour hikes up Mount Buffalo itself. Mount Buffalo is one of the easier hiking destinations in the High Country, so think of it as more of a digestive stroll than a high-adrenaline slog. For the athletes, there's the Horn Trail 30 minutes away — it's a punishing uphill trek that rewards you with the best views. BEECHWORTH AND BEER If you're interested in the history of the region, head to Beechworth and check out the Gorge Scenic walking tour. This one is a moderate walk (not a hike, so leave the hydration backpack at home for this one) and give yourself a few hours to enjoy it. The trail takes you out of town, through rugged Victorian country and the richest goldfields in Australia then loops back around to finish at the Beechworth Visitor Centre. You'll travel past waterfalls, rugged landscapes, historical sites, goldfields, quarries and bridges. The town of Beechworth also has a rich architectural history that'll leave you feeling like you're in an episode of Aussie-style Westworld. Grab some educational material from the visitor centre to get the most out of the walk. And when you're all wandered out, head over to Bridge Road Brewers to recover with a chestnut pilsner and roast duck pizza. They make all their small-batch beers on site, while the kitchen specialises in some of the world's other best sources of carbs — pizza and pretzels. Plan your High Country getaway by visiting the Wander Victoria website and discover more of the autumnal delights across regional Victoria before the season is out.
No one has ever eaten just one roll of sushi. Or, if they have, they haven't done so willingly. Once you devour one coin-sized piece, you instantly want more. And more. You get the picture. Enter Sash Japanese's $39 Thursday deal, which sees the Windsor restaurant serve up all-you-can-eat sushi. Eight different types are on offer, so you can dig into as many rolls of soft shell crab and watermelon, salmon and avocado, miso kingfish, wagyu beef and wasabi tuna as your stomach can handle in around 90 minutes. You don't have to buy a drink for the deal to be valid, but if you decide to, you can pick from Aussie and Japanese beers, sake, Victorian wines and a range of Japanese-inspired cocktails, including the Yuzu Cheesecake ($18) made with sake, lemon and green tea. The endless array of seaweed-wrapped rice and filling is an ongoing special, on offer from 5.30pm till 10.30pm each Thursday. We do recommend you either head in early or grab some friends and book a table (it only takes bookings for groups of five or more) — some Thursday nights, Sash has over an hour wait for tables.
Sometimes, you can read a book and imagine exactly what a TV adaptation would look like. Anyone who thumbed their way through The Southern Vampire Mysteries before it was turned into HBO's True Blood can't make that claim, however. Created by Six Feet Under's Alan Ball, this undead-focused horror series drips with mystery, lust and gothic excess. And blood, obviously. It's a show set in a world where vampires aren't just a fantasy — and at a time when a synthetic product that shares the show's name has allowed them to live side-by-side with humans, in theory. At the centre of this vamp-fuelled intrigue sits small-town Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who happens to be telepathic. She also happens to fall in love with 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). When their romance attracts the attention of the area's vampire sheriff (Alexander Skarsgård), that's when the drama begins.
Located next to Geelong's popular Eastern Beach Reserve, the Geelong Botanic Gardens spans over seven hectares and is great for picnicking, walking, bird-spotting, and more. First opened in 1851, the gardens feature many heritage trees (and a handful of built heritage items, too), as well as special collections of geraniums, sage and heritage roses. Whether you want to have a self-guided tour, participate in an educational program or take a guided walk, pop into the charming on-site teahouse when you're done for a bite to eat and a cuppa.
It's blast from the past time, again — and time to spend a couple of nights journeying back a few decades just by hitting the dance floor. Whether you lived through the 90s rave scene, spent every weekend enjoying club life in the 00s or just wish you were old enough to have ticked both boxes, Ministry of Sound will take you there when its huge Testament parties return for 2025. Ministry of Sound itself was around through both eras, so you couldn't be in better hands to get retro via old-school 90s and 00s bangers. The Testament events also toured Australia in 2023 and 2024, and will return for another year — including for two nights in Melbourne on Saturday, April 5 and Saturday, April 12. Each evening is devoted to either the 90s or the 00s, so you'll need to attend both if you want to make shapes to tunes from both decades. But it's a choose-your-own-adventure type of affair, which means that fans of late 20th-century beats can hit up the session dedicated to 90s house, rave, trance and garage tracks if that's all that you're keen on, while lovers of 00s electro and breaks get their own shindig. The DJ lineup is headlined by international acts such as Paul Oakenfold, Roger Sanchez, Felix Da Housecat, Graeme Park, Krafty Kuts, Plump DJs, Smokin Jo and Utah Saints. Australia's own John Course, Sgt Slick, Minx and Mark Dynamix are also on the bill, alongside over 60 other names across the tour. Your destination: The Timber Yard, with the 90s night taking over on the first week and the 00s evening on the second.
When the colonising British left Nigeria in 1960, the nation welcomed a new era of transformation, but with independence came instability. This festering civil unrest forms the backdrop of Half of a Yellow Sun, with personal troubles coloured by political uncertainty. As the country attempts to cope with the fighting of power-seeking factions, two sisters become immersed in the conflict. In her 2006 bestseller and Orange Prize for Fiction winner, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie balanced the broader context of the war with the circumstances of twins Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose), their efforts to forge lives beyond their well-to-do Lagos upbringing forever shaped by Nigeria's volatility. The film adaptation, written and directed by novelist and playwright Biyi Bandele in his directorial debut, sparkles with potential but plays out with predictability. The setting and the characters may be unique to this tale, but audiences have seen the story — or one just like it — many times before. Providing the punctuation between handsomely shot scenes, archival newsreel footage furnishes chapter stops to the episodic slices of the siblings' lives, with Olanna the film's centre. A sociology professor freshly returned from London, she struggles with her romance with revolutionary-leaning fellow academic Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), blissful domesticity never a potential outcome. Odenigbo's overbearing mother (Onyeka Onwenu) is forceful with her disapproval, and instrumental in his affairs. Running the family business, Kainene flits in and out of Olanna's orbit with her British lover, writer Richard (Joseph Mawle), offering her own headstrong opinions and status-climbing ambitions. As a melodrama of strained interpersonal relationships that threatens to betray its based-on-a-true-story origins, Half of a Yellow Sun makes its emotional arcs apparent. As a portrait of the Biafran war, it goes to great efforts to show the wide-ranging impact upon the Nigerian populace, never shying away from the many horrors. What proves less successful is the use of the former to enhance the latter. An emotionally embellished narrative isn't needed to emphasise the devastation and turbulence of the civil war, nor is the absence of subtlety to the feature's benefit. Within such confines, the cast switch between concentrated emoting and smouldering restraint, Newton and Ejiofor faring best as the obvious points of focus. Their innate talents anchor the sentiments beyond their sweeping treatment in the story, even if the feature's female leads swiftly stand in their male co-stars' shadows. Sumptuous but strained, Half of a Yellow Sun thus waxes and wanes between its aspirations and authenticity, reaching for more but restricted by its adherence to convention and cliche. Resonance lingers, but more so in the reality than the depiction. The true scenario speaks for itself, with the incursion of overt theatrics lessening the film's power. https://youtube.com/watch?v=WlINmnyLO9E
A Sydney institution, White Rabbit Gallery has been running free exhibitions showcasing contemporary Chinese art for over a decade. But visitors to the Chippendale space between now and Sunday, August 1 can expect a particularly luminous experience, with its latest eye-catching multimedia exhibition centred around the wonders of light. Showcasing works from 30 artists, Lumen's lineup stretches from interactive light pieces and frozen copper sculptures to video projections and rooms full of LEDs. As well as grabbing attention, each work on display uses light in a thought-provoking, awe-inspiring or fully immersive fashion. The boundary-pushing Zhang Peili, dubbed the father of video art in China, is displaying 2012 Portraits, a series of 14 portraits in which the both the subject and the viewer are blinded by light. Or, there's Yao Chung-Han's DzDz, which invites the audience to stand under movement-sensitive beams of light and create music by using their bodies. And, thanks to Wu Daxin's Ashley's Heart, you'll see copper tubes suspended in the shape of a heart and gradually frozen over the course of the day, creating a unique ice sculpture. Art collective Luxury Logico is presenting two works as part of the exhibition. The first is Solar, a twinkling representation of the sun created using donated desk lamps — while the second, Miniature, is one of the exhibition's showstoppers. The display of LED lights draws upon images from a video reel, with each LED corresponding to a pixel. Both vivid and architectural in its appearance, the work is designed to remind viewers of celestial bodies in the sky, all while cycling through everything from reality TV and ads to soap operas and Adam Sandler movies. Lumen is running over all four levels of the White Rabbit Gallery. As usual with the site's exhibitions, entry is free and there are no bookings, so folks can just rock up and enjoy the art. And, free guided tours are available at 11am, 1pm and 3pm Wednesday–Sunday. Top image: Miniature by Luxury Logico.
This celebrated Italian-style bakery boasts three stores (Carlton, South Yarra and St Kilda) and an ever-growing fan base, famed for both its premium sourdough breads and the rows of tempting house treats beckoning from its pastry cabinets. Pop in for that loaf of crusty casalinga or to stock up on some panino, and we promise you'll find it hard not to leave without a creamy cannoli or fat bomboloni also in tow. That said, it's Baker D. Chirico's seasonal creations that really cause a stir — just check out the annual queues for its glazed hot cross buns or artisanal panettone and you'll know what we mean. Design-lovers will especially love the cosy Carlton shopfront, its striking timber waves the work of renowned March Studio. It's easy to see why it's one of the best bakeries in Melbourne. Top image: Emily Godfrey Appears in: The Best Bakeries in Melbourne for 2023
If the new season's put you in the mood to spring clean your thinking and soak up some fresh ideas, The Wheeler Centre's latest offering is one to add to your calendar. The literary hub's new celebration of words and ideas, Spring Fling, is coming our way from Wednesday, November 2–Friday, November 11. And it's got a sparkling lineup of local and international authors, artists, musicians, comedians and thinkers in tow. Joining the bill for the inaugural event series, you've got UK literary legend Natasha Brown (Assembly), acclaimed Aussie writer Helen Garner (Monkey Grip, Everywhere I Look), Pulitzer-winning US novelist Andrew Sean Greer (Less, Less Is Lost), musicians Vika & Linda, and breakout star of the new Heartbreak High reboot Chloé Hayden. [caption id="attachment_871605" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natasha Brown[/caption] The festival program is set to dish up more than 20 events, hitting venues like Melbourne Town Hall, The Capitol, Testing Grounds and Fed Square eatery Big Esso. You can catch the hilarious Shaun Micallef chatting life, tv and comedy; ponder how arts and activism can spurr positive environmental change with music icon Peter Garrett; and explore the intersection of music and thought at an inspirational talk by British neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield, complete with a special performance by artist and producer Sui Zhen. Also on the bill: beloved broadcaster Myf Warhurst delving into the impact music's had on her life; a panel of culinary favourites chatting multiculturalism and Aussie food culture over a lunch heroing Indigenous ingredients; an exploration of friendship led by bestselling author Kamila Shamsie; and a special drag storytime featuring artists like Aysha Buffet, Stone Motherless Cold and Dandrogyny. The Wheeler Centre's Spring Fling runs from November 2–11, at venues across Melbourne. Catch the full program and buy tickets over at the website.
Sometimes, the world handily delivers answers to questions you didn't even know you ever had. You might not have actively wondered to yourself "what'd happen if New Zealand treasures Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby played pirates?", for instance, but we're betting you're now keener than a buccaneer searching for a bottle of rum to discover how it turns out. Best add Our Flag Means Death to your 2022 must-watch list, then. Arriving sometime in March on Binge in Australia — with release details in NZ yet to be confirmed — the HBO Max sitcom sees Darby lead the show as Stede Bonnet, who was a real-life pirate who took to the seas in the early 18th century. The reason that his story is getting the streaming treatment? Bonnet was a 'gentleman pirate', as the just-dropped first teaser trailer for Our Flag Means Death dubs him. He left his life of privilege to rove the oceans, which this comedy is set to have plenty of fun with. As the initial sneak peek shows, Bonnet has some bold ideas about how life onboard should run — bold compared to the usual pirate stereotypes, that is. And, that's set to see him clash with a very famous name from pirate history: Blackbeard, which is who Waititi will be playing. The two immensely funny NZ talents are joined by a long list of co-stars that includes Ewen Bremner (First Cow), David Fane (Paper Champions), Nathan Foad (Bloods), Joel Fry (Cruella), Samson Kayo (Truth Seekers), Rory Kinnear (No Time to Die) and Leslie Jones (Death to 2020). And, while Our Flag Means Death is the brainchild of writer, showrunner and executive producer David Jenkins (People of Earth), Waititi directs the pilot — and executive produces, lending his name and support to another up-and-coming comedy after doing the same with Reservation Dogs last year. And yes, that means he's directing Darby yet again, as he's already done in everything from Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows to Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Check out the trailer for Our Flag Means Death below: Our Flag Means Death will start streaming in Australia via Binge in March — we'll update you when an exact date is revealed. We'll also update you when release details in New Zealand are announced. Top images: Aaron Epstein/HBO Max.
Over the past few years, Gelatissimo has whipped up a number of creative flavours, including frosé sorbet, gelato for dogs, and ginger beer, Weet-Bix. fairy bread, hot cross bun, cinnamon scroll and chocolate fudge gelato. Most recently, it made a bubble tea variety, and a gelato featuring Belgium's Lotus Biscoff cookie butter spread, too. For its latest offering, the Australian dessert chain is taking inspiration from other well-known sweet treats hailing from overseas — in case you've always wanted some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Hershey's Kisses in your ice cream. Yes, those very combinations are now on the menu, all as part of Gelatissimo's new American-inspired Flavours of the USA gelato range. Just launching this week, the lineup includes three new flavours — so if you needed an excuse to treat yourself to multiple scoops, you just might've found one. First up, it's pretty easy to guess how Gelatissimo's Peanut Butter Cup Made With Reese's flavour will taste. It uses peanut butter gelato, plus some Hershey's cocoa powder, then adds a ripple of chocolate that features roasted peanuts and big chunks of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Not feeling quite so nutty? Chocolate Kisses Made With Hershey's is basically an excuse to eat chocolate, some more chocolate, and then even more chocolate. It's made with chocolate gelato — and the gelato itself is made with Hershey's kisses and Hersey's cocoa powder — which is then drizzled with more melted Hersey's Kisses. Lastly, Gelatissimo is pairing crushed candied pecans with bourbon caramel swirls in a flavour called, unsurprisingly, Bourbon Caramel and Pecans. While this is a US-inspired range, the boozy flavour comes via a collaboration with West Australian distillery Whipper Snapper, infusing its Upshot Whiskey into the gelato. Gelatissimo's new range just hit stores on Friday, October 9, with the three new flavours currently available nationwide. That said, they're only on offer for a limited time, although the chain hasn't specified an exact period — but you can nab them either by going into a shop or via delivery. Gelatissimo's Flavours of the USA range is available from all stores nationwide for a limited time.
Your novelty festival gumboots are going to get a big ol' workout this summer. Returning for its fourth year to the banks of the Murray River at Echuca-Moama, Riverboats Music Festival has Sarah Blasko, Dan Sultan and Tex Perkins at the top of their 2015 lineup. One of Australia's most laidback riverside festivals just 2.5 hours from Melbourne, Riverboats is a three-day camping, indulging and dancing affair running February 13–15. Melbourne's Dan Sultan and Sydney's Sarah Blasko headline a super rootsy local lineup: Tex Perkins and The Dark Horses will showcase their new album, legendary Sydneysiders The Whitlams follow up their 2013 sold-out national orchestra tour while unmissable festival favourites The Bamboos are sure to be a Riverboats highlight. Also on the Australian artist-only bill is Adalita, Mick Harvey, Diesel, Fraser A Gorman, Matt Walker and The Lost Ragas, Sal Kimber and The Rollin' Wheel, Stella Angelico and The Switch and Raised by Eagles. Snuggled within the natural amphitheatre of Echuca's Aquatic Reserve, Riverboats is one of the Murray River's most anticipated music festivals. Festival producer David Frazer sees the event as a more chilled-out alternative for festival enthusiasts and hardcore foodies alike. "Riverboats provides festival-goers with an opportunity to experience a truly beautiful part of Australia without the queues, ticket prices and hassle of larger events," he says. "We are particularly proud of the fact Riverboats has remained boutique in both its size and philosophy, yet continues to attracts artists of the calibre of Dan Sultan, Sarah Blasko, Tex Perkins and the Whitlams." Riverboats isn't contained to the river bank; there's also a bunch of side quests you can buy tickets for alongside the main festival. If you're keen to get entirely thematic with the festival's name, punters can hop on a two-hour river cruise aboard a century-old paddle steamer — with locally-sourced brunch and live music from Sal Kimber and The Rollin' Wheel. One of the best (and tastiest) bits of Riverboats will also return for another year: the Beechworth Bakery will host Sunday's Official Festival Breakfast on the top floor of their bakery with a live set from alt-country Melburnians Raised by Eagles. Break out the picnic rugs and cheese platters, Riverboats is a solid summer option for punters wanting the camping music festival experience without the drunken drongos. RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015 DATES AND LINEUP: FRIDAY 13 FEBRUARY Raised by Eagles Stella Angelico and The Switch Diesel SATURDAY 14 FEBRUARY Fraser A. Gorman Mick Harvey The Whitlams Adalita The Bamboos Dan Sultan SUNDAY 15 FEBRUARY Sal Kimber and The Rollin’ Wheel Matt Walker and The Lost Ragas Tex Perkins and The Dark Horses Sarah Blasko Image: Riverboat Music Festival.
For close to three decades, Falls Festival's Victorian leg saw punters make the annual pilgrimage out to Lorne, to revel in live music at the event's original home on the Surf Coast. But bushfires cancelled Lorne's 2019 festival, and the pandemic squashed plans for both the 2020 and 2021 instalments, before organisers announced in November last year that the Victorian fest would be relocating permanently to Pennyroyal Plains in Murroon. Now, there's been a big ol' twist and the festival will instead be heading to the city for the first time, with the newly minted Falls Downtown set to descend on Sidney Myer Music Bowl from December 29–31. [caption id="attachment_752128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Piknic Electronik, by Wade Malligan[/caption] The new digs will ensure the show goes on for local music-lovers, after previous relocation plans were faced with permit hiccups. Falls Downtown Melbourne 2022 will feature all of the artists already announced, and run alongside its sibling fests Falls Byron (December 31–January 2) and the new Falls Downtown Fremantle (January 7–8, 2023). Across two stages, the Melbourne event is set to ring in the new year with sounds from big-name acts like Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X, Chvrches, Peggy Gou and Jamie xx, as well as the OG Wiggles. Also making appearances: Genesis Owusu, Ocean Alley, Young Franco and Spacey Jane, plus DMA's, G Flip, Amyl and the Sniffers, King Stingray, Mall Grab and Ben Böhmer. And yes, that's just a tiny taster of the huge lineup. [caption id="attachment_650001" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Falls Festival Lorne[/caption] While the new site obviously doesn't allow for camping like its predecessor did, it will indeed be dishing up a suite of off-stage fun to keep you grooving through the three days, including stacks of pop-up bars, food trucks, lifestyle precinct Rancho Relaxo and the VIP sanctuary that is Club Falls. A fresh batch of tickets to Falls Downtown Melbourne will be on sale from 9am, Wednesday, September 14. Existing Falls Victoria 2022 ticket-holders can apply for a refund if they don't wish to transfer tickets to the new location. All camping passes will be automatically refunded, though if you're keen for a road trip, you've also got the option to exchange yours for camping passes to the fests' Byron leg. Falls Downtown Melbourne 2022 hits Sidney Myer Music Bowl from December 29–31. Grab tickets online from 9am, September 14. Top Image: Piknic Electronik at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, by Wade Malligan
Not one, but three, designers have put their two-wheeling brains together to come up with tokyobike's latest offering: the company's first ever Designer Series. It's a trio of bikes that will make you seriously want to shell out (and at this price, you'd be skipping more than a few meals). The first, a schmick golden number, is the work of Everything Elevated, who are based in New York and Oslo. It's a single speed with dropped handle bars that gets its inspiration from early minimalist track racing bikes. The second you'll want with you next time you're in Paris. Calico Wallpaper, a Brooklyn-based company run by couple Nick and Rachel Cope, based their concept on the bikes you see in 1930s French films. It's so comfy you can ride all day. The dreamy blue, white and burnt orange paint job reflects the transition from dawn to dusk. Not good at making decisions? The third in the series is your pick. It's white on one side and grey on the other. Joe Doucet, award-winning Brooklyn-based designer, is behind this third bike, with half-canvas, half-rubber handles, which are handmade in Italy. This kind of design doesn't come cheap. Each limited edition bike will set you back $2,500 a pop. Orders are available online. Images: Tokyobike.
The Autark Home redefines waterfront living. Passivhaus, an independent research institute, has built an eco-friendly floating houseboat. The houseboat is highly energy-efficient, runs completely on solar power and is ten times more energy efficient than the average house. The Autark Home is currently flaoting in Maastricht, Netherlands. Designed by Pieter Kromwijk, the prototype has gained popularity because of its ultra-low energy consumption. There are plans to produce more Autark Homes to meet the demand of willing buyers.
Handmade chocolate has a new Melbourne home, and everyone with Willy Wonka fantasies has a new spot to visit. Opening at South Melbourne Market, Atypic Chocolate combines two joys every sweet-lover can't get enough of: eating artisanal delights, and watching them come to fruition. The chocolatory is a labour of love for French-trained pastry chef-turned-chocolatier Charles Lemai and his business partner Chi, as inspired by the former's trip to Vietnam in 2016. There, he met a chocolate maker who introduced him to the bean-to-bar concept — and while all choccies make their way from raw cocoa beans to mouth-watering morsels, it's the fact that Atypic does it all in-house that makes it different. In the store's 42 square metre space, customers can treat both their tastebuds and their eyes as everything from single-origin chocolate tablets (in milk, dark and white options) to chocolate pastries (think brownies, of course, plus the mounds of meringue and praline that are hazelnut merveilleux) are made on the spot. And we don't just mean witnessing the finishing touches either. Whether Atypic's staff are roasting, dehusking, grinding the nibs, refining flavours and textures, or molding, it all happens through the stall's glass windows. Focusing on organic ingredients, and using direct-trade cacao beans sourced from small farms in the Solomon Islands, Haiti, Brazil and Madagascar, their menu also includes European-style hot chocolate in dark, spicy and matcha white chocolate varieties, with chocolate soft serve due to be added at a later date. As will new chocolate varieties, with Lemai eager to experiment with flavours, fillings and textures — and to share his choc creations with the hungry masses. Find Atypic Chocolate at Stall 170 in Aisle D, South Melbourne Market, corner of Coventry and Cecil streets, South Melbourne. For more information, visit their website or Facebook page.
Cristiano, Neymar and Messi have been rendered as the futurist Incredibles in a new series of illustrations by up-and-coming artist Rafael Mayani. Bringing together twelve of the finest players in the FIFA 2014 World Cup, Mayani brought his playful style — often reserved for stunning, Disney and Nintendo characters — to slick renditions of Marco Reus, Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba and more WC favourites. Relatively unknown on the international circuit, Mexico City-based Mayani's talent for sketching footballers is evident in his sfumato charcoal Pele posted on his Facebook page: All twelve of the players feature on a limited edition poster available at Society 6. Devoid of sweat patches, day-old Cheezels and beer-stained couch groove, your World Cup addiction never looked so elegant. Marco Reus Didier Drogba Cristiano Ronaldo Iker Casillas Andrea Pirlo Leo Messi Via Fubiz.
There's only one thing in life that's almost as ace as a holiday: looking forward to a holiday. The planning, counting down the days, just having something to get excited about — they all help liven up the daily grind. So when a flight sale drops, like Virgin's latest round of discounted fares, it's an instant way to brighten up your mood. Start looking forward to trips around Australia and overseas, and for cheap. This new sale spans over 500,000 fares for both domestic and international legs. Prices start low, at the usual $49, which once again gets you from Sydney to Byron Bay — the normal cheapest fare in any flight sale — and vice versa. From there, the domestic side of the sale covers everywhere from Hamilton Island and Hobart to Darwin and Mt Isa. Virgin's Flight Frenzy sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Friday, August 25 — unless sold out earlier, with fares to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide also covered. That means paying $69 one-way from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast, $79 from Melbourne to Hobart, and $99 for a trip from Brisbane to Cairns or Canberra to the Gold Coast. Or, still on local deals, the specials also cover $59 from Melbourne to Launceston, $119 from Adelaide to Sydney, $179 from Brisbane to Darwin and $209 from Melbourne to Perth. Internationally, Tokyo visits are included, from Cairns only from $699 return. Among the other global return options: Bali (from $469 from Adelaide, $489 from the Gold Coast, $599 from Brisbane, and $629 from Melbourne or Sydney), Fiji ($499 from Brisbane or Sydney, and $539 from Melbourne), Vanuatu ($469 from Brisbane) and Samoa ($569 from Sydney and $579 from Brisbane). And, Queenstown is also on the agenda, with both one-way and return legs. One-way from Melbourne and Sydney starts at $265, and return from $425. From Brisbane, those prices are $309 and $539. If you're wondering when you'll need to travel, the fares cover select periods between Wednesday, October 11, 2023–Thursday, June 20, 2024, with all dates varying per route. Inclusions also differ depending on your ticket and, as usual when it comes to flight sales, you'll need to get in quick if you're keen to stack the rest of 2023 and the first half of 2024 with a getaway (or several). Virgin's Flight Frenzy sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Friday, August 25 — unless sold out earlier. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Celebrate the work of local musicians at the second annual Stony Creek Music Festival. Hosted at McNish Reserve in Yarraville's Cruickshank Park, this Australia Day showcase of home-grown talent eschews the big names getting airtime on triple j and instead favours a much more local sound. You can see Nick Barker, Rebecca Barnard and The Painters & Dockers live on stage, and grab dinner from a convoy of waiting food trucks. So bring your picnic rug and as many mates as you can muster. And for your own sake, don't forget the sunscreen.
Canberra's light rail, the swish new(ish) north-to-south route that delivers passengers into the heart of the city, is more than a commuter line. It's an easy — and cheap — way for visitors to get around town between 6am and 11.30pm (or 1am on Saturday nights). Yep: no designated driver, no ridesharing, just you and the open rails. Well, 12 kilometres of them, anyway. Make your Canberra weekend away as simple as possible, and leave yourself with more money to spend on food and fun, by touring the capital via the light rail. Some of Canberra's best eats, well-stocked bars and intriguing curiosity shops (plus a surprising nighttime sports hub) are waiting to be explored along the light rail line. Here, we've got the ultimate hop-on-hop-off adventure for a day out in Canberra. Please stay up to date with the latest ACT Government health advice regarding COVID-19.
March will see Melbourne Town Hall host Hermès at Work, an itinerant celebration of the artisans that make Hermès what it is. Creators from nine different métiers of the luxury brand will meet, greet, and demonstrate their individual areas of expertise. You'll be able to wander through the display areas and discover how exactly how Hermès' famous bags, saddles, gloves and silk squares are made. There will also be round-table discussions held throughout the festival for those who have even more questions. Admission is free, but make sure you book your ticket online in advance.
Last November Jim Finn, of Art vs Science fame, launched his solo project Vydamo with the single 'Gonna Make It', a user-friendly, catchy little anthem of a hit that almost fooled me into thinking the New Radicals had finally followed up their '90s one-hit wonder 'Get What You Give'. But this is real music that is real fun or, as Richard Kingsmill of triple j puts it, this guy (and this music) is "extremely likeable". Vydamo will kick off his first tour this Friday, April 19, when he plays to Sydneysiders at OAF before heading south for a Saturday at the Toff in Melbourne. Next weekend Brisbane will get their taste of Jim Finn solo and live at Alhambra on April 27. Art vs. Science first got our attention in 2008 with the call-and-response dance number 'Flippers'. The dynamic little three-piece have been on the up ever since, and with their most comprehensive tour of the States coming up in June, it could well be worth your while to catch their frontman doing his thing before it starts costing you $200 a pop. We have three double passes to Vydamo gigs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email us with your name and postal address at hello@concreteplayground.com.au. https://youtube.com/watch?v=weZwxAv9j4I
If you've got a soft spot for falafel, you'll agree these plant-based balls of goodness are a treat for any time of day. And so we reckon you'll be eager to sink your teeth into Melbourne's newest bottomless brunch offering, starring — you guessed it — unlimited falafel. Yep, every Saturday and Sunday throughout April, South Melbourne vegan restaurant Marko is hosting its limited-edition Bottomless Falafel Brunch, which comes in at an easy $30 per person, or $65 including free-flowing drinks. Roll in between 11am and 2.30pm and you'll have 90 minutes to enjoy your fill of an unlimited mezze spread, featuring Marko's signature falafel alongside the likes of tahini, pickles, hummus, baba ganoush, mini avocado toasts and freekah salad. If you've opted for liquid accompaniments, you'll find yourself sipping bottomless espresso martinis, mimosas and gin spritzes. The plant-based feasts are expected to fill up fast, so you'll want to secure your spot by booking a ticket online at least 24 hours before your visit. You'll also need a minimum of two diners to get in on the bottomless brunch action. [caption id="attachment_849447" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bold and Italic Media[/caption] Images: Bold and Italic Media
If all you want in 2025 is to see The Offspring and Simple Plan, and in you're in Brisbane or Melbourne, you now have an extra chance to make that wish come true. To help wrap up 2024, the two bands announced a combined Australian arena tour for this year, fresh from The Offspring playing an Aussie gig in November last year as part of Victoria's Always Live music season, which was their only stop Down Under. Due to demand, the upcoming visit has now added a couple more shows. Yes, this is your latest excuse to pretend it's the late 90s and 00s, in a year that's also bringing Green Day this way on their own tour. In May, The Offspring and Simple Plan will play single shows at AEC Arena in Adelaide and Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, as well as two nights each at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and Brisbane Entertainment Centre. The keen response shouldn't come as surprise. That Always Live gig sold out in 30 seconds, after all. The new dates: in Melbourne, Thursday, May 8 has been added to the roster, while Brisbanites can now head along on Thursday, May 15. It's been more than a quarter of a century since The Offspring earned a claim to fame that every music fan Down Under should know: topping Triple J's Hottest 100 with 'Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)', a win that still ranks as the annual countdown's most-controversial result to date. 2024 also marked four decades since the band first formed in the early 80s, and more than 30 years since it came to mainstream attention with hits like 'Come Out and Play' and 'Self Esteem' — and the Californian outfit isn't done belting out its catchy brand of punk just yet. While the band released albums Let the Bad Times Roll and Supercharged in 2021 and 2024, respectively, you can still expect to hear their famous tracks — including 'Gotta Get Away', 'Why Don't You Get a Job?', 'The Kids Aren't Alright' and the song that's forever cemented in Australian radio history, obviously. Still led by frontman and guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland — the group's only remaining member from its initial 1984 lineup, so you can definitely call him the original prankster — The Offspring will have company in the form of Canada's Simple Plan. From The Offspring alone, you'll get the words "gunter glieben glauchen globen" stuck in your head for another couple of decades. The Offspring Supercharged Worldwide in '25 Australian Tour Sunday, May 4 — AEC Arena, Adelaide Wednesday, May 7–Thursday, May 8 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Sunday, May 11 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Wednesday, May 14–Thursday, May 15 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane The Offspring are touring Australia in May 2025. Pre-sale tickets for the new Brisbane and Melbourne show go on sale at 9am local time on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, with general tickets from the same time on Friday, January 17, 2025. Head to the tour website for further details. The Offspring images: Daveed Benito.
A thumping al fresco DJ set is one thing; but this month, Victoria's new music program Always Live is serving up something approximately 180 times better. It's hosting a massive free, 11-day celebration of dance music, soundtracked by more than 180 artists and spanning a hefty 200 hours of tunes. The inaugural Nonstop DJs will be taking over the Melbourne Museum Plaza from Sunday, November 20–Wednesday, November 30, centred around a see-through Spacecube that'll play host to a jam-packed rotation of DJ talent, from 7am–11pm daily. [caption id="attachment_878396" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Millú[/caption] International heavyweights like Toro Y Moi and Tony MF will be hitting the decks, alongside scores of homegrown legends including Andee Frost, Millú, DJ JNETT, Soju Gang, MzRizk, Crown Ruler DJs and PBS DJs. You'll even catch some familiar culinary names entering the cube, including Smith & Daughters' Shannon Martinez and Raph Rashid of Beatbox Kitchen. Speaking of food, you'll have a solid offering of eats and drinks to fuel your dance floor endeavours, thanks to the fest's pop-up refreshments precinct. Mornings are taken care of with baked goods and free filter brews courtesy of Everyday Coffee, while a roster of food trucks takes the reins each afternoon (12pm weekends, 4pm weekdays). You'll also find a pop-up bar from the folks at Four Pillars and Stomping Ground, stocked with an array of dance-friendly sips. [caption id="attachment_878395" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Torcasio, via Unsplash[/caption] [caption id="attachment_878397" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MzRizk[/caption] Top Image: Bongani Ngcobo, via Unsplash
What do you want the world to be? That question has always sat at the heart of design, and Melbourne Design Week knows it. Accordingly, for its eighth year, the National Gallery of Victoria-led event is going all in on the notion, with 2024's 300-plus exhibitions, installations, talks, tours and displays focused on the theme "design the world you want". The possibilities are virtually endless from that prompt, as Melburnians can discover around the city between Thursday, May 23–Sunday, June 2. The works, symposiums and chats within the program break down the theme further, contemplating design in relation to energy, ethics and ecology, plus how they can bring about change — covering the use of new technologies and renewables, reflecting society's values and working in harmony with nature, At the NGV alone, attendees are spoiled for choice. If you need some fuel for your Melbourne Design Week jaunt, the One-Stop Bug-Shop has you covered — it's a vending machine dispensing alternative snacks made from insects, including candied mealworms and corn chips made from crickets. Future foods are also one of the discussion topics, alongside Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo chatting about approaches to architecture in urban environments, a symposium in advance of the NGV's upcoming Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 exhibition, and talks from Design as an Attitude author Alice Rawsthorn and The Story of Art Without Men scribe Katy Hessel. And, for the 11-day duration of the festival, Melbourne Art Book Fair is also back. [caption id="attachment_957843" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tobias Titz[/caption] Elsewhere, the Melbourne Design Week Film Festival awaits, with flicks such as Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis, about the design studio behind some of the most-influential album cover art to ever grace record sleeves — and so does the Open House Melbourne-presented satellite program Design and Death, which considers the interplay between the two concepts right there in its name, including via touring Bunurong Memorial Park. Exhibitions galore, pet furniture with multiple functions that can be used in small spaces, a parkland reimagined through cake, mapping out Melbourne's coffee culture, a mobile garden roaming the streets, the work of First Nations glass artists, showcasing Japanese design from the 50s onwards: you'll find them all on the lineup as well. Exploring the interiors of toilets, the return of The Big Design Market and a chat with Universal Everything's Interactive Creative Director Joel Gethin Lewis about ACMI's Beings exhibition also sit on the clearly jam-packed program. And, if you need more highlights, you can hit up everything from a workshop on indie games and a panel at the Melbourne Planetarium about living beyond the earth through to The Huxleys diving into their work and Living Light immersing you in the glow from bioluminescent bacteria. [caption id="attachment_957842" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of 100 Circles, presented by Revival Projects, on display from 23 May–26 May at Warehouse 2, Revival Projects, in Melbourne Design Week 2024. Photo: Tim Carrafa.[/caption] Top image: Installation view of Squiggles and Cubes, presented by Meagan Streader and Billy Horn, on display from 23 May—2 June at The Tie Factory as part of Melbourne Design Week 2024. Photo: Sean Fennessy.
There's bucketloads of comfort food to be found at Prahran hot-spot, The Smith. The well-known gastropub is hosting a series of all-you-can-eat Wednesday night feasts, starring its signature crispy fried chook. You'll want to book yourself in for either the 6pm or 8.15pm session to score a bottomless bucket of fried chicken for just $20. Hit the sauce station to load up on house-made condiments, including the fiery 'Hot Hot' sauce and a cask-aged bourbon barbecue drop. Meat-free, bottomless fried cauliflower buckets clock in at the same price. Fancy taking it to the next level? You can add on two hours of free-flowing bubbly from The Smith's prosecco fountain for an extra $30. The only catch is that everyone on your table has to partake in the two-hour bottomless buckets session — but we're sure it won't be too hard to find a few mates down for some finger lickin' hump day feasting. Bookings are recommended and can be done through the website.
There's a lot to explore around Canterbury, but visitors to Maling Road who love fashion and homewares can't forget to check out Coco & Chloe. Named after the owner and her sisters' puppies — who also happen to be siblings — the selection of products tend to be just as cute. Across clothing, accessories and an eclectic range of homewares, basically everything available is bursting with colour. From stylish portable speakers to planners, perfume and winter wear, Coco & Chloe truly embodies the timeless appeal of Maling Road.
French food is one of the most technical and sophisticated cuisines out there. Or is it? Resto BoBo, the latest haunt to join Chapel Street's restaurant lineup, is out to prove that simple (and unpretentious) French food exists with a menu that you can mostly eat with your hands. Resto BoBo's signature dish is tarte flambée, which is basically a French pizza. A traditional Alsatian offering, the crispy, pizza-like base is topped with crème fraîche or melted cheese and a simple smattering of meats, vegetables and herbs. Tarte flambée has a rich history in France, gaining popularity as a snack food at local village gatherings. It's about bringing people together, which is exactly what the folks behind Resto BoBo wanted to recreate with their Windsor eatery. Owner Dan Xerri spent four years living in Strausbourg eating his way through the city's many exceptional restaurants when he realised he wanted to bring a slice of the country's culinary culture back home. After three months working with local chefs and learning to perfect tarte flambée, Xerri returned to Melbourne to open BoBo. Dan hopes the simple space can provide an insight into lesser-known French foods and give punters a place to enjoy good conversation and great company. While tarte flambée takes centre stage at the venue, those who venture beyond the restaurant's signature dish will find a selection of gourmet salads, cheese and charcuterie boards on offer, with both French and Victorian ingredients making an appearance. Keeping on theme, the wine list consists of French and Victorian drops for the ultimate French feast. Resto BoBo is now open at 110 Chapel Street, Windsor from 5.30pm till late, Wednesday through Sunday. For more info visit restobobo.com.au.
Every major exhibition gives art lovers two gifts: the joy of discovering what'll display on its walls and halls when that first announcement hits, and the thrill of actually seeing the end results IRL while wandering, peering and contemplating. With Boston Dynamics robot dogs, work by Yoko Ono, a collaboration with Paris haute couture house Schiaparelli, and Tokyo-based artist Azuma Makoto's room-sized tribute to plants all on the just-revealed NGV Triennial 2023 bill, that initial round of delights starts now. Since 2017, the Melbourne-based National Gallery of Victoria has hosted the art showcase every three years, with this upcoming summer's iteration from Sunday, December 3, 2023–Sunday, April 7, 2024 the third. Designed to provide a portrait of the world each time it is staged — if art trends and breakthroughs; the artists making them; and the themes, ideas and events they're responding to — each NGV Triennial delivers a hefty program. This time, there'll be 75 works from 100-plus artists, complete with more than 25 world-premiere projects, all tying into the themes of magic, matter and memory. [caption id="attachment_896126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Azuma Makoto, Block Flowers 2020 ©️ Azuma Makoto Courtesy the artist.[/caption] A big highlight: those mechanical pooches, who will also show off their very good painting skills. This clearly isn't Black Mirror, with Polish-born Agnieszka Pilat training the robot dogs to make art, which NGV Triennial attendees can then watch happen. They'll create a monolithic durational work, with Pilat exploring technology's power in modern life in the process. While attending NGV Triennial is free, you won't have to go inside the NGV International on St Kilda Road to see Yoko Ono's contribution. Drawing upon six decades making art, including her famed Instruction Pieces and major public art commissions, she's providing a large-scale text-based piece that'll display on the building's façade. [caption id="attachment_896130" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Sheila Hicks's Nowhere to go 2022 at Off Grid, The Hepworth Wakefield, United Kingdom. Proposed acquisition, NGVWA.Courtesy the artist and Alison Jacques.[/caption] One of the joys of an exhibition like this is the sheer variety of works — although Schiaparelli's involvement would be a standout anyway. Artistic Director Daniel Roseberry is picking items from recent collections to display, plus a range of gilded surrealist accessories and body adornment. And, as well as showing his penchant for pushing boundaries and pairing art and fashion, there's set to be a celestial theme. Also immersive: Makoto's homage to nature, specifically plants and their magic, beauty and life force. The artist is freezing Australian flowers and botanicals into acrylic blocks, then combining them with a multi-screen film about the life and death of blooms. Yes, you'll be thinking about nature while you take it in. [caption id="attachment_896127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] David Shrigley, Really Good, 2016, bronze, 680 x 380 x 160 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London © David Shrigley. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.[/caption] Tracey Emin is also contributing a series of works, including five-metre-high text-based neon light installation based on the British artist's own handwriting. From Paris-based and American-born sculptor Sheila Hicks, Nowhere to Go will stack her blue-hued bulbous sculptures against a wall. Or, there's David Shrigley's Really Good — a seven-metre-high thumbs-up. Elsewhere, the massive one-hundred-metre-long woven fish fence, Mun-dirra, was made over two years by ten artists and their apprentices from the Burarra language group Maningrida, Arnhem Land — while large-scale commission Megacities is tasking ten street photographers to snap Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Delhi, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Seoul, Lagos, Tokyo and Mexico City in all their urban glory. Don't miss Hugh Hayden's The end installation, which recreates a primary-school classroom but gets apocalyptic with branches and dodo skeletons. The full list of featured artists also spans Petrit Halilaj, Betty Muffler, Hoda Afshar and Fernando Laposse, plus Flora Yukhnovich, Yee I-Lann, Joyce Ho, Shakuntala Kulkarni and SMACK — and more, obviously. [caption id="attachment_896128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of the NGV.[/caption] "In the three years since the last NGV Triennial, the world has experienced a great many structural shifts, including a global pandemic. Through the work of more than 100 artists, designers, architects and collectives from Australia and around the world, the NGV Triennial offers a powerful insight into the ideas and concerns empowering creative practice in 2023," said NGV Director Tony Ellwood, announcing the program. "The artists, designers and architects of our time play an important role in helping us to understand, navigate and relate to the world around us. The 2023 NGV Triennial offers audiences a valuable opportunity to experience new and surprising forms of creative expression from around the globe, which, together, present a compelling snapshot of the world as it is, while also asking how we would like it to be." [caption id="attachment_896129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Hugh Hayden's The End 2022. Courtesy of the artist.[/caption] NGV Triennial 2023 will display from Sunday, December 3, 2023–Sunday, April 7, 2024 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Head to the gallery's website for further details. Top image: Aaron Richter.
Instead of masses of birthday cake and party hats, Hawthorn's Lido Cinemas is celebrating its fourth birthday with seven days of $7 move tickets. The eight-screen theatre, which opened in 2015, is known for its unique programming, featuring cult classics, lots of Australian hits and lesser-known international films. It also has a rooftop cinema, a hidden jazz room and a slew of left-of-centre special events, like its current Keanu Reeves-A-Thon. But, back to the birthday. From December 12–18, you'll be able to treat your bestie, mum or date to a film for just $7 each — or splash out and go to one every night (at least its cool inside). Some of the films you'll be able to catch during the week include star-studded whodunnit Knives Out, festive rom-com Last Christmas and Oscar contender Marriage Story. The cheap tix are not available for special events or Lido on the Roof sessions. [caption id="attachment_752811" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Knives Out[/caption] If you're a Movie Club member (or happy to sign up for $21 a year), you'll also get access to a week of daily-changing food and drink deals. On Thursday there are $3 choc tops, Friday has $4 shooners and you can grab popcorn for just $3 on Monday. You can check out the rest of them over here. We suggest you book in quick, as the films expected to sell out.
If Parasite and Burning introduced you to the spectacular world of Korean cinema, we have great news: there's much, much more where they came from. As well as delivering two of the very best movies of 2019, Korea's film industry is filled with other gems. And, each year, the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) brings the latest and greatest to local screens. In 2020, KOFFIA in streaming its lineup to everyone's screens, actually. Adapting to the pandemic, the fest has curated a program of 18 features that'll be available to watch digitally nationwide from Thursday, October 29–Thursday, November 5. Plus, if you need some extra motivation to spend more time staring at your TV or phone, the event is entirely free. On the bill: crime caper By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture, sporting comedy My Punch-Drunk Boxer and sibling drama Family Affair, the latter of which stars Parasite's Jang Hye-jin. Or you can check out the multiple stories in Fukuoka, page-to-screen adaptation Kim Ji-young: born 1982 and assassination thriller The Man Standing Next. The list goes on — but you will need to note the exact date and time that each film is available, with every title only on offer to start viewing within 30 minutes of its scheduled timeslot. Also, courtesy of SBS On Demand's free Korean Film Festival Selects, seven more flicks from past KOFFIAs will be available to stream — at your leisure — from Sunday, November 1–Sunday, November 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT5w9y7OVy8
There's still a good few months before the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) wraps up construction and unveils its multimillion-dollar makeover. But we've already been given a sneak peek of the new-look centre, thanks to a virtual fly-through video. We've also been told one of its star attractions will be a permanent ode to Mad Max. Once the revamp is completed in mid-2020, ACMI will boast a roomier, light-filled interior, with schmancy technology used to create a "globally connected museum of the future". Its design comes courtesy of Melbourne firm BKK Architects, while construction company Built is heading up the build. ACMI's also set to score a new edition of its ever-popular, permanent moving image exhibition, the result of a collaboration with experiential design studio Second Story. The free exhibition will dive deep into the history of the moving image with the help of cutting-edge technology and a range of immersive experiences. And one of the standout installations is a car that's half Mad Max Interceptor, half Bush Mechanics creation. One side nods to the contribution Mad Max director George Miller has made to Aussie film, featuring a futuristic machine crafted by Fury Road car designer Cameron Manewell. The other was created by Melbourne production house Rebel Films and painted in the Northern Territory by Yuendumu artists Thomas Jangala Rice and Francis Jupurrula Kelly, paying homage to the 2001 reality TV series. [caption id="attachment_751351" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Constellation[/caption] A world-first piece of technology dubbed The Lens will also make its debut here. It's a portable device that's used to collect information while moving through the exhibition, as well as offering access to a large-scale digital activation titled The Constellation. Elsewhere, you'll find spaces like the Media Preservation Lab, which gives a glimpse into ACMI's film and digital media preservation process; the Foley Room, where visitors can have a crack at creating their own soundtrack and sound effects; and the Gandel Digital Future Labs, offering a series of hands-on digital learning experiences. While ACMI is undergoing renovations, its shows, films and exhibitions have taken up residence at the Treasury Theatre and the recently reopened Capitol Theatre. To check out its programming at the Treasure and Capitol theatres, head to the ACMI website. ACMI is set to reopen in mid-2020.
Trust your nose to guide you to Queen Victoria Market this winter, as this culinary hub embraces truffle season. A go-to destination for the luxurious ingredient, this year's growing season is expected to be a seismic one, meaning more flavourful creations in your future. Best of all, the increased supply means getting a taste of this delicacy isn't quite so hard on your wallet. With the Queen Victoria Market serving up two ways to celebrate, the Truffle Treasures Trail is a free, self-guided adventure spanning the market's most cherished truffle products. Featuring over 30 truffle-laced items, there's cannoli, infused oils, cheeses, salamis and more to explore, with some bites available for as little as $7. Yet the headline act is RIPE Cheese's viral truffle toastie. Seek it out to feast on golden sourdough, melty mozzarella, cheddar and truffle honey, layered with 10 grams of freshly shaved Australian black truffle. Meanwhile, hunt down Cannoleria's truffle and dark chocolate cannoli or Big Vic Deli's squid ink truffle salami to discover the fungus at its most inventive. For truffle lovers keen for a deeper experience, the Ultimate Truffle Tour offers a two-hour, expert-led adventure through the market's food halls. Tasting truffle products from varied vendors every step of the way, it runs on Saturday, July 12 and Saturday, August 16. Tickets are $99 for adults and $59 for children, with bookings essential.
Perched just above Thornbury's High Street, this stunning, light-filled yoga studio and wellness space offers an ideal escape from the chaos of the main street below. Upon entering, it's hard not to feel a sense of immediate calm thanks to the space's soothing colour palette and minimalist decor. The space offers different types of yoga for all ability and flexibility levels, including an approachable ten-week course for beginners to begin to understand and connect with their own practice. For more advanced students, teacher training courses are also run here. Aside from yoga, Prana House offers a diverse wellness program that includes counselling, naturopathy, reiki and more. The space also hosts regular events with external practitioners.
Want to be beside the sea in the heart of St Kilda? Pick The Prince Hotel, which happily sits just a short tram ride away from the Melbourne CBD and a quick stroll from the sand. Here, you'll find comfortable yet polished modern rooms that look to be pulled straight out of a design magazine, with the hotel rocking an upscale beach vibe while also highlighting the building's art deco architecture heritage. This helps make it one of our favourite hotels in Melbourne. There are six different suite styles available at The Prince, decked out with elegant pops of colour and specially commissioned photography works by Tom Blachford and Kate Ballis. On-site wining and dining options are in strong supply between the Mediterranean-accented Prince Dining Room, the recently-revamped Prince Public Bar and the boutique wine bar Little Prince Wine. And if you're up for a night out on the town, all you have to do is head to the hotel's iconic Prince Bandroom, where some of the city's best live acts have been known to frequent. Top image: Tom Blachford Appears in: The Best Hotels in Melbourne
Fans of caffeinated cocktails, your time to shine has arrived. The Ascot Lot is bringing back one of its most popular drinks fiestas, dedicated to the humble espresso martini. Running from Saturday, June 11–Sunday, June 12, the Espresso Yourself festival is set to dish up a caffeine-charged celebration showcasing no less than five signature espresso martini varieties. The team's been hard at work creating coffee cocktails for all tastes; from the orange-infused Jaffa Smasher, to the blend of coconut, chocolate and espresso they call the Bounty Hunter. Swing by the food truck park from noon to sample all five varieties, including an expertly crafted traditional version, of course. The cocktails will be going extra cheap at just $12 a pop all weekend, or you can grab a $49 Espresso Yourself Pass to sample the whole lot in one sitting. As always, there'll be plenty of food trucks on hand and stacks of dogs to pat, plus DJ's dishing up tunes right through the day. Espresso Yourself will run till 10pm on Saturday and 9pm on Sunday.
If your love for Melbourne typically leans into laneways, lattes and designer fashion labels — conveniently forgetting its status as the sporting capital of Australia — then you may not have had the opportunity to check out Marvel Stadium. But there are plenty of reasons to pay the stadium a visit when it's not a game day — here are some of our favourites. The World-Class Events Beyond the regularly scheduled AFL programming, Marvel Stadium regularly hosts an array of concerts and live performances. This year, it has played host to P!nk's Summer Carnival Tour, the biggest-selling tour for a female artist at the Stadium. There are plans to welcome Coldplay for their Music of the Spheres World Tour, Pearl Jam's Dark Matter World Tour, and the return of the highly anticipated Stadium Golf, where people can tee off from Levels 1, 2 and 3 onto the transformed field of play. Check out more world-class events on the website. The Elevated Experience Spaces Most global cities in the world pride themselves on their world-class venues. Melbourne is no exception, with the $225 million refurbishment of Marvel Stadium elevating its status to one of the busiest multi-purpose stadiums on earth. Marvel Stadium's refurbishment has introduced revamped facilities and improved accessibility across the board. This means it's now full of impressive function spaces with the capacity to accommodate up to 10,000 guests for formal dinners, galas and major conferences. In the aptly named Skyline Room, guests can enjoy panoramic views of Melbourne City from the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, entering the space via Penfolds Champagne Bar. The venue's main entry point, Gates 2 and 3, has also been transformed into Stadium Square, a modern precinct that serves as a gateway to all things entertainment. This two-level hub features a massive Super Screen for live broadcasts, making it an ideal spot for live-site watch parties of events like the Super Bowl and NBA Finals. Stadium Square is also an ideal space to soak up the atmosphere before or after a game or concert, with food outlets such as Earl, 8Bit Burgers, bars, restaurants — more dining options below. Marvel Stadium is also the first in the southern hemisphere to feature a checkout-free retail offering, 'The Runner,' powered by Amazon's Just Walk Out technology. An Australian Exclusive Retail Store If you're a Marvel megafan (or happen to know one), the on-site Super-Store is one to put on your hit list. Located at the Gate 5 entrance, the outlet is the ultimate destination for exclusive Marvel products. Whether you're looking for collectible bobbleheads, superhero apparel or toys, this dedicated Marvel merchandise store is the only one of its kind in Australia, offering a shopping experience that is as thrilling as a down-to-the-buzzer game at the stadium itself. The store also sells AFL merch if you have a sports superfan in your life. The Super-Store is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, with extended hours on event days. The Wide Range of New Dining Options It's no secret that Melburnians take their food seriously. Marvel Stadium does a pretty good job of dishing up some top-notch culinary offerings. Start with a feed at Stadium Square, where you will find everything from casual bites to gourmet meals. Additional dining selections are available at Gate 5 and include Korean fried chicken from Gami Chicken, burgers by 8Bit as mentioned, Hunky Dory's famed fish and chips, Greek grub at Yamas, and 400 Gradi Pronto's delicious pizzas. The Peroni Bar and Craft Bar offers cracking craft bevvies, and event-day drinks (and excellent field vistas) are available on the menu at View Bar and The Johnnie Walker Bar. For breathtaking views and an unforgettable atmosphere our tip is to take the glass elevator through Gate 5 straight up to the Stadium Rooftop, only open on event days. In addition to panoramic views of the Melbourne City Skyline, this space features two themed bars, Edward and Alfred, slinging a curated selection of beverages to provide a top-tier experience (literally and figuratively). The Highlight Dining Experiences: Friends of Fire and Amphora For those with champagne tastes, Marvel Stadium has you covered with two elevated epicurean experiences. Both venues are spearheaded by renowned culinary directors Shannon Martinez and Aaron Rodrigues, so you know the menus are going to be a step up from the type of food you have come to expect at a football stadium. Friends of Fire, an American-style steakhouse, focuses on woodfired barbecue grilling and Southern, New England and New York City-style fare, while modern diner Amphora offers share plates and towers for seafood, meat lovers and vegans to show there's more to American cuisine than just burgers and hot dogs. Whether you're a local Marvel fan or an interstate traveller on the hunt for an elevated experience (in more ways than one), there's always something happening at the revamped Marvel Stadium. Not just for Marvel fans or sports enthusiasts, this multi-purpose venue caters to all walks of life. Come and see for yourself. For more information about what's on at Marvel Stadium or to book tickets to one of its events, visit the website.
White Night's hustle and bustle is back again — and, because one evening isn't enough, it's tripling its duration. Called White Night Reimagined, the revamped festival will take over the city with installations, music, performances and other one-off cultural happenings, including a subterranean bar underneath Federation Square. Fancy joining in the fun, but avoiding the huge crowds? From Thursday, August 22 to Saturday, August 24, you can climb down to Fed Square's depths, all as part of its second Sensory Underground pop-up. The first one, an immersive restaurant scheduled for the end of July, has proven such a hit that it'll return as a bar. Think futuristic lights, sensory installations and plenty of drinks, all beneath street level. With its feast of sights, sounds, scents, textures and tastes, the White Night Reimagined Asahi After Dark Bar also forms part of Fed Square's Anything But Square Festival, so you won't be lacking in things to do over the jam-packed three days. To find the space, you'll need to enter through Platform 13 at Flinders Street Station. Then, once inside, you'll sip brews surrounded by light installations by artist Kit Webster, listen to music by English electro musician Rival Consoles, watch performances by Paul Findlay and immersive yourself in a virtual reality wellness spa by local tech studio Phoria. Tickets cost $20 per person for a two-hour visit, with the White Night Reimagined Asahi After Dark Bar running three sessions each evening: from 7–9pm, 9–11pm, and 11–late. Images: courtesy Kit Webster.
Science Gallery Melbourne's inaugural exhibition tackles a complicated subject, head-on. Running from Thursday, January 20–Saturday, June 18, Mental: Head Inside dives into a whole swag of different perspectives on the topic of mental health, aiming to unravel problematic societal biases and stereotypes. The interactive exhibition showcases more than 20 experimental projects from various artists and researchers, which use science, technology and creativity to really explore different ways of being. Among them, you'll find a space of reflection created by Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara artist Rosie Kalina that looks at the mental health impacts of racism and colonisation; a sensory project by UK artist Nwando Ebizie that captures the effects of the rare neurological disorder Visual Snow; and a performance work by Melbourne's Mary Angley and Caithlin O'Loghlen offering a glimpse into the realm of the wellness influencer and just what goes into creating that perfect image. Through it all, Mental sets out to champion lived experience, created in collaboration with a cast of young people who've shared their own stories from right across the mental health spectrum. [caption id="attachment_840763" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of 'Hello Machine - Hello Human', Rachel Hanlon, from Mental: Head Inside at Science Gallery Melbourne, 2021. Photo: Alan Weedon.[/caption] Top Images: Installation view of 'Wheel', Hiromi Tango and Dr Emma Burrows; Installation view of 'Selfcare_4EVA', Mary Angley and Caithlin O'Loghlen; Installation view of 'Even in Fear', Zhou Xiqohu, and 'Kind Words', Ziba Scott. All from 'Mental: Head Inside' at Science Gallery Melbourne, 2021. Photos: Alan Weedon
When Keith Haring visited Australia for the first and only time in 1984, he left a mark in more ways than one. Among a slew of works he created at the likes of the Collingwood Technical College and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the renowned US artist also painted a temporary mural on the NGV's famed Water Wall, becoming the first to ever do so. Now, the gallery is bringing back this famed, but fleeting work, for its upcoming exhibition, Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines. To accompany the world-first exhibition, which runs from December 1, 2019, to April 13, 2020, the NGV will recreate Haring's Water Wall mural at the same site, 35 years on. It'll see the original piece reimagined in the form of an eye-catching vinyl graphic, unveiled on November 22 and sticking around for the exhibition's duration. [caption id="attachment_750049" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Keith Haring preparing an artwork on the Water Wall at the NGV. Photo: Geoffrey Burke.[/caption] Haring's 1984 work was crafted over two days and featured an interwoven drawing in white, red and black paint. Staying true to the artist's distinctive signature style, it incorporated a snake, a crawling baby, a mushroom cloud and a dolphin, among other simplified figures. Haring himself said of the mural: "It's a series of images about life and things which threaten life. Maybe it's a kind of play on good and evil, but I prefer people to read it however they want to." The Crossing Lines exhibition is set to showcase over 200 works from across both Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat's careers, reflecting on the many similarities that can be drawn between their lives, practices and ideas. Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines runs from December 1, 2019, to April 13, 2020, at the National Gallery of Victoria International, Melbourne. The mural recreation will be on display from November 22, 2019, to April 13, 2020. Top images: Keith Haring preparing an artwork on the Water Wall at the NGV. Photos: Geoffrey Burke.
Winter is in the air — literally — at Johnny's Green Room. Following an extensive Med-inspired makeover last year, the Lygon Street rooftop also scored and a mini winter update earlier this month, which saw part of the space encased within glass sliding panels. Bespoke woollen blankets are also handed out for extra cosy vibes, plus the food and drink menus have been rejigged for cold weather hangs. To celebrate its seasonal makeover, the rooftop bar is throwing a Welcome to Winter party on Thursday, June 27. For $40 per person, guests will get to sample roaming woodfire pizzas as well as cocktail tasters from the venue's new drinks menu. Edd Fisher (Wax'O Paradiso) and Misty Nights will also be on the decks throughout the night, setting the mood for a big late-night party. When visiting, you'll likely notice that the rooftop bar's winter update is somewhat inspired by the Italian Alps — but thankfully, not too heavily. You won't find skis mounted on the walls or fake snow falling from the sky — instead, it's mostly seen in the new food and drink offerings. Culinary Director Karen Martini has reworked the menu to reflect what's in season and Matthew Bax has played around with the cocktail menu to make it more winter-friendly. Leaning into the theme, each section of the cocktail menu is even divided into four sections inspired by Italian ski run difficulty levels — verde, blu, roddo and nera. During the party, you'll be sampling sips from each of these sections. Johnny's Green Room is working hard to make sure Melbourne's rooftop season lasts well beyond summer. Images: Arianna Leggiero.
The heartiest cheese board our tums have ever been served. Squeeze through the front doors on a Tuesday and order the $30 special: five cheeses (ossau-iraty ewe's milk, roquefort ash-wrapped goat's, triple cream brie, washed rind taleggio, blue) served with a rustic pais-carignan blend fermented in a wooden pipeno. Come back on Friday and the tapas are free until 8pm. This place has so many nooks, that any comfort can be found — snuggle up in a leather booth in the front bar, or find a stool in the expansive courtyard out back. On Fridays the DJ decks come alive. For those looking to test their heckling and snookering prowess, there's a shed out back with pool table.
If catching a wave as your favourite DJ drops his hit song seems like the stuff of your dreams, you may be in luck thanks to this new Tullamarine music and surfing event. Melbourne surf park Urbnsurf and the new touring event from the minds behind Beyond the Valley, For the Love, have come together for a mix of music, food and gnarly waves. After originally being scheduled for the weekend of Friday, February 19, the three-day event series was postponed due to Melbourne's snap five-day lockdown. The event will now take place over two weekends starting Saturday, March 20 — and has expanded to five days with a 15-strong act lineup. On the lineup you'll find the likes of Gold Coast DJ and former surfer Fisher, Sydney folk heartthrob Matt Corby and aviation-themed dance duo Flight Facilities, as well as Ocean Alley, Mallrat, Hayden James, Julia Stone and a whole bunch more. Australian clothing label Nana Judy will be hosting a VIP section to add some glam to the event, and of course on-site farm-to-table eatery Three Blue Ducks will be providing food out of its new Melbourne digs adjacent to Urbnsurf. For the Love will be using some of the profits to help clean up oceans and beaches through its Music for Oceans initiative. Tickets are available here.
Two-hatted gourmet restaurant Navi plans to help ease the winter blues with a series of Winter Warmer events. From May to July, local drinks producers will set up camp in the restaurant's neighbouring bar, Navi Lounge, mixing custom cocktails and designing pairing experiences. Each month will feature a distinct partnership. The series launches in May with a collaboration with Western Australian distillery Republic of Fremantle. Navi's Bar Manager Miriam Wahlhütter will create a specialty cocktail featuring Republic of Fremantle's gin, paired with a house-made sweet persimmon vermouth, daikon brine and lemon juice. On Wednesday and Thursday nights in May, Navi Lounge will also be hosting a 'sips and snacks' menu of mini martinis and small bites for $25, including a dill and daikon martini, a sake and rose martini, and a green strawberry and winter citrus martini. Walk-ins are welcome, or reservations are available at the website.
We're all very familiar with the sights and sounds of a buzzy full restaurant, the chefs behind the pass doing what they love and crowds of diners gathered to enjoy their work. But lockdown has presented a sombre flip side of this; those same restaurants emptied of life and standing eerily silent, as the hospitality world waits to return. It's these more intimate scenes that a documentary project Empty Chairs At Empty Tables has set out to capture. The compelling photographic series and accompanying film are the work of photographer Mark Chew, and his son Archie Chew and partner Alicia Easaw-Mamutil, both videographers (Alicia + Archie). With most of their regular work on hold due to lockdowns, the trio completed a pandemic pivot of their own, turning their skills towards a new project exploring the realities of a hospitality industry in hibernation. Seven local chefs and restaurateurs feature in the series, shot in Mark's signature documentary style, including Guy Grossi, Karen Martini and France Soir's Jean Paul Prunetti, each captured in striking black and white, sitting in their own empty restaurant. "I wanted to show what it's really like, what restaurants and chefs look like when they're not doing what they're destined to do," Mark explained to Concrete Playground. "We didn't want it to be too negative. We wanted to give the chefs the opportunity to talk about why it's hard for them [and] what's at the end of the tunnel." And the stories confirm that the reality of venue closures goes well beyond silent dining rooms, with each of these restaurants existing as part of its own community. "All the chefs made the point that cooking the food is a big part of it, but it's not all of it," the photographer said. "It's about the performance and the buzz. There's a little bit of theatre, there's feedback from the customers, interactions. And a lot of that is what keeps them stimulated, keeps them pushing on." The film itself captures another layer, sharing an extra dimension not always accessible by photography alone. "When Mark goes and takes these portraits, there's always these really great stories that come as a result because the actual process involves getting to know these people," explains Archie. "It's nice, with the video you get to see how the photograph is made." [caption id="attachment_826728" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "It's what I know...It's what our family knows...It's what we've done traditionally over three generations...My Dad was proud of this city...To see it on its knees...sometimes brings a tear to your eye..." — Guy Grossi of Grossi Florentino.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_826729" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "You miss the energy of service...We're cooking all this food and sending it to faceless people. It's the monotony... you pack it...it goes into a box and it's goodbye to you!" — Hannah Green & Rosheen Kaul of Etta.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_826730" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "Society needs these links....to have people happy in the head...to communicate with each other...we have basically lost all that..." — Jean Paul Prunetti of France Soir[/caption] [caption id="attachment_826731" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "In hospitality you are always presented with different challenges....and you can go up or down or around or under.... open longer...adjust your hours...adjust the menu...change the décor. You can pretty much adapt.... But there is no adapting to being told you cannot open." — Karen Martini of Hero.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_826735" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "Being in a restaurant, working in kitchen or front of house...it's kind of like a big family. And when you're not with your family...It is hard ...right?" — Khanh Nguyen of Aru.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_826726" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "Hospitably is more than just business...with the restrictions we have in place just now...hospitality becomes purely about business ...purely about staying afloat." — Daniel Leuzzi of Freddy's Pizza.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_826732" align="alignnone" width="1920"] "Without a covid pandemic hospitality is fucking hard. It hurts, its painful if you want to do it well. Perhaps it's not worth it now...that's an idea that's popped up." — Tom Giurioli of Freddy's Pizza.[/caption] While Empty Chairs At Empty Tables digs into an unfortunate chapter of Melbourne's hospitality story, it also gives an optimistic nod towards the — hopefully — not too distant future, when the industry is allowed to blossom again. And it serves as a reminder of why these passionate people are so important to our community. As Archie reflects: "It's about so much more than just food." Check out the full film here: See more of the project over at Mark Chew's website and Instagram page, and the Alicia + Archie website and Instagram. Top Images: 1) Guy Grossi of Grossi Florentino; 2) Hannah Green & Rosheen Kaul of Etta; 3) Jean Paul Prunetti of France Soir; 4) Karen Martini of Hero; 5) Khanh Nguyen of Aru; 6) Daniel Leuzzi of Freddy's Pizza; 7) Tom Giurioli of Freddy's Pizza.
If you thought there was some pretty good drinking to be found here in your own backyard, it turns out you were spot on. Sydney has proven it's delivering some world-class drinks skills, with new entrant Maybe Sammy nabbing a spot in this year's prestigious World's 50 Best Bars awards – the only Australian bar to do so. And as if ranking at number 43 on the list wasn't enough, the cocktail bar also beat out plenty of contenders to be named the awards' Best Bar in Australasia. Not too shabby at all, considering co-owners Stefano Catino, Vince Lombardo and Andrea Gualdi only opened the bar in The Rocks at the start of this year. Catino said he is "blown away" by the ranking, saying a big thanks to the team for bringing their "clear vision" for the bar to life. Referencing the glam hotel bars of the world, while pulling inspiration from the 50s Rat Pack's era, Maybe Sammy has made quite a splash in its first few months of life. Its luxurious styling nods to old-school Vegas glamour, all blush pink velvet banquettes and lush indoor greenery, while the list of theatrical signature drinks pays homage to the classics. [caption id="attachment_744476" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vince Lombardo and Stefano Catino at the awards.[/caption] This isn't Maybe Sammy's first time in the winner's circle, either — it also took out the title of Best New International Cocktail Bar at the revered Spirited Awards in the US earlier this year, and bartender Guali was the Australian bartender of the year in 2017 for his work at sister venue Maybe Frank. And while Sydney might have trailed behind a certain southern city in this year's Global Liveability Index, you could argue it reigns supreme when it comes to drinkability. Melbourne scored just one spot in the World's 50 Best Bars' 51-100 list for 2019, with long-time contender Black Pearl clocking in at number 80. As well as claiming the country's only Top 50 position, Sydney had three other bars in the mix for the Top 100: PS40 ranking at 95th, The Baxter Inn placing 79th and long-running favourite Bulletin Place taking 66th spot. Just saying. The best of them all, though, is New York's all-day restaurant-bar Dante's — it was named the World's Best Bar at the ceremony in London earlier this morning, jumping up from its 2018 position of 9th. The World's 50 Best Bars awards were this year judged by 510 expert voters across 58 countries. If you're in Sydney, you can drop by Maybe Sammy for a celebratory drink — the bar does a $5 happy hour on mini martinis, negronis and irish coffees from 4.30–5.30pm. You can check out the full lineup of the World's 50 Best Bars 2019 here, and see 51-100 here.
The family-friendly suburb of Bentleigh East isn't exactly booming in the breakfast business, but Astroluxe might be changing that. The odd kid out on dilapidated Chesterville Road, Astroluxe is delivering unpretentiously refined dishes for an area in dire need of fresh faces. The interior is by design firm Robson Rak Architects, who — usually well-known for high-end residential work —have made this their first foray into hospitality. As such, Astroluxe features sleek, custom-designed steel lights that sit above the cafe's open kitchen, vintage woollen couches and upmarket marble benchtops, and bring the space together nicely. It's warm, yet polished, and there are plans for an outdoor garden in time for spring. The menu itself reflects what co-owners Adam Nicholl and Stu and Tanya Billard enjoy eating. With a strong focus on local produce (meat and vegetables are sourced from the butcher and grocer on the same shopping strip) the offering incorporates a refreshingly mismatched range of flavours. American, Asian and Middle Eastern-inspired dishes all make cheeky appearances throughout. The menu rotates seasonally, but at the moment highlights include a vibrant Asian soba noodle salad with sliced pan-fried flank steak, shredded cabbage, sprouts, basil, roasted macadamia nuts and a hint of chilli and lime ($19.50). For early morning sweet tooths, fluffy buttermilk pancakes with caramelised banana, French crème patisserie, raspberry, toasted coconut, pistachios, dark chocolate and honey cardamom syrup should more than satisfy ($18). Coffee is by Five Senses and tea comes from Larsen & Thompson. Smoothies, plump milkshakes and a range of organic drinks are also on offer. Plus, Cobb Lane doughnuts on weekends means everyone will be kept astro-nomically happy.
