With seven bars in the one venue, Ms Collins is where you go when you're trying to wrangle a large, undefined group of people and you have one thing on your mind: dancing. It's also where you go when you want to show off. For bottle service to your booth, Dom Perignon, Moet Hennessy and Veuve Clicquot are all top of the drinks menu — ready for that champagne-popping moment in the middle of the club — and, as you're probably ordering a magnum, you get the full mini fireworks treatment, too. For snacks, everything's a lot more affordable — tempura soft shell crab sliders, southern fried chicken ribs and peri peri chicken bao are $12 each, as they know you're not here to feast. But if you're bringing more than four mates, there are after-work drinks and food packages to make splitting the bill that bit easier. Though events have been hit and miss, Ms Collins is also where you'll go to see big-name musicians and entertainers — Kevin Hart, Jaden Smith and Mos Def, have all performed there, for example. And, for the cheap and cheerful, it has free bachata and salsa dance classes on Thursday nights as part of its Latin-themed program.
This Summer is shaping up to be a cinematic treat for movie buffs. The latest Bond film hit cinemas last week, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit will be clogging theatres come Boxing Day and for those who like their movies filled to the brim with obscure pop culture references, gratuitous amounts of stylised violence and a pumping soundtrack, then there is Quentin Tarantino's latest offering Django Unchained. But if you are too busy to get to the cinemas this Summer or you like your pop culture in bite size pieces then check out this awesome video by YouTube aficionado Jonathan Keogh of the "IMDB Top 250 in 2 1/2 Minutes". This manic and masterful mash-up of everything from Gone With The Wind to Fight Club to The Lion King will have you reliving all your favourite movie moments and reenacting history's most iconic movie scenes in front of your bedroom mirror. Set to a remix of The Beatles, Joan Jett, Cypress Hill and House of Pain we must warn you that this video will have you fighting the urge to re-account yourself with your local video store and crying "You can't handle the truth!" at unsuspecting passersby.
With so much to see, do and eat around Singapore, you might be feeling a little lost on how to best navigate the city. While Singapore's streets are renowned for being spotless, the humidity sometimes makes it difficult to wander long distances on foot. Get around by hopping on the efficient — and air-conditioned — Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system instead, which runs from Changi Airport in the east to Tuas Link in the west and through major stops such as Marina Bay, HarbourFront, Chinatown and Little India. The trains operate every 2–8 minutes from 5.30am–12.30am each day and are often conveniently connected to large shopping malls, hawker centres or other attractions through covered passageways. Simply use your existing contactless card or Apple Pay to tap on, or purchase a Singapore Tourist Pass (if you're staying for less than 3-5 days) or EZ-Link Card (if you're staying for longer). With the help of Singapore Tourism, we're spotlighting five MRT stops worth hopping off for along your commute, and what to do near each station. [caption id="attachment_981017" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Afur Wong[/caption] Maxwell Located in the heart of Chinatown, Maxwell is a stop along the Thomson–East Coast line. Jump off here to explore Chinatown and some of the city's top hawker centres as you're travelling from Gardens by the Bay towards Orchard Road. You'll find the famed Maxwell Food Centre right next to the station, which boasts over 100 stalls, including the renowned Tian Tian Chicken Rice. If you're still feeling peckish, the Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, which is the largest hawker centre in Singapore with 260-plus stalls, and the renovated Lau Pa Sat are both a short walk away. After lunch, take a stroll through historic Chinatown with a self-guided walking tour to see sights such as the Sri Mariamman Temple, Masjid Jamae mosque and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, with breaks for sweet treats and coffee in between. Marine Parade Further along the Thomson–East Coast line is Marine Parade, where you can walk or cycle through East Coast Park, refuel at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre, shop at Parkway Parade, and discover Peranakan culture at Katong-Joo Chiat. East Coast Park offers a range of activities for the whole family, from walking and cycling trails to windsurfing, paddleboarding and skateboarding, as well as a plethora of dining options. Katong-Joo Chiat dates back to the early 19th century and was a hub for Eurasian and Peranakan communities. Step back in time and learn about the neighbourhood's rich history at The Intan (a home-turned-museum), Eurasian Heritage Gallery and Katong Antique House, before snapping some photos at the iconic pastel-hued shophouses along Koon Seng Road. Finish up your day of discovery with Peranakan cuisine at Kim Choo Kueh Chang, 328 Katong Laksa or Old Bibik's Peranakan Kitchen. Bayfront You can't go to Singapore without visiting the iconic Marina Bay area. Stop at Bayfront on the Circle or Downtown lines to explore the whole precinct. At Marina Bay Sands, you can sip a sky-high drink at CÉ LA VI, enjoy a free light and water show at the Event Plaza and dance the night away at MARQUEE nightclub. For a more laidback night, take an evening stroll around Marina Bay to snap a photo at the Here is SG sculpture and explore Merlion Park, which is adjacent to the buzzing Fullerton precinct. While you're in the area, make sure to check out other unmissable attractions, such as the sprawling Gardens by the Bay and innovative ArtScience Museum. [caption id="attachment_980376" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Santos[/caption] Little India From ornate temples to vibrant street art and plentiful shopping and food options, Little India is an energetic cultural hub that's worth a stop on the North East or Downtown lines. Follow the self-guided map and visit landmarks such as the Indian Heritage Centre, Tan Teng Niah House and Sri Veerakaliamman Temple. Along the way, you'll be able to browse for Indian homewares, ornaments, jewellery and textiles. If you're really ready to shop, head to Mustafa Centre, which is open 24/7 and sells everything from home appliances and electronics to camping goods, perfume, vintage collectibles and snacks across six levels. Once you've worked up an appetite, sample some local fare at Tekka Centre, which is Singapore's largest indoor wet market and a hawker centre. Other notable eateries in the area are Podi and Poriyal for cocktails and contemporary takes; The Banana Leaf Apolo, which has been serving North and South Indian cuisine since 1974; and Bismillah Biryani, which has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand for eight years straight. [caption id="attachment_980381" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paris Chia[/caption] HarbourFront If you continue on the North East or Circle lines until the final stop, you'll end up at HarbourFront. Alight here for outdoor expeditions to Sentosa or Mount Faber Park, with a break for bites at Seah Im Food Centre. Mount Faber Park is one of the oldest parks in the city and looks out across the southern coast of Singapore. With well-paved pathways, you can easily hike or cycle up to the highest peak at Faber Point. Other sites in the park include a rainbow-coloured stairway, two restaurants, cable car rides to Sentosa, a mini Merlion and even a famous public bathroom with views across the harbour. If heights aren't your thing and you'd rather not take a cable car to reach Sentosa, not to worry — you can also reach the island via car, bus, bike, monorail, or even on foot. You're in for an action-packed day once you're there, with attractions ranging from beaches and an aquarium to a waterpark, go-kart track, adventure park, Universal Studios Singapore, WWII fort and role-playing city for kids. Book your Singapore holiday now with Flight Centre. Top image: Paris Chia Photography. All images courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.
Gorman. Oh, Gorman. The source of literally everyone's fancy first date outfits has just gone and announced that, this Friday, August 25 they'll be giving out thousands of free t-shirts to anyone who proves they've registered to vote. And while you can vote however you feel, the initiative is proudly and loudly in support of the 'yes' vote. In their own words: "Love is love. All people are equal". Damn right. To share in the love, make sure you've verified and updated your enrolment details today — you have until midnight to do so. Then head to your local Gorman store tomorrow and flash the Gormie staff a screenshot of your verified enrolment details to receive a limited edition (and cute as heck) 'love is love' tee for free. The design is based on an earlier collaboration with Monika Forsberg and there are only 5000 of them. Gorman fans are Gorman fans, so we presume you'll have to get in early to nab one. Most importantly, you can check your enrolment details here.
Look, we'd like to preface this with the simple truth that none of us will ever come close to the elegance and mastery of our queen and saviour Beyonce. We will never leap like a slender gazelle, slide like a water snake or bound across the plains like a kangaroo in heels like the nature goddess herself. Most us will probably never even touch our toes. But that doesn't mean you can't leap and dance and play in homage to the swirly cosmos of life and energy that is Beyonce — and now you can do it in the company of other Yonce worshippers. That is, in a Beyonce dance (or yoga) class. Somehow we've ended up with more Beyonce-inspired classes than we know what to do with. So to ensure you get the daily dose of the Queen herself, here's four classes to put in your iCal.
It's hard to believe it's been a whole six years since Ferdydurke first opened its doors. What's easier to wrap your head around is that the much-loved laneway bar is celebrating the occasion with a free birthday party of rather hefty proportions. On Thursday, August 8, the loft-style venue invites you to help blow out some candles as it treats your senses to a giant serve of live tunes, visual art and dazzling installations. Kicking things off from 6pm, right through until 3am, is a lineup packed full of favourites. Locally based light artist Simbiotic Vision will be reworking the venue in its entirety, all two levels, with a sprawling interactive light show installation embracing the night's theme of 'funk futurism'. On the decks and mic, you'll catch the likes of acclaimed hip hop artist and producer IJALE, PBS FM's Mz Rizk, DJ Spell, Kye, Pietro and Walla C. And to match, there'll be a special cocktail offering by the spiced rum experts at Baron Samedi, alongside a craft beer showcase from Victoria brewery Dainton. Image: Jasmine Sim
If Fisher could pick anywhere to put on a massive beachside dance party-slash-music festival, where would he choose? The Gold Coast DJ — and former pro surfer, too — went with his hometown when he started OUT 2 LUNCH, of course. When it debuted in 2024, giving Australia its biggest beach party ever, the event sold out within minutes. For the fest's return in 2025, it's unsurprisingly scaling up. While the first-ever OUT 2 LUNCH took place at Coolangatta Beach and welcomed 30,000 attendees, the second fest is taking over to Surfers Paradise Beach instead — and hosting 40,000-plus music lovers this time around. The dates for your diary: Saturday, May 3–Sunday, May 4. If you're a Queenslander, you'll be excited to know that the festival falls on the Labour Day long weekend. On the lineup, the man behind the fest is on headline duties on both nights at what's set to be the Gold Coast's biggest-ever dance party, with plenty of company from a mix of international names and local acts. Chris Lake, DJ Boring, Little Fritter and Shimmy will also hop behind the decks on the Saturday, while Hayden James, Patrick Topping, Noizu and Jake Smith are set to do the same on the Sunday. Keen to seem them all, including Fisher twice? Two-day tickets are available. If you can only make it on either the Saturday or the Sunday, so are single-day passes. "OUT 2 LUNCH Festival is back this May for the second year running and I can't wait to do it all again!! We've got a great lineup and there's no better place than Surfers Paradise to have a beach bash. Aussies just love a party and I'm ready to put it on for you," said Fisher, announcing the 2025 lineup. Heading along, whether you're a local or travelling from interstate — which plenty did in 2024, resulting in $50 million being injected into the local economy — means helping a great cause, too. Last year, OUT 2 LUNCH raised money for the Starlight Foundation and The Pink Elephants Support Network. This year, it's donating $1 per ticket sold to the Make a Wish Foundation. OUT 2 LUNCH Festival 2025 Lineup Saturday, May 3 Fisher Hayden James Patrick Topping Noizu Jake Smith Sunday, May 4 Fisher Chris Lake DJ Boring Little Fritter Shimmy [caption id="attachment_992031" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anthony Ghnassia[/caption] OUT 2 LUNCH Festival is returning for 2025 across Saturday, May 3–Sunday, May 4 at Surfers Paradise Beach on the Gold Coast — with ticket presales from 9am AEST on Tuesday, February 25 and general sales from 1pm AEST on Wednesday, February 26. Head to the event's website for more details. OUT 2 LUNCH Festival images: tommynortz.
The regional town of Trentham, with a population of about 1200, knows how to draw in big crowds. Every year, the Great Trentham Spudfest attracts a whopping 6000 or so potato lovers from all over Victoria. And now, come Friday, August 2, the population will once again grow for a single night as it hosts Trentham Winterfest. From 4–8pm, Trentham's High and Market Streets will come alive with light displays, food and drink stalls, a campfire, live music, art exhibitions and plenty more. Hotel Trentham will be one of the main pitstops. It'll be covered in light projections, and will also host live gigs and plate up barbecued German-style street eats out the front. You can also sample vinos, spiced cider and baked potatoes from Trentham Food and Wine Company; pork and fries souvlaki and falafels from Annie Smithers du Fermier; burgers, beats and laser beams at Jinky's Food Truck at the historic Trentham railway station; and mulled wine, espresso martinis and pizzas at Trentham General. Elsewhere, The Green Store will become an Aurora Borealis-themed winter wonderland, featuring light displays, face painting, free infrared sauna sessions, s'mores and spiced tea. And Vic Market Square will have a roaming silent disco, a stall slinging warming hot choccies and a roaring campfire where you can toast marshmallows. As you walk around these two main strips in Trentham, you'll come across even more installations, food stalls and local retailers selling their wares. This big country winter festival is well worth the hour-and-15-minute drive.
Brunswick Aces is a new Melbourne-distilled gin with a notable difference: it's 100 percent free from alcohol. Forget tonic water-tasting hangovers, this take on gin is an alternative to sore heads and dehydration that still tastes like a summer garden party. It might be just what you need if you're doing Dry July this year. The gin is made in Brunswick, distilled like alcoholic gin is and made from local ingredients. Alcoholic gins require a careful blending of botanical ingredients, and Brunswick Aces is no different. The company releases small batches of two "gins" — the Spades Blend, which contains lime, pink grapefruit, cardamom, parsley and lemon myrtle, and the Hearts Blend, which is a mix juniper, wattleseed, clove, star anise and ginger. Brunswick Aces' launch follows that of Seedlip, the world's first alcohol-free distilled spirit, which first hit shelves in London in 2015. With its own two variations – Garden and Spice – Seedlip began to bridge the gap between "carefully distilled spirits made with natural ingredients" and "not having a headache on a Sunday for once". Brunswick Aces followed suit, but with local, native Australian ingredients. It can be sipped straight, mixed with tonic, or used as the base for a host of "gin cocktails". Make sure you stock up on limes and cucumbers before Dry July kicks off next week. Brunswick Aces can be purchased through its online store.
Despite primarily being a craft beer destination — Kooinda from West Heidelberg, Hawthorn Pale Ale, Thunder Road from Brunswick and their own Raccoon brew have all been seen on the rotating taps — the Raccoon Club won't be pigeonholed. A largely Victorian wine list, regular rum and whiskey tastings, specialty local spirits and more make this a bar for anyone who likes to drink well. And, with a strict 'no dickheads' policy (that they take very seriously), it really is about drinking better, not more. The atmosphere here is particularly un-pretentious. Run by husband-and-wife team Robert and Helen (who ran the Alphabet City Cafe in Northcote many years ago), the pair are enthusiastic about their offering and work at cultivating the local spirit by learning people's names, chatting to the bar-sitters and protecting everyone's enjoyment by enforcing their aforementioned patronage policy. A beer garden out the front, pool table up the back and plenty of booths, bottles and board games in-between, there really can't be much more you need to have a good time. Oh, perhaps some food to balance all the liquids? No problem. Pick from the local takeaway spots and order in. If you fancy a burger, Chew Burgers is right next door and delivers straight to your table. So, if you've decided to give the Raccoon Club your patronage for the first time, just beware of one thing: it sits very much in isolation. While you may wander happily up High Street, Thornbury, peering into the windows of some interesting shops and cafes, once you hit the junction and veer off up Plenty Road you'll notice a distinct shift in the landscape — you might even need to Google your location just to check you're heading in the right direction. There's really nothing here, save for a Woolworths that's lit up like a beacon, the Junction Hotel (a 'pokies pub') and a few showrooms and apartments. Keep walking still, and you'll be tempted to turn right around. But as you see the lights of Bell Street approaching — and your proximity to Kansas is feeling further out of reach — just walk on, adventurous buddy. For soon you will be rewarded with the sight of The Raccoon Club and its humble, warm embrace.
Aside from that time Bart Simpson called Australia and learnt that Australian toilets drain clockwise (and subsequently had to travel out 'ere to apologise), The Simpsons hasn't really uncovered many of our country's truths. But that's not true anymore with a new Simpsons short — which takes place outside the Sydney Opera House — released online yesterday. In the video, Homer manages to take down our accents, diss Rupert Murdoch, meet the Sydney seal and get attacked by seagulls in little more than a minute. It was created by Matt Groening ahead of his appearance at the Sydney Opera House for their GRAPHIC festival, which will run over one weekend in November. The fest celebrates pop culture and graphic storytelling, animation and music. Groening will be doing a keynote (which has already sold out), as well as a talk with fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry. Finally, the rest of the world can know the truth: the Australian animal to be afraid of isn't snakes — it's seagulls. Watch the full short video below. Video: THE SIMPSONS TM & ©2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
The humble chicken nugget will make its glorious and heroic return to Welcome to Thornbury this March, as part of the fourth annual Chicken Nugget Festival at the inner-north food truck park. If you often rue the day in your adolescence that chicken nuggets became an unacceptable item to eat for dinner, then this is the judgment-free festival for you. Welcome to Thornbury is assembling some of its favourite vendors to deliver one crunchy day dedicated to the nug. Expect a vast array of iterations too, including vegan, teriyaki or spiced-up butter chicken nuggets from the likes of Mr Burger, Maria Taqueria, Philly Cheese Steaks and more. For the little ones and big kids at heart, special Nuggie Boxes featuring three or six-piece nuggets, chips and a suitably themed toy are also on offer. Of course, a wide range of dipping sauces to accompany and coat your nuggs will also be available on the day. And as always, Welcome to Thornbury will be serving up a slew of cocktails and beers to pair with your chicken feast. Live music, a nugget eating competition lovingly dubbed 'Nuggetthon' and nugget merchandise round out the day's lineup. The festival kicks off at midday, bookings are available online — and kids and dogs are welcome. Top image: Supplied.
Among Brisbane's must-do experiences for locals and attractions for tourists, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is one of the most famous. While the Fig Tree Pocket wildlife facility that dates back to 1927 isn't just home to koalas, but also fellow wildlife such as owls, kangaroos, wombats, echidnas, turtles, birds of prey and snakes, it's long been known as the spot in the Sunshine State capital to cuddle a koala. Since Monday, July 1, that's no longer the case, however. The site has announced that it has ended its koala holds "in response to increasingly strong visitor feedback", and will replace it with a new koala close-up experience from Sunday, September 1, 2024. "To address increasing public demand and a concerted effort to embrace more-immersive and educational experiences, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary will be ceasing koala hold experiences," said the site in a statement. Visitor feedback indicated that folks are "wishing to spend longer with the sanctuary's koalas and their passionate wildlife care team, without necessarily holding them," the announcement continued. "We love that there is a shift among both local and international guests to experience Australian wildlife up close, but not necessarily personal, just doing what they do best — eating, sleeping and relaxing within their own space," said Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's General Manager Lyndon Discombe in the same statement. "We have absolutely seen an increase in demand for educational programs and guided experiences, focusing on the ability to witness the natural behaviours of koalas. Once you see them up close and in their wonderful natural state, we hope our guests love and respect them even more." "With the development of koala close-up and the expansion of the sanctuary's existing daily koala encounters (koala moments), Lone Pine will be offering guests increased opportunity to be in the presence of our adorable marsupials and learn about their behaviours, ecology and daily care, as well their unique quirks and personalities." [caption id="attachment_964209" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Christopher Neugebauer via Flickr[/caption] When spring arrives, the new koala close-up give patrons extra time in the koalas' presence, with each session running for 15 minutes for groups of up six people. It does include feeling a koala's fur, but not holding it or getting a complementary photo with it. Lone Pine's koala moments experience covers touching a koala, while the 60-minute koala discovery tour gets you spending one-on-one time with a koala, entering the koala exhibit and seeing behind the scenes at the leaf-sorting area. Still on the adorable marsupials, the venue's platinum tour also weaves in the koala moments experience. [caption id="attachment_964210" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Christopher Neugebauer via Flickr[/caption] The latest change to the Brisbane locale comes after the wildlife sanctuary expanded in 2023 with a new nocturnal precinct. At the night-focused addition, visitors can see koalas, rufus bettons, tree kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, bare-nosed wombats, potoroos, pademelons, bandicoots, bettongs, southern hairy-nosed wombats and echidnas after dark while taking a one-kilometre stroll through a eucalypt planation. "It's an Australian native animal treasure hunt, with the prize being able to see these amazing creatures up close and personal," said Frank Mikula, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Curator, when the nocturnal precinct opened. Patrons get peering using portable thermal imaging cameras, with the experience designed around not disrupting the critters, and instead walking across a new elevated boardwalk that has been custom-designed for the site. [caption id="attachment_964208" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Andrew Thomas via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at 708 Jesmond Road, Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane stopped offering koala holds on Monday, July 1, 2024, and will start its new koala close-ups from Sunday, September 1, 2024. Head to the venue's website for more information and bookings. Top image: Christopher Neugebauer via Flickr.
Six businesses in Healesville — all on the same block — have joined forces to create the Healesville Makers Quarter. Whenever you fancy it, you can jump in your car, drive an hour from the city, and spend an afternoon tasting your way around their creations, from small-batch wines to award-winning gins. In the collection are Four Pillars Gin and Watts River Brewing, alongside four wineries: Jayden Ong, Payten & Jones, No. 7 Healesville and Giammarino. And, on top of teaming up, they've launched an event series called Sip & Stroll. The first happened on the Winter Solstice, and the second will take place on Saturday, September 13, to mark the coming of spring. Arrive anytime after midday for an afternoon of drinks, bites and stories. As you wander from venue to venue, you'll be treated to exceptional wines, limited-edition brews and experimental drops. In between sips, learn about the skill, experience and ideas that went into them — and kick back in the fresh air and rolling hills of the Yarra Valley. You're welcome to take your dog along with you.
"It's more like a doughnut-ice-cream-sundae tortilla hack," says chef Julian Cincotta. The cofounder of Butter in Sydney is usually found racing between restaurants, serving Butter's famed fried chicken and its sought-after cinnamon doughnuts. But, following a chat with Concrete Playground, Cincotta thought it was high time he joined TikTok to give that #TortillaHack a crack. "I've got quite a sweet tooth," he says. "I hadn't seen any sweet takes on the tortilla hack challenge, so this is my version. I think it's deliciously ugly — and pretty fucking tasty." Cincotta's remix isn't fine dining by any stretch of the imagination. It's exceptionally messy to eat, as you'll see from his pics, and supremely easy to make at home — "simplistic elegance at its best," he says. Cincotta's top tip is not to melt the ice cream too much: "make sure it's straight out of the freezer. It's all about that hot-cold sensation with a sweet-savoury bite." And, if you can't get your hands on a couple of Butter's cinnamon doughnuts, you can use any other doughnut, "but they won't be as good," he jokes. "Book an Airbnb and come to Sydney especially." Watch Cincotta's TikTok video to see just how OTT it is. Then, give it a go using the recipe below. [embed]https://vimeo.com/528663156[/embed] RECIPE 2 cinnamon doughnuts 2 scoops of Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream 2 Cadbury Creme Eggs 1 flour tortilla METHOD Lay a tortilla on a chopping board. Use a knife to slice the wrap from the centre to the outer edge. Place two doughnuts on the left-hand side of your tortilla wrap. Add two scoops of ice cream to the top right-hand side of the tortilla. Add two Creme Eggs to the final section. Smash the creme eggs with the palm of your hand. "You could use a spoon or knife, but it's best to get your hands messy," says Cincotta. Fold the tortilla quarters starting from the bottom right-hand corner working anticlockwise. Toast the tortilla in a sandwich press without melting the ice cream too much. Finish with whipped cream, sprinkles and/or chocolate sauce. MORE FOOD PORN Cincotta didn't stop at dessert tortillas. He also remixed the TikTok trend to create a charcoal chicken tortilla with shredded chicken, garlic sauce, lettuce, shoestring fries, gravy, cheese slices and mayo. See the video here. Or, watch how he takes a BLTC and adds fried chicken and thousand island dressing, here. As Cincotta says, "There are no rules. If you want to put a cheeseburger in a tortilla, put a cheeseburger in a tortilla. It's all about personal taste and creativity." Follow Butter on TikTok. Top image: Videohead/Raghav Rampal
The Adelphi Hotel's culinary offering, Om Nom, has switched gears this year. Shaking off its former identity as a dedicated dessert bar and reemerging as a wine and cocktail destination, the venue has reopened the doors following an extended pandemic-forced hiatus. It now boasts a new Head Chef in John Law (Entrecôte) and a broadened food offering championing local produce. Open Friday and Saturday nights, the reimagined Om Nom is a primo spot for snack-matched drinking sessions, especially if you're in the mood for some Victorian wine, and grazing boards loaded with the likes of Milawa Blue and free-range mortadella from Ballarat's Mr Cannubi. Small bites might include options like the chicken liver parfait ($16), cheese croquettes ($16) or a beef tartare ($16) while toasties feature fillings such as Six Farm triple cream brie with Quattro Stelle nduja ($25). Every Friday, Sydney rock oysters are going for just $2 a pop, from 4–7pm or until sold out. Signature cocktail favourites like the Salted Caramel Cracking Espresso and the Make The Call (served in a tiny red telephone booth) will return to star alongside a handful of new creations. [caption id="attachment_810364" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Om Nom's Salted Caramel Cracking Espresso[/caption] Of course, Om Nom hasn't surrendered the sweet stuff entirely — you'll now find a rotating offering of one fruit and one chocolate dessert dish on the regular menu. The renowned weekend high teas have also returned, hosted across two daytime sittings every Saturday and Sunday (12pm and 2.30pm).
Four decades back, and three as well, Clown in a Cornfield would've stood out on a video store's shelves. It would've proven an instant hot rental, in fact. The slasher film just has that kind of title. The immediately evocative name comes from the page, where this tale of a killer jester sparking bloody mayhem rather than big laughs in a rural Missouri community initially appeared courtesy of author Adam Cesare. Not just for its moniker, the book won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Best Young Adult Novel. Eli Craig, the director of Clown in a Cornfield as a film — and its and co-screenwriter with Carter Blanchard (G vs E) — is no stranger to terrific titles himself. He was initially interested in this as his third feature due to its name, because who wouldn't be? That tracks across his career, however; his first two movies also had marvellous monikers. Fifteen years ago, Craig's Tucker and Dale vs Evil started earning horror- and comedy-loving devotees, and now is deservedly considered a 21st-century classic. When Little Evil arrived in 2017, it also had a title that stood out. How much stock does Craig put in a great name for a movie? "I think a great title is what gets people's attention more than almost any marketing. And it's very fun to me to mashup a title in a way that feels provocative — like you say, and unique. And feels like it tells the story," he tells Concrete Playground. "But then when you go see the movie, it actually has a lot more depth and complexity than the title gives you. So for Tucker and Dale vs Evil, it seems kind of silly and goofy — and, of course, it is a very heightened comedy. But it also has these layers of things it's about, and that is much deeper than you would think." "And it's the same with Clown in a Cornfield," Craig continues. "I think once people see it, they'll be like 'oh, this is actually saying a lot of things. It's not just a goofy movie about a clown and a cornfield'." Clown in a Cornfield is definitely a flick about a clown and a cornfield. It makes good on that promise. It also pushes horror further to the fore than Craig's past features did. This is equally a slasher that uses that high-concept premise to dig into generational divides, economic uncertainty, and both capitalism and the American dream gone wrong, though. As it follows high schooler Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas, Ginny & Georgia) and her widower father (Aaron Abrams, Children Ruin Everything) to Kettle Springs, where the latter is about to be the new town doctor — and where the existing resident adults, such as Sheriff Dunne (Will Sasso, George & Mandy's First Marriage) and Mayor Arthur Hill (Kevin Durand, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), yearn for the locale's past, while teens such as Arthur's son Cole (Carson MacCormac, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) are looking forward instead — it has societal bite to go along with its blood and gore. In Clown in a Cornfield, the character that lives up to the movie's moniker is Frendo, the mascot for the local Baypen Factory, which once kept much of the town employed. Since the corn outfit closed down, its harlequin has become a symbol of happiness and prosperity corrupted, embodying everything that Kettle Springs has lost — and sparking that chasm between its authority figures and everyone of their age with the next generation. In both the picture's 90s-set opening and its present-day bulk, a slicing-and-dicing Frendo is hardly a pal, then. It's positively homicidal, with dispensing with Quinn and her peers its aim. Craig himself has a phobia of them — "I'm terrified of clowns," he shares — but these makeup-adorned figures have long been both jovial and creepy characters in pop culture. His isn't the first feature to play up their eerie side, of course, including in the last decade. IT and IT: Chapter Two became huge box-office hits in 2017 and 2019, and a TV prequel is on the way to HBO. The currently three-strong Terrifier franchise has been getting gruesome on-screen since 2018, with a fourth flick in development. Is making a movie about a murderous clown cathartic when you're already afraid of them? Our chat with Craig started there. Also covered: Clown in a Cornfield's clear love for other slasher and horror films, what goes into a great scary-flick kill, and how the gulf between the film's younger and older characters also provides inspiration for some of its humour, including a pitch-perfect moment with a rotary phone — plus why Douglas was the right choice for Quinn, and fleshing out Sasso and Durand's parts. What does the affection now held by horror-movie lovers for Tucker and Dale vs Evil 15 years on, even if it wasn't the success that Craig was expecting when it released, mean to him, too? That was part of our discussion as well. On Being Afraid of Clowns While Making a Movie About Murderous Jesters — and No, It Isn't Cathartic "I've always found them to be very duplicitous and very not-trustworthy. And I always thought it was kind of funny that clowns would go to kids' birthday parties. I find magicians kind of scary, too. And we once had a magician to my son's birthday, but we elected not to have a clown. But in my last film Little Evil, I had a scene with a clown that spontaneously combusted on fire, because the kid had superpowers — and I really was thinking 'I have to do more with these clowns because they are just naturally disconcerting'. You'd think that maybe I'd have less fear of clowns now, but it's actually the opposite. I think Frendo has surprised me at various publicity events already, where he sneaks up behind me — and I'm always the one that's like 'aah'. So I haven't gotten over my fear of clowns, but there is something quite magical and fun about them, too. So it's that mixture of fear and loathing." On Clown in a Cornfield's Societal Bite — aka Making a Killer Clown Flick About Generational Chasms, Capitalism Gone Wrong and Economic Uncertainty "That was in the book, and that's why I wanted to make the movie, because I was really surprised at what Adam Cesare was able to get at about this generational anger, I think — and this divide between a younger generation that's more progressive and maybe cares about the earth and cares about their future, and maybe an older generation that just feels like they're just harvesting the earth for their own greed. And I thought that frustration is just really apropos to our time. And also, I would say the thing that's so interesting about using a clown to tell that story is that originally clowns were like court jesters, and they were the only ones that were kind of allowed to tell truth to power and to tell the king what maybe was really up — but they had to do it with a sense of humour and satire. So this movie, in a way, it's fun because it has these layers of truth underneath it, and it's a clown telling that story to people. That isn't necessary to love the movie. You could love the movie and not really care about anything deeper. But I think through humour and entertainment is a lot of the ways we get some of our ideas that break through the walls to meet us. So that was quite fun to play with." On Balancing the Film's Evident Love for Slasher and Horror Greats That've Gone Before with Being Its Own Addition to the Genre "I just want to embrace all the movies I saw as a kid. I grew up in the 80s and early 90s, and watched everything from the Halloween movies, Friday the 13th, all of Freddy Krueger stuff — and I also loved the comedy-horror movies like Evil Dead 2. And so a lot of it, to me, just lives in like this bouillabaisse inside my brain, and I don't necessarily know when I'm picking a trope from this movie or that, but they kind of live there. And it's funny to watch other people pick them out and say 'oh, you did this here and this here'. I just kind of feel the tropes and I start writing them, and I don't necessarily pick them all out. The one thing is Jaws, I did play directly to Jaws in this movie, because that is probably my favourite horror movie that goes under the radar as not really being a horror movie — but it definitely is. It scared the pants off me." On What Makes a Memorable Slasher-Movie Kill for Craig — and How Easy or Difficult That Is to Achieve "Well, I think a lot about how to heighten it, how to make it just a little bit more than say — I always love the Scream movies, but I find that Ghostface with this knife gets a little repetitive, so I'm trying to come up with a new way for each kill to be just slightly different. And what are the tools this farmer-type Frendo the clown might use? And so you come up with pitchforks and chainsaws and axes and sledgehammers and all kinds of tools, and then you just try to heighten that and make it something people will grin at and laugh and cheer, and also be freaked out about, all at the same time." On Skewing More on the Horror Side of the Scale Than Comedy Compared to Craig's Previous Features "I did a real comedy-first horror with Tucker and Dale, and then I did almost just a comedy with horror elements with Little Evil. And I really wanted to dive back into horror and do kind of a hard-R, gritty in some ways, horror film — but with some levity because that's just the way I am. I'm not a really dark person — and I like humour in my stories. And I think there's just humour in the darkest parts of life." On Layering the Film with Comic Touches That Also Get to the Heart of Its Generational Clash "When you have the opportunity to nail a joke that also is just inherent in the theme, it really makes me smile. It makes me really excited when I'm sitting there writing and I go 'oh, oh, this is going to be really good' — because you're not breaking out of the story to make a joke. It's just very much within the context of the film. So it's really exciting when those present themselves. I don't feel like I'm making a joke. I feel like comes to me out of the ether. And it just presents itself to me, and then that's the opportunity to do it. There's a few points in this movie that grabbed the theme and make a joke out of it." On Knowing That Katie Douglas Was Clown in a Cornfield's Lead "You'd be surprised — I wanted to cast her before even auditioning her. I had watched a ton of her work. I saw that she had been working since she was about six years old, and she actually has a ton of work under her belt — and all of the stuff I saw from her from, like Ginny & Georgia and also this show called Pretty Hard Cases, and she did some Lifetime movies and she did some short films, and I literally went in and I watched them all. And I just always saw this sort of grounded, natural performance with the toughness and an edge to her, and sort of a sarcasm to her, that I felt just was Quinn. She auditioned for it, and completely nailed the audition. And I couldn't have been more blessed to have somebody that was so ready for being number one on the call sheet. She was so ready to lead this film. And she carried the film — and she does a fantastic job." On the Kind of Guidance That You Give Actors Like Will Sasso and Kevin Durand When They're Tasked with Fleshing Out Horror-Movie Characters That Could Be Cartoonish in Other Hands "I tell them kind of exactly what you just said. I wanted this character to be deeper, and we talk about what their motivations are. So usually they're not thinking about the characters being a villain — they're thinking about them being justified. So every good actor is always justifying their hatred or villainy for their character, and it make has to make sense to them. So anytime it doesn't make sense, we have to work on it. But those guys are so talented. They brought so much of themselves to the role. Will Sasso, as the sheriff, was just fantastic because he's threatening and creepy, but he's also just funny. He just brings a sense of humour and life to everything he does. And Kevin Durand, I don't think I could get an actor that could be this role without playing into something that we've seen before. He really created a new character. And that was really important that we weren't like the Joker or something. He was really, really his own — and very grounded and more gritty and real — character." On the Response to Tucker and Dale vs Evil 15 Years on — and What It Means for It to Be So Beloved as a Horror-Comedy Cult Classic "It actually means I'm not crazy. So when I first made that film, I just believed in it naively, like with all of my heart. And I thought 'well, this is just going to be the biggest hit since Evil Dead 2'. And it wasn't that way. It didn't come out as a big hit. I thought I was making the next Shaun of the Dead or Evil Dead 2 — and it went to some great film festivals, but then once we came out, it kind of disappeared for a while. And then over the years, people discovered it, and it truly became what I always believed it would be by now. And it's kind of validated my own feeling of art and my feeling of 'what entertains me should entertain other people'. Because I'm just ultimately trying to make a film that that I want to go see. And if people start telling me they don't like what I would want to go see, it becomes much harder to make a movie. And now I feel like 'wait a minute, maybe, maybe my sensibility is a sensibility a lot of other people share'. So that means a lot." Clown in a Cornfield released in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Traditionally, Albury hasn't made many a traveller's bucket list. Drivers tend to whizz past on their way to quainter spots, like the gold rush town of Beechworth or the alpine village of Bright. But, over the past couple of years, this 45,000-person city on the northern banks of the Murray River has transformed itself into a destination. There's a blockbuster-capacity gallery, a sculpture trail, a designer hotel, and a slew of new restaurants, bars and cafes. In between art-ing and eating, you'll find mountain biking and paddling adventures a-plenty. So, next time you're racing along the Hume, stop over for a night — or three. Albury lies 462 kilometres southwest of Sydney and 326 kilometres northwest of Melbourne. Let's get into all things Albury. STAY Stretch your legs after the easy drive and check in to one of Albury's best modern stays. With its oversized industrial light fittings, Scandi-inspired high stools, vintage-style bicycles and open plan, the Atura Hotel's foyer feels more like an inner-city warehouse than a hotel lobby you'd stumble across in Albury. And this is just what Atura, a brand belonging to the AHL Group (which also owns QT, Rydges and Art Series) is going for — more art and better design in regional places. The reception 'pod' flows into the bar, where guests crowd around a retro-inspired pool table. The bar morphs into the Roadhouse Grill, dishing up popcorn prawns, braised lamb shanks and local Gundowring ice cream sundaes by night, and buffet breakfasts from 6.30am. Through the glass back wall, black and white NEMO face chairs look over an arc-shaped pool. Keep an eye out for inflatable pink flamingos around the place and Friesian cattle, who drop by occasionally. [caption id="attachment_563142" align="alignnone" width="1279"] Supplied by Atura[/caption] For excellent views of Albury's motley skyline, ask for an east-facing room on the seventh floor. That said, each of the 140 rooms is decorated with the fun yet sophisticated aesthetic informing the entrance. You'll be napping in a king-sized bed, swinging a cat around in loads of space, cleaning up with Malin + Goetz toiletries in a mural-covered ensuite, sipping free coffee from your own machine and tapping into free wifi. To save some dosh, jump on one of Atura's packages, which top up your stay with gallery tickets, cocktails, movies and more. EAT AND DRINK Make your first stop the River Deck Cafe, open daily for breakfast and lunch, and Thursday to Saturday for dinner. You'll find it right on the Murray, among the leafy plane trees of idyllic Noreuil Park. For years, there was only a kiosk here, but in May 2015, Alex Smit, who's been proprietor since 2011, transformed it into a 120-seater restaurant, bringing in Mauritian-born Ludo Baulacky as head chef. Goat's cheese is turned into dollops of pannacotta, carefully arranged among pickled mushroom, baby beetroot, stonefruit and dukkah. For a light lunch, it's a good match with the herby quinoa salad, which comes with candied walnuts, honey dressing, tomatoes and olives. Among the share plates, there's a Milawa cheese platter and a salmon brushcetta with smoked salmon, crème fraiche and caperberries. If you're looking for a hearty main, try the seared barramundi with cauliflower and dill puree, pickle, clams, soy bean and chicken jus. A map in the menu shows you what produce comes from where — one of the River Deck's local mainstays is Rad Growers, a small farm in Bungowannah, twenty kilometres west of Albury. On the main drag, Green Zebra has been making housemade Italian food for 15 years. You can design your own dish by choosing from the pasta, sauce and ingredients menus. Do not stop yourself from ordering the lemon tart for dessert. On Townsend Street is The Proprietor, a friendly, pendant-lit, checkered-floored cafe, serving Padre coffee from Brunswick, and an all-day menu driven by local suppliers. Go for grilled haloumi and dukkah eggs with hummus, salty lemon, watercress and sourdough, or the mushroom toastie, with cheese spread, haloumi, garlic and green sauce. Another of Albury's outstanding new additions is Boom Boom. Tucked away in AMP Lane, this wine bar and eatery feels like a transplant directly from Melbourne. Owner Matthew Carrington has made sure that every element is on point — from the beautifully-curated, globe-spanning wine list to the impeccably-balanced cocktails to the in-house charcuterie and laidback soundtrack. The star share plate arrives crowded with wagyu bresaola, finocchiona-wrapped caperberries, pancetta, pickled grapes and oyster mushrooms. Unwilling to share? Go for a 'Big Thing', like the ling en papiotte with chilli, lemon, coriander and kipfler medallions, or the scotch fillet with potato rosti and tomato bourbon relish. You can relax in the laneway at a table for two, perch at the bar or take over a communal bench. Another dinner option is the long-standing Border Wine Room. If wine bottles could speak, this place could tell a tale or two — the walls are dotted with empty Grange vessels. The a la carte menu changes monthly, while the six-course tasting menu is revamped fortnightly. Keep an eye out for special events — from French wine tastings to chocolate degustations. DO In late 2015, after a $10.5 million makeover, the Albury Regional Gallery reopened as MAMA (Murray Art Museum Albury), with a 14-metre-high curved wall and a visionary director named Jacqui Hemsley, who's passionate about getting people excited and engaged. To that end, MAMA is currently hosting its first blockbuster: Marilyn: Celebrating an American Icon, showing till May 8. Live circus is coming up on April 22 and 23, and, on May 21, the MAMA Art Foundation National Photography Prize, worth $50,000, will move in. The gallery also now has its own modern, casual eatery: Canvas. It's hidden away from the main street, overlooking a quiet, grassy square. Concertina windows allow natural light to stream into the high-ceilinged space, and the menu features luxurious twists on classics. Think coddled egg with truffled mushroom duxelle and brioche soldiers, and duck benedict with house-smoked duck ham, brioche, poached eggs, beurre noisette hollandaise and spinach. Canvas is open daily for brunch and lunch, and Wednesday-Saturday for dinner. Back alongside the Murray, you'll find the five-kilometreYindyamarra Sculpture Walk, stretching between Kremur Street and Wonga Wetlands. It's part of the Wagirra Trail, a work-in-progress that will ultimately consist of 70 kilometres of riverside shared paths. Every sculpture — from the giant-sized Maya Fish Trap by Uncle Tunny, Darren Wighton and Andom Rendell, to Reconciliation Shield by Tamara Murray — was created by local indigenous artists and is a response to the river. Whether you walk or cycle, take your mobile, to access augmented reality at each stop. Despite Albury's sizeable population, wild places are easy to access. To get on the river, hire a canoe from Murray River Canoe Hire, who'll drop you eight or 12 kilometres upstream for an easy one-two hour paddle back to town. Prepare to meet cheeky flocks of white cockatoos, cormorants and white ibises — 350 bird species live along the Murray, which, at 2,700 kilometres, is the third longest navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. There's also some cracking mountain biking terrain. And, four years ago, elite biker Indi Boer, who's won 19 international and national titles, set up a coaching school named The Fastline Bikademy. If you're a beginner, sign up for a basic skills lesson and by the end of it, you'll be conquering scary dips and powering around corners. Experienced? She'll spend hours helping you to refine your skills, so you can take on tougher rides with more skill and strength. If you're looking for an excuse to head to Albury sooner rather than later, the annual Gold Cup is coming up on March 17 and 18. With more than 15,000 people expected to attend, it's the most popular country race in NSW — and an official public holiday for Albury residents. There'll be live music, craft beers and pop-up stalls peddling local produce. LET'S DO THIS; GIVE ME THE DETAILS By car: Albury is about six hours drive southwest of Sydney, and about three-and-a-half hours' drive northwest of Melbourne. By train: The XPT takes seven-and-a-half hours to reach Albury from Sydney, and three hours and twenty minutes from Melbourne. By plane: QANTAS, Virgin Australia and REX all fly the 80-minute route between Albury and Sydney. REX flies between Melbourne and Albury, taking about an hour. Jasmine Crittenden travelled as a guest of Destination NSW. Images: Peter Saw (unless otherwise specified).
Jane has a message to everyone who thinks print media is dead and buried. Jane who, you ask? jane. by the grey attic, a new high-end, independently produced, bi-annual fashion, photography and fine art publication, the first issue of which is now available for purchase. The brainchild of creative director, writer and stylist Annika Hein, and fashion and fine art photographer Dean Bell, who freelance in the Melbourne fashion scene under the name The Grey Attic, jane. features 320 pages of film-shot photographs, arts, poems and articles from contributors dotted in 21 cities around the world. Highlights from the first issue include a review of Helmut Newton: A Retrospective at the Foam photography museum in Amsterdam that includes original snaps by the famed photographer, and an interview with Marion Hume, international fashion editor at The Australian Financial Review. "Our aim was to revert back to slower processes that nurture and encourage the slow creation and consumption of art, something that celebrates undone beauty, effortlessness, authenticity, timelessness and unconventional thinking," said Hein and Bell in a joint statement. "The element of film photography and our preference to analogue processes also provides something different in today's digital market." You can find issue one of jane. in Melbourne at Fitzroy Newsagency and Readings, or online at www.janebythegreyattic.com where they ship internationally.
The white brick facade of the Post Office Hotel, or the 'Posty', is now home to The Postina — a new Italian-accented eatery from the crew behind House of Lulu White and The Hamptons Bakery. Helmed by executive chef James Turno (Grossi Florentino, The European), the family-style menu is a celebration of all things Italian. For those who live by the crust, there's a mammoth lineup of traditional pizza toppings, as well as the less classic 'McDowells big Mick sauce' for pizza dipping ($3). Handmade pasta options might include a pappardelle with slow-braised duck and porcini ragu ($32), and a pumpkin cappelletti with sage brown butter, toasted hazelnut and gorgonzola ($27). For those of a veggie persuasion, fresh choices abound, including vegan pizza options, a side of shaved cabbage with pea and preserved lemon ($12), and heirloom tomatoes with burrata and black olive crumb ($17). Eurocentric spritzes and cocktails will have aperitivo hour transporting you into holiday mode, while the wine list features Italian imports from regions like Chianti, Puglia and Campania alongside "Italian-inspired" drops from the Margaret River and Yarra Valley. Also Italian-inspired is the hotel's refurbishment, which includes a light-filled (and foliage-heavy) al fresco dining area and an intimate, wooden interior decor. A range of daily food and be specials will get you through to the weekend in good spirits, including Pasta & Vino Wednesdays — a glass of wine and plate of housemade pasta for $22 — Thursday's Boozy Bird — a schooner paired with a chicken cotoletta for $24 — and a 3–6.30pm happy hour running every weekday.
Tucked away in a row of beige Victorian houses is the teal kiosk now home to Monforte Viennoiserie. Inside, pastry chef Giorgia McAllister Forte spends her Tuesdays and Wednesdays rolling butter, whipping cream and laminating dough. She returns at 4am on Thursday for her first day of service. By 8am, a sizeable queue has already formed outside. Four and a half hours later (or earlier if everything sells out), service stops and she begins prepping for Friday. This all continues daily through the rest of the week, albeit with the doors opened at 8.30am on Saturdays and Sundays. Monforte only launched in August, but it's already built a loyal base of local customers who are keeping McAllister Forte's operation going, week in week out. Meanwhile, she's keeping them on their toes with an eclectic menu of ever-changing seasonal offerings. "The idea is that people don't always come back to the same stuff. I feel like that's a drawcard because they get to try something new," says Forte. She picked up this approach while working with Claire Ptak at Violet in Hackney, London. "She was really big on baking seasonally, so I learned to bake with the seasons there." As spring rolls into summer, expect to see plenty of berries and stone fruits on the menu, including blackberry and fig leaf tarts and apricot and buttermilk danishes. For something a little more savoury, Forte recommends the tropea onion, heirloom tomato and tarragon tart. "I feel like it's underappreciated. People who have had it think it's really delicious, but I feel like it's always shunned," she says, "and we're only at the very beginning of tomato season as well." McAllister Forte's only year-round menu item is the humble bakery staple: the croissant. Besides a classic plain offering, McAllister Forte is also serving up a leatherwood honey and sea salt variety. It's light, balanced and great to eat with the batch brew from Everyday Coffee also sold in store. McAllister Forte has big plans for the kiosk's future, from making jams in-house to sourcing more off-the-beaten-path produce like mulberries. But, for now, her focus is on expanding opening hours to include Sundays by December, and Thursdays as well in the new year. The pasticceria draws on McAllister Forte's decade of international training and experience. Besides Violet, she's worked at Oyster & Chop alongside Mark Hix and as a pâtissier at All Are Welcome in Melbourne. All this time however, Forte wanted a bakery of her own. "I've wanted to be a pastry chef since I was maybe 10 or 12 years old, and it was always my dream to have my own tiny neighbourhood shop. It's really a dream that's been going for 15 years, maybe more." Now that she has creative control in Monforte, her menu is exciting, experimental and ever-evolving, much to the delight of locals. Just make sure to get there early to beat the queue. Top image: Giorgia McAllister Forte
The good vibes will be off the charts when the next edition of Midsumma Festival arrives, with Victoria's premier LGBTQIA+ annual event serving up 22 days of bright and bold happenings. Running from Sunday, January 18–Monday, February 2, 2026, expect the full spectrum of rainbow-tinged creativity, with over 250 events and 500 artists and culture-makers ensuring this festival is better than ever. In 2026, Midsumma Festival's theme is 'Time & Place,' recognising the present as a pivotal moment where connection matters more than ever. As such, the sprawling program centres on community, with art exhibitions, inspiring conversations and free outdoor celebrations shaping an uplifting experience. Kicking off with the much-loved Midsumma Carnival at Alexandra Gardens, this iconic event sets the tone for the entire festival before an incredible variety of events unfold over the next three-plus weeks. On Saturday, January 24, catch Kiki House of Furia Presents: The Fantasy Ball at State Library Victoria. Combining ballroom and voguing culture amid the grand Queen's Hall, the night celebrates artistry and resilience, complete with multiple categories, judges and DJs. Then, on Sunday, January 25, The Timber Yard hosts Hot and Steamy — a beloved LGBTQIA+ party hailing from Far North Queensland. Think a transformative tropical paradise graced by infectious rhymes and headlined by Drag Race Global superstar Kween Kong. Looking ahead to Sunday, January 31, the Blankë POP Secret Garden Party takes over The Mission to Seafarers Courtyard in Docklands. Dress up, or down, as you dance the afternoon away to queer house music alongside performances by some of Melbourne's most talented artists. Then, following the Midsumma Pride March, Sunday Sizzle serves up a stellar afterparty at the Victorian Pride Centre on Sunday, February 1, lighting up the rooftop with fab performances, refreshing beverages and tasty snags fresh off the barbie. [caption id="attachment_883999" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nocturnal x Midsumma[/caption]
Fancy Hank's is getting in the mood for International Brisket Day — that's Wednesday, May 28 — with a hearty giveaway that might just make your month. Celebrating the occasion with a one-day-only special from 12pm, the Bourke Street HQ is serving up free takeaway brisket sandwiches until they're all gone. Up for grabs is Fancy Hank's signature 12-hour smoked 'Wanderer' brisket — a low- and-slow-cooked creation made to be super rich and tender. Stacked high on an American-style Martin's potato roll, this wallet-friendly deal is bound to put a little more flavour in your lunch break. "As far as we're concerned, there's no better way to honour Brisket Day than with the thing we do best! We've been continuously smoking brisket for 13 years next month and we're immensely proud of the craft we've perfected," says Fancy Hank's co-owner Mike Patrick. "From the time and care that goes into every cut to the unmistakable flavour from our custom-built, two-tonne smoker 'Puffing Billie' — it's what keeps people coming back." Making this bargain even better, each free brisket sandwich also comes with a complimentary drink voucher redeemable right next door at sister venue, Springrock Public Bar. Meanwhile, those feeling extra famished are invited to order a side of Fancy Hank's fries for $5, with a thick coat of chicken salt taking their deliciousness to greater heights. "Brisket takes time, but the reward is in the patience," adds Fancy Hank's Head Chef Jarrod Di Blasi. "The secret starts with selecting a quality cut, which we source from an incredible, local Victorian producer, to ensure it's full of flavour. We season our brisket generously and then smoke it low and slow over Aussie hardwood, delivering meat that is melt-in-your-mouth tender with rich, deep flavours straight from the pit." If you're keen to dine on more brisket — and who could blame you — Fancy Hank's have also announced a new Bottomless Barbecue dining experience, launching on Monday, June 2. Running every week from 5pm on Monday–Wednesday, guests can indulge in a premium barbecue platter with unlimited top-ups from $69 per person, featuring buffalo wings, pulled pork shoulder, free-range chicken thighs and loads more. Fancy Hank's is serving free brisket sandwiches from 12pm on Wednesday, May 28, until sold out at 1/79 Bourke St, Melbourne. Head to the website for more information.
UPDATE Monday, July 26: Along with its CBD sibling Di Stasio Citta, Cafe di Stasio is currently offering a special-edition menu of goodies for takeaway and delivery. Call or jump online to order dishes like the creamy oven-baked ricotta ($12), hearty serves of handmade crab pasta ($35) and a cracking old-school fish and chips ($32). For more details on Victoria's current restrictions, see the Department of Health and Human Services website. If we're talking about institutions, Cafe di Stasio is right at the top of the list. After more than three decades on Fitzroy Street, the restaurant and bar still exudes elegance, sophisticated service and decadent Italian food. Here the lunches are long, the wine is expensive and the atmosphere is right on point. There's a place for old-school, classy dining and this is it. The food here is the kind you'll want to linger over, the menu filled with carefully executed classics and seasonal ingredients in abundance. Start off with small plates like the delicate beef carpaccio ($23), cloud-like ricotta and spinach gnudi ($22), and scallops baked in a crust ($25). Top-notch pasta offerings might include the likes of paccheri bolognese ($32) or a tagliatelle spiked with guanciale and roast tomatoes ($28), while Italian-style mains run to a Milanese veal cotoletta ($34) and slow-cooked beef paired with polenta ($39). An expansive selection of vino sourced from near and far rounds out the fun, including a healthy offering of drops by the glass.
Between 2010–2017, Melbourne was ranked the most liveable city in the world. In 2023, it's the most liveable city in Australia — yet again. The Economist Intelligence Unit compiles an annual Global Liveability Index, with the Victorian capital coming in third in the latest list. In fourth place? Its usual homegrown rival Sydney. Cue battles across state lines about whether Melbourne or Sydney is the truly best place to live, plus international recognition for Australia's two biggest cities. And, for residing Down Under in general. Only Canada had more places in the top ten in 2023, with three, while Switzerland also scored two. When Melbourne was dethroned from top spot in 2018, Vienna in Austria emerged victorious, earning the honours from 2018–20, then again in 2022 and now once more in 2023. Getting the love in 2021? New Zealand's Auckland, which came equal tenth this year. The full top ten features Vienna at number one, Copenhagen in Denmark in second place, then Melbourne and Sydney in third and fourth, plus that big Canada and Switzerland block — Vancouver in fifth, Zurich in sixth, Calgary and Geneva sharing seventh, and Toronto in ninth place — then Auckland and Osaka, Japan both in tenth. Melbourne's placing sees it rise from tenth in 2022, while Sydney came in 13th last year. And if you're wondering about other Aussie cities, they all zoomed up the rankings, too. Perth and Adelaide now share 12th spot, up from 30th and 32nd respectively, while Brisbane sits 16th after coming in at 27th in 2022. Asia Pacific cities were big movers overall, which the report credits to "a shift towards normalcy after the pandemic". Also rising: Auckland, which went up by 25; fellow Aotearoa city Wellington, lifting 35 places to sit in 23rd; and Hanoi in Vietnam, which moved up 20 spots. Regarding Melbourne and Sydney's soaring fortunes again, which sees them take the spots that Frankfurt and Amsterdam enjoyed last year, the report notes that the Aussie cities "bounced up and down the rankings during the pandemic" but "have seen their scores in the healthcare category improve since last year, when they were still affected by COVID waves that stressed their healthcare systems". As for why Vienna came out on top once more, "the city continues to offer an unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment, with one of its few downsides being a relative lack of major sporting events," advised the report. "The same is true of Copenhagen, another frequent high performer that has kept its position in second place from last year." The annual index ranks cities on stability, healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, giving each city a rating out of 100. Vienna achieved a score of 98.4 overall, with Melbourne receiving 97.7 and Sydney 97.4. At the other end of the list, Damascus in Syria scored 30.7, ranking in 173rd spot. To read the full Global 2023 Liveability Index, head to the Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
Wellington's inner heart beats with an amazing cultural offering all of its own. As New Zealand's capital, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the city is all political banter and suits. However, this microcosm of creatives is actually a place where artistry, quirkiness and creative risk taking are celebrated within one of the richest arts environs in the southern hemisphere. Best of all, you can walk anywhere in the inner city in around twenty minutes, tops. On any given night, you'll find something happening, whether it's a poetry reading, a new art showing, book launch, gig or interpretive theatre piece. If you're looking for entertaining sights during the day, you'll find Wellington's cultural identity woven along its beautiful waterfront, and tucked into its streets and laneways. Depending on the time of year, one of Wellington's many epic, internationally acclaimed arts festivals and shows might be lighting up its spaces — among them the Lit Crawl, Jazz Festival, Cubadupa, World of Wearable Arts or the New Zealand Festival (held in even years). The creatives of Wellington are wild, rigorous, obscure and genius all at once. They know how to make their own fun, and then take it to the world. Step into their home. CATCH A FLICK AT THE ICONIC EMBASSY THEATRE Wellington's Embassy Theatre is a jewel in the city's film history. The old bird has perched at the end of Courtenay Place, at the base of Mt Vic since 1924. And there's no better place to view a film in the city, whether it's a blockbuster or an arthouse piece. Maintained to the grandeur of old film theatres of yesteryear, the Embassy has hosted each world premier of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. Each year, the picture palace also hosts the New Zealand International Film Festival. Before or after your film, pay a visit to the old orchestra pit, which is now home to the Shelley Indyk-designed cocktail bar, The Black Sparrow. With its cocktail menu full of litterati and film references, the bar is the perfect spot for a tipple while you wait for your film upstairs to start, or a post-picture nightcap. [caption id="attachment_636658" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Te Papa.[/caption] BROWSE THE LATEST EXHIBITION AT TE PAPA Should you run into inclement weather during your Wellington stay, look to Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand. An excellent spot to sink a few hours, its floors of world-standard exhibitions and history are truly fascinating. Learn a bit about New Zealand itself in the permanent exhibitions, and venture to Nga Toi on level five for a revolving glimpse into Te Papa's extensive art collections — you could see anything from an early Picasso sketch to a Venice Biennale entrant. When it comes to exhibitions, the large spaces in the museum have hosted everything from gargantuan bugs to Monets and Warhols, making it a true lucky dip experience. [caption id="attachment_636607" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Stars Are Underground via Flickr[/caption] SEE A GIG AT ONE OF THE CITY'S MANY MUSIC VENUES If ever there was a place where you can find consistently good acts from Wellington and beyond, it's in the underground gig venues of the city — well not really underground, they're pretty well signposted. They're the home turf of a whole heap of great local bands — Fazerdaze, Mermaidens and Flight of the Conchords, for example — and they've all started out with Friday and Saturday gigs at either Meow, San Fran or MOON. This is where set lists are refined, live performances honed and fans made, all in intimate settings, and all with beers in hand and forgiving audiences who come out looking for a musical treat. Join them in the search for sonic gold, and you'll be rewarded. [caption id="attachment_636441" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Enjoy Public Art Gallery[/caption] VISIT THE CUBA ART QUARTER Wellington's Cuba Street is known far and wide for its offbeat inhabitants and kooky spirit. A street that was once considered shady in the '80s has come into its own with an eclectic blend of art, vintage and antiques. The best street style can be found here, while the block around Cuba and Ghuznee has some of the best art and dealers in the country. The iconic Peter McLeavey Gallery has been selling art from Cuba Street since 1968, and its neighbour, the kookier Enjoy Gallery, is famed for its non-commercial artist-run initiative MO (as well as its annual art sale). Hamish McKay, Bartley & Company and Suite Gallery up the street round out a robust, artful offering in the heart of the city. [caption id="attachment_636598" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tony via Flickr[/caption] TAKE A STROLL ALONG WELLINGTON WRITERS WALK Opened in 2002 during the NZ International Festival of the Arts (New Zealand Festival's previous moniker), the Wellington Writers Walk is a project of the New Zealand Society of Authors. It's a beautiful route, mapped along the waters of the Wellington Harbour, that consists of 19 text sculptures. Each work features a quotation about the city from a piece of prose or poetry, penned not only by some of the world's best writers, but by scribes who made Wellington their home at some point in their lives. Writers featured on the walk include luminaries such as Katherine Mansfield, James K. Baxter, Lauris Edmond, Fiona Kidman, Patricia Grace and Maurice Gee. Art, literature and bracing beautiful sea air — it doesn't get much more Wellington than that. You can pick up a map of the walk from the Wellington i-SITE. Maybe you've been to Auckland, maybe you've gone to the snow in Queensland, but now it's time to set your sights on Wellington. The harbourside city may be compact, but that only makes for excellent walkability from its excellent restaurants, cafes and bars to its cultural hot spots and around the great outdoors. Use our planning guide to book your trip, then sort out your Wellington hit list with our food and drink, culture and outdoor guides.
There are plenty of ways to enjoy a blast from the past, but stepping inside a museum is one of the most reliable. Head to the Australian Museum in Sydney right now and a trip back to Peru more than 3000 years ago awaits. For its big summer exhibition for 2024–25, the venue is hosting the Aussie-exclusive season of Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru, displaying 134 priceless artefacts including the most-opulent collection of Andean gold that's ever left the South American nation. Move over Egypt: after the Harbour City institution dedicated the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024 to Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs, it's now time to wrap up one year and kick off another with a different journey backwards. Featuring jewels, masks and other treasures, some of which were found in royal tombs, this historical showcase hails from Peru's Museo Larco and Museo de Sito Manuel Chavez Ballon. To make the exhibition's six-month stay even more immersive, a virtual-reality tour of Machu Picchu is also part of the experience (albeit at an extra fee). Six cultures are in the spotlight: Chavín, Moche, Chimú, Nazca, Lambayeque and Inca. The array of items is also organised into six themes, taking attendees through ancient Peruvian societies' beginnings, religious beliefs and traditions, and the power wielded by royalty. Trade, agriculture, and Spanish conquistadors forcing their decline: they're covered as well. Sometimes, visitors will peer at gleaming body ornaments. Sometimes, rare ceramics await. From textiles to ceremonial tools, plus bowls to statuettes, the collection is wide-ranging — including in pairing earthy pottery tones with shining gems and metals (as well as gold, silver and gilded copper also feature). As for the VR, this highlight of the program is the first-ever virtual-reality 'fly-through' of the famous site, which won Best Use of VR at the Lumiere Awards. The experience will get you feeling as if you've been transported both back in time and to the other side of the world — not just via VR, but also 360-degree motion chairs and drone footage. The vision featured was recorded at the World Heritage-listed site when Machu Picchu was closed to visitors during the early days of the pandemic. Sydney is just the fourth place in the world to welcome Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru, after the exhibition's stops in Boca Raton in the US, Paris in France and Milan in Italy. "Full of mystery and culture dating back over 14,000 years, Peru is a stunning land of deserts etched with ancient geoglyphs shown in the Nazca Lines, soaring peaks harbouring secret cities like Machu Picchu and awe-inspiring landscapes" said Australian Museum Director and CEO Kim McKay, opening Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru. "We invite visitors to uncover the extraordinary legacy of ancient Peru, by visiting Machu Picchu and The Golden Empires of Peru exclusively here in Sydney. It is a cultural experience right at the top of everyone's travel bucket list." Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru opened at the Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney on Saturday, November 23, 2024 — head to the exhibition website for further details and tickets. Images: Cain Cooper.
Vegans tired of being excluded from affordable mainstream menus or, at best, treated as an after-thought, got some cheerful news earlier this month when Domino's Pizza announced it would trial vegan cheese on its pizzas. If you were one of those people that rushed out to order some cheap vegan pizza, we have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that, due to such a huge response, Domino's is quickly running out of the plant-based mozzarella. But the good news is very good: when it's back in stock, it will be on the menu forever more. With the cheese on the menu permanently, you'll be able to turn any pizza on the menu into an animal-free one by asking for vegan mozzarella and parting with an extra $2.95 (which is quite reasonable, really). At the moment Domino's has three all-vegan pizzas on the menu: the vegan avocado veg, the vegan spicy trio and the vegan margherita. "We knew the response was going to be big after the demand we saw for the product on social media but we had no idea it was going to be this big," said Nick Knight, CEO of Domino's Australia and New Zealand. "We're excited that customers love this product as much as we do and that we have been able to source a cheese alternative that vegan customers have given their tick of approval on." The decision to introduce vegan cheese came about as a result of a survey that Domino's conducted via its Facebook page in late 2017. Domino's created the cheese — which is also free of gluten, soy and cholesterol — in its LuvLab, aiming to mimic the taste, texture and melting power of dairy-based cheese. Obviously our fair city has plenty of pizza options that we'd recommend over Domino's, but, nonetheless, a cheap vegan pizza option is a huge win (and convenience) for those who eat a vegan diet. If you're planning on ordering a pizza this week, best to check if your local joint has any vegan cheese left before you get too excited. But, according to Domino's, when it comes back in stock, it'll be on the menu permanently.
Immerse yourself in experimental and experiential art, as some of the most exciting creatives the country has to offer descend on Melbourne this March. Returning for its third year, the biennial Festival of Live Art is the largest event of its kind in Australia, dedicated to showcasing bold, intriguing participatory work across every conceivable discipline. Running from March 13–25 at venues around town, the festival's 2018 program is packed with highlights. Tanya Lee's Landing asks festival-goers to take part in a relay at the Melbourne City Baths, with participants collectively swimming the distance between Australia and Manus. Meanwhile, Cigdem Aydemir's The New National Sport will see the artist return the serve of a machine that ejects a tennis ball anytime anyone tweets the word 'terror' — something that happens about once about every 15 seconds. If you're looking for something a little less intense, Adele Varcoe's Wowzzzeee aims to bring audiences together through the sewing and wearing of onesies. Or you can take part in Caroline Garcia's one-on-one twerking workshop that doubles as a history lesson of the artform (yes, we called it an artform). Image: Twerkshop courtesy of Proximity Festival 2014, shot by Peter Cheng.
Vegetables are the undisputed heroes at the southside's newest casual eatery, which is located right on the edge of South Melbourne Market. Marko is kicking it slow, embracing an old-school food philosophy and dishing up a vibrant offering that's entirely plant-based. The brainchild of food industry veteran Dehne Bingham (former CEO of Belles Hot Chicken and 100 Burgers Group), the restaurant is set on getting back to basics, focusing on serving food that's better for the community, the planet and the people eating it. In the kitchen, Head Chef Nabin Shrestha (Rumi, Vegie Bar) is plating a daytime menu of vegan and vegetarian dishes, curated by long-time champion of plant-based dining, chef Charley Snadden-Wilson (Ramblr, Etta, Embla). There's a strong emphasis on sourcing ingredients as locally as possible, working with the seasons and, of course, snubbing any preservatives or other nasties. But Marko isn't afraid to have some fun, too, with a colourful lineup of eats that shows plenty of creativity. Diners can choose from the list of burgers ranging from $12-15, all available with gluten-free alternatives — from the signature Marko cheeseburger layered with coconut cheese and a plant-based patty to the spicy cauliflower number with jalapenos and chipotle mayo. Fluffy pitas ($13-14) from Brunswick's Alasya Bakery are also on the menu, and come stuffed with the likes of green pea falafel or roasted mushrooms with quinoa tabbouleh and tahini sauce. Marko also serves up a range of vibrant veggie bowls ($13-15), along with sides like chilli-topped corn ribs ($8) and crispy chips finished with your choice of house seasoning. And, you can make a meal of it with one of three 'feed me' options, matching a burger or pita with chips, dip and a Capi soda ($23-26). To drink, expect to find a rotation of craft brews, natural wines, and cocktails both boozy and non-alcoholic, along with caffeinated options shuttled down from nearby coffee window Clement. As a bonus feel-good factor, there's also an environmental conscience that extends beyond the meat-free menu. Marko is using all recyclable packaging, has implemented a special system for recycling food waste and powers its kitchen partly by renewables. Top Images: Bold and Italic Media
If you like music and skiing, Snow Machine has served up a winning combination of the two since 2020. It takes place in chilly climes. It enlists a heap of top-notch talent to provide the tunes. And, as it soundtracks a snow-filled week, it plays out like a massive frosty party. For Australians, it also boasts another huge drawcard: getting you to take an overseas alpine holiday. When Snow Machine first debuted its savvy mix, it did so in Japan. Then came an expansion to Queenstown in New Zealand in 2022, where it's still going strong and will return come September 2024. Thinking ahead to the colder weather in the northern hemisphere in 2025, the fest has not only locked in its plans for Hakuba, its OG home, but is expanding to Niseko as well. Snow Machine has also unveiled the lineup for its two next Japanese dates, with Hakuba first up from Tuesday, March 4–Sunday, March 9, then Niseko from Monday, March 10–Saturday, March 15. Chase & Status leads the bill in both locations, with Action Bronson, Hot Chip doing a DJ set, Melanie C, A-Trak and Ken Ishii among the other names. Attendees will catch a club set from Bob Moses as well, plus DJ sets from each of Jungle and Sbtrkt. The roster of talent keeps going from there with Claptone, Cyril, Dillon Francis, DJ Kentaro, DJ Nobu & Wata Igarashi, Horse Meat Disco, Jimi the Kween, Monorochrome and Riton — plus Vintage Culture in Niseko only. Snow Machine Japan might next return when autumn will be kicking off Down Under, but it's one helluva excuse for a getaway during Japan's snow season. No matter where it's taking place, this is the hottest festival for the colder months, treating festivalgoers to action-packed days on the slopes, après ski events and its hefty lineup of international acts against an idyllic backdrop. And, because this is Japan, onsen trips, sake aplenty and yakitori bites are usually also on offer. Other than the wintry setting, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span five or seven nights of accommodation, and include a festival ticket across the entire event, plus a four-day lift pass for Goryu & Hakuba 47, Tsugaike, Iwatake, Happo, Norikura and Cortina in Hakuba — and Niseko United in Niseko. A word of warning: unsurprisingly, the packages are popular. Although the Snow Machine Japan 2025 lineup has only just been announced, packages are already 70-percent sold out. If you're keen to take care of your own place to slumber and just nab a festival ticket, that's an option as well — via both day and four-day passes. Snow Machine Japan 2025 Locations and Dates: Tuesday, March 4–Sunday, March 9 — Hakuba Monday, March 10–Saturday, March 15 — Niseko Snow Machine Japan 2025 Lineup: Chase & Status A-Trak Action Bronson Bob Moses (club set) Claptone Cyril Dillon Francis DJ Kentaro DJ Nobu & Wata Igarashi Horse Meat Disco Hot Chip (DJ set) Jimi the Kween Jungle (DJ set) Ken Ishii Melanie C Monorochrome Riton Sbtrkt (DJ set) Vintage Culture (Niseko only) Snow Machine Japan 2025 will be held across Tuesday, March 4–Sunday, March 9 in Hakuba and Monday, March 10–Saturday, March 15 in Niseko. For more information and tickets, visit the festival's website. Images: Pat Stevenson. 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.
Victoria's closest thing to a European summer escape is making its return. After drawing more than 15,000 visitors last year, the Carlsberg Beach Club will take over Frankston Pier once again from Friday, December 19 to Sunday, March 29, bringing live music and Mediterranean holiday vibes to the summery ocean sunsets just 45 minutes from Melbourne's CBD. Created by the team behind So Frenchy So Chic, the pop-up is Victoria's only true European-style beach club. Think daybeds in the sand, lobster rolls in hand and Carlsberg beers served a few metres from the shoreline. The event has also been nominated for a 2025 Best Brand Event award, further solidifying its growing reputation as one of the state's most unique summer experiences. This season, the beach club is dialling up the entertainment. Every Sunday from 5pm, visitors can catch free live concerts featuring acts such as Nadeah and Cookin' On 3 Burners, making it an ideal spot to settle in for sunset sessions, family hangs or a post-beach afternoon that turns into an evening. Alongside the music program, the venue promises its signature European coastal vibe: casual dining, cocktails, cold beers, relaxed seating, and a front-row view of Port Phillip Bay's golden-hour glow. If you're dreaming of a balmy seaside getaway without booking a flight, the Carlsberg Beach Club might be the most convenient escape you'll get this summer. Images: Supplied
Wake up, Melbourne. To celebrate the launch of its new Sparkling Raspberry Peach flavour, energy drink brand CELSIUS is teaming up with 7-Eleven for Australia's first-ever convenience store rave. From 9am to 1pm on Saturday, January 17, 2026, CELSIUS Session is taking over 7-Eleven's Brunswick store (located on the corner of Sydney and Brunswick Road). You can expect a high-energy DJ lineup including Ben Silver, YA GIRL PARTY B, Brown Suga Princess, and a performance from Australian DJ, CYRIL (who has garnered over 900 million streams in the past year). The one-morning rave combines slushie machines and sound systems to give you a kickstart to the day. CELSIUS Sparkling Raspberry Peach is also taking centre stage, of course. The new drop (which you can try on the day) is refreshing, delicious and designed to keep Aussies moving, making it the drink for summer adventures—like a morning rave. Intrigued? Tickets are just $7.11 per person. So, if you're keen to start your Saturday dancing with your mates, this is one to lock into your summer calendar now. Grab tickets from 3pm on Monday, 12 January here. Image credit: Getty Images
What do killer Squid Game dolls, Stranger Things rifts, Jurassic World raptors and very nice Borat statues all have in common? They've all brought pop-culture hits not just to Sydney but to Bondi, albeit temporarily. On the morning of Thursday, December 19, 2024, a towering toy loomed over Bondi Icebergs, accompanied by plenty of red and green outfits — and yes, as part of the latest pop-up celebrating the upcoming return of the South Korean Netflix smash for season two, a game of Red Light, Green Light took place. Ever since the world initially watched Squid Game in 2021, the streaming platform has been obsessed with bringing everyone's favourite South Korean streaming series into real life. First came pop-up stunts. Then arrived reality competition show Squid Game: The Challenge, obviously without a body count. Experiences that let everyone play the show's games without appearing on TV also keep proving part of the IRL fun. As the show's second season approaches, dropping on Boxing Day 2024, Australia has welcomed three Squid Game activations — starting in St Kilda, where 200 pink guards relaxed on the Melbourne suburb's beach to kick things off; then cruising through Sydney harbour; and now at the pool so famous that it recently earned the documentary treatment. The Harbour City is no stranger to Squid Game stunts, or to Young-hee. Three years back, the Red Light, Green Light doll first made its eerie presence known in Sydney. When it took to the water this time around, it did so by ferry with 300 pink guards as an escort to get to Luna Park Sydney for Squid Game: The Experience. And now it has visited another iconic location. At Bondi Icebergs, 50 Squid Game guards were also in attendance, while ten players tried their hand at avoiding Young-hee. And the winner? Steve Bradbury, chalking up another claim to fame.. Come Thursday, December 26, Squid Game will unveil its second batch of episodes — and fans' second-last opportunity to press play. The show will return in 2025, too, with its third season; however, that will be the end of the series. More Squid Game: The Challenge is on the way, however. Squid Game season two streams via Netflix from Thursday, December 26, 2024. Season three will arrive in 2025 — we'll update you when an exact release date for it is announced. Squid Game: The Experience is now on at Luna Park Sydney, 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point. Head to the venue's website for more information and to buy tickets.
It's almost time to tick over into another trip around the sun. But before our current rotation is complete, we have to give this year a massive send-off that celebrates the ups and, hopefully, helps us forget the downs. Fortunately, this New Year's Eve in Melbourne is stacked, with these dining encounters, late-night parties and luxe galas making for a memorable final night on the town. Cosmic Discoteca at Johnny's Green Room Bring your dancing shoes and send it intergalactic style, as Johnny's Green Room rings in NYE with the all-inclusive Cosmic Discoteca. Priced at $300 per ticket, this rooftop shindig kicks off with champagne on arrival, before guests indulge in a once-off menu created by chef Karen Martini. Then, catch sweeping city views of the fireworks and free-flowing drinks until 1am. Find out more here. New Year's Eve at The Royce's Showroom Bar NYE is a glamorous affair at The Royce — a former Rolls-Royce showroom turned coveted hotel and dining destination. Ease into the evening at the Showroom Bar, where guests can sip Taittinger champagne, knock back a negroni and snack on signature nibbles, like hibachi-flamed ocean trout. Open for walk-ins throughout the afternoon and evening, this spot is ideal for late planners. Find out more here. Midnight Merchants' Ball at Mill Place Merchants Look ahead from a throwback speakeasy, as Mill Place Merchants celebrate NYE with the Midnight Merchants' Ball. Ticketed from $358 per person, guests dressed in their best 'trades of the past' outfit score unlimited cocktails, canapes and live entertainment, including a three-piece jazz band. With prizes awarded for best costume, don your suspenders or feather boas and get immersed in this Prohibition-era party for the ages. Find out more here. [caption id="attachment_845602" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kristoffer Paulsen[/caption] New Year's Eve Dinner at Luci See out 2025 with a touch of elegance, as Luci offers a four-course NYE dinner brimming with old-world romance for $135 per person. Seated in the restaurant's heritage-listed dining hall, guests receive a selection of snacks — sourdough focaccia, taleggio arancini and more — before choosing an enticing entree, main and dessert. Plus, you're welcome to add a half-dozen oysters on arrival or a 2.5-hour bottomless drinks package. Find out more here. Baby Oliv B2B Cabu at Mr Mills Rounding out Mr Mills' Summer Music Series, presented in collaboration with Untitled Group, this happening subterranean spot is ending the year on a high note. With tickets available for $49, including a cocktail on arrival, guests can party late as Baby Oliv serves up a b2b set with Cabu, combining electronic, house and baile funk tunes. Pair with the Festive Set Menu upstairs at Marmelo for extra NYE indulgence. Find out more here. NYE Masquerade Party at VIVA Melbourne Looking for an event you'll still be talking about in a year's time? That might be VIVA Melbourne's NYE Masquerade Party. Ticketed at $155, this eclectic cabaret venue invites guests to wander its transformed spaces, with each brought to life with roaming musicians, comedic performers and immersive theatre moments. Building to a high-energy dance party, masquerade or formal attire is required, elevating the experience even further. Find out more here. Italian Dinner Party at Marameo Sometimes the best New Year's Eve party is the least complicated one. CBD Italian diner Marameo is keeping the formula simple: loads of delicious food. With two sittings available — early birds from 5.30pm or 8.30pm 'til midnight for those counting down — expect a stack of starters, blue swimmer crab linguine, braised lamb shoulder and a boozy tiramisu that's perfect for closing out the year. Find out more here. Archie Rose NYE Martini Menu at Commune Group Venues Love an Archie Rose cocktail? This New Year's Eve, Commune Group is elevating its six bustling Melbourne restaurants with the limited-edition Archie Rose NYE Martini Menu. So, shake and stir your way into Studio Amaro, Tokyo Tina, Firebird, Moonhouse, New Quarter and Hanoi Hannah Vol. II, to sip back five concoctions, like the Signature Martini, featuring Archie Rose Signature Dry Gin, Voir Cherry Blossom and lychee liqueur. Find out more here. New Year's Eve at The Waterside Hotel Eight years in the making, The Waterside Hotel has arrived just in time for its inaugural New Year's celebration. The crew has gone all out, with all four levels of this CBD pub resonating with luxe ticketed experiences. The main event is happening on the first two levels, featuring DJs until 3am and an all-inclusive package of roving canapes and drinks. Upstairs, indulge in a lavish banquet or party with prime views of the city's fireworks. Find out more here. New Year's Eve Feast at Hawker Hall You won't start 2026 hungry, as Hawker Hall hosts a jam-packed feast stacked with Singaporean and Malaysian hawker fare alongside crowd-pleasing DJs. Keep it simple with the $66 per person Feed Me Banquet, or step up the celebratory mood with the $99 NYE Yum Cha Feast, combining a massive dim sum spread with 90 minutes of bottomless Chandon Blanc de Blancs. Find out more here. Sunset Sitting and Midnight Soiree at Beverly Catch the final sunset of 2025 from the ideal vantage point — Beverly's 24th-floor rooftop. For $160 per person, you'll savour a Chef's Selection menu and take in the views. Then, from 8pm, the Midnight Soiree takes over, offering a Met Gala-esque experience, complete with a $250 set menu featuring lobster cannoli, MB4+ dry-aged T-bone and tiramisu lollipops. Meanwhile, you'll get first-class views of the fireworks from high above Chapel Street. Find out more here.
What do you get when you cross a wine bar with a pub and slot it into a cosy shopfront on Johnston Street? Well, for Chris Wright and Jonathan Reisacher the result looks a lot like their new Collingwood venture, Gum — a glam 70s-themed boozer heroing hot pies, tap brews and vintage cocktails. It's the first foray into hospitality for these two best mates, though, as music industry veterans, they're confident they've frequented enough bars in their time to know what works. Here, the winning formula involves a nostalgic 70s rock-chic fit-out by Brunswick designer Bianca Sciuto, imagined with the help of retro wallpaper prints, orange laminate table tops and plenty of curves. Yet more Aussie nostalgia shines through the food offering, which runs to a simple lineup of pies from Footscray's Pie Thief — expect varieties like the Big Mac pie and a vegan spaghetti bolognese number — plus sausage rolls and a classic vanilla slice. Eat them in, or grab a takeaway pack to-go. [caption id="attachment_790772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rubin Utama[/caption] Meanwhile, the drinks list serves up a tight, but diverse array of sips, featuring mostly Aussie wines and a range of around 20 craft tins from favourites like Fixation, 3 Ravens, Kaiju and Stomping Ground. A cocktail offering is full of flashbacks — think, banana cream daiquiris and a riff on the mai tai — alongside new-school creations like the vodka-infused Grapple starring green tea and apple boba. And if summer's got you feeling extra thirsty, there's a trio of shared cocktail jugs for $45, including The Aperoyal with its blend of prosecco, Aperol and rosé apple cider. Gum is also keen to help pack out your activities calendar, with local DJs now playing every Thursday to Saturday night, and regular trivia sessions, games nights and Sunday barbecue parties also in the works. Find Gum at 173 Johnston Street, Collingwood. It's open 4–10pm Wednesday–Thursday, 12pm–1am Friday–Saturday, and 12–10pm Sunday. Images: Rubin Utama
Do you need to be acrobatic to enjoy circus arts? Do you need to be especially athletic, have incredible strength or be particularly coordinated to have a good time? The answer is no. How do I know this? I went to the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) for its Come & Try Circus Day as a graceless, confused beginner and absolutely loved it. If you want to know more, read on to find out exactly how my first day at circus school went down. THE SCHOOL In addition to being the only institution in Australia that offers a Circus Arts degree, NICA also runs term classes and holds public open days four times a year — which is where I dipped my toe in the circus-school pool. The classes were led by expert trainers and explored a broad range of skills, apparatus and fitness activities for newbies and advanced practitioners alike. To be honest, I was terrified walking in, and fully prepared for a day of failure and falling over. But, once I met the instructors and shared a few smiles with my classmates, the first-day nerves disappeared. There was a range of abilities and ages at the adult open day, all checking out the venue and teaching style on offer. With enthusiastic beginners taking part alongside more advanced attendees, I am testament to the fact that you can approach circus arts as an absolute novice and still have a great time. THE SESSIONS There were three sessions on offer, with each featuring multiple circus skills for you to try. On offer was everything from trapeze and rope to tumbling, trampolining, juggling, hand balancing and more. Each session started with a quick warm-up activity and some stretching to get the group and your body ready for action. First up for me was aerial hoop. I wasn't perfect, but everyone in the class was supportive, which made me feel like I could give it a red-hot go without embarrassment. We started with exercises to prepare the shoulders for taking our body weight, followed by mounting and dismounting. To finish, we executed a few different shapes including mermaid, DreamWorks and pixie. Shockingly, I was able to do them all. It was the confidence boost I needed to carry me through juggling — at which I was, in fact, terrible. Despite not being able to nail a single 'cascade' juggle, I enjoyed learning about timing, how to arc my throws and the art of letting the balls fall without trying to catch them on impulse. Turns out it was pretty difficult for me to let things go (is this a metaphor for my life?). Regardless, I redeemed myself on the hula hoop by managing a few quick tricks. After lunch it was handstand time. I thought I had chosen something pretty basic and, even though I had never done a handstand in my life, was fairly confident I had the upper body and core strength to manage it. I did not. I did, however, get closer than ever before. Turns out it's important to spread your hands, look down and do your best to fight that fear of falling. Don't want to follow the advice of a writer who couldn't manage a single free-standing handstand the entire session? Go and learn from an expert at NICA instead. I'm told it takes a while to build up from nothing, but as a beginner, this was still an enjoyable and entirely embarrassment-free experience. THE VERDICT If the gym doesn't spark joy, or you want to diversify your physical activity, NICA's term time classes are a brilliant way to get your body moving in interesting and challenging ways. There are prerequisites for certain levels of the term time classes, so make sure to check the website or chat with the staff before enrolling. Then get prepped to unlock skills and talents you never knew you had. As for me, I've just signed up to the Aerial Preparation term course. The sky's the limit. Keen to turn your world upside down in the best way possible? The National Institute of Circus Arts run term time classes and open days throughout the year. The next Come & Try Circus Day will take place on Saturday, September 24. For more information and to find a class that suits, visit the website. Images: Julia Sansone.
It's been eight years since Trevor and Steve Simmons launched their first Industry Beans coffee roastery and cafe in the backstreets of Fitzroy. It would quickly become a landmark of Australia's coffee scene, growing to encompass a seven-strong stable of venues across Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. In 2021, the brand embraced one of its biggest changes yet, moving from its OG northside digs to a grander space just around the corner, accessed via Westgarth Street. The current site boasts extra room to house an expanded offering — complete with a larger dining space, onsite coffee roastery and dedicated retail area. Guests are greeted with a fitout that fuses familiar Industry Beans elements with some new, modern twists. Similarly, the ever-innovative coffee menu features a mix of signature favourites like the Fitzroy Street blend alongside new seasonal creations to enjoy with the roaster's top-notch rotation of caffeinated delights. There are also variations of iced drinks on offer, including the bubble coffee range — which features coffee-soaked tapioca pearls. Or, you can take your pick from a range of teas and juices. For a bite to eat, you can opt to pair something light with the sip of your choice — the honeyseed slice and peanut butter brownie are house-baked Fitzroy specials, and the winter sponge combines the limited-edition coffee blend with dessert for a seasonally-inspired sweet treat. For a heftier selection, peruse the all-day dining menu. Think house-made golden granola with rosewater-compressed watermelon, a pandan bubble waffle with blueberry gelato or the chilli barramundi folded eggs paired with coffee togarashi. Or, for a more experimental lunch, try the coffee-rubbed wagyu burger. You can also opt for the evergreen omelette, buckwheat and broccolini bowl or the basil and truffle gnocchi for more familiar dishes. Pair your meal with a side of polenta chips or an heirloom tomato salad and you've secured yourself a delicious meal. Plus, you can head home with an Industry Beans blend of your own or coffee equipment for your home brewing if you're ready to splash some extra cash at the end of your visit. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Coffee in Melbourne
We all know that video piracy is a crime and that we should pay for the music we are listening, too, but just how far we have come from 20th-century entertainment is not always present in our minds. Enter photographer Julia Solis and her new book Stages of Decay — a feat that took her across Europe and the US over a period of years to document over 100 disused and dilapidated theatres that once housed The Who, witnessed the cinematic events of their eras and were symbols of popular culture, cultural hubs and signifiers of Western affluence. The images tiptoe along that enticing line between nostalgia, beauty, decay — actually it is all very Tintern Abbey — and all those butterfly feelings that come up when we dream of days long gone. Solis sees the images as more experiential, as she told Flavorwire: "You want a one-on-one encounter with it, to open secret closets and fondle plaster and play with rusted machinery without your parents' interference. In a society that's increasingly controlled, monitored and publicised, a wild space like that can't help but have an incredible allure." Be sure to note the cars parked underneath the ornate ceiling of the old Michigan Theatre, and for the trivia buffs, it is now the parking lot for the new cinema. Circle of life?
After eight years in business, Footscray's Hop Nation Brewing Co is giving its taproom a major makeover. The new space, which opens on Thursday, September 28, will feature a spacious open-plan brewhouse, room for events with up to 50 people and a new purpose-built kitchen helmed by ex-Figlia Pizzeria chef Alex Addams Williams. Called Good Pizza, the kitchen will focus on woodfired pizzas using a long-ferment dough process, with both thin and thick crust options available. Addams Williams and Hop Nation encourage you to get creative with your order, as they reckon that everyone has their own idea of a "good pizza" — so loading up with wild ingredients isn't frowned upon, but actually encouraged (just please leave the pineapple on pizza debate in 2012 where it belongs). Hop Nation closed its doors on Sunday, August 27 to allow for the renovation — but fans of the Hop needn't fret, as it is still around for takeaways in the interim. The revamp itself is being handled by Studio Y, with "Brooklyn warehouse-meets-Melbourne brewery" the ultimate vision. The made-over taproom will have 17 beers on tap, including seasonal brews such as Grapefruit West Coast IPA and Guava, Dragon Fruit & Toasted Coconut sour, as well as a few hard seltzers. Punters can also enjoy the newly released Footscray Draft, created to pay image to the brewery's home suburb. And of course, the full Hop Nation core range will also be available. Hop Nation's revamped taproom will also host a number of events, including a party on the AFL Grand Final (which falls nicely on opening weekend). Footy fans needn't worry about a subpar viewing experience either, as the game will be projected onto the walls. Other events to look forward to include a Oktoberfest-style shindig that will feature three European-style beers, such as a limited release Kellerbier and Czech pilsner. Regular events span new limited-release beers on tap every fortnight and "Hoppy Hour" drinks every Thursday and Friday from 3–6pm. "We can't wait to welcome our neighbours, beer lovers and pizza aficionados to the newly renovated Hop Nation Taproom for some good pizza, good times and obviously some damn good Hop Nation beer," says co-founder Sam Hambour. Hop Nation was founded by two former winemakers, Duncan Gibson and the aforementioned Hambour, with the pair releasing their first beer in 2015. When the brand took over a brewing site in Mornington in 2020, too, it created more room for renovations to occur in the Footscray taproom. Find Hop Nation Brewing Co at Unit 6/107–109 Whitehall Street, Footscray. It will reopen on Thursday, September 28, operating 3–9.30pm Thursday–Sunday
UPDATE Tuesday, July 20: Yarra Valley visits are off the cards for now, but you can get a taste of the region delivered to your door with Rochford Wines' lineup of covetable hampers. There are booze packs, cheese-and-charcuterie kits, and at-home feasting options galore — including a three-course dinner starring hickory-smoked beef ribs and a bottle of Rochford wine. Melbourne deliveries will arrive within two business days of placing your order, which you can do here. For more details on Victoria's current restrictions, see the Department of Health and Human Services website. Arguably one of the Yarra Valley's best-known wineries, Rochford boasts a stunning lakeside cellar door, restaurant and some seriously great pizza. The rolling green expanse of the property is pretty much heaven for greenery-seeking humans and their pups (the winery is dog friendly). If you visit earlier in the year during the harvest, you can go on a guided tour of the vineyard, sampling the as-yet unharvested grapes straight from the vines or head straight to final produce at the cellar door where you can sample the vintages before settling on your take-home bottle or, for a more relaxed experience, set yourself up with a tasting flight at the on-site Isabella's Restaurant. Opt for some charcuterie including nduja, fennel and garlic salami or the terrine with rhubarb jam to pair, or if hunger has truly set in, go for one of the medium, large or 'enormous' dishes, each offered with the sommelier's wine recommendation. What's suggested? Can you really go past a 16-hour oyster blade of beef with the 2017 single vineyard 'Garrigue' Heathcote syrah or the saffron and orange-glazed chicken with the 2017 single vineyard 'Dans les Bois' chardonnay — both of which we're sure your pooch will enjoy a scrap or two from. If you'd prefer pizza though, head over to Il Vigneto, which is located on the Rochford property. Here, it's all about the dreamy, authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas and top-notch serves of pasta. A range of antipasto, sides, desserts and cocktails rounds out the fun.
If you spent a few days this winter attending a Twin Peaks-inspired ball and seeing a giant teddy bear with laser eyes — watching a stunning new take on Dante's classic examination of hell, purgatory and paradise, too — then you went to Dark Mofo's 2023 run. Organised by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, the winter arts festival fills Hobart with all manner of weird and wild surprises every year. In 2024, however, it's pausing its usual sprawling event to plan for the future. The fest's team has announced that it'll largely sit out next year, after celebrating its tenth year this year. Apart from its beloved Winter Feast and Nude Solstice Swim, Dark Mofo will take a break in 2024 in order to work out what the next decade looks like for the fest. "Dark Mofo has always been dedicated to enriching and transforming lives through ambitious art and ideas. We want to make sure that we have a festival that continues to deliver incredible art and artists, that continues to expand its artistic boundaries and remains a beacon of creativity, innovation and cultural significance," said Dark Mofo Artistic Director Chris Twite. "While this was a tough decision, it ensures we move forward in a viable manner. The fallow year will enable us to secure the future of Dark Mofo and its return at full force in 2025." The moves comes after a hit year that saw Dark Mofo smash it with attendances and at the box office — notching up record figures, in fact. Despite the most event's success, the crew behind it will now work towards "a more sustainable model for a full return in 2025, and set the foundation for the next ten years", taking rising costs and other changing elements into consideration. So, no full Dark Mofo is the not-so-great development for your winter 2024 plans. That the culinary-focused Winter Feast and the frosty Nude Solstice Swim will still take place next year even without the broader festival around it is better news. "We are excited that in June 2024 — amidst the rebirth and renewal of Dark Mofo — that Tasmanians and visitors alike will still be able to meet and commune around the fires of Winter Feast and cast off the weight of another year at the Nude Solstice Swim once more," said Twite. This year's Winter Feast was headlined by Chef's Table alum Ana Roš from two-Michelin-starred Hiša Franko, cooking up fare inspired by her homeland but made with Tasmania's top seasonal produce with help from The Agrarian Kitchen's Stephen Peak and Rodney Dunn. Exact details for the 2024 food-centric event, and for the next chance to bare all and brave the cold while taking a dip, are yet to be announced. Dark Mofo won't take place in 2024 — apart from the Winter Feast and Nude Solstice Swim — with plans to return in full from 2025 onwards in Hobart, Tasmania instead. Head to the festival's website for further details. Winter feast images: Jesse Hunniford, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023. Nude Solstice Swim images: Rémi Chauvin, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023.
This August, Melbourne's iconic Fed Square is shaking up its usual offering to deliver a dazzling program packed full of installations, activities and one-off events as part of its first Anything But Square Festival. One of these will see guests embark on a futuristic bunker feasting adventure, dubbed Sensory Underground. This mysterious dinner is being hosted by modern Japanese favourite Tokyo Tina across a series of 90-minute sittings from July 31 to August 11. And it will be anything but normal. First, you'll enter the space through Platform 13 at Flinders Street Station and make your way through to an unforgettable subterranean space deep below Fed Square. There, you'll be served up a four-course dinner, with each future-leaning dish inspired by current food forecasts for the year 2045, crafted around sustainable food practices, minimal energy use and seasonal, local produce. Think casual dining crossed with Blade Runner. While you're tucking into your innovative feast, you'll also be treated to a program of multisensory experiences, from some of Melbourne's hottest creative talent no less. There'll be lighting installations by artist Kit Webster, virtual reality elements from PHORIA Studio's Trent Clews-de Castella and Joseph Purdam, and visual delights from the team at Studio SPGD. Tickets to the dinners clock in at $120, including food, a welcome drink and all that sensory fun. Sessions will run at 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and at 6pm, pm and 9.45pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Situated amid South Melbourne's renowned Coventry Street shopping precinct, Pomegranate by Mr Darcy is one of the most-loved stores on the strip and has been providing visitors with homewares and gifts since 1999. Close by the famous South Melbourne Market and surrounded by restaurants, Pomegranate hosts a wealth of charming products that reflect the store's vibrant sense of travel, excitement and hidden possibilities. Once you've checked out Pomegranate by Mr Darcy, head further along Coventry Street and you'll soon come across the ladies' clothing and accessories of Mr Darcy, while Little Darcy showcases the brand's range for children. Images: Tracey Ahkee.
If you indulge in a little dog-spotting when wandering the streets, it won't be long until a greyhound, aka the longest of long boys, crosses your gaze. That's in no small part due to the Greyhound Adoption Program's (GAP) enduring work, with the organisation now gearing up to celebrate its 30th birthday. Taking over the Abbotsford Convent from 8am on Monday, March 16, this major milestone honours all those who have adopted, fostered, volunteered or just followed the work of the Greyhound Adoption Program over the years. For those heading along to this free event, expect meet-and-greets with GAP greyhounds and the chance to mingle with fellow long boy lovers. Meanwhile, Nova 100's Street Team will be elevating the moment with live music and giveaways. Alongside coffee, treats and activities for the whole family, there's one more happening worth sticking around for. That'd be a much-loved Aussie TV personality adopting GAP's 20,000th greyhound — a fitting landmark as you navigate the many long noses and wagging tails in attendance.
In Love Lies Bleeding, a craggy ravine just outside a dusty New Mexico town beckons, ready to swallow sordid secrets in the dark of the desert's starry night. Tumbling into it, a car explodes in flames partway through the movie, exactly as the person pushing it in wants it to. There's the experience of watching Rose Glass' sophomore film emblazoned across the feature's very frames. After the expertly unsettling Saint Maud, the British writer/director returns with a second psychological horror, this time starring Kristen Stewart in the latest of her exceptionally chosen post-Twilight roles (see: Crimes of the Future, Spencer, Happiest Season, Lizzie, Personal Shopper, Certain Women and Clouds of Sils Maria). An 80s-set queer and sensual tale of love, lust, blood and violence, Love Lies Bleeding is as inkily alluring as the gorge that's pivotal to its plot, and as fiery as the inferno that swells from the canyon's depths. This neon-lit, synth-scored neo-noir thriller scorches, too — and burns so brightly that there's no escaping its glow. When the words "you have to see it to believe it" also grace Love Lies Bleeding — diving into gyms and in the bodybuilding world, it's no stranger to motivational statements such as "no pain no gain", "destiny is a decision" and "the body achieves what the mind believes" — they help sum up this wild cinematic ride as well. Glass co-scripts here with Weronika Tofilska (they each previously penned and helmed segments of 2015's A Moment in Horror), but her features feel like the result of specific, singular and searing visions that aren't afraid to swerve and veer boldly and committedly to weave their stories and leave an imprint. Accordingly, Love Lies Bleeding is indeed a romance, a crime flick and a revenge quest. It's about lovers on the run and intergenerational griminess. It rages against the machine. It's erotic, a road trip and unashamedly pulpy. It also takes the concept of strong female leads to a place that nothing else has, and you do need to witness it to fathom it. Stewart is Love Lies Bleeding's shaggy mullet-wearing heartthrob, a surly and oft-silent type who knows what she wants and doesn't. In the first category for the gym-managing Lou: a life free of abuse for her sister Beth (Jena Malone, Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire), who has scuzzy and vicious husband JJ (Dave Franco, Day Shift) lurking about; nothing to do with the shooting range-owning, gun-running, insect-obsessed, ponytailed Lou Sr (the scene-stealing Ed Harris, Top Gun: Maverick); and, from when she first sets eyes on her, muscular and permed out-of-towner Jackie (Katy O'Brian, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania). It's 1989, Lou is unwilling to be anyone but herself — iron-pumping patrons try and fail to insult her with "grade-a dyke" — and she's also introduced knowing how to clean up a mess and navigate amorous complications. Glass initially finds one of her protagonists with a hand deep in a backed-up toilet, and with local hang-about and past fling Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov, Dickinson) pleading for a date. More muck and more relationship chaos are in store for both Lou and for Love Lies Bleeding. Breezing in en route to a bodybuilding championship in Las Vegas, Jackie reciprocates her affections, then moves into her house — but the day before they meet, she's sleeping with JJ for a job at Lou Sr's. That's just some of the shit, metaphorical rather than literal, that Lou will have to get more than elbow-deep in. The FBI agents hovering around asking questions fall into the same camp. Alongside gleefully subverting the usual take on powerful women characters on-screen, Glass carves into idyllic perceptions of love. Love Lies Bleeding's central romance is urgent, instant, sweaty and horny, and also opportunistic, perilous and thorny. The idea that discovering your special someone is transformative also receives a stunning spin, and far beyond the fact that bulging biceps and doing everything on steroids — sometimes literally there — are rarely far from returning Saint Maud cinematographer Ben Fordesman's lens. It isn't merely Glass, Fordesman, editor Mark Towns (another Saint Maud alum), composer Clint Mansell (Sharper) and the meticulous team of sound designers who go all in on crafting Lou and Jackie's plight as an evocatively visceral and squelchy fever dream, heated sex scenes, an onslaught of gore and brutality, and an eagerness to get weird all included. Almost every time that she rolls out a new performance, Stewart is in never-better form again and again, which is true once more in this phenomenal portrayal. The anxiety, tension and vulnerability that's pulsating through Lou is evident in a look, a line reading and posture alone, as is determination, devotion, grit and complexity. Stewart masters something that's only matched by the electric O'Brian, as Glass demands: mesmerising viewers, and making them fall as head over heels for this chemistry-dripping pair and the movie they're in as they do with each other. For O'Brian, who also has The Mandalorian and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as Westworld and The Walking Dead on her resume, has studied martial arts since childhood, takes part in bodybuilding contests off-screen and was previously a cop, it's a star-making, can't-look-away turn. Add obsession to the forces pumping ravenously through Love Lies Bleeding, which befits its filmmaker; this isn't her first picture about transformation and connection. The links between Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding mirror Lou and Jackie, with the two duos as much kindred spirits as opposites. Glass relishes the magnetic clash, then revels in it. What it truly means to change, and why, and the motivations to try; attempting to abandon old and forge new habits; what a person can and can't find in another; where faith and trust kick in: they all throb through both flicks. But jumping from a claustrophobic British setting to the expansive American west, plus from ailing bodies to musclebound figures, is also Glass' journey. Contrasts abound within Love Lies Bleeding itself, which is intimate but sprawling, raw and tender, sweet and savage, gets love and sex butting heads with carnage and death, grim but blackly comedic, and also dark and distressing yet swoonworthy and romantic. In her two features so far — a helluva debut, then this astounding follow-up — Glass has also proven herself a builder, but not of the bodies that her second movie peers at with as female a gaze that cinema is capable of. There's no watching Love Lies Bleeding and not spying its influences, as was the case with Saint Maud. That said, that both take those inspirations as foundations to construct something else entirely is equally inescapable. These are no one's copies. True Romance, Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, Thelma & Louise, Showgirls, Badlands, Paris, Texas, Raising Arizona, Bonnie & Clyde, Natural Born Killers: consider them all Love Lies Bleeding's siblings. So are Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon, as spied in the intoxicating hues that dance across the screen. Although it similarly only reached cinemas in 2024, Ethan Coen's Drive-Away Dolls would make a glorious double with one of the standout movies of the year. For a burning, bulging, blistering and brilliant plunge into filmmaking at its most exhilarating, however, Love Lies Bleeding stands and shines fiercely atop its own cliff.
The Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance has been working hard to queer up the Australian Open ever since it ran its first Glam Slam tournament in 2019. The team works in partnership with Tennis Australia to bring in LGBTQIA+ tennis players from around the world — providing a safe space for them to compete in their own tournament while also throwing a three-day party. And this year is just as big as ever — with 260 players from around 30 countries participating in the 2025 Glam Slam, which runs from Friday, January 24–Sunday, January 26. Players of all gender identities are welcome to join and play against others with similar skill levels. Moreover, to increase women's participation, the Glam Slam also has a women's division that's open to anyone who identifies as a woman. The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tournament to run an event like this, which actively gives LGBTQIA+ tennis players a space to compete. Sport has traditionally been a space where queer people don't feel safe or included (and that is still the case in many sports), but this event is working hard to challenge that in the world of tennis — by creating a welcoming and inclusive event that's also a heap of fun to attend. Glam Slam Founder Rowen D'Souza commented, "Inclusion can go much further than just raising the pride flag. For an event to be truly inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community, it needs to have our community participate. The Glam Slam does this for the AO." To watch the Glam Slam games, punters simply need to purchase Australian Open ground passes and then find the matches on the outside courts. [caption id="attachment_986024" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grey Goose Courtside Bar[/caption] But it's not just about the competition. There's also a heap of special entertainment running across the three days, which lines up with the AO Pride Day on Friday, January 24. You'll find drag queens and kings, face painting and glam stations, DJ sets, and plenty of rainbow flags around the grounds. From 2pm on Sunday, January 26, you can even drop by the Grey Goose Courtside Bar at Court 6 to watch the Glam Slam finals as well as a celebrity match featuring Luke and Sassy Scott and a bunch of professional players. This is usually a time of the Australian Open when the outside courts are empty — as most games in the final few days are played in the arenas. Letting the Glam Slam team take over these outer courts and the surrounding spaces is a damn great way to use the space and keep the festivities going. The 2025 Glam Slam is running from Friday, January 24–Sunday, January 26, and can be accessed by purchasing Australian Open ground passes. For more information, check out the tournament's website.
You could soon be the proud owner of your very own tram, thanks to the Andrews Government's new Retired Trams Strategy, revealed today. The plan's designed to give the city's old vehicles a new lease on life, allowing Victorians to apply to acquire their own tram for free. Expressions of interest will open on Monday, May 28, and run until July 6. They're not just giving them away to anyone, though — if you're keen to add one of the historic vehicles to your collection, you'll have to explain how you'll plan to restore, repurpose and maintain it, so it's preserved for future generations. Priority will be given to applicants who plan to keep the vehicles accessible to the public and of benefit to the community. The best part is that the trams will be completely free for Victorian community organisations, museums and not-for-profits. But those wanting to use the tram for commercial purposes (like accommodation or hospitality) will need to pay, as will interstate residents. There are 134 W-Class trams (the old rattly green and yellow ones) up for grabs, following a recent careful examination of the state's 237-strong retired fleet. Currently, they're sitting in storage at the Newport Railway Workshop. "Over the years, trams have transported millions of Victorians, connected our communities and are an integral part of our rich heritage," Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan explained. "If they're not going to be used on the network, we want to keep these trams accessible to the community." Expressions of interest can be made via the VicTrack website.
