It has been a tumultuous year for Sydney's hospitality scene. We've said farewell to some short-lived favourites — Bar Brosé, Eleven Bridge and The Antipodean to name a few — we've lamented the changes to the 457 visa and the hospitality sector's staff shortage and we continue to fight the lockout laws. But where there have been closures, innovative new ventures have risen from the ashes. We've seen the opening of a slew of new bars, restaurants, cafes, pubs, spaces and events — and they're not all from the big players, independent ventures are flourishing. At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented vanguards pushing Sydney to be a better, braver city. And so, we are very pleased to announce Concrete Playground's Best of 2017 Awards. As we continue to attempt to define Australian cuisine, chefs continue to push the boundaries. We've seen (and tasted) black pudding curry in a Thai restaurant located in a renovated tea building, eaten delicate Japanese fare served behind a police station and downed hash browns and kimchi toasties at a Korean cafe. Bars continue to offer immersive, imaginative experiences that take you beyond their drinks lists — you can drink beer out of horns in viking dens, sip tiki cocktails at a Twin Peaks-themed bar and pair natural wine with Roe Boats. The cafe culture is stronger than ever, too, with new cafes not only guaranteeing a stellar cup of Joe, but also innovative lunch snacks and sleek interiors that'll really make you reconsider that desk sandwich. Pubs have defied the strangling lockout laws, kickstarting old favourites and coming together to raise up the city's ailing live music scene. They've hosted yes voting parties and sported controversial art, with the community rallying behind them. The bringing together of the art and food scene has expanded beyond pubs, with venues spending more time on their appearances, collaborating with local designers, architects and street artists to create stunning spaces. This prompted the creation of our new category, Best New Space. We've searched far and wide to find our favourite, visually stunning, innovative and sustainable spaces that are accessible to you — including shops, hotels, co-working hubs and public spaces. Event organisers have created smart and clever new events, celebrating the city's cultural ecosystem and bringing people together to eat cheese, look at innovative art and to support each other in times of hardship. This year, we will be awarding both a reader voted People's Choice and Overall award in each of the following six categories: Best New Restaurant Best New Bar Best New Cafe Best New Pub Best New Event Best New Space These 36 outstanding Sydney ventures have been handpicked by Concrete Playground for their combination of originality, innovation, creativity, approachability and sustainability. We straight-up love them. And the winners are.... BEST NEW RESTAURANT OVERALL WINNER: SASAKI This tiny, unassuming space in Sydney's CBD opened in April — but you'll need to make a reservation (a week in advance) if you plan on heading here for dinner. It's still busy, which is a testament to its consistently great food, warm service and attention to detail. Owner and head chef, Yu Sasaki (Cre Asion) pays homage to his hometown of Shimane, with dishes reflecting his fragmented memories of the Japanese countryside. The pint-sized, minimalist restaurant boasts a daily changing menu using the freshest Australian produce. The menu is completely driven by season and Sasaki only uses ingredients that have been harvested by his local suppliers and farmers, with whom he maintains a close personal relationship. Service is warm and attentive from the moment you're sat to the moment you're handed a sleek leaflet explaining the restaurant's ethos on your way out. Sasaki may not be making the noise other newcomers have been, but its consistency and and fast rise to a local favourite make it more than deserving of Overall Best New Restaurant. PEOPLE'S CHOICE: MJOLNER Named for Thor's hammer, the self-described 'Viking luxe' space is part-drinking den, part-fine dining restaurant. It may sound gimmicky, but it works — rather than going too hard on the schtick, Mjølner uses the Viking theme as tasteful inspiration. This is consistent throughout the whole venue; the animal-clad waitstaff and impressive fit-out contrast well with the R&B soundtrack and a modern Nordic menu. The leather-bound cocktail menu is extensive, but drinking is by no means the only reason to visit, with the open kitchen turning out a seriously impressive food menu. As expected, the menu is focused around meat, with bone marrow and spiced pig's head terrine making appearances. Both of these are expertly executed, with the bone marrow melting in your mouth and the terrine surprisingly light. It's fine dining in a pretty chill setting, which is hard to achieve and particularly well done at Mjølner. BEST NEW BAR OVERALL WINNER: DEAR SAINTE ÉLOISE Most of Lankelly Place is closed or empty on a Tuesday night, but it's another story altogether inside Dear Sainte Éloise. The warmly-lit wine bar is aglow with patrons and bustling staff — it's already a well-oiled machine. It's clear the Love, Tilly Devine crew — namely owner Matt Swieboda, head sommelier Nate Hatwell (Mercado), manager Jasmin Natterer and head chef Ben Abiad (co-founder Brickfields Bakery, ex-Sean's Panaroma and Mecca) — know what they're doing. The long, copper bar is adorned with racks upon racks of wine that showcase the bar's huge selection — all up, there's 350 plus bottles, which have been plucked from all over the world, from Austria to Portugal, South Africa and Georgia. While this is a wine bar above all else, the succinct selection of dishes serve well as wine nibbles or a full meal. The menu is printed daily and features wine bar staples like fresh oysters and burrata, and more — inventive little roe boats, bright orange fish roe sitting atop a little potato hash 'boat', fragrant and hearty stewed snake beans and delicate celery hearts with goat's curd and burnt onions. PEOPLE'S CHOICE: MONKEY'S CORNER Having already seduced us with their magnificent sugary creations, everyone's favourite culinary brothers (Reynold, Ronald, and Arnold Poernomo) have moved on to the next vice: alcohol. The trio is shaking up the Sydney cocktail scene with a cheeky Japanese bar called Monkey's Corner, right next to its dessert bar KOI in Chippendale — and it has already become a firm favourite. In the spirit of all things Japanese, the heritage-listed terrace venue is teeny tiny, with just ten seats inside and ten seats outside. Due to heritage restrictions, the trio are not allowed to actually cook in the kitchen. Food can only be steamed or served raw as no frying or grilling is permitted. But thanks to a trusty blowtorch and some clever culinary technique, you won't even notice — it's just another reason to be impressed by the trio. BEST NEW CAFE OVERALL WINNER AND PEOPLE'S CHOICE: BABY COFFEE CO Strong branding with personality, an industrial design with splashes of neon and pastel and luxe junk food that's ready for its close-up. Baby Coffee Co, is really capitalising on current trends — and it's working. The cafe has been open for just over a month and it's already a strong local favourite. A hybrid venue, it's licensed and has a tight wine list, bottomless mimosas for brunch and a cheeky cocktail list with the likes of a 'Flick The Bean' made with rum, espresso, Falernum and lemonade. While a 'bacon' and egg roll gets a redo with pork belly, two fried eggs, capsicum jam and aioli. We're pretty keen on its espresso panna cotta for breakfast and cacio e pepe fries. If you still can't get enough Baby in your day, it's open for dinner — head in again for a healthy dose of pastel pink and Italian food. BEST NEW PUB OVERALL WINNER: THE LANSDOWNE The Lansdowne is back and it's safe to say it's sticking to its roots — with a mantra of "seedy nights, live music and cheap food" proudly sung by the legendary men behind the resurrection, Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham (Mary's Newtown and The Unicorn Hotel). The grungy feel of the space is definitely still in tact, with the old concrete floors and paint-peeling walls still peeping through. But the downstairs area is now home to a shiny new pool table and dart board, while the pokies room has been swapped for rock 'n' roll pinball machines, complete with a disco ball. Local artist Jessica Cochrane has given the space her own touch, complete with two Playboy wall collages, a candlelit shrine to the live music greats and pin-up girl covered bathrooms ceilings, aka "pisstine chapels". Live music is the hero here, and the entire top floor is dedicated to getting some of the best bands in the business. And that's one of the reasons why we've awarded The Lansdowne the Overall Best New Pub — it's dedication to live music is paramount in a city where it is, due to strangling legislation, ailing. PEOPLE'S CHOICE: THE FERNERY As you might expect, the venue is far from any old rooftop. Located above Mosman Club, it offers extraordinary views of, well, everything: the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the heads and the city skyline. And you'll be gazing at them all while immersed in greenery. It's from the team behind North Sydney's The Greens and Camperdown's Acre. Interior designers Pony Design Co has transformed the main space into a greenhouse-inspired oasis. If you're up for a more intimate chinwag, head into the sleek gin room overlooking North Head. Also on the rooftop is a kitchen garden, cultivated by Adrian Baiada, the man responsible for Acre's urban farm. In addition to the gin room, where the focus is on Australian distillers, there's a bar devoted to rosé. And yes, it's very much pink. A handpicked selection of wines, served straight from the barrel, is on the drinks list, as is a collection of signature cocktails flavoured with just-picked herbs. BEST NEW EVENT OVERALL WINNER AND PEOPLE'S CHOICE: FESTIVAL FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY After the success of the Yes Rally, Sydney's activist collective Reclaim the Streets organised the a huge collective 'yes' voting event, with thousands rocking up at Prince Alfred Park on Saturday, September 23, to vote together. They knew people were going to put off voting 'til the last minute (and risk missing the deadline) and they wanted to prevent it. So they encouraged as many people as possible to put in their vote, en masse. Across from the Strawberry Hills Post Office they hosted a colourful nine-stage music festival. There were lots of rainbows, lots of signs, lots of music and a lot of yes votes. And they — along thousands of other tireless volunteers who called, knocked and handed out leaflets, everyone who marched and talked to their friends and family, and every Australian that voted yes — helped push through a yes vote. And now, it's cemented in law. BEST NEW SPACE OVERALL WINNER: UNYOKED There's getting away. And then there's disappearing to your own private, tiny house in the wilderness — miles from any sign of human interference. Meet Unyoked, a new Australian independent accommodation option that lets you do just that. Importantly, this is not a hotel. Founded and run by twins Cam and Chris Grant, the off-the-grid experience brings you the convenience and comforts of four solid walls, alongside the adventure, spontaneity and closeness-to-nature of camping. Here's how. With the help of designer and builder Alice Nivison and eco-consultant Richie Northcott from Sydney design studio Fresh Prince, the brothers have designed and built four tiny houses throughout New South Wales — both sustainable and solar-powered. They've been placed in secret patches of wilderness on private properties, in the middle of nowhere. Anytime you want to flee the city, disconnect and recharge, all you have to do is book one and jump in your car. And all houses are no more than three hours' drive from Sydney. PEOPLE'S CHOICE: MR LIQUOR'S DIRTY ITALIAN DISCO Merivale's newest venue Mr Liquor's Dirty Italian Disco combines elements of taste and aesthetic to create a venue that's immersive in its narrative without forsaking the essentials: good food and great drinks. With disco tunes and Italian grub in a repurposed bottle shop, the venue is exactly what it says on the packet — and that's something to get excited about. This time round Merivale's got the crew from Pinbone on-board to take over the kitchen (read: drive-through bottle shop) at Mascot's Tennyson Hotel. Like the menu, the venue's design is pretty heavy on the Italian influences, with red and white checkered floors paying tribute to the homely vibe of Italian-American pasta restaurants, while the exposed ceiling beams, roller doors and massive disco ball complete the look. Behind the lively design is Kelvin Ho of Akin Creative, who worked closely with Sydney tattooist Rick Vaughn, aka Four Eyes, to bring the previously bare walls to life with a series of bespoke illustrations.
It’s hard to imagine a better show at the Spiegeltent this year than Meow Meow’s, in which cabaret’s international woman of mystery sings about her quest for love while gabbing away like the third member of Ab Fab. Meow was created by Melissa Gray, one-time law student and graduate of WAAPA. She’s appeared in the West End, at Bowie’s High Line Festival, and on the ABC in their recent The Divorce. She co-starred in that made-for-TV opera with Katie Miller-Heidke, who has provided songs for The Little Mermaid, as have the likes of Megan Washington and Amanda Palmer. Meow is joined in The Little Mermaid by Australian actor Chris Ryan, who appears in hi-vis midway through, calling a halt to the show because the building is unstable. There’s a clog, and in lieu of a plumber he must get up in there – cue all the requisite jokes. As a stand-up comedian, Meow has the audience in the palm of her hand from the beginning. The quality of her chat disarms you, making the power and pathos of her voice all the more arresting. Barry Humphries brought Meow out to Adelaide last year, and it almost felt like an anointment. I’d say she deserves to be better known in her own country if her unknowable-ness wasn’t part of the point. Image: Prudence Upton.
With the beginning of Art Month coming up on March 1, the program of one of Sydney's foremost art festivals is one of the more impressive in its history. The program includes a wild array of exhibitions, talks, tours and experiences that celebrate the vibrant art scene in Sydney, from the artists to the galleries and creative spaces. The 2017 program includes the return of Art at Night (presented by your friends Concrete Playground), a series of after-hours parties and gallery takeovers in the creative spaces in Paddington/Woolahra, East Sydney, and Chippendale/Redfern. Some of Sydney's best galleries will open their doors after closing time to wanderers of the Art Map trail — a journey that culminates in a trip to the Cake Wines Art Bar. Inner west renegades The Bad Bitch Choir (BBC) will be performing. Architect Tao Gofers will give a special tour of the contentious Brutalist Sirius building in The Rocks. Artist Chris Fox will be attached to a large steel drawing machine in Redfern. Sri Lankan-born, Sydney-based artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran will take over Paddington with his large scale sculptures. Intellectual disability-supporting Studio A will be creating a colourful courtyard site-specific work in Chippendale. And Nothing to Lose creator Kelli Jean Drinkwater is commissioning a new work that explores trends in representations of women's bodies. Sticky beaks will get their nosey fix at Art Month as usual, as private collections and home studios open up to the public. The private collection of the legendary Margaret Woodward will be on display inside the home of Wagner Contemporary director Nadine Wagner. The works will be for sale, so if you're in the market, this would be the time to snap up something that'll be priceless one day, if not already. Plus, Guy Maestri, Laura Jones, Julian Meager and Louis Pratt will open their impressive Marrickville studios to the public. Or pop into the Collectors Space, where the personal collections of Archibald winning artists Del Kathryn Barton and Nicholas Harding, among others, will be on display. Want to hear directly from an artist? Sam Holt will be on hand at the Artereal Gallery in Rozelle, where he'll be delivering a talk on his latest exhibition, The space between… The artworks on display are comments on the life of the individual versus the need of society, reflections on the choices that we all make along our very unique paths. There'll be forums surrounding Myuran Sukumaran's posthumous exhibition, Another Day in Paradise, and two members of the boundary-pushing Ikeyan group, Aoki and Yokoyama, will discuss contemporary Japanese ceramics at the Japan Foundation. Tours throughout living creative spaces are on offer, too. Art walking tour crew Culture Scouts will take groups on artistic adventures through Sydney's suburbs, including a saunter through the bohemian borough of Redfern. Those in attendance will be treated to the tales of local artist Randal Arvilla, as well as an expert on Indigenous art and culture. That's just a snippet of the Art Month program. Check the website for the whole month-long lineup.
It's the epic new development Sydneysiders have been waiting for — and, after what seems like an age, it's about to become a reality. That'd be Tramsheds Harold Park, aka the massive revamp of the heritage-listed Rozelle Tram Depot. Whether you're hungry, thirsty or just like strolling around a European-inspired market hall lined with bespoke retailers, you'll be able to get your food fix when it finally opens its doors to the public on September 22. So, what do we know about Tramsheds? Quite a lot, it appears. News about fresh additions and tenants has been coming in thick and fast over the past few months, making many a stomach rumble. Ice cream fiends, rejoice: a new Gelato Messina will be setting up shop as part of the precinct. Poultry fiends, get just as excited: Belle's Hot Chicken will be serving up the wings, tenders and dark meat you can't get enough of, too. They'll be joined by a list that only seems to get bigger by the week, including deli/butcher/restaurant combo Butcher and The Farmer; sustainable seafood restaurant Fish and Co; tapas joint Bodega 1904; and Flour Eggs Water, a new establishment run by Eugenio Maiale. Boutique coffee venue Garçon will bring a theatrical style of coffee-making to the development, while Middle Eastern eatery Bekya will introduce Egyptian street food to Tramsheds' diners. The big end of town is covered as well, thanks to a family-owned 2440 square metre IGA Supamart supermarket. Don't got thinking Tramsheds is just about all things edible, though. For starters, the folks behind Surry Hills whiskey den Tokyo Bird promise to blend seafood-focused Japanese cuisine with a great drinks menu at Osaka Trading Co. And then there's Redline Kitchen & Taphouse, which will not only serve up Southern-style American eats, but also boast locally brewed craft beer. There's also a medical centre, gym, hairdresser and nail bar planned too, and a number of cycle paths are currently under renovation — with plans for over 80 bike racks to be installed. Sounds like Tramsheds will be positively bursting. With all of that on offer, you know where to find us from Thursday. Visit Tramsheds Harold Park at 1 Dalgal Way, Forest Lodge from September 22. For more information head to www.tramshedsharoldpark.com.au.
Chippo Creative Precinct is ushering in the Year of the Monkey with a Kensington Street takeover. There'll be everything that a new year deserves: piles of delicious food, epic art installations, live performance and heaps of chances to dance. More specifically, the celebrations will embrace various elements of Chinese culture. Prepare to meet lion dancers and shadow puppeteers, hear future predictions from a fortune teller and see poetry in motion at the hands of calligraphy masters. As you've probably guessed by now, all the food action will be happening in Spice Alley. In fact, the cobblestoned laneway's resident vendors are throwing a massive lunar feast. Watch their clever, clever chefs whipping up spicy dishes, while traditional dancers whirl past, responding to ballads performed by live erhu players.
We'll take a gin and tonic, sans the sugary soda, please. A brand new Sydney cocktail bar can help you out, using all-natural, locally-made soda and ditching the usual crap. PS40 will open in Sydney's CBD in April as the newest bar concept by the creators of PS Soda, an all-natural soda line. PS Soda and its upcoming bar are the brainchild of an all-star, internationally-renowned crew. From Sydney hospitality goalkickers Thor Bergquist (ex-Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC) and Der Raum) and Michael Chiem (ex-Sokyo, Bulletin Place and the Star's Black by Ezard) to creative director Livia Lima (ex-Maud), this team knows what they're doing. PS40 will focus around the trio's new soft drink line, an unusual approach stemming from Bergquist and Chiem's gastronomic backgrounds — think core flavours like wattle cola, bush tonic and smoked lemonade. All PS Soda will be made and bottled in-house and used for the line of signature cocktails available at PS40. We're most excited to try the 'Batanga!', which combines the Wattle Cola with green coffee bean infused tequila. All PS sodas are of the preservative-free kind, which are not words you generally associate with soda pop. The ingredients themselves are sourced from local, native produce and made with community input at that; Archie Rose Distillery helped to develop the tonic that would complement their gin and LP's Quality Meats' Luke Powell helped create the lemonade. The local love doesn't stop there, with the wine list curated by Lo-Fi Wines and taps from Sydney brewers Wayward and Young Henry's. Yep, it's an all-Sydney affair at PS40. The space is promised to hold true to its warehouse interior with large open windows, concrete walls and high ceilings, designed with a modern and bright fitout. If you're keen to try PS Soda before the bar opens, you can find the sodas behind the bar at Bennelong, The Old Clare Hotel, Firedoor and Archie Rose. PS40 will open in early April at 40 King Street, Sydney. Open Monday – Saturday, 4pm - midnight (closed Sundays).
The brains behind Sydney's experimental wonderland of in-progress art, Underbelly Arts, are marking the start of their 2015 festival season with a brand new supper club. Straightforwardly dubbed SUPPER, the crew's brand new event is being pitched as a 'fete of food, art and conversation' in Redfern this May. Inspired by the sparkling, idea-generating conversations that come from sharing food with top notch folks, Underbelly Arts are inviting keen beans to head along to Redfern Town Hall on May 15 for a specially-programmed supper by Sydney chefs, artists and collectives. ACME owner/co-founder/head chef Mitch Orr will be creating some predictably delicious noms, while Newtonians Young Henrys will provide the brewskis. But it's not all nourishment for the belly. It'll be the first time you'll get to meet the artists participating in the 2015 Underbelly Arts Festival and Lab. Beth Dillon, Kieran Bryant and Lachlan Herd (otherwise known as performance collective 110%) will be there, playing with the concepts of art and leisure. Also suppering will be The Guerilla Museum, a live art production house working in experimental, immersive theatre; large-scale spatial intervention artist Biljana Jancic; and Megan Alice Clune, artist and founder of World's Only magazine (hinging around contemporary art and music). It's not every day you get to dine next to an artist. Come up with something outlandish to start the conversation off with and go from there. Underbelly Arts' SUPPER is happening at 8pm on Friday, May 15 at Redfern Town Hall. Tickets are $30 (including all food and drink), available over here.
You know those wildly decadent Tella Ball milkshakes from Foodcraft Espresso and Bakery everyone lost their minds about last year? The ones with the spherical doughnut oozing with Nutella, sat proudly atop a Nutella milkshake? These ones. Well, if you'll recall the hoo-ha that happened last year, and the fact that Sydney is getting a dedicated Tella Ball Nutella dessert bar, get ready for some straight-up killer news. Foodcraft Espresso are giving away free Tella Balls this Friday from 11am to 12pm. FREE BALLS FOR EVERYONE. Nah, it's only for the first 300 people in line and only for 60 minutes. You'd better start lining up now. Friday will mark not only whatever World Nutella Day is but also the three-week countdown to the opening of the highly anticipated, inner west dessert bar. It's set to serve all-things Nutella from 11am to 11pm Monday to Sunday. Nutella is king right now, no wonder there's a whole festival dedicated to it. Get free Tella Balls for World Nutella Day at Foodcraft Espresso, 33 Bridge Street, Erskineville between 11am to 12pm. Get there bloody early. By Imogen Baker with Shannon Connellan.
If you've recently found yourself snapping at shop attendants, screaming at your computer and road raging at fellow drivers, then it could well be time for a break. And what better way to do it than by stealing away to a secret country retreat, where clean air, green grass and birdsong abound. We've scoured New South Wales for its cutest cottages, freshest farms and prettiest pastures. Head off to one of these bucolic beauties for a weekend and you'll be calmer than Ghandi in no time. [caption id="attachment_639525" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cottonwood Cottage[/caption] COTTONWOOD COTTAGE, BELLINGEN Set on 61 acres in lovely Gleniffer Valley, just north of Bellingen, Cottonwood Cottage is surrounded by landscaped gardens, mountain panoramas and wildlife. There's also 400 metres of river frontage, which is all yours for adventuring along. The cottage is a light-filled, high-ceilinged, Hamptons-style barn, decorated in whites and wood, with posh linen spread over a king-sized bed, a woodfired heater, splashes of marble and a cracking sound system. And just beyond your front door there's an outdoor bathroom in a private courtyard. A bottle of wine, cheeses and brekkie are all complimentary. How far? Bellingen is a six-hour drive from Sydney. Take a four-day weekend if you can. THE CHAPEL, MANNING VALLEY The Chapel is one of seven cottages scattered across Clarendon Forest Retreat, an undulating, 100-acre property in the Kiwarrak State Forest, which lies between Forster and Manning Valley. Behind the sandstone walls and gothic windows hides a split-level escape. Upstairs is devoted to a loft bedroom, complete with a four-poster, queen-sized bed, while downstairs you'll find a jarrah-granite country kitchen and a comfy sofa in front of a log fire. There's also a spa, surrounded by terracotta and affording valley views, and, for warm weather, a shady deck. How far? Manning Valley is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney. Take a day of leave if you've got it. KOOKAWOOD, BLUE MOUNTAINS Reckon your dog deserves a good old break, too? His fur, slobbery kisses and overwhelming enthusiasm are welcome at Kookawoood, a two-bedroom 100-year-old farmhouse on a 200-acre property a half-hour west of Katoomba. What's more, the two of you can bond over epic views from both bedrooms, eight-metre-high ceilings, a huge stone fireplace, an old-school country kitchen and two baths: one indoor and one outdoor. In winter, snuggle in your king-sized bed and hope for snow; in summer, hang out with a G&T in the sculpture-dotted gardens. How far? Kookawood is a three-hour drive from Sydney. Could do it in a weekend, but take a day of leave if you've got it. [caption id="attachment_639855" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cedar Grove Estate[/caption] SECRETS AT CEDAR GROVE ESTATE, KANGAROO VALLEY Secrets, a cottage on Cedar Grove Estate, is encircled by the Ireland-green pastures of Kangaroo Valley, dotted with lazy cattle and backdropped by rugged escarpments. Take in all the views from your oversized bathroom — complete with stand-alone tub, double shower and underfloor heating — or king-sized bed. There's also an open fireplace to keep you warm on chilly evenings and reverse-cycle air-con for unusually balmy nights. If you can muster up the energy to leave, our weekender's guide to Kangaroo Valley will come in handy. How far? The Kangaroo Valley is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney. You could do one night easily. JR'S HUT AT KIMO ESTATE, GUNDAGAI This architect-designed, A-frame hut sits atop a hill with 360-degree views of Kimo Estate, a 7000-acre working farm and beyond. Without getting out of bed, soak up morning mist, wandering sheep, meandering Murrumbidgee River and far-off mountain ranges. At night the stars are countless. The hut is entirely off-grid, with a solar-powered shower, a fire and a barbecue. Also on the property are 19th century cottages and shearers' quarters, which have been transformed into cosy accommodation. How far? Gundagai is a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney. Take Friday off work.
Bar No. 5 doesn't just talk the talk about being a local joint. The repurposed warehouse Alexandria bar is focused not only on seasonality and sourcing local ingredients, but is also enacting a closed-loop policy for the venue — think foraging, bee keeping, solar panels and a composting worm farm to boot. "We want to achieve as close to zero waste as we can with this bar and the restaurant, and keeping it local is all a part of that goal," says bar manager Alex O'Brien (ex -Archie Rose). O'Brien and the team are already taking courses in all of the above through Newtown's Green Living Centre, and will shortly begin foraging in nearby parks. These ingredients will make their way onto the seasonal food and cocktail menu, with the latter including locally made spirits and craft brews from the likes of Willie the Boatman, Yulli's Brews and Wayward Brewing. "We're also making cordials and vinegars in house, using left over ingredients like pineapple skins and long bean tops/tails to infuse in sherries and vodkas," says O'Brien. Food-wise, Bar No. 5 focuses on share plates, fitting the community vibe nicely. At the moment, they're serving up buttermilk fried chicken po' boys ($16), family-style seafood platters ($38) and spice-rubbed chicken ($25-$40). The best day to drop by is Sundays, when they're offering up $1.50 oysters and arancini, fifty cent wings and live music from 3pm-5pm. It's a made-by-locals-for-local venue, owned by Alexandria folk in an area keen for repurposed hospitality spaces. "We love the idea of locals serving locals, and that's what is at the heart of this venue", says O'Brien. The long unused building has its roots as a gemstone processing facility and they've maintained that warehouse fitout and worn-out character. If all this doesn't make them neighbourhood champions, the bar also has an alcove dog area with leash hooks and a gas fire for winter. The space is still a work in progress and gearing up for a relaunch in the coming months, but they're clearly worth going to check out in the meantime. Keep an eye on this space for all of the foraging and beekeeping updates to come. Find Bar No. 5 at 5 McCauley Street, Alexandria. Open Wednesday to Saturday from 11.30am to 11pm and Sunday 11.30am to 10pm
Paddington's Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation is going green with the final installation in their Fugitive Structures temporary pavilion series. Running since 2013, the series was the first of its kind in Australia to use temporary pavilions as a tool for exploring new architectural concepts. For the finale of this awesome series, SCAF has teamed up with award-winning architect Vo Trong Nghia to create Green Ladder, to be installed next month. The pavilion structure is made entirely from bamboo, "the steel of the 21st century" according to Nghia. The temporary pavilion will be on public display at SCAF from July 7 to December 10 and aims to raise awareness of bamboo's strength as a 'green steel' building material. Green Ladder aims to resemble a dense bamboo forest and visitors will be able to move through the graceful grid at their leisure — entry is completely free. In general, Nghia's a really switched on guy. His firm, Vo Trong Nghia Architects, has won numerous awards throughout the Asia-Pacific region. His offices are based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and his work philosophy includes a mandatory two hours of daily meditation for all employees, as well as frequent silent meditation retreats. Nghia's goal is to green up the urban world and bring the environment back into city life. But he has his work cut out for him, with green space at a minuscule 0.25 percent in these major Vietnamese cities of 10 million people. In partnership with this philosophy, SCAF has organised a series of talks and events in association with Green Ladder throughout its six-month run, including meditation and yoga programs. If you want to hear from this legend directly, Nghia will give an architect's talk on Thursday, July 7 at 5pm. Entry to the pavilion is free and open to the public from July 7 to December 10 on Wednesdays to Saturday, 11am to 5pm. Details available at the SCAF website. Image: Vo Trong Nghia Architects, Green Ladder, 2016 commissioned by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation Fugitive Structures.
Dredging up your dusty CD collection, you may come across the jagged mountains of Kid A or the ghostly freeway of OK Computer. Conveniently for you and your ‘90s nostalgia, the reclusive artist behind Radiohead will be exhibiting at Carriageworks as part of Semi-Permanent. Stanley Donwood, aka Dan Rickwood, has designed the band’s posters and album artwork since 1994. The Panic Office is a major retrospective that will feature a whopping number of pieces, both seen and unseen. Donwood’s haunting imagery is full of vortexes and post-apocalyptic landscapes. His work is often introspective, as if wandering through the chaos of the mind. Capturing the sense of alienation stirred up by a group of alternative rock icons is no mean feat. This exhibition is a rare opportunity for fans to embrace the visual trajectory of Donwood’s career and Radiohead’s rise to fame. Semi-Permanent ticket holders will have exclusive access to the exhibition before it opens to the public.
Team Zissou, pack your vintage suitcase and meet us in Italy. Wes Anderson has designed a bar/cafe in Milan. Snuggled inside Prada's new art and culture complex, Fondazione Prada, set to open this weekend, Bar Luce has been designed by the baron of twee himself — and it predictably looks straight out of one of his films. As if planning a theme park with Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh wasn't enough work. Resembling some kind of Grand Budapest Hotel lobby cafe, Anderson's cafe is filled with pastel Formica furniture, faux-cornice patterned wallpaper, veneered wood wall panels and terrazzo flooring — an attempt to recreate the vibe of a typical Milanese cafe. The aesthetic, according to Fondazione Prada, is reminiscent of '50s and '60s Italian popular culture; something Anderson actually employed for his Prada short film Castello Cavalcanti, starring (as always) the excellent Jason Schwartzman. Anderson's also given aesthetic nods to Italian neorealist cinema classics like 1951's Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in Milan) and 1960's Rocco e i suoi fratelli (Rocco and His Brothers), both set in Milan. But for modern Anderson fans, there's even a Zissou pinball machine. One to usually keep things symmetrical, Anderson told Fondazione Prada, "There is no ideal angle for this space. It is for real life, and ought to have numerous good spots for eating, drinking, talking, reading, etc. While I do think it would make a pretty good movie set, I think it would be an even better place to write a movie. I tried to make it a bar I would want to spend my own non-fictional afternoons in." The Bar Luce menu is yet to be revealed, but we're going to hope there's a few Anderson references in there; perhaps sweet lime drinks, Mendl's Courtesan au Chocolats, or Red Remarkable winter apples. If you're stopping Milan, Bar Luce is open to the public and can be accessed from Via Orobia, Prada. It's open from May 9, from 9am to 10pm. Via Wired. Images: Candy, Prada and Fondazione Prada.
Honestly, how does this not officially exist already? Tokyo's seen its fair share of Hello Kitty pop-up restaurants in the past, but now China's making things permanent with Sanrio's feline monarch. The world's first Hello Kitty dim sum restaurant is about to open in Hong Kong, bringing with it possibly the most Instagrammable menu this side of a Pikachu pop-up. Set to swing open its adorable doors on June 1, Sanrio's first Hello Kitty restaurant would have presumably opened in Japan, Ms Kitty's birthplace. But restaurant owner Man Kwong told TIME that Hello Kitty was much more popular in Hong Kong. Kwong spent a year negotiating with Sanrio developing each adorable dish — that individually had to be given the thumbs up by Sanrio executives. So what's going to be filling Instagram feeds and HelloKitty-loving bellies? The menu includes 37squealworthy dim sum items, from Hello Kitty-shaped noodle dishes to shrimp buns, made from all-natural ingredients (Kwong is the founder of a Chinese health magazine, so he's practicing what he preaches). Just look at these outrageously cute buns (that have 17 steps each to make, including making the beetroot-coloured bow and dotting squid ink for the eyes): Kitty's first restaurant will open in the traditional Yau Ma Tei neighborhood on the Kowloon peninsula. Though we predicted a garish, cartoon-like interior, Kwongs' chosen a more modern, tasteful approach in theming. The pink-bowed mogul is splashed everywhere, from the teapots and chopstick holders to the restaurant mirrors and window panes — featuring Kitty as the Four Beauties of ancient China. Even Kitty's taken a modern revamp for the menu and website design, happy to serve her own face in a dumpling steamer, what a champ. The world's first Hello Kitty restaurant will open on June 1. Charge your phones and book that flight, Kitty fans. Via TIME. Images: TIME/Man Kwong.
During the working week, time away from your desk is a rare and precious commodity. We're all guilty of killing time mindlessly trawling the web, but as excellent as cat GIFs may be there's far more exciting things we could be doing on our coffee break. Make even the shortest of respites count and carve out time in your day for a bit of adventure, whether it's a morning mission or an after-work moment to blow off steam. Take the break you, as a hardworking human being, deserve. LEARN TO PAINT AND DRAW If your 9-to-5 lacks a creative outlet, it's worth checking out the Friday Express Art Class at The Harry Jensen Centre in Millers Point. The class runs from 10.30am to 1.30pm, but you can join in for as long as you want. If you're more of a paint by numbers kind of person, there's the option to be guided through a specific project over a couple of weeks. But, if you consider yourself a budding artistic talent, you can equally go rogue with your own idea. Whichever option you choose, artist Lisa Bergan will instruct on specific skills and techniques. It is a community centre, so you can expect the class to be quite social — and if you're lucky, there may even be a quintessential iced vovo on offer. [caption id="attachment_583603" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Josh Willink.[/caption] ORGANISE A MEETUP Regardless of how weird and wonderful your interests may be — apparently there's such a thing as extreme ironing — you're likely to find someone on Meetup who shares them. A break from the office is a precious commodity, so you don't want to waste it and do something you think you should (treadmilling) instead of something that genuinely interests you (shooting hoops). The way Meetups work is that you can start your own group or join one of the existing ones listed on the website. Everything is covered, from walking groups, to language Meetups and even a 1300 strong posse of 'baddicts' – badminton addicts. WORK ON YOUR DOWNWARD DOG AT AN URBAN FARM A fully functioning organic farm is a surprising find in any major city, let alone one that plays host to lunchtime yoga classes. But if it was going to happen anywhere, what's not surprising is that it happened in Sydney. Pocket City Farms is a not-for-profit that turns neglected land and rooftops into urban farms — with their first completed site being the former and abandoned Camperdown Bowling Club. It's a rare and welcomed opportunity to get some fresh air and a 45-minute nature hit without even leaving the city. TAKE A GUIDED GALLERY TOUR Rather than staring at a piece of art pretending you're deep in intelligent thought — we've all done it — join a guided tour and have someone do the thinking for you. Running throughout the day at the MCA and the Art Gallery of New South Wales (as well as many other awesome institutions across the city), volunteer guides will lead you through an exhibition, sharing stories of the artist and giving insight into what the big red canvas really means. At MCA, the tours run for around 45 minutes, so if you have a generous lunch break head up to the rooftop and take in the views. And if you really want to immerse yourself in an artist's work, the MCA cafe serves specials inspired by the exhibitions. As good to look at as it is to eat, they're currently serving Restaurant Kim's version of Korean fried chicken. TRY NEXT-LEVEL PILATES Want to try something new to report back to the water cooler about? KX takes pilates to another level, combining high-intensity training with traditional reformer pilates moves. While some pilates classes can seem like an extended stretching session, this definitely isn't one of those. The music is loud and they set a fast pace, so not only are you getting a good workout, you'll feel like you've been able to truly escape. For every move they give beginner to advanced options, but regardless, by the end of the 50-minute session you'll definitely be bypassing the stairs and catching the lift.
Two of the greatest artists in history, who happened to have one of the most volatile relationships in recent memory, will be the focus of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' brand new exhibition in 2016. Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera is coming to the gallery next year, running June 25 to October 9, 2016. BOOM. Nice one AGNSW. Kahlo and Rivera's artistic and personal rollercoaster ride will be the focus, with 40 artworks, self-portrait paintings, drawings and canvases from the pair, all from the renowned collection of Jacques and Natasha Gelman. Alongside these works will be approximately 50 photographs by the likes of Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo. Edward Weston and Lola Alvarez Bravo, so you can take a peek into these two artist's intimate world. Australia doesn't actually have a Frida Kahlo on public display, so this is one heck of a slam dunk for the gallery. The exhibition marks the cornerstone of the 2016 exhibition program for the Art Gallery of New South Wales, announced today. There's plenty more where that came from, including the upcoming blockbuster exhibition, The Greats, featuring Botticelli, Vermeer, Rembrandt and more masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland. German artist Julian Rosefeldt will bring the Cate Blanchett-starring video installation Manifesto to the Gallery from May 28 to November 13, after a huge exhibition of gold, silver, glass and ceramics from the Chinese Tang dynasty in April. Beloved Australian artist Tracey Moffatt will see a huge exhibition of her work dubbed Laudanum and other works, featuring the namesake photographic series and her famous montage videos Love and Other. It's an on-year, so the Biennale of Sydney will return to the gallery from March 18 to June 5, alongside the ever-popular ARTEXPRESS from March 16 to May 15. For the AGNSW's whole 2016 program and beyond, head to the website.
Get ready to chow down on mouthwatering Neil Perry hamburgers. Since opening in Sydney's World Square last October, the celebrity chef's high-end fast food joint Burger Project has become a favourite with local foodies, serving up a variation of his iconic Rockpool wagyu beef burger at a fraction of the price. Now, less than two weeks after announcing a second Burger Project location in Parramatta, Perry has revealed the details for not one, not two, but five additional restaurants, including three across the border in Melbourne. According to Good Food, Perry will open the first Melbourne Burger Project in March next year in the St Collins Lane development (formerly Australia on Collins), near the corners of Collins and Elizabeth Streets in the CBD. The licensed restaurant will operate between 11am and 10pm, and will seat around 100 people. Two additional locations will follow — one at Chadstone shopping centre in August, and another at Crown Casino at the end of 2016. He's also reportedly considering spots in the inner suburbs, including Richmond and Carlton. In Sydney, meanwhile, Perry is hoping to open a store in the MLC Centre in Martin Place by November, along with a Chatswood location in mid-2016. That's in addition to the Parramatta restaurant, although still no word on when we can expect that site to start cooking. He's previously expressed his desire to have as many as 50 stores nationwide, and told Good Food that he's also looking overseas — earmarking New Zealand, Singapore and the United States as possible areas for expansion. So, what exactly do they serve at The Burger Project, anyway? Well, assuming Perry sticks closely to the winning World Square formula, you can expect a variety of tasty burger including the Magic Mushroom burger, the Spicy Fried Chicken burger and of course the classic American cheeseburger. You can also get a bun-free burger served in a lettuce bowl, at no additional cost. Side options include chips with salt or chipotle chilli, and crispy hot wings with Sichuan pepper. And for dessert, dive into one of their decadent ice cream creations such as the Marsh-Cara-Mallow (salted caramel ice cream with hazelnut praline, burnt marshmallow and chocolate sauce) or The Bounty Hunter (vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate sauce, toasted coconut and crushed meringue). Don't act like you're not impressed. Via Good Food.
Australian cinephiles, meet the cure to your yearly bout of Sundance and SXSW envy. Palace Cinemas has announced a brand new film festival dedicated to the American indie scene — i.e. the closest you can get to heading to Park City, Utah or Austin, Texas without actually heading overseas. Debuting in May 2016, and running two-week-long seasons in Palace's Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra venues, Essential Independents: American Cinema, Now will showcase the past, present and future of US independent filmmaking. In a dedicated screen event, audiences will be treated to a snapshot of current creative directions in America, as well as an exploration of their impact throughout international cinema. Accordingly, expect new features, documentaries and shorts, retrospectives on important figures from both behind and in front of the camera, talks and masterclasses, and a few special guests, too. Basically, in a program overseen by former Australian Centre for the Moving Image Head of Film Programs and current Revelation Perth International Film Festival director Richard Sowada, expect American indie heaven in Australian movie theatres. Considering the wealth of talent that has emerged from the US indie realm — think Inherent Vice's Paul Thomas Anderson, Boyhood's Richard Linklater, Mistress America's Noah Baumbach, Selma's Ava DuVernay, Night Moves' Kelly Reichardt and Sleeping With Other People's Leslye Headland, just to name a few — there are plenty of reasons to be excited about an annual trip through the kinds of flicks that don't always make it to local screens outside of Sydney and Melbourne's major film fests. Indeed, while there seems to be an Australian festival dedicated to every other culture, style and theme, until now non-Hollywood US productions have proven an overlooked niche. Essential Independents: American Cinema, Now will tour Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra in May 2016. For more information, keep an eye on the Palace Cinemas website.
Whether you're looking to catch up with the Oscar nominees, or just can't say no to the idea of cheap movie tickets, you might want to pay a visit to Palace Central next month. The 14-screen complex at Chippendale's Central Park centre opened for business in November, and if you haven't had the chance to catch a movie there already, the first week of February shapes up as the perfect time to do so. From February 1–7, the cinema will be offering $5 tickets to all their regular sessions. Not too shabby, especially considering how many great films are out at the moment — The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri are just a few that spring to mind. In addition to the discount tickets, the cinema bar will also be selling $5 glasses of prosecco and bottomless tubs of popcorn. Not sure if it's actually bottomless, but there's only one way to find out.
Looks like Justin Hemmes will be staying put at the Coogee Pavilion, as the Merivale king and landlord David Kingston have reached an "in-principle settlement" today after Hemmes faced possible eviction from the property in May. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the ownership of the Pavilion will be transferred to Hemmes — but that's really all we've got to go with. "It's been satisfactorily resolved ... It's been a good day," said Hemmes after the hearing, without any elaboration on the agreement. The monarch of Merivale, Hemmes could have kicked out of his most successful venture in years when he faced possible eviction from the Coogee Pavilion by his landlord in May. According to SMH and documents lodged in the Supreme Court, Coogee Pavilion owner David Kingston, ex-managing director of investment bank Rothschild, issued termination notices after late rent and "unauthorised works", namely the Coogee Pavilion Rooftop and the barbershop downstairs. According to the SMH, Hemmes sought to buy the Coogee Pavilion (formerly the Beach Palace) from Kingston last March. The pair agreed on $37 million and Kingston required Hemmes to pay the whole sum in two years. Hemmes deposited $5 million (treated as an option fee) and the rent (a cheeky $1.5 million per year) was considered interest on the remaining $32 million. Hemmes then poured $12 million into the refurbishment of the Coogee Pavilion and launched in July 2014. But all seems to have gone pear-shaped after Hemmes was allegedly two days late with rent in January 2015. After failing to pay rent on Saturday, January 3, Kingston issued Hemmes a termination notice on January 5, on which Hemmes paid the rent. So rent was paid, albeit late. Apparently this two-day delay would have set Kingston back $85.74, which seems teeny compared to the $1.5 million rental fee, but money's money. Fairfax reports that Hemmes lodged a caveat on the Coogee Pavilion the very next day, claiming he had an "equitable interest" in the property — and after pouring $12 million and the hefty Merivale brand into the joint, we can't blame him. But Kingston wasn't just angry about late rent. Apparently the owner didn't know about "blatant and unauthorised works" happening at the Pavilion — the new and highly publicised Coogee Pavilion Rooftop, opened in December 2014. After claiming Hemmes hadn't clued him into the nature of the rooftop renovations, Kingston issued a second termination notice. Then Kingston claimed further breaches — he apparently didn't know Hemmes was operating a barbershop on the premises — and issued a third termination notice. Hemmes is biting back on this one, saying Kingston actually attended the opening of the downstairs section in July 2014 and the Rooftop in December. Someone check that security footage already. Three notices in a month is serious stuff, so Hemmes is took action in the Supreme Court. Fairfax reports Hemmes sought an injunction to prevent being kicked out of the Pavilion, and looked to reinstate the call option to buy the Pavilion from Kingston, who was refusing to refund Hemmes' $5 million deposit. It's unclear how much of Hemmes remaining $35 million he'll have to pay, but regardless, he's keeping his beloved Pavilion. To the oyster bar! Via the Sydney Morning Herald.
Shockingly green velvet, big brass bar features, gaudy carpet patterns, All The Palms — one of Neutral Bay's most beloved pubs is going back to the '30s. Founded in 1885 and home to one of Sydney's very best beer gardens, The Oaks is entering a new phase, now seeing its upstairs bar transformed by Sydney design queen Sibella Court. Straightforwardly dubbed The Oaks Upstairs, the pub's upper levels have been Courted into a bright, gaudy 1930s den of art deco meets art nouveau sophistication — with a serious amount of drapery. According to The Oaks' team, the new look pays homage to the pub's historic owners, the Furlongs, along with current owners, the Thomas family. Upstairs boasts three different areas with their own theming: The Terrace and Spare Room, The Licensee's Flat and The Dining Room. We're always down for drinking cocktails in venues that look like either the set of a Wes Anderson or Baz Luhrmann film, so this is great news for all. Expect dramatic mirrored surfaces jostling with those busy but fabulous prints the '30s were renowned for, large pool room murals reminiscent of Sonia Delaunay and Clarice Cliff, and a covered patio that's a green, gaudy delight. Start brainstorming your most fabulous post-war outfits for a night out here. Court's design firm The Society Inc. is behind some of the most high-profile renos and interior design shake-ups Sydney has seen in recent years, from luxe AF AirBnb listings to the renovation of Hotel Palisade. She's also designed and styled Merivale establishments such as Palings, Mr Wongs, Palmer & Co., El Loco and Ms.G's. The Oaks Upstairs is up top at 118 Military Rd, Neutral Bay. Open Monday to Thursday 10am–12pm, Friday and Saturday 10am–1.30am, Sunday 12pm–12am.
Consider yourself quite the origami expert? Can you assemble an IKEA wardrobe with your eyes closed? Do cardboard boxes flood you with happy memories of making forts as a kid? Get excited, this guy has literally just manufactured a super sturdy bike — made entirely out of cardboard. The kicker? It costs roughly the same as your lunch to make — a minuscule $10 per vehicle. This cycling enthusiast/marketing genius is one Izbar Gafni of Cardboard Technologies, who's really putting the cycling into recycling. He cites his interest in cardboard utility developing as stemming from the invention of a working canoe made from the humble cardboard. After speaking to not one, but three engineers, Gafni was told it was impossible to apply this logic to a useable cardboard bicycle. Ignoring this advice, he pedalled on (sorry) and created the first eco-friendly, operative cardboard bike. How does one essentially craft a functional bike out of cardboard? Quite easily, according to Gafni. Using cardboard of varying degrees of thickness, he folds the cardboard on itself to increase thickness and durability — making it strong enough that it can actually support the average human weight (and then some). After he's fashioned the cardboard to the ideal shape and dimensions, Gafni applies resin to resist rain and other weather conditions and applies a coat of paint. For those who aren't content with mere feet pedaling, there's also the option of purchasing an attachable electric motor. Here's the building process if you don't believe us: It's an idea that avoids the pesky rusting of steel bikes. Riding on this cardboard contraption has taken recycling to the next level — all those discarded shoe boxes, all of those boxes used to move house, transformed into a mode of transport that does not harm the environment. For people who live in areas with high bike thievery rates, despair no more; the bike is so cheap it's probably not worth the energy deployed trying to steal it. The bike is not without its resistors — critics have asked why Gafni doesn't account for the manpower that has contributed to manufacturing process, only advocating the $10 worth of material used to make it. Questions of efficiency have been brought up, as the amount of time and manpower dedicated to the manufacturing of the bike being deemed as unnecessary. Qualified bike experts have also questioned if the single speed setting of the bike would be useful at all in difficult terrain. The bike has featured on the streets of New York as part of the bike sharing implementation. It's not quite on the market yet, but Gafni has indicated that it will retail for around $60 – 90. Via Inhabitat.
Costa Rica, the little nation that could, has achieved 99 percent renewable energy use in 2015 — and is subsequently putting us all to shame in the sustainable energy race. Capitalising on their abundance of jungles and waterfalls, Costa Rica are able to use hydroelectricity as their primary source of renewable energy, which has seen them achieve almost complete independence from fossil fuel use in the past year. Woah. We should really pay attention and learn from their example. By contrast, the Australian government leans further into non-renewables, actively takes backwards steps in regulating big polluters, and drags its feet on meeting renewable energy targets. In June of this year, the government even reduced our target of large-scale renewable energy generation from 41,000 GWh to 33,000 GWh, and made a limp little pledge to increase our renewables to 23.5% by 2020. We are literally the Daria playing volleyball of environmentalism. Even New Zealand has a 2025 renewable target of 90%. Like, come on Australia — you're not even going to pretend to reach for that volleyball, are you? The big bogeyman that's always rolled out in regards to renewable energy — or anything to do with environmental progress, really — is the cost to the consumer and the loss of jobs. But Costa Ricans have seen energy costs drop by 12% in the last year alone; New Zealanders too enjoyed price drops when they started to phase into renewable energy in 2014. Can we please get a slice of that action? AC has been so pricey this summer. What with all the global warming and all. Sigh. Costa Rica, we salute you. Via Inhabitat. Image: Dennis Tang via Flickr
Controversial muso, New York Times bestseller and human energy ball Amanda Palmer is coming to Sydney for an intimate solo performance at the Sydney Opera House on January 21. Palmer's announced the intention of her down under trip is to strip things back to basics. She'll be on stage with "a suitcase, a piano, a ukulele and a baby" which sounds like a very Palmer-esque combo of bold, relatable and off-beat. It's been five years since Palmer graced the Opera House stage with Meow Meow and her partner, Neil Gaiman, so expect the unexpected. The Opera House is just one of her Aussie tour stops. She'll be setting up at the Gasometer for a residency between January 12 and March 9. She'll also be dropping by MONA in Tasmania, Woodford Folk Festival over New Year's Eve, Melt Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Her Majesty's Theatre and Playhouse Theatre in Melbourne and the NGV — a prestigious venue lineup indeed. Image: Shervin Lainez.
Whether you refer to him as co-creator and star of the cult British sitcom Black Books, one of the youngest winners of the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, a multi-BAFTA winner, or simply "the greatest comedian, living or dead" (as did French newspaper Le Monde in 2007), one thing is clear: Dylan Moran is a one-man comedy industry. However, it seems comedy is no laughing matter once you’ve reached the upper echelons of worldwide stardom, as Moran most certainly has. Best known as the co-creator of iconic British sitcom Black Books, Moran is synonymous in the public imagination with the show's eponymous lead: the drunken, curmudgeonly, occasionally whimsical, second-hand bookstore owner Bernard Black. Therefore, when speaking to him over the phone — he's in Prague, partway through his mammoth 18-month, 143-show world tour and launching his new live show DVD Dylan Moran Off The Hook — the first revelation is just how affable the real Moran is. Despite a terrible, occasionally inaudible connection and the sneaking suspicion that this is but one in a long line of interviews he must sit through today and every day, he is warm and considerate; his speech is rapid and eloquent, pausing sporadically to gather his thoughts, his brogue transforming a quotidian 'um' into a far more charming 'erm'. His accent aside, Moran couldn’t seem more dissimilar from the bellicose drunkard he portrayed on screen and that the media seem intent on pigeonholing him as. Asked if the mischaracterisation annoys him, Moran laughs before replying: "I really don’t care. It doesn't bother me. You know, people latch on to what's obvious, some character or presentation or something, and they tend to run with it." "Time is short — I understand, people need to stick labels on things," he adds dryly. So if the labels aren’t accurate, just who is the real Dylan Moran? We had a chat with the multifaceted star to find out. THE CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL As his prolific touring schedule might suggest, professional comedy is a draining business, and Moran is candid about the reality of life on the road. "You don't just go and do three shows and then take a few days off, then do another show and take a day off," he says. "It's a discipline. You’ve got turn up everyday, you've got to make sure you're in working order... trundle yourself off to the theatre, do the show as well as you possibly can, try to keep yourself interested by doing new things — and then do it the next day and the next day and the next day and the next day." THE INTUITIVE ARTIST Having won the most prestigious award in live comedy, Moran later dismissed the Perrier Comedy Award as "a load of media rubbish". This disillusionment with the media and its inability to comprehend the creative process is a recurring theme for Moran. "The thing is, journalists ask questions from the outside, to 'describe what it's like on the inside'," he explains. "If I could describe what it was like on the inside, I'd have to be outside the experience, which would mean I could no longer do it. Do you know what I’m saying?” "So I'm trying to preserve the necessary ignorance to allow me to carry on doing it, because if I start overanalysing it — or I start interrogate the fairy that's collaborating with me inside my head to make this stuff happen — if I ask too many questions about where we're going or what we're doing, the fairy is not going to talk to me anymore." THE RELUCTANT COUNTRY BOY Growing up in rural County Meath, northwest of Dublin, Moran remembers his childhood as bucolic but bittersweet. "Well, you know, it's not a bad place to grow up — you're in the countryside, you're a kid, and you're out in the street. You're running around, you're off on your bike to get up to some mischief." But the appeal of rural living didn't last too long. "You get to be a teenager and you want more of what the city has to offer, so you start getting a bit impatient to get out." Living proof, Moran was 16 when he left school and, having made good his escape, he took out the Perrier Award just eight years later. Two incredibly successful decades on, does he ever feel he'll return to quiet country life? "I have no idea yet, I certainly don't feel it at the moment. I’m moving around a lot like, you know, I don't really have time to have an ear of corn between my teeth as I gaze out over the fields." THE RESPONSIBLE FATHER A lack of time is not just due to Moran’s gruelling work schedule, but also the pressures of raising two young children. Reflecting on how fatherhood has affected his comedy, Moran says it's a pretty fundamental alteration to your worldview. "It makes you place a different stock, or value, on everything. You might've been more attracted to what was noisy or loud or fun or eye-catching, short-term value, before you were a father, and then you start thinking obviously more in terms of consequence and enduring value when you have a child.” THE AMBIVALENT SCREEN STAR The notion of enduring value is a complicated one for any artist. How do you simultaneously remain relevant and preserve a legacy? Despite being most widely remembered for Black Books, Moran seems to feel no immediate compulsion to return to the small screen. "When time allows I'll write another television show, or I'll write a screenplay, or I'll write something else," he says. "But at the moment, I have to restrict my energies to what I'm doing right now, which is miles and miles of road." In the meantime, Moran has been racking up a series of supporting roles in independent feature films, such as Shaun of the Dead, Run Fatboy Run, and a particularly nuanced performance as a disillusioned millionaire plagued by his complicity in the Eurozone collapse in Michael McDonagh's critically-acclaimed Calvary. So, what's next? "I don't know what I'm going to make and it won't be a tour for a while because, obviously, you can only do this every now and again, because it does tend to fray the edges. So I’ll make something that I can make at home." So perhaps more iconic British television is in the offing? "In the future, yes. I will do some more [television], sure, in the future." Dylan Moran Off The Hook is out now on DVD.
If you've long felt you missed out on a decent childhood because you weren't bunking in with the Swiss Family Robinson, you can now make up for lost time. Treehouses for grown-ups are one of the latest fads sweeping global architecture, and a new apartment block in Turin, Italy is among the wildest. Named 25 Verde (25 Green) and designed by architect Luciano Pia, the five-storey apartment block doubles up as an urban forest. There are 190 trees snuggled within the structure, with 40 of them creating a tranquil courtyard garden, and the rest providing greenery for 63 uniquely luscious apartments. While the lower floor offers leafy garden-facing arrangements, apartments on the upper floor come with spacious, sunny terraces. Both, however, come with ample opportunities for making your own secret password security precautions and 'no boys/girls allowed' signs. Apart from their obviously eco-friendly presence, the trees also help to moderate temperature in the apartments — filtering sunlight on hot days and providing insulation when the weather cools. Total bosses. To pay 'em back, the trees are kept alive by an irrigation system that uses harvested rainwater. Meanwhile, heating is provided by ground water pumps and ventilated walls enable additional 'breathing'. Vertical gardening might have met its match. Via Huffington Post.
Both the heartbroken and the heartbreakers should take a lesson from Sharon Van Etten, heading to Australia for her 2015 Are We There tour. Renowned for embracing life's emotionally crippling moments, Van Etten has been putting her heart on a platter since her first offering 'Because I Was In Love' in 2009 — released after TV On the Radio's Kyp Malone gave her a nudge in the right direction. The Brooklyn-based, New Jersey and Tennessee-raised singer/songwriter hasn't stopped since, with four gripping albums under her belt including 2012's Tramp. Headlining Secret Garden (February 27-28) with Parquet Courts and Golden Plains (March 7-9), Van Etten is also playing one Sydney sideshow for those who missed out at the Factory Theatre Marrickville. Supported by Tiny Ruins (NZ) + Jack Ladder + Heather Woods Broderick (USA).
Ease your way into the Easter long weekend with a film, cocktail and music at Golden Age Cinema and Bar. The main act of the evening is a screening of Hail The New Puritan (1987), starting at 7pm on Thursday, March 24. Directed by Charles Atlas, this off-the-wall film tells the story dancer and choreographer Michael Clark, who hails from Aberdeen, Scotland. It's part-art flick, part-documentary and delves deep into Clark's life beyond the stage, drawing together interviews, rehearsals and performance preparation, as well as bowls of fruit and spots, spots, spots. Artist and fashion designer Leigh Bowery took care of production design, while the soundtrack was the work of The Fall and Glenn Branca, among others. Pelvis DJs are the brains behind this event and they'll be playing in the bar all night long.
Pizza Birra and Vacanza better watch out, Lane Cove's Via Napoli is moving into Surry Hills. The lower north shore's home of crazy long pizzas and seriously friendly staff is opening a new branch on Crown Street in September. Via Napoli is incredibly popular in Sydney's north-west and rightly so. The Italian eatery, with packed-out restaurants in Hunters Hill and Lane Cove, has been lauded by eaters, bloggers and critics alike for their authentic Napoli-style pizzas. Hands-down one of the best pizza places in Sydney, Via Napoli possesses a winning of combination of super friendly service (we've been treated to many a post-meal hug) and their trademark smoky, soft and light dough. What more could you want? The hype surrounding this inner-city opening is very real; there are over a thousand RSVPs to the VIP opening on Facebook. You may be wondering how everybody is going to get fed/fit in the door. The answer? A bucketload of two-metre pizzas. Omg 2m pizza at #vianapoli #sydney! So yum! A photo posted by Steph T (@virconium) on Aug 9, 2015 at 5:13am PDT Yes, two metres. Hit #vianapoli on Instagram and you'll be met with reams of photos of their signature long pizzas. The mammoth two-metre creations are their claim to fame and come topped with Via Napoli's top five pizzas: vesuvio, diavola, crudo e rucola, margherita and marinara. Pizza isn't the only thing they do well; their cheeses are straight-up insane. Watching fresh burrata explode over a plate of prosciutto di parma is something truly tear-inducing. Previously a $40 cab ride away from the CBD, Via Napoli have brought their famed Italian delicacies to the other side of the Harbour Bridge. Many pizzerias claim to have the best pizza in Sydney but we reckon they're a serious contender for that title. The good people of Surry Hills know their pizza, so the game is set. Via Napoli opens at 628 Crown Street, Surry Hills on Tuesday, September 1 at 6pm.
Nailing set after set this year, tenth birthday-toting Laneway Festival should over-induldge in backpats this week, having delivered one slam dunk of a festival at Rozelle's Sydney College of the Arts on Sunday, February 1. Boasting the lineup likes of Flying Lotus, FKA twigs, Future Islands, Caribou and Mac DeMarco, Laneway chose alternative big guns over superheadliners — and it paid off. Measurable magic was eeking from the Red Bull Music Academy stage with soon-to-be-huge 18-year-old Raury kicking goals, Sydney favourites Seekae crisping up the joint with their newest album material, Vienna-based multi-instrumentalist SOHN adding tiny jigs to an epic early set, Adelaide's pocket rocket Tkay Maidza straight-up nailing it and all-round wizard Jon Hopkins cranking out the last huge set of the day. Sound was a huge issue for the RBMA stage, however, with bouncing acoustics preventing anyone further back than 20 or so metres hearing little at all. If you managed to nab floorspace in the sound pocket though, you'll be singing all the praises. Parkside, the main stages had the socials on fire. Casual face-melter Courtney Barnett delivered a predictably furious set, adding another band member to her live lineup and riding the wave of hype surrounding her recent debut album announce. New Orleans-based, Jack White-praised Benjamin Booker rewarded early festivalgoers with a hugely talked-about set, and UK modern soul collective Jungle had every last tootsie moving. But the DeMarcos undoubtedly stole the show. Super-hyped drawcard Mac DeMarco swayed, pashed and crowdsurfed through his slacker-rock set, joined onstage by about twenty of his buds (including a loveably lurking Kirin J Callinan) and introduced by his mum, Agnes — who had her own lineup billing and MCed the main stages like a straight-up boss. Major pulls FKA twigs and Future Islands split the crowd, occupying the very same timetable spot and equally pleasing crowds with their respective energies. FI lead singer Samuel T. Herring brought his chest-thumping, super-charged dance moves to the Mistletone stage, while FKA twigs pulled off mass hypnosis with powerfully can't-look-away presence and unfathomably sky-high vocals. Wrapping things up on the Mistletone, Flying Lotus delivered the goods on his Layer3 show, blowing weary minds with his 3D visuals. While ATMs broke by mid-afternoon and Mary's food lines were predictably lengthy, Laneway hit it out of the park for its tenth year running (ninth in Sydney). Lastly, a shoutout to the pair who climbed to the top of the tree at the Mistletone stage for Caribou's muted thumper of a set. You freaked the fuck out of security and probably are facing charges now, but by gum you made an entire crowd unbelievably jealous. Brave. Images: Andy Fraser Words: Shannon Connellan
When Kevin Bacon stood up in Footloose and said, “This is our time to dance. It is our way of celebrating life,” what he didn’t say was “but only for skinny people”. And yet, that seems to be what we mean these days. 'Fat' dancers and performers aren’t often seen, and so many people seem to have so many opinions on fatness and how fat people move through our society. We look at fat people and assume things — that the person is lazy, slovenly, unhappy and definitely, definitely ungraceful and unconnected to their bodily wellbeing. Now fat activist and artist Kelli Jean Drinkwater and resigning Force Majeure artistic director Kate Champion are working together to broaden our outlook on the body and the act of dancing. Playing as part of Sydney Festival, Nothing to Lose is highly topical, audacious and — coming from dance-theatre masters Force Majeure (Never Did Me Any Harm, Food) — sure to be a powerful watch. Challenging as it is to our prejudices, it might even be the most important work you see at the festival. We spoke to Drinkwater and Champion about the thinking behind the provocative project. Read what they had to say over here. It's also one of our top ten picks of the festival.
Ever have this problem? You're kayaking through crystal clear waters on adventure of a lifetime in paradise, and the goddamn bottom of your canoe is infuriatingly opaque. All that sea life, going unseen. All those underwater sea creature orchestras, going unappreciated. It's infuriating and devastating. Well, all of that is about to change thanks to the Crystal Kayak Company. They've invented (maybe a better term is re-imagined) the kayak, and this time round it's completely see-through. It's the boldest see-through invention since the see-through toaster. Using the same material as windshields are made from, the see-through kayaks are perfect for moments when you want to see what your kayaking over (i.e. undersea orchestras). Check out the promo vid — and we dare you to not feel like you want to quit your job, burn all of your possessions and spend the rest of your life in a transparent kayak. They retail from a whopping $1,499, but if that blows your kayak budget out of the water, you can trial it at resorts around the world. And don't think that price tag just buys the opacity of your kayak. Oh no. As well as offering quite the underwater view, they've been ergonomically designed to be wayyy more comfy than your average kayak. Check em out here.
The latest slate of films from the chilly Nordic north is headed to a Palace Cinema near you. Returning for just its second year, the Scandinavian Film Festival will showcase 22 movies from Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Expect kitchen-sink dramas, edge-of-your-seat crime stories and a road movie about a struggling furniture salesman who hatches a plan to kidnap the founder of Ikea. That last one is actually Norwegian, not Swedish, but should make for a fun watch on opening night. Other comedies in the lineup include oddball Icelandic film Rams, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes earlier this year; as well as the middle-aged rom-com Hello Hello, which proved an audience favourite at festivals in its native Sweden. Those after something a little bit more serious can check out Danish police procedural The Absent One or drug-fuelled Finnish thriller They Have Escaped, among numerous others. The festival comes to a close with a documentary about Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish actress who went on to become one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. Image: Young Sophie Bell.
The lower north shore is getting a major foodie addition from developer Dr. Stanley Quek, who has dropped $25 million to purchase the Castlecrag Quadrangle Shopping Village. Quek is responsible for the major redevelopment of Kensington Street, Chippendale and has already opened two of the street's popular restaurants up north. Holy Duck! and Bistro Mekong — the casual sister venue to Mekong — are opened earlier this month, with new bar Apera set to open soon. "The Quandrangle is an ageing neighbourhood mall and I saw I could bring something interesting there," says Quek. "It's set in a historic landscape and streetscape area, with young families moving in, and I saw the potential in creating something new like what I did in Chippendale." Quek, who also has a medical degree, spent years as CEO of Frasers Property before retiring and turning his focus to the wildly popular Chippendale foodie precinct. "I call myself the accidental restaurateur," says Quek. "Controlling the tenant mix in Kensington Street was important for me, so it is quite a unique mix with no duplication of cuisines. Similarly in Castlecrag, I want to find out what new cuisines we can bring to the area to make it a vibrant neighbourhood centre that everyone can proud of. I want to get people out on the streets and create new forms of ambiance." As the shopping centre sits just outside the urban conservation area, there is some uncertainty as to what development is possible, and Quek's team is still undergoing initial community research as well. "In the meantime, I decided to bring in some of the Kensington restaurants to give people a taste of what can happen if the mall is rejuvenated," says Quek. "I didn't want to bring anything I didn't have experience with." To that end, Castlecrag is getting a taste of modern Chinese — specifically, roast duck — through Holy Duck!. Quek has also reworked the Mekong concept to fit the space and suburb — the southeast Asian sister restaurant, dubbed Bistro Mekong, is more casual and affordable, while boasting romantic alfresco dining in a done-up courtyard with hedging, greenery and mood lighting. Joining these existing brands is Apera, which will open just after Easter. The new bar concept will serve up rotisserie chicken and cater specifically to locals. On the retail side, luxury shoe brand Extraordinary Ordinary Day has already opened in the Quandrangle, having previously popped-up in Kensington Street as well. At this stage, the Spice Alley concept will not be duplicated, though Quek does intend to eventually open what he calls 'Spice Alley Express' in other locations. "I see Australians do travel a lot around Asia, so I'm bringing that cuisine to them in their own neighbourhood and trying to challenge their taste buds with new cuisines," says Quek. "I want them to try something different from smashed avocado and am trying to bring the next generation of food into the area." Holy Duck! and Bistro Mekong are now open at the Castlecrag Quadrangle Shopping Village at 100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag. Keep an eye on this space for future updates and developments. Image: Google Street View. Updated: March 24, 2018.
Cafe Freda's Head Chef Xinyi Lim is bringing back her charitable side project Family Meal to raise money for COVID-19 relief in India. This Sunday, May, 16, Xinyi and the Cafe Freda's team will be serving up a Indian-inspired vegetarian feast featuring flatbread, curry, rice, chutney and dessert. The servings have been designed to be shared between you and your guests, family meal-style. The set menu is $45 per person, with 100 percent of all profits going to the Hemkunt Foundation who helps supply oxygen cylinders, as well as Goonj, who provide food and medical support to marginalised communities in India including members of the Transgender community, migrants and sex workers. The Taylor Square spot is accepting bookings from midday through until 9pm on Sunday so you can head there for a hearty lunch, a dinner-time degustation or a golden hour feast while helping raise money for a good cause. [caption id="attachment_798926" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Xinyi Lim (middle) with Carla Uriarte and David Abram of Cafe Freda's by Cassandra Hannagan[/caption]
There's always something to see at a documentary festival. Whether true crime gets your pulse racing or you're excited about the idea of diving into the weird and wonderful side of this world we live in, part of the fun of a festival focused on factual efforts is the sense of real-life discovery — you'll most likely learn something new. Since it started in 2011, that's what the Antenna Documentary Film Festival has offered movie buffs keen on a dose of reality with their viewing, with the fest's annual program nothing if not varied and vibrant. Taking their true tales to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane audiences, the latter for the first time this year, Antenna beams everything from docos about eating crawling critters to cine-essays about the impact of horror cinema into hearts and minds. From this year's 39-feature lineup, here's our top five picks. BUGS Maybe you're the kind of person who's willing to eat almost anything once. Or, perhaps you're much more cautious about your culinary choices. Either way, this doco is something everyone should watch — when it comes to what we eat, the future of the planet is at stake. Researchers from gastronomic entrepreneur Rene Redzepi's (Noma) Nordic Food Lab investigate the practise of eating insects as a solution to issues of food security and scarcity, and documentarian Andreas Johnsen follows their efforts. Yep, Bugs is probably going to make your stomach squirm — but, if you really are adventurous, you can try an ant-covered ice cream at the films's screening. FEAR ITSELF In Beyond Clueless, critic and filmmaker Charlie Lyne explored the films audiences not only literally grew up with, but also chronicled that process on screen. Now, like we all do, he's moved on from teen flicks to horror — and he's giving the fright-inducing genre the same treatment. Assembling tension-filled clips from over 100 spooky efforts, he examines just how everything from the usual suspects to hidden gems manage to give audiences goosebumps and leave them on the edge of their seats. Clearly, this is a film for horror buffs — maybe don't head along if you're easily scared. CAMERAPERSON You mightn't know Kirsten Johnson's name, but if you watch documentaries, then you know her visuals. As a cinematographer and camera operator, she has shot or contributed to the shooting of everything from Fahrenheit 9/11 to Citizenfour, however, that's not all she has filmed. After more than two decades in the business, Johnson has assembled quite the array of unused footage from every effort that she has worked on, which all forms part of Cameraperson. Using these otherwise-discarded scenes, she crafts a portrait of the relationship between the people on either sides of the camera, as well as an absolutely riveting cine-memoir. BOBBY SANDS: 66 DAYS It was the film that launched the careers of both Michael Fassbender and his Shame and 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen: Hunger, a recreation of Irish Republican prisoner Bobby Sands' refusal to eat food for 66 days. As Bobby Sands: 66 Days' title suggest, Brendan Byrne's documentary also tells that story. Of course, it looks at the situation from a factual rather than dramatised perspective, with the end result both powerful and informative. There's a reason that the eponymous figure's actions back in 1981 continue to draw attention, which this compilation of interviews, archival materials and recreations attempts to get to the bottom of. CITY 40 The Russian city of Ozersk is the city time may as well have forgotten, closing itself off to the world around it, and even using armed guards to stop anyone entering. Indeed, the mountainous locale is referred to as City 40, and though it looks picturesque, it's really anything but. It's here that the Soviet nuclear weapons program was born after World War II — and where many are now stockpiled. This documentary examines not only the place, but the people who remain, even as their beloved home town literally poisons them through radiation. The Antenna Documentary Film Festival screens in Sydney from October 11 to 16, in Brisbane from October 26 to 30, and in Melbourne from November 2 to 6. For the full program, see the festival website.
It’s hard to believe that triple j was born in the same year that Gough Whitlam copped the old heave-ho as PM. The beloved radio station began its life as 2JJ back in 1975, with a broadcast that served the Sydney metropolitan area only. Four decades on, it's become the nation's chief music tastemaker, and (thankfully) hasn't wavered from its commitment to homegrown tunes. At Sydney Festival, triple j will celebrate its 40th birthday with a gargantuan, seven-hour long shindig, featuring performances from friends new and old, including Vance Joy, The Presets, Ball Park Music, The Preatures, Hilltop Hoods, Tkay Maidza, You Am I, The Cat Empire, Courtney Barnett, Remi, Nina Las Vegas, KLP, Adalita and more. If you're a never-fail triple j listener, you won't want to hear about this one on Saturday morning radio — get there. Beat the Drum is one of our top ten picks of the Sydney Festival. Check out our other favourite events over here.
You thought the time for giant slides was through. You thought you'd missed the boat. You thought you'd be doomed to slide down your own shitty bits of plastic soaked with detergent and your backyard hose forever. You're in luck, slider. There's a freakin' huge slide coming to Australia and you can skid right down the middle of it. Slide the City is a multi-city series hitting Sydney, Melbourne and Perth with more national dates to be announced. It's a gargantuan 300 metre vinyl slip 'n' slide that dares to rival the likes of Slide Melbourne, Slidestreet and every detergent-laden giant slide you've ever created in your own backyard. Apparently this is equal to nearly three football fields worth of sliding. Family-friendly and encouraging of dress-ups, Slide the City is so much more than a slide. There'll be live music, food stalls and a bar popping up on the day — all you have to do is bring your water buckets, floaties and super soakers — yep, you're actually encouraged to bring these. Unless otherwise specified, sliding starts at 9am and goes until 7pm. We know what you're thinking (after all the fun sliding bit's done), what about water wastage? In fact, the team are taking great pains to keep the event's environmental impact low, even swinging the whole thing to raise awareness of water conservation. Good stuff, team. SLIDE THE CITY 2016 DATES: MELBOURNE — Sunday, January 10 SYDNEY — Friday, January 15, Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17 WOLLONGONG — TBC SUNSHINE COAST — TBC TOWNSVILLE — TBC GOLD COAST — TBC NEWCASTLE — TBC Register for tickets at the Slide the City website.
Bayala means 'speak' in the tongue of Sydney's first people, and that's exactly what this series of talks, workshops and performances at Sydney Festival begs of you – to speak the language that lived here, long before we did. In 1790–91, Patyegarang, a young Aboriginal woman, taught 'First Fleet' English astronomer William Dawes the local language during frequent visits to his hut. That site is now known as Dawes' Point, under the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This is where you can hear Lille Madden, a young Gadigal woman, reading the wordlists and sentences in language as spoken by Patyegarang. The installation will be open daily from 6am-11pm throughout the festival. Become immersed as Gadigal representatives read from notebooks written in 1790, or take classes with Darug and Gadigal teachers. Check out the rare collection of artefacts that preserve the language, or take your place in the massive performance of traditional songs about country, ancestors and healing. Head to the State Library to take the plunge to learn just a little more about the history that we all share. This program is one of ten Sydney Festival events happening in unexpected places. Check out the whole list.
One of Sydney's hidden rooftop gems has reopened atop the recently revamped East Village Hotel. After much anticipation, the folks at Goodtime Hospitality Group revealed two of three newly revamped sections of the much-adored, 100-year-old drinking spot in late October — we've seen the Public Bar and Athletic Club, a slick, minimalist wine bar and a vintage-inspired sports bar, respectively. And now, the third and final space, Terrace, is open. We've been waiting to see what design team Alexander & Co.(Busby, The Village Inn, Surly's, Daniel San) do with this 100-square-metre rooftop space — it's got one heck of a CBD skyline view. Climb four flights of stairs and you'll find high bar tables, lower lounge-like seating, handcut terrazzo slabs, plenty of plants and a retractable roof. It's the perfect spot for lazy weekend cocktails, with general manager Lee Potter Cavanagh and bar manager Reece Griffiths putting together a Terrace-only menu. There's 'seasonal mimosa' on the bill, with interchanging fruit juices, a 'teetotallers' menu for non-drinkers, and 'holiday' cocktails each month with recipes from their overseas buddies. Plus, for the strong-stomached, there's a 'Squidmark Sour', with Bulleit rye whiskey, Tempus Fugit gran classico bitters, crème de cacao, cherry, grapefruit, shichimi togarashi and squid ink— yep, squid ink. Food-wise, the Terrace is offering up something a little more casual than its lower counterparts, where head chef Graham Johns (Quay) and executive chef Tom Kime (Ceru, Fish & Co.) are reimagining classic counter meals. Upstairs though, executive chef Tom Kime has crafted a summery, casual menu of grilled meats, salads and snack — think gazpacho soup with marinated blue swimmer crab and basil ($21), escabeche of seared fish with saffron and pickled vegetables ($24), and rare grilled veal with anchovy and herb mayonnaise, caper berries and fried anchovies ($24). Head downstairs to find out more about the East Village's other unique levels. Find the East Village at 234 Palmer Street, Darlinghurst. Terrace is open this week on Wednesday and Thursday from 6–10pm, Friday – Sunday: 11am – 10pm. Then, from Monday 21 November, open 11am–10pm, seven days a week.
LCD Soundsystem is finally headed back to Australia in their first visit since playing a national tour and Big Day Out in 2011. The beloved New Yorkers reunited last year, going on to headline some of the world's biggest festivals, including Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and Primavera. Now, the day after James Murphy, Nancy Whang and co. headline Splendour in the Grass, they're headed to Sydney to bring down the house at Hordern Pavilion on Monday, July 24. Formed back in 2002 by Murphy, LCD Soundsystem's cathartic dance-punk defined the noughties for many. Presented by Frontier Touring and triple j, this highly anticipated show is sure to be one hell of a reunion party. Fingers crossed that the band's new album will be out by then — Murphy has promised a newbie. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 20 at 11am, with presale happening for Frontier Touring members at 2pm on Tuesday, April 18 through 2pm on Wednesday, April 19. They're sure to sell out insanely quickly, so dawdlers will be sorry. LCD Soundsystem will then go on to play in Melbourne's Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday, July 26, capping off one of the most hectic weeks of live music Australia will see this year. Image: Matt Biddulph via Wikimedia Commons.
It's finally happened. London's latest and greatest pop-up bar lets you literally inhale alcohol, a project that could only be the work of wildly ambitious, gastronomic artists Bompas and Parr. Built on the site of an ancient monastery in Borough and opened on July 30, the wonderfully-named Alcohol Architecture bar lets you walk into an actual cloud of cocktail. Sam Bompas and Harry Parr have used big ol' humidifiers to saturate the air with a cocktail of spirits and mixer, so you can simply breathe in the drink and let that sweet, sweet alcohol make its way to your bloodstream via lungs and eyes. Of course, visitors to the pop-up are advised to "breathe responsibly" — and the hour session of inhalation isn't quite enough to get you drunk, apparently. You're given a robe to protect your clothes from reeking of cocktail afterwards, and you'll be surrounded by atmospheric sounds to intensify the inhaling experience. #breatheresponsibly at @alcoholicarchitecture regram from @soniashahx A photo posted by Bompas & Parr (@bompasandparr) on Aug 6, 2015 at 8:59am PDT "Inside, the sound is modulated, so that it is like you are right inside the glass," Parr told Bloomberg. "It's a dense atmosphere that builds into a thunderstorm with lightning. It's a new way of experiencing drink, and it's social because it's an immersive shared environment. You all have the same flavor sensation. "It's like going to the seaside and finding that fish and chips taste better. Part of that is that in a human environment, your ability to perceive taste is heightened. It's the opposite of being in an aeroplane. Alcohol tastes better, with more nuances: You can detect more subtle flavors when it is humidified." We're on! Launch night of the bar tonight! A photo posted by Alcoholic Architecture (@alcoholicarchitecture) on Jul 29, 2015 at 12:37pm PDT This isn't the first jaw-dropping foodie installation Bompas and Parr have dazzled us with in recent memory. After opening a pop-up which tailored cocktails to your DNA, hosting anatomical whisky tastings allowing you to taste different aged whiskies from their same-aged human body, and creating lava-powered barbecues, the pair brought one hell of a banquet to this year's Dark Mofo festival in Tasmania — which involved much nudity and the eating of an actually beating pig's heart. If you're headed for London anytime soon, Alcoholic Architecture will be open until early 2016 at One Cathedral Street, Borough Market, London. Tickets and more info over here. We chatted to Sam Bompas recently, head over here to delve into pagan feasts, Vegemite chocolate and Australian food trends. Via Bloomberg.
Two consecutive 12-hour days of parties, lectures, performances, installations, and music from some of Australia’s and the world’s leading queer artists. If that doesn’t sound like an amazing way to spend a weekend then frankly we are no longer for this world. Presented by perennial creative risk-takers Performance Space and Carriageworks this monumental offering of queer creativity will take place over Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February. Running from midday to midnight the symposium will feature a highlight performance from legendary producers, DJs, and musicians Stereogamous aka Jonny Seymour and groundbreaking openly-gay electropop pioneer Paul Mac.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales will be staying open after dark until the end of January, maximising access to its summer blockbuster, Pop to Popism. Swing by before 10pm on Wednesdays and 9pm on Thursday to Saturday for the opportunity to not only take in the exhibition — a survey of pop art to which we gave a big thumb's up — but also the Pop shop and Pop twister. Dinner at Chiswick at the Gallery kicks your night up a fancy notch, and there’s even a special event combining the culinary inventiveness of Matt Moran with a talk from exhibition curator, Wayne Tunnicliffe. After all, these balmy summer nights are for cramming in as much culture as you can. The gallery's regular Wednesday late-night event, Art After Hours, is going retro for the occasion, with a series of colourful parties organised around different decades' subcultural rivalries and soundtracked by suitably nostalgic live music. Wednesday, January 21, is all about the era of water beds and lava lamps: the '70s. Alongside the rise of Punk and Disco, look back on the progressive changes ushered in by Gough Whitlam. And on January 28, the spotlight will be turned towards the '80s with its stage-stealing New Romantics and Yuppies. The heyday of pop music and outrageous fashion, nothing screamed look-at-me like the '80s. Reminiscing on this loud and proud decade, Romance Was Born designer Luke Sales will be speaking about the influences that have filtered into his creative process. It was also the era that launched slick art stars like Jeff Koons, who is still going strong, and conceptual photographer Cindy Sherman. Rock up with shoulder pads and big hair to be in the running for best dressed.
There's a few delicious things you could buy for $817. You could buy a bucketload of Messina for your entire workplace. Or you could invest in one scoop of this not-so-great-sounding ice cream, the most expensive scoop in the world. Dubai's Scoopi Cafe is claiming their 'Black Diamond' as the priciest scoop in the globe, setting you back $817 a go. According to Al Arabiya, owner Zubin Doshi spent five whole weeks picking out the ingredients. Yep. Five of 'em. What did he come up with? Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream, Iranian saffron threads, and Italian black truffle, topped with a 23-karat gold leaf. Call us ungrateful, but four ingredients we've seen before hasn't left us jumping on Webjet. The exxy part of the scoop actually doesn't come from the saffron or gold leaf. It comes from the takeaway container. Your Black Diamond comes served in a bowl from Versace — one you can take home. So basically, you're paying for singular Versace crockery and the rights to tell your 'friends' you shelled out 800 beans for an average-sounding scoop. We'll stick with Messina any day. Via Al Arabiya.
When it comes to versatile foods that the large majority loves and is highly unlikely to get sick of, pizza really is worth its weight in gold. At Sydney's Pizza Design Co, they're taking that idea literally. That's right, the Parramatta dough-slingers are topping their latest creation in actual, edible, 23-carat gold. In an Australian first, that slice of 'za you're always hankering for just got a whole lot more valuable. Going on sale via Menulog from October 13, the limited-time-only pizza in question is called the Golden Margherita, of course. And, given that it's a classic margherita pizza topped with gold leaf, it really is just what it sounds like. Whoever knew that your favourite meal could be so shiny and laughably decadent? Or, if you get in early, shiny, laughably decadent and free? Not only does the Golden Margherita apparently reflect the evolving tastes of the area, but it's all yours for zilch if you're one of the first 100 preorders made from midday on the day that they're launched. Normally, they'll be $50 a pop (hey, gold doesn't come cheap), and will come with a certificate of authenticity — yeah, that's piece of paper saying that you ate gold. Straight to the pool room. Pizza Design Co's Golden Margherita is available from October 13, and can be ordered via Menulog.
If Morissey was Mexican, his tunes would sound pretty much like you’re going to hear them at this show. Yep, as you can guess by the name, this is a Mexican act performing the Morissey songbook. But it's not just any old band, it's seven of the best musos in Mexico performing arrangements by Calexico’s Sergio Mendoza, all in Spanish. Expect every Latin rhythm you can think of — from ranchera, mariachi and danzón to mambo, norteño and cha cha cha. Mexrissey plays the Enmore Theatre on January 23 at 8.30pm. $69/$62 + bf. This is just one of our ten picks for Sydney Festival's best gigs. Check out the whole list.
