Every quarter, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology releases its climate outlook for the coming season, signalling to the country just what type of weather might be in store. For the winter just gone, for example, it advised that we were in for hotter and wetter-than-average conditions. And, for both spring and summer, it's now predicting plenty of warm-weather rain. BOM's spring forecast was actually released at the end of August, noting two key points. First, it advised that there's a high likelihood of above-average rainfall across this period. Secondly, it noted that temperatures are likely to be average or even slightly below average in the nation's south, and warmer than usual in the country's north. Since then, however, the Bureau has issued two further statements about spring and summer's weather — with the latest stressing that there's an increased chance of flooding and cyclones. Thanks to BOM's severe weather outlook, it's sensible to expect damp conditions from October through until April, as a result of La Niña. The news follows an announcement at the end of September, when the Bureau revealed that the coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon was now active in the Pacific Ocean, and was likely to remain that way until at least the end of 2020. Some La Niña events can last around a year. When it comes to flooding, BOM advises that because La Niña is expected to bring more rain to Australia's east and north, the risk of widespread flooding increases. It also notes that rain has already been hitting some drought-affected areas. https://twitter.com/BOM_au/status/1315493814958583808 In regards to tropical cyclones, it predicts that there's an increased risk in the country's north. "On average, Australia sees nine to 11 tropical cyclones each year, with four crossing the coast. With La Niña this year we are expecting to see slightly more tropical cyclones than average, and the first one may arrive earlier than normal," said Bureau climatologist Greg Browning. BOM also advised that there's average potential for heatwaves and severe thunderstorms across the coming months. In good news after last year's catastrophic bushfire season, the Bureau is forecasting average fire conditions for the rest of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, too, as linked to the wetter weather. "This fire season, we're expecting wetter than average conditions in eastern and northern Australia, so long-running large bushfires are less likely; however, a wetter spring can lead to abundant grass growth, which could increase fire danger as it naturally dries during summer," noted Browning. If you're wondering what all of the above means, temperature-wise, it depends on the state. Queensland is never cool once spring and summer hits, but above-average temps are particularly forecast for the state's northern half. In New South Wales and Victoria, higher-than-average temperatures are predicted, with longer and more humid heatwaves possible in NSW's south and across the entirety of Victoria. The latter also applies to South Australia, although it might be in for fewer days of extreme heat. Western Australia can expect higher-than-average temperatures across the state, especially in the northeast. For further details about the Bureau of Meteorology's spring and summer forecasts, check out its spring outlook and severe weather outlook.
This New Year's Eve, it's time to turn back the clock. Pumping out his signature '90s hip hop classics, the legendary Grandmaster Flash is hitting The Soda Factory for a house party like no other. Spinning an unmissable set of old-school records, the founding father of the hip hop scene will be sending off the year-that-was in spectacular fashion. The Grandmaster is gearing up to bring his truly partystarting edits to our shores this NYE. Renowned for breaking new ground and pushing the limits of what DJs are capable of, Flash paved the way for the mixing methods seen pumping across clubs and airwaves today. Tucked away in Surry Hills, The Soda Factory will play host to partygoers looking for a spot to one-two step their way into 2015. Bring your mates and best dance moves along for some Grandmaster tracks this New Year's Eve. Thanks to the Soda Factory, we're giving away a VIP NYE experience for you and SIX friends this December 31. You'll nab: 6x tickets to the NYE Grandmaster Flash House Party at The Soda Factory A VIP booth for your gang A Magnum of Chandon to share Plus, as the lucky winner, you'll have one very happy 2015, with a year's supply of hotdogs from the Soda Factory for you and a friend. Simply show your face at the Soda Factory throughout the year to collect your prize. Two runners up will also receive passes to the Soda Factory's NYE House Party. To be in the running for this prize, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address: Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au The winner will be drawn on Friday, December 26.
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is celebrating this year's NAIDOC Week theme of 'Voice. Treaty. Truth.' with a program of daily (and free!) lunchtime workshops throughout the week. also the perfect excuse to take your full lunch break and take advantage of the sunny forecast ahead while celebrating Aboriginal culture. On Monday you'll be able to learn a few tips on traditional weaving, while Tuesday will get you up and moving at a music and dance workshop. On Wednesday you can learn a bit about traditional tools and weapon, and Thursday will let you get a bit dirty with ochre (and see how it's used with traditional dance). Finish up on Friday with an art class on the Palace Garden Gate lawn just off Macquarie Street. You don't have to book in for the workshops — just rock up and join in. If you work in the city, they're a great (and free) way to get involved in NAIDOC Week, celebrate the history, achievements and diverse culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and learn something new. Plus, the forecast is looking good for this week. The workshops will run from midday until 1pm each day this week.
Every actor has one, albeit in various shades, lengths and textures, but sometimes one single hairstyle says everything about a film. Wildly careening in whichever direction it seems to feel like at any point, yet also strikingly sculptural, the towering reddish stack of curly locks atop Penélope Cruz's head in Official Competition is one such statement-making coiffure. It's a stunning sight, with full credit to the movie's hairstylists. These tremendous tresses are both unruly and immaculate; they draw the eye in immediately, demanding the utmost attention. And, yes, Cruz's crowning glory shares those traits with this delightful Spanish Argentine farce about filmmaking — a picture directed and co-written by Mariano Cohn and Gastуn Duprat (The Distinguished Citizen), and also starring Antonio Banderas (Uncharted) and Oscar Martínez (Wild Tales), that it's simply impossible to look away from. Phenomenal hair is just the beginning for Cruz here. Playing filmmaker Lola Cuevas — a Palme d'Or-winning arthouse darling helming an ego-stroking prestige picture for rich octogenarian businessman Humberto Suárez (José Luis Gómez, Truman) — she's downright exceptional as well. Humberto decides to throw some cash into making a movie in the hope of leaving a legacy that lasts, and enlisting Lola to work her magic with a Nobel Prize-winning novel called Rivalry is quite the coup. So is securing the talents of flashy global star Félix Rivero (Banderas) and serious theatre actor Iván Torres (Martínez), a chalk-and-cheese pair who'll work together for the first time, stepping into the shoes of feuding brothers. But before the feature can cement its backer's name in history, its three key creatives have to survive an exacting rehearsal process. Lola believes in rigorous preparation, and in testing and stretching her leading men, with each technique she springs on them more outlandish and stressful than the last. As Lola, Cruz is a 'find yourself someone who can do both'-kind of marvel. She's clearly starring in a comedy, and her timing, rhythms and line delivery are as fine-tuned as any acting great who has ever tried to amuse an audience — and serve up a hefty reminder that viewers rarely get to see her in such a role — but she perfects the drama of the situation, too. The latter stems from Lola's male leads, who are caught up in a clash of egos, and from the director herself as she keeps eagerly but purposefully pulling their strings. Light, fluid, sharp, smart: they all fit this savvily portrayed character, and never for a second does Cruz feel like she's seesawing too easily, needlessly or temperamentally from comic to serious and back. Earlier in 2022, she was nominated for an Oscar for her sublime performance in Parallel Mothers — an award she deserved to win, but didn't — and although Official Competition couldn't be a more different film, she's just as much of a force to be reckoned with within its frames. Cohn and Duprat might have a little of Lola in them, as well as conjuring her up with fellow scribe Andrés Duprat (My Masterpiece). The Argentine filmmaking duo's rehearsal methods aren't part of the movie, obviously, and it's likely that they didn't wrap their cast in cling wrap as their protagonist hilariously does — but, whatever mechanisms they deployed, they obtain outstanding performances from their key players. This is Cruz's film, but Banderas revels in the chance to cleverly and cannily satirise his profession and industry as much as she does, with the two teaming up yet again after featuring side by side in plenty of Pedro Almodóvar's movies (see: Pain and Glory most recently). The playful teasing is ramped up a level, and there's a greater emphasis on his killer stare, which can flip from brooding to charming to pouting in an instant; however, the result remains remarkable. Martínez plays it relatively straight in-between his co-stars, but is no less compelling; Iván has his own ego battles. Getting Cruz, Bandereas and Martínez bouncing off of each other was always bound to spark something special. They're acting in the service of unpacking acting, and their pitch-perfect portrayals perceptively probe and parody in tandem. The arrogance that comes with fame, the quest for constant validation, the ridiculousness of being a celebrity — they're all targets for laughs, as is the gaping chasm between acting megastardom and everything else. None of these spark new revelations, but Official Competition isn't merely content to get three top talents turning in ace performances to merely state the blatant. Cohn and Duprat's work relies upon acting, and they clearly treasure it as an artform, even as they poke fun at it. The jokes land, but their film also has time to appreciate the emotional toll that goes into a dynamite performance and the sincerity summoned up by the best of the best, all as Lola wrings everything she can out of Félix and Iván. Her tactics, unfurled across their nine-day pre-shoot period, and designed to get the two men to discard their senses of self and become one with their characters, would do Wile E Coyote proud. They're more mischievous than torturous, though — and they're also shrewd and very funny. In one, Félix and Iván argue beneath a giant rock, suspended precariously above them, heightening their anxiety while Lola is thoroughly nonplussed. Another gets them practicing their kissing techniques in front of a bank of microphones so that every sound can be heard and critiqued, with their director ruthless in her scrutiny. In yet another, getting wrapped in plastic together, which both Félix and Iván unsurprisingly abhor, is part of a bold and drastic plan to get the pair to relinquish their reliance upon external approval. What images these three scenarios, and others like them, spark — capturing Cruz and that hairdo, naturally, and so much more. Plenty about Official Competition sounds surreal, and it's certainly how this spectacularly staged and shot feature looks at every moment. Eccentric and meticulous are words that describe Lola and, of course, her coif; they couldn't sum up the movie's production design or cinematography better, too. Here's another that fits: magnificent. Director of photography Arnau Valls Colomer (Lost Transmissions) operates on a Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul level of visual precision, spanning where the camera is placed, the angles it peers on from, the painterly composition of each and every image, and what that level of detail says about an industry that's all about detail. Like the gem it is, everything about this film gleams.
Our city's biggest summer celebration of local and international talent has finally arrived – and you've managed to bag tickets! Good start, compadre. But as any regular arts-goer knows, finding pre- or post-show eats is a tricky business. That's why we've chosen our top places near the main Sydney Festival venues, so whether you're heading to Carriageworks for Kiss and Cry, Enmore Theatre for Atomic Bomb! or the Seymour Centre for Adrienne Truscott's Asking for It, we've got your nosh needs covered. IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... THE SPIEGELTENTS, CITY RECITAL HALL OR SYDNEY TOWN HALL Festival Village Go for offerings from Bar Pho, Harvest Trader & Co, Jafe Jaffles and more, but leave room for the American-style fare at The Double Down Diner, a genius collaboration between two of our favourite Sydney venues, Gelato Messina and Porteno. While the guys behind Sydney's best Argentinian grill will dish up the savouries (think cheesesteaks, chilli dogs and waffles), Messina promises a gelato burger and pecan gelato 'fried chicken' for dessert. Mary’s CBD Mary's has brought its signature burgers (plus some deliciously thick new inventions) over from Newtown. Located on Castlereagh Street, the new Mary’s CBD has two floors, with the upper level functioning as a production space, while downstairs is the kitchen and takeaway counter. The menu features the same burgers we know and love from Newtown. Add to that the new chicken burger, super crispy French fries, and thickshakes. Did someone say smoked maple? China Lane Underneath an art installation nest of bird cages in Angel Lane, China Lane is a mix of suits, trendy young things checking out the CBD’s hidden laneway escape, and daters. If you’ve seen any of director Wong Kar-wai’s movies, you’ll get the idea – moody lighting, a modern sense of decor mixed with ’50s Hong Kong glamour, and general snappiness. Japanese sashimi rubs up against Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai on the menu, showing head chef Ben Haywood’s dexterity with Pan Asian cuisine. Mordeo Offering the best of Southern European cuisine, Mordeo brings a little piece of the Mediterranean to the inner city. Owner and executive chef Nicholas Aspros worked alongside head chef Marc Gehret to curate an innovative collection of fresh, produce-driven dishes, focusing on the vibrant flavours of Greece, Italy and Spain and ranging from tapas to generous share plates, woodfired meats and pizza. IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... THE OPERA HOUSE OR SYDNEY THEATRE The new-look Opera Bar D'uh. Pop by this revamped icon and see if it's finally done good. Equip yourself with a refreshing pomegranate and mint Sydney Sling ($18) and head outside to the sun-drenched deck where you and 699 other people can now find a seat. The House Eatery by George pop-up on the Opera House Forecourt Kick back in a low-slung cabana chair under a beach umbrella and sample the cocktail menu, which includes the rapaska (vodka, fresh raspberry and passionfruit puree, fresh cloudy apple juice, orange juice) and the San Francisco-invented Tommy’s margarita (Olmeca Altos Plata tequila, fresh lime juice, agave syrup). The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room Perch yourself on the bar and you can watch the action right before your eyes as Morrison’s oyster maestros shuck your Pacific, Angassi or Rock oysters to order. Alternatively, opt for the Fast Festival Feast menu, and graze your way through a tasting plate, a main and side to share with a glass of wine each for $30pp. The Glenmore The much loved local’s-style pub remains on ground level, but as you head up the stairs towards the first level and rooftop terrace, you can see just how much this oldie has been spruced up. It has one of the best views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, along with some great pub food. IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... CARRIAGEWORKS Rubyos Newtown institution Rubyos is offering a Fast Festival Feast for $30 a head – a selection of no less than six grazing plates to share. The special menu covers an eclectic selection of dishes, ranging from sweet pea salad and pan-fried haloumi, to twice-cooked pork belly and Korean fried chicken wings. The Animal at Newtown Hotel The Animal restaurant unites Newtown’s Greek migrant history with its colourful, trendy present. It’s unfussy, friendly and reasonably priced. The main lure is whole animals cooked on the spit, making up a medley of daily specials. Cornerstone at Carriageworks You're there, it's there, what more do you want? We love the colossal monster ferns hanging from cranes, the Edison bulbs burning seductively like lanterns along a lakeside dock, and the option of outdoor seating. The bar food menu is solid and served fast. IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... THE SEYMOUR CENTRE The Rose Hotel With a lively atmosphere, reasonable prices (thanks to a student-dominated clientele), and a lamp-lit beer garden to boot, the Rose is one of your best options in this part of town. Despite being sandwiched between busy City Road even busier Cleveland Street, the pub manages to keep things intimate. Go for the prolonged happy hours and experimental pizza toppings. The Duck Inn Less like a pub, more like your mate's place – complete with board games and comfy couches – the Duck Inn does 'homey vibe' well. The pub food doesn't disappoint either, with the menu covering a number of pub classics (beef burger, bangers and mash), plus some new favourites ('deconstructed' beef wellington and BBQ octopus). IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... ENMORE THEATRE Hartsyard There’s no denying Hartsyard’s heritage; it’s palpably American in taste, substance and style. As soon as you push open the glass door, the smell of hickory smoked pork greets you with open arms. Salvaged timber and industrial lighting, utility and charm, Hartsyard sits at the intersection of bustling farmhouse kitchen and buzzing late-night diner. A visit wouldn’t be complete without feasting on their fried chicken, served with buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy ($29) just like they do in the South Carolina low country. Just remember that you won’t be able to enjoy KFC in the same way ever again. Lentil as Anything Who said you can’t make friends with salad? The not-for-profit vegan chain Lentil as Anything has quickly become the darling of King Street. No need to book, just turn up for amazing food and an atmosphere that can’t be beat. As 30 percent of the ingredients are donated from food rescue operations, the menu changes often so you’ll need to ask your waiter what’s on offer. If you swing by on a Friday or Saturday night, head upstairs for a tasty tonic in their new Lentil on the Rocks mocktail bar. Secret Garden Bar Right next to the Enmore Theatre you'll find Secret Garden, a lush, green sanctuary with overflowing hanging baskets above, field-ploughing paraphernalia to the side (courtesy of owner Ashleigh Cavagnino’s grandmother) and outside-furniture-style chez lounges connecting tables along the main wall. As food goes, currently Secret Garden serves just one type of dish: the gluten-free Columbian cornmeal snack widely known as arepas. And, quite frankly, they serve it good. IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... PARRAMATTA/RIVERSIDE THEATRES El-Phoenician There may be cheaper Lebanese options along Parramatta's Church Street, but you're unlikely to find better quality than at El-Phoenician. Known for its generous servings and loud groups, this local institution is offering festivalgoers a Fast Festival Feast menu of all your favourites – expect hummus, tabouli, falafel, shish tawouk, kamb kafta and an endless supply of bread. If you'd like some belly dancing on the side, head there on a weekend. The Emporium While this dual-level food and wine mecca from the guys behind the Coffee Emporium franchise isn't set to open til January 15, the new venture promises great things for festivalgoers and Parramatta locals alike. With a Mediterranean-inspired menu designed by chef Leon Volk and an international wine list, The Emporium hopes to the raise the bar of the area's main eats street. Don't go past the Fast Festival Feast menu, with a whole Spanish mackerel, a fresh Tuscan panzanella salad and a glass of Massena Viognier or Roussanne on offer throughout the festival. Sabu This contemporary Japanese restaurant and sake bar sports a sleek fitout and a prime position in the Eat Street district of Parramatta. The menu ranges from sushi, sashimi to robata, with cocktails, sake and sake flights on offer. Sabu is known to exhibit local artists and often surprises guests with live performances, so if you're looking for a culture-infused dinner spot to relax in ahead of your SydFest adventures, this is your go-to. IF YOU'RE HEADING TO... THE STAR PizzAperta Located at the entrance to Star City , this openair pizzeria offers you a better place to spend your dough. With stone-milled flour from Padova, olive oil from Tuscany and a pizza oven from Naples, PizzAperta was created by Stefano Manfredi, the Australian godfather of Italian cuisine, and it’s backed by an impressive Neapolitan woodfire oven (a Stefano Ferrara M130 for all you buffs out there). The outdoor venue has piazza seating (aka Pirrama Road footpath) or you can people-watch from a sleek timber bench bar — a particularly enjoyable sport with the casino entrance nearby. BLACK by Ezard Set within luxurious surrounds, BLACK by ezard is the Star’s steak in shining armour. A favourite amongst the casino’s high rolling gamblers, BLACK is a beef fiend’s haven. Chef Teage Ezard plates up American grill-inspired steaks and a considered seafood menu, offering diners variety in choice. If you're after a Fast Festival Feast, two courses for $55 — an entrée of tomato vine ripened salad, buffalo cheese, green kalamata olives, white balsamic and basil dressing and a main course of kingfish salsa verde with fennel salad. Balla Balla's Milanese cuisine is fresh and seasonal served with a side of harbourside view overlooking Jones Bay Wharf. This Milanese ‘osteria’ (translating as ‘traditional restaurant’), is headed up by chef Gabriele Taddeucci (ex Ucello and then Beresford). Fast Festival Feasts are value for money here — three courses for $55; saikou salmon with pea purée and preserved lemon, then a choice of orecchiette with prawns, cherry tomatoes and oregano or grilled lamb cutlets with smoked eggplant purée and summer salad, and a tartufo al cioccolato for dessert. By the Concrete Playground team.
Beware wells in the middle of the forest, crawling women with long black hair completely covering their faces and, naturally, any VHS tapes that depict both. Along with a healthy disdain for viral videos, that's what the Ring franchise has taught us over the past three decades — and the original Japanese series isn't done yet. The seventh film in the initial saga, Sadako follows psychology counsellor Mayu Akigawa (Elaiza Ikeda). Her younger brother is a YouTuber, and her latest patient may have a connection to the eponymous murderous spirit that's known to haunt videotapes. Yes, that likely means that someone will let the killer ghost loose on the internet, giving anyone who sees the creepy force just seven days to live. While Ring's concept was always going to play with the online world at some point, perhaps the most exciting aspect of Sadako is its filmmaker, with Hideo Nakata returning after directing the initial Japanese flick Ringu. He also helmed sequel Ring 2, as well as the sequel to the American remake, called The Ring Two. If you're a fan of J-horror, you've probably seen his other flicks, such as Dark Water and Kaidan. Ring actually started on the page back in 1991, thanks to a horror mystery novel series that spawned printed follow-ups called Spiral, Loop, Birthday, S and Tide. On-screen, the Japanese films debuted in 1998, and are split over two different timelines — with Sadako following on from 1999's Ring 2, and the other branch releasing its first follow-up in 1998, two more 3D movies in 2012 and 2013 that are confusingly also called Sadako, plus a cross-over with the Ju-on series named Sadako vs. Kayako in 2016. Of course, there's also the three American movies, starting with 2002's well-received The Ring starring Naomi Watts and ending with 2017's terrible Rings. A South Korean remake, The Ring Virus, also popped up in 1999. Check out the trailer for Sadako below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Pftw4fd8k Sadako doesn't currently have a release date Down Under — we'll update you if and when that changes. Via IndieWire.
Fans of the legendary Stephen Fry should prepare to laugh, cry and squabble over ticket sales because the man himself is coming down under in November with a new comedy show, Telling Tales. The announcement hit hungry inboxes this morning, accompanied by an arguably redundant biography about Fry’s history of making us laugh, cry and think; from his days in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Blackadder all the way up to his poignant LGBT doco Out There. Yes, we know who he is. Yes, we will sell our hair to go to his show and bask in his glowing presence. Fry will be hitting the big cities, Melbourne (Hamer Hall), Canberra (Royal Theatre, Perth (Riverside Theatre) and Sydney (State Theatre). Sorry Brisbane, next time. The show has been described rather alliteratively as an evening of "fun, frolic and uniquely Fryish delight" but let's be honest, the host of QI, the best TV quiz show of all time, needs no fancy introduction. Frankly we’d respond the same way to an email that just barked, "Stephen Fry is coming to Oz, buy a ticket you garbage people." Speaking of, tickets go on sale Tuesday 1 September at 9am. STEPHEN FRY'S TELLING TALES 2015 TOUR DATES: Monday, November 9 — Hamer Hall, Melbourne. Tickets via Arts Centre Box Office or Ticketmaster. Saturday, November 14 — Royal Theatre, Canberra. Tickets via Ticketek. Tuesday, November 17 — Riverside Theatre, Perth. Tickets via Ticketek. Saturday, November 21 — State Theatre, Sydney. Tickets via Ticketmaster. Image: Virgin.
Since rebranding as Sydney Brewery back in 2013, originally Schwartz Brewery, the heavily awarded craft brewery has become known for its suburb-specific beers. Now, it has expanded past its World Square digs and opened its very own brewhouse in Surry Hills. Located on the corner of Albion and Mary Streets within the Rydges Hotel, it's boasting fresh brews, beer-filled pub grub and live music. While The Cidery (also within a Rydges Hotel) may showcase the brewery's range, the Surry Hills spot is a homegrown brewpub through and through — with owner Dr Jerry Schwartz heading the renovations. The fit-out takes on the typical warehouse vibes we've come to expect from the Sydney craft scene, with design elements like exposed brick and concrete walls, unfinished timber floors and patchwork wooden tables. The brewery will of course be slinging the suburb's namesake Surry Hills Pils and Darlo Dark, with the addition of the new Albion Ale, which will be brewed onsite. The shiny brew kit is also visible from the dining room, so patrons can watch the brewers at work while they sip their fresh-as brews. Accompanying the drinks is a menu of beer-filled pub grub. Think slow-cooked sticky beef ribs in porter barbecue sauce, bratwurst braised with Paddo Pale Ale and a cider-infused pot of mussels served with crusty bread. Plus classics like beer-battered fish and chips with mushy peas and chicken tenders with chipotle aioli. For dessert, there are chocolate tacos and rhubarb tarts, too. To round out the brewpub's Surry Hills feels, there'll be regular live gigs, with a weekly roster of local bands and DJs on the weekend. Sydney Brewery is really jonesin' to become your new go-to for brews in the inner east — not an easy task in a suburb already full of good'uns. Sydney Brewery Surry Hills is now open at 28 Albion Street, Surry Hills. Opening hours are Monday through Wednesday from 11am to 11pm; Thursday through Saturday from 11am to 11.30pm; and Sunday from 4pm to 11pm.
If the impending winter chill has you dreaming of cosy nights spent quaffing drams of whisky, there's a Melbourne-made creation that deserves a spot in your spirits collection. The team at the city's own Starward Whisky has just unveiled the latest edition of its Ginger Beer Cask series — and, as it has six times before, this spicy little number promises to keep those wintry blues at bay. The seventh iteration of Starward's ginger-based program since 2014, 2022's offering isn't just about pairing ginger and whisky, as fine a combination as that is. Another winning duo gets a look-in as well: chocolate and orange. So, expect to smell ginger, orange and dark chocolate while you're sipping — and to taste ginger, obviously, as well as vanilla, pineapple, sweet raisins and fig. For this year's version, Starward has also added more ginger for extra spice, and only used American Oak red wine barrels, which've helped ramped up the vanilla and coconut characters. Starward's experts say you can try the whisky any way you please, but they particularly recommend sipping it straight, perhaps alongside some good-quality dark chocolate. Either way, it's safe to say you can expect a very good drop — 2021's drop won a Double Gold medal at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirit Competition, while 2020's Ginger Beer Cask edition took out a gold medal at the World Whisky Masters, plus a bronze at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition. The special-edition spirit is always quick to sell out, and this year's release is pegged to be no different. It's on sale now, so stocking up for winter ASAP is highly recommended. Starward's Ginger Beer Cask #7 is on sale now via the distillery's website, and at national retailers. A 700-millilitre bottle will set you back $149.
Many families' budget for Christmas lunch doesn't factor in lobster. Enjoying a $40 crustacean around the Christmas table feels like an activity reserved for households with large end-of-year bonuses. Woolworths and Coles, however, have both made this a more affordable reality in 2020, dropping the prices of their Western Australian rock lobsters to just $20 a pop nationwide. On Friday, December 11, both supermarket giants announced the reduction in price of the luxury seafood item by 50 percent, down from $40 this time last year. Woolworths reportedly has purchased five times as many lobsters as it did last year, with the company sighting recent restrictions on seafood exports from Australia as a reason the company has reduced the price. "Our support in purchasing more rock lobsters this year will give WA producers an avenue to move more volume into the domestic market which would have traditionally been exported," said Dudding. "It's a win-win partnership and we look forward to working with the industry to offer Australian households the chance to add premium seafood to their Christmas table this year at a more affordable price." Coles seemingly one-up its competitor, announcing on the same day that it had purchased 29 times as many lobsters as it had in 2019. Eager shoppers have already jumped at the opportunity to snap up the half-priced lobsters, with Woolworths implementing a limit of four lobsters, per person, per transaction. Coles is set to introduce the same limit from next Wednesday, December 23. Seafood is a holiday tradition in Australia, with Coles stating the supermarket sells 70 percent more seafood in December in comparison to every other month. That number may rise even more this year thanks to the reduced price, with Woolworths estimating Australians will purchase 35 tonnes of lobster this holiday season compared to 6.5 tonnes last year. $20 Western Australian rock lobsters are available nationwide at both Coles and Woolworths while stocks last.
Grassroots media and arts organisation dLux is all about giving anyone who's interested in learning new skills the opportunity to do so. This month, they're hosting a workshop that will teach you how to make devices that will literally light up your wardrobe. Electronics guru and multimedia artist Nick Wishart (who is also the mastermind behind Toydeath, a rock band made made up of electronic toys), will spend the day teaching 'Electronics 101', which will mostly involve playing around with cool flashy sensors and things that beep (like accelerometers and microphones), coding them using Arduinos and soldering the components together. By the end of the day you'll have all the tools you need (no really, you get your own starter kit) to add LEDs to your backpack, shoes or bike. Who says light-up shoes are just for kids?
After eight seasons, a massive body count and an enormous wait for winter, Game of Thrones is coming to an end, with the final season kicking off this week. But that doesn't mean saying goodbye to the world first created by author George R.R. Martin — not only thanks to the author's books, whenever The Winds of Winter finally hits shelves, or even simply due to the planned prequel series. In addition, fans will soon be able to visit a heap of new GoT tourist attractions. After shooting much of the show in Northern Ireland for the past decade, last year HBO announced that it's teaming up with Tourism NI to open a number of sets and sites to the public for the first time. If you've ever dreamed about walking around Westeros, this will be your chance. Winterfell, The Wall, King's Landing and Dragonstone are among the iconic spots that'll feature in what's being called Game of Thrones Legacy. Now, further details have been revealed, so prepare to be happier than Arya Stark crossing a name off of her infamous list. The first part of Game of Thrones Legacy will be a huge Game of Thrones studio tour within Linen Mill Studios, which is where plenty of she show has been filmed. Yes, this is where you'll find the ancestral home of House Stark, the headquarters of the Night's Watch and the capital of the seven kingdoms. When it launches as a tourist site, it'll be filled with original set pieces, costumes, props and weapons across a hefty 110,000-square-feet. The tour has been dubbed an 'interactive experience', although exactly how you'll be able to interact with these GoT items — other than training your peepers towards them — hasn't yet been unveiled. You will definitely wander through fully dressed sets, walk "in the very footsteps of Westeros's most prominent residents", relive "key moments from the series" and stand "right where they took place" as part of the immersive attraction, according to the press release. There'll also be informative displays highlighting the production spaces, as well as the craftsmanship and artistry that goes into bringing something as epic as GoT to life. Plus, you'll also be able to play around at an interactive costume department station, as well as sections dedicated to the show's make-up, prosthetics and armoury. Also set to go on display: art files, models and other production materials, as well as accompanying digital content and interactive materials highlighting GoT's digital effects. If you're now contemplating a trip to Northern Ireland, the entire Game of Thrones Legacy setup will comprise the largest authentic public display of GoT artifacts in the world, should that stoke your excitement. More details are set to come and, after originally touting a 2019 opening date, the tour looks slated to open around this time in 2020 (spring in Northern Ireland) instead. By then, you'll certainly know whether Jon Snow really does know nothing — and then you can head to Northern Ireland to visit many of his haunts. Images: Home Box Office, Inc.
Along with offering excellent food and drink at its cafe, Cornersmith is also an advocate for and teacher of a more sustainable, more delicious way of living. From teaching the fundamentals of preserves, to explaining the basics of pickling, Cornersmith is dedicated to sharing ways of making your food last longer, taste better and do more for you nutritionally. Next up on the list of classes is how to smoke stuff. Smoking meats has become massive around Sydney in the last few years, so why not try your hand at it? The crew shows you not only how to smoke traditional meats and fish, but also, for less carnivorous, how to smoke cheeses and tofu.
Beach. Music. Movies. Bar. Ice-cream. If any of these appeal to you, Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinema in Bondi will tick all of your boxes. Yup, it's an openair cinema, with live music, a bar, nibbles, games, and, of course, ice-cream. Just bring a picnic blanket (or book a beanbag) and settle in for the night. Opening night is a screening of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, with tunes on the night by Jack Carty. Australia Day is all about Mad Max, beer, and lamb burgers, whereas Valentine's Day is the perfect night for a Pretty Woman, or you can make The Impossible happen for closing night. Every Sunday (or, in ice-cream land, Sundae) there's live music sessions, some kind of games on the lawn, goodie bags (who doesn’t love a goodie bag?), and movie screenings. And with proceeds from the Sundae Session launch going to Mission Australia, you don't need to feel guilty about eating all of that ice-cream. Oh, and did we mention there’s ice-cream?
Lake Parramatta is a heritage-listed reservoir that has been transformed for lovers of all splashing, swimming and non-motorised water activities. A piece of manmade tranquility only two kilometres from Parramatta CBD, its still, cool waters are surrounded by 73 hectares of bushland and wildlife, which you can explore via walking tracks. Bring your lilo for a lazy afternoon float, or hire a rowboat or paddleboat with mates. When you get peckish, unpack your picnic basket by the water, set up at the barbecue or visit the Lake Parramatta Cafe. You can also take a self-guided tour through the Arrunga Bardo Aboriginal Bush Food Garden. Image: Jeffrey Drewitz, Destination NSW
Ben & Jerry's aren't afraid to put their ice cream where their mouth is, and not just by devouring their own creamy frozen desserts. In their latest show of support for marriage equality in Australia, the sweet treat makers are giving away free ice cream cones to celebrate this week's historic passage of legislation. Between 5.30pm and 9.30pm on December 11, visitors to Ben & Jerry's Aussie stores can pick up a frosty scoop without spending a cent. The offer applies at the chain's seven New South Wales, five Victorian, four Western Australian, one South Australian, two Australian Capital Territory and five of its six Queensland stores. If you're wondering why one misses out, that's because their Movie World digs aren't open once the park closes at 5pm. It's not the first time the brand has demonstrated their values with ice cream, as anyone who asked for a double dose of New York Super Fudge Chunk this year would know. When the fight for marriage equality was still under way, they instituted a same-flavour ban across their stores, refusing to put two scoops of the same ice cream variety on a single cone until the country's LGBTQI+ citizens were given the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. Now that the plebiscite has been and gone, 61.6 percent of respondees voted yes and lawmakers followed through, the ban has been lifted. Ben & Jerry's history of supporting marriage equality also includes their 2013 launch of the I Dough, I Dough ice cream flavour and campaign. Grab a free ice cream cone from Ben & Jerry's stores across Australia from 5.30pm to 9.30pm on December 11. For further information, visit the event Facebook page.
After drip-feeding various teasers over the past few months, Netflix has finally released the full trailer for The Crown's third season. The regal drama's new batch of episodes won't just continue the tale of Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of Britain's royals, but will tell the next chapter of their story with an entirely new cast — including Oscar-winner Olivia Colman as the monarch, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret. They'll be joined by Josh O'Connor (God's Own Country) as Prince Charles — and, given that this season steps through the late 60s and 70s, he starts to get a hefty amount of attention in the new sneak peek. The show has already been renewed for a fourth season that's due to be set in the 80s; in fact, it's currently in production. So, as history dictates, Charles is about to be thrust into the spotlight in a big way. Also coming on board for season three are Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother and Game of Thrones' Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten. Although Gillian Anderson's casting as Margaret Thatcher has been grabbing headlines, she won't show up until season four. Welcoming Colman and company means farewelling the show's stars across its first two seasons, including Claire Foy as Elizabeth, Matt Smith as Philip and Vanessa Kirby as Margaret. Since 2016, The Crown has peered inside both Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, unpacking the goings-on behind Britain's houses of power. So far, it has chronicled Elizabeth's wedding to Philip, her coronation and the birth of her children (Charles and Anne, as well as Prince Andrew and Prince Edward). In addition to delving into the monarch's marital ups and downs, the series has also explored the romantic life of her sister, Margaret, plus the major political events throughout the late 40s, entire 50s and early 60s. In season three, everyone's favourite source of royal intrigue will see Lizzie and her family grappling with the fact that Britain is changing — and, as the monarch reflects in the trailer, not necessarily in the way she'd like. Charting the years between 1964–1977, it'll also cover Harold Wilson's (played by The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and The Children Act's Jason Watkins) two stints as prime minister. And plenty of drama at the upper echelons of power, of course. Check out the third season's full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLXYfgpqb8A&feature=youtu.be The Crown's third season will hit Netflix on November 17. Images: Sophie Mutevelian / Netflix.
To look at John Shipton is to see the obvious, even if you've never laid eyes upon him before. The family resemblance is immediately clear, and the traits that've likely been passed down from father to son — determination and persistence, blatantly — become apparent within minutes. Shipton needs to be resolute for the battle that documentary Ithaka captures. It's a fight that's been waged for a decade now, publicly, and not just in embassies and courtrooms but across news headlines worldwide. He's visibly Julian Assange's dad, and he's been helping spearhead the campaign for the WikiLeaks founder's release. Assange fell afoul of US authorities in 2010, when his non-profit whistleblower organisation published documents about the American military's war crimes leaked by army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. As Ithaka makes plain, The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel revealed the same information at the same time; however, only Assange now sits in London's Belmarsh prison. Plenty about the past 12 years since Manning's leaks were exposed to the world is filled with numbers. Plenty about the ten years this June since Assange first took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London is as well. The Australian editor and publisher spent almost seven years in that diplomatic space, seeking political asylum from sexual misconduct allegations in Sweden that he contended would be used to extradite him to America. If the US succeeds in its efforts, and in its espionage charges against him, he faces up to 175 years in incarceration. The list of figures goes on, but filmmaker Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) makes two pivotal choices. Firstly, he surveys Assange's current struggle not through the Aussie himself, but through both Shipton and Stella Moris, his South African-born lawyer and now wife. Secondly, although those aforementioned numbers are inescapable, the riveting and affecting Ithaka brings humanity to this well-publicised plight. Moris herself sums up the movie's position best at the unveiling of a statue of Assange in Geneva. "I'm here to remind you that Julian isn't a name, he isn't a symbol; he's a man and he's suffering," she says. It's a reminder that Ithaka's audience might need, given how ubiquitous Assange's tale has become, including on-screen — in fellow docos We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks and Risk, and in dramas Underground: The Julian Assange Story and The Fifth Estate — and how polarising he has proven. Risk attempted to grapple with his contradictions, but Ithaka almost deems them irrelevant. Lawrence doesn't dismiss, excuse or pander; rather, he knows that Shipton and Moris' point remains regardless: that how Assange has been treated for receiving and publishing information is a human rights abuse, as well as an attack on the freedom of the press. That notion echoes again and again in Ithaka alongside its rousing soundtrack by Brian Eno, and with passion; to look at both Shipton and Moris is to see the fervour blazing tirelessly in their eyes, too. Making his second documentary after 2018's Ghosthunter, Lawrence fills the bulk of his naturalistically shot frames with the pair working against Assange's possible extradition, and for justice, with that avid gleam given ample opportunities to keep burning. Again, among the litany of opinions that he's evoked over the years, the idea that the Australian deserves life in prison for distributing Manning's intel to the world — or that anyone does — shouldn't have a place. Ithaka's allegiances are never in doubt, even without knowing that Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton is one of its producers, but giving time to the WikiLeaks creator's critics wouldn't and couldn't have changed its core position. Lawrence knows what everyone watching knows, though: that the mantra behind the movie isn't a new one. Accordingly, the film shows as much as it tells — leaving the telling to Shipton, Moris and talking-head interviewees; and having cinematographer Niels Ladefoged (an assistant editor on the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) deeply and carefully observe the minutiae around Ithaka's core duo. The documentary can veer towards the procedural as a result, including when Moris works through a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful plan to get then-US President Donald Trump to issue a pardon. It's always personal, of course; that Assange is primarily present as a voice on the phone, aka exactly how his father and wife have interacted with him during his time at Belmarsh, especially after the pandemic hit, only makes that feeling all the more evident. Shipton and Moris have long stressed the stakes for Assange — Moris' Geneva remarks are just one such instance captured in the feature — but Ithaka is equally concerned with the impact upon the pair. It doesn't just use the two as a different access point into this now-familiar story, but to illustrate the emotional and psychological burden that falls upon them as they crusade, lobby and also worry. As Assange's legal battles are prolonged, septuagenarian Shipton loses time with his five-year-old daughter in Australia, while Moris raises her two children with Assange alone. Alongside tenacity, weariness lingers in their eyes as well. It's there, noticeably, when Shipton rankles against pointless or ill-thought-out questions, and when he's ceaselessly direct in response. Assange's case continues; he awaits the latest ruling in his efforts to avoid extradition, a matter that's been before the courts for years now. Previously, it was decreed that his mental health would suffer, and he'd be a suicide risk in the conditions that'd greet him in America; however, the US government has kept pressing, winning a High Court judgement in its favour in late 2021, while Assange's team keeps fighting back. Ithaka overtly aims to raise awareness; the documentary is an act of activism as much as a portrait of Shipton and Moris. It's engrossing and fascinating, too, plus powerful viewing on a subject, and a person, that's rarely been far from the media's gaze for the bulk of this century — but not like this.
Back in 2019, Scottish craft beer giant BrewDog finally made the leap to Australia, setting up its first local brewery by the river in Brisbane. But its reputation had preceded it to our shores, and not just due to its yeasty brews. When you make craft beers for dogs, launch the world's first craft beer airline and open the world's first craft beer hotel, you're bound to garner plenty of global attention. If you're a beer-drinking dog owner who loved the idea BrewDog's boozy, pooch-friendly place to stay — which is fitting called The DogHouse — that's understandable. Still, making the trip to Columbus, Ohio in the US with your four-legged best friend mightn't have topped your to-do list. Thankfully, BrewDog has just announced that it's opening its second craft beer hotel, and on our own shores. Ideally, by the end of 2022, Aussies will be able to bunker down for the night at The DogHouse Brisbane. An exact site hasn't been confirmed as yet, but it's likely that the hotel will make its home right next to BrewDog's existing Brisbane brewery DogTap, which is located in Murarrie. It'll feature up to 30 rooms, which'll each come decked out with shower beer fridges — because why wash without a brew in your hand? — and in-room draft beer taps filled with Aussie-brewed Punk IPA. And, taking your pupper along is 100-percent on the agenda at this eco-friendly place to stay. [caption id="attachment_803135" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The DogHouse Columbus[/caption] Plans for The DogHouse Brisbane were revealed as part of BrewDog's new blueprint for its operations Down Under over the next two years — and the company has much more in store. As previously announced, it's looking to ramp up its local presence, with a new bar slated for the Brisbane CBD, and new venues on the cards in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The latter sites will also include their own microbreweries, so they can make their own beer on the premises. While 2021 was previously announced as a launch date, it is now expected they'll be up and running between now and 2023, with further locations on the Gold Coast and in Newcastle also being considered. In Brisbane, BrewDog's beer campus is also undergoing a few more changes — including adding a bigger outdoor seating area with shaded seating to its riverside terrace, and expanding the brewery by installing a pasteuriser. In great news for lovers of hangover-free brews, that new piece of equipment will help the company broaden its alcohol-free beer range, which'll soon include Punk AF, Hazy AF and its raspberry AF sour, Faux Fox. The taproom is also getting an extra 100 square metres of private event space, the walk-in takeaway shop will be expanded and there'll be a larger kitchen. [caption id="attachment_800310" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Brewdog DogTap Brisbane[/caption] Announcing the news, BrewDog's ANZ CEO Ed Bott said: "we are extremely grateful for the outstanding support we have received in Australia since we landed Down Under. It's been a pretty wild ride so far, but we have ambitious plans for Australia and New Zealand, building a fast-paced sustainable business that can be a force for good. We can't wait to bring our relentless obsession with incredible craft beer to the rest of the country and for our Punks to be able to head to their local BrewDog bar and get their paws on our freshly brewed Aussie beers". BrewDog is also keeping its crowdfunding initiative, Equity for Punks, in place in Australia until Wednesday, March 31. Pledging your support can help speed up the company's plans to open a bar in your city, too — with the brewer noting that if more than 500 Equity Punks join from the same city before the current deadline, it will open a BrewDog bar there within the next three years. The DogHouse Brisbane is expected to open sometime in 2022, while new BrewDog sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are on the cards between now and 2023. We'll update you when further information come to hand. For now, you can keep an eye on BrewDog's website for details. Top image: The DogHouse Columbus.
Since late 2017, Taco Bell has been making inroads into the fast food scene Down Under, with four stores now open in Queensland, a total of 50 planned across Australia by the end of 2021 and up to 60 set for Aus as well as New Zealand by 2023. That's great news if you're a local fan of the US Tex-Mex chain. If you're extra fond of the company's burritos, quesadillas, nachos and — of course — tacos, you could always book your next US holiday at a pop-up Taco Bell hotel. The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort will welcome guests from August 9, operating for a limited time only. If you're wondering what's in store, it's "a destination inspired by tacos," according to the eatery. Think taco-themed rooms, tacos for breakfast (and lunch, dinner and snacking on whenever the urge hits), a Taco Bell gift shop and an onsite salon doling out Taco Bell-inspired nail art. Apparently the poolside cocktails will also be given a Taco Bell twist, which hopefully doesn't mean boozy liquid concoctions made of meat, salsa, avocado and tortillas. Alcohol seems like it'll be a big feature, with the hotel strictly for those aged 18 and over. As for the rest of the joint's food, The Bell will also serve up an exclusive menu, in case you're feeling like you've already eaten every Taco Bell dish ever. With the chain founded in Southern California back in 1962, eager taco lovers will need to head to the area — to Palm Springs to be exact, although the exact location hasn't been revealed. Reservations will open in June, and there's no word yet on just how much a stay will set you back. For more information about The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort, keep an eye on the hotel's website.
Local breweries have again proved their might in craft beer's night of nights, as the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) named their 2022 victors. Overnight at the beer competition's annual awards ceremony, 35 trophies were handed out, after judges sipped and assessed a record 2,630 entries from across the country and the world. As with last year's competition, Victoria stole a good chunk of the fizzy, amber-hued spotlight, with the state's breweries taking out 13 of those major trophies. Reservoir's Hawkers Beer claimed the honoured title of Champion Large Australian Brewery, in addition to representing its home state as Champion Victorian Brewery. [caption id="attachment_744422" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hawkers Beer[/caption] Meanwhile, fellow Melbourne-born brand Stomping Ground snapped up the trophy for Champion Medium Australian Brewery, also scoring top awards with both its Raspberry Smash and Bunker Porter. Take note if you're on the hunt for a new winter drop. Other southerners to emerge victorious included Footscray's Hop Nation, whose Get The Gist was awarded best modern IPA; Collingwood brewery Molly Rose nabbing the title of best Belgian/French ale with its Nectarined; and Co-Conspirators with a win for its Hop Peddler hazy pale. Of course, the awards proved there's also plenty of fine beer drinking to be done in other parts of the country. Those repping the craft brew scene for Queensland included Moffat Beach Brewing Co, named Champion Small Australian Brewery while also getting a gong for its Triology Best Coast IPA and Shadow Of The Moon Eclipse releases. [caption id="attachment_811810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wayward Brewing[/caption] Inner-west Sydney mainstay Wayward Brewing nabbed the title of best wood and barrel-aged beer, and in an era where low-alc and booze-free sips are having a moment, Stone & Wood's 2.7% East Point won best reduced/low alc beer. Western Australian beer fans have cause to raise a few pints, too, after Beerland's lolly-inspired Blueberry Clouds sour took out the top slot of Champion Australian Beer. The AIBA also awarded some international breweries worth adding to your beer hit-list, including California's Belching Beaver, Weihenstephan out of Germany, Korea's Artmonster and Auckland's Deep Creek Brewing Co — the latter of which claimed the title of Champion Medium International Brewery. The AIBA is the largest annual beer competition of its kind in the world, each year recognising excellence in brewing, beer packaging design and beer media. For the full lineup of this year's AIBA awardees, jump over to the website.
The past year hasn't been easy for New South Wales' hospitality and entertainment businesses. Temporary closures, pivoting to takeaway and delivery, stocking sought-after grocery items, enforcing social distancing, operating at limited capacity, using QR codes — these have all been on the cards to help stem the spread of COVID-19, and they've all had a sizeable impact. So, as part of the State Budget for 2020–21, the NSW government announced a new scheme to help both sectors. Originally called Out and About but now named Dine & Discover, the program is designed to encourage folks to head out of the house, have a meal, and see a movie or show. And, to do so on multiple occasions. Initially, the state government had set a launch timeframe of January 2021 for the $500 million scheme, following a pilot period. After Sydney's recent coronavirus clusters and the northern beaches lockdown, that timeline has now been updated — with the testing phase happening in February and vouchers starting to be rolled out across the state from March. The Rocks will lead the charge in the trial period, as will Broken Hill in the state's west, with both pilots will begin from Thursday, February 11. Customers will be able to access the vouchers from their Service NSW app, while businesses can register to participate. After this initial trial in The Rocks and Broken Hill, the testing will be rolled out to the Sydney CBD, northern beaches area and Bega Valley from late February, ahead of the vouchers going statewide next month. There are roughly 500 customers and 45 businesses eligible to take part in the trail in The Rocks and Broken Hill. Dine & Discover is available to NSW residents over the age of 18, who will be eligible to receive $100 in vouchers. You'll score four $25 vouchers, in fact, with two available to use at restaurants, cafes, clubs and other food venues, and the other two specifically for cultural institutions, performing arts, cinemas and amusement parks. There are a few caveats, understandably. You won't be able to use your vouchers on tobacco, alcohol or gambling, for starters. And, you can only use each voucher once, including if your transaction totals less than $25. You'll also need to use your vouchers separately, because the idea is to get NSW folks heading out several times to several different places. [caption id="attachment_791611" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] To access the vouchers, you'll also need a MyServiceNSW account — and the corresponding app, so you can use the vouchers digitally. You'll only be able to redeem them at participating and COVID-safe registered businesses, however, with the exact details about where you can use them set to be revealed before the scheme goes live. Hospitality company Sydney Collective has already announced that it'll double the value of the vouchers at eight of its NSW venues — so it'll give you an extra $25 on top of each $25 voucher. Obviously, the state's social distancing requirements and other COVID-19 hygiene practises will still apply to anyone venturing out of their house for something to eat, a night at the flicks or some time mashing buttons. And if it all sounds a bit familiar, that's because the UK implemented something similar earlier in 2020, offering up half-price meals to encourage folks to eat out — although it has been suggested that the British scheme might've contributed to a rise in coronavirus cases. The NSW Government's Dine & Discover scheme will start its trial phase from Thursday, February 11, before a statewide rollout from March. For more information, visit the government's website. Top image: Australian Hotel by Alana Dimou
Australia's strict rules surrounding social distancing and public gatherings could be relaxed in four weeks — mid-May — if three conditions, outlined by the Federal Government, are met. After a national cabinet meeting today, Thursday, April 16, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the government's attention has turned to the "road to the recovery on the other side" and part of that discussion included the conditions under which current COVID-19 restrictions would be relaxed. On advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), the Prime Minister has outlined three conditions that need to be in place before restrictions will be lifted: increased testing, beyond those who are just symptomatic increased contact tracing, "using technology" local response capability, including the ability to quickly lockdown areas where there is an outbreak While the Prime Minister said that Australia has "one of, if not, the most extensive testing regime in the world today", he says these rates need to be increased even more to include those who are asymptomatic. "We need to do even better than that to make sure we can have greater confidence that when we moved to a lesser-restriction environment we can have confidence we can identify any outbreaks very, very quickly." On the second point, the Prime Minister did not mention the app specifically, but said that the country needs to increase its contact tracing to an "industrial capability" and to "do that using technology" and "with the support of Australians". Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has previously compared the app to Singapore's Trace Together, which uses bluetooth technology to record contact between people. As reported by the ABC, the app could be ready within a fortnight and the government would need at least "40 percent of Australians to voluntarily sign up for it to be effective". Controversy surrounding the app relates to it allowing the government to track your movements and share your data with others. In an interview with a Guardian Australia reporter earlier today, Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert said the app would swap your phone number with those nearby. https://twitter.com/joshgnosis/status/1250636195253501952 The local response capability would, as mentioned, relate to local governments' ability to quickly lockdown outbreak areas, such as northwest Tasmania did earlier this week. For now, though, the 'baseline' COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place for at least the next four weeks. The Prime Minister said they'll use the time "to ensure we get these [conditions] in place, and these baseline restrictions will remain in place until then". He also said states who have "gone beyond these baseline restrictions" — including how they may be "enforcing measures", see: fines — would be able to make their own decisions about whether they want to wind back those additional restrictions. "Those states will ... make their own decisions whether they want to change any of those arrangements on their own circumstances. I would refer you to individual states and territories where they may choose to do that over the next three weeks," says Morrison. This could mean fines for breaking social-distancing rules are stopped or Queensland's borders opened, for example. While the easing of some restrictions looks like a possibility next month, the Prime Minister has warned that "if you ease off too quickly, too early, you end up making the situation worse". For now, the current COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place for at least the next four weeks. And fines are still in place for disobeying these in NSW, Vic and Queensland. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Julia Sansone
Extinction isn't permanent, apparently. Sydney's Night at the Museum-like party, Jurassic Lounge is being resurrected for a one-off after-hours event to celebrate Mardi Gras. Returning to the Australian Museum for one night only, following their recent Halloween Dia de los Muertos party, The Festivalists' beloved after-hours event will once again take over the entire museum on Thursday, February 19. Presented in partnership with Sydney Mardi Gras and samesame.com.au, Jurassic Lounge's Mardi Gras edition plans to transform the Australian Museum into a jaw-droppingly colourful party, celebrating Sydney's vibrant queer culture. Creating a playground for grown-ups in the hallowed museum halls, the night will see performances from drag artist Carmen Geddit, Andea Darling (and her pet python), DJ Sveta cranking out sets, performers from beloved Sydney underground queer party Unicorns, alongside your Jurassic Lounge staples — the ever-popular silent disco, loved-up Date Roulette, live reptiles casually hangin' around, those well-used photobooths and more. The one-night-only resurrection of Jurassic Lounge is most excellent news from The Festivalists, the Sydney-based, non-profit company who just wrapped up their new after-hours night, Hijinks, at Sydney Aquarium. In true Festivalists style, there's sure to be plenty of happenings and Easter Eggs planned for the night. Jurassic Lounge returns to the Australian Museum on College Street on Thursday, February 19 from 6.30 to 9.30pm. Tickets are $19 presale or $22 on the door. Find more information and tickets here.
Following the release of their debut album, Howlin', earlier in 2013, Jagwar Ma have been on some kind of rampage of touring across Europe, playing all the biggest festivals and establishing themselves as a live act that you simply have to see. Their last Australian shows were at Splendour in the Grass in July, but reports out of the northern hemisphere suggest that this band has gone to a whole other level in just a few short months. And summer in Sydney is the perfect setting for their highly danceable tunes, full of great grooves and an irresistible energy. https://youtube.com/watch?v=K8KCPw9kYpo
Melbourne's seen its fair share of dockless bike share systems rolled out (and often axed) over the years. But things are shifting up a gear this year, with the city's first ever long-term dockless share scheme for electric bikes set to launch next month. The City of Melbourne, the City of Yarra and the City of Port Phillip have announced they'll kick-start a one-year trial with Uber's much-hyped e-bike service, Jump. Jump has already been embraced by cities across the US and Europe, and is en route to our neighbours in Auckland, but this will be its Australian launch. When it lands in Melbourne from early March, the bright red pedal-assisted bikes will be available to hire through your regular Uber app. You'll just need to switch to bike mode, where you'll be able to see available bikes and use the app to unlock one and ride away. The bikes will be available to ride within the three inner city councils, which includes the CBD and Docklands, West Melbourne (and over to Flemington), the inner north (Carlton, North Melbourne, Fitzroy and Richmond) and down to the bay (Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, Albert Park, St Kilda and Elwood). In another effort to avoid the woes of past bike share networks, the councils have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the rules and regulations Jump will need to stick to in order to keep operating in Melbourne past the 12-month trial. The company using geo-fencing technologies and remote monitoring to keep track of its fleet. Hopefully that'll help curb the number of bikes ditched in trees, creeks and other questionable spots around the city, as was mostly the downfall of previous players like oBike. As well as laying down requirements for parking and maintenance, it stipulates firm resolution timeframes for damaged or discarded e-bikes. Taking care of service and maintenance will be the crew from Good Cycles, a Melbourne-based social enterprise that trains and employees disadvantaged youth. The city is set to score 400 Jump bikes as the trial launches, with more headed to Yarra and Port Phillip areas in the following months. This will somewhat replace the City of Melbourne's blue bike share scheme, which was abandoned last year. Riders will, of course, have to don a helmet and play by the usual road rules when cruising around on a Jump bike. Prices haven't yet been confirmed but, for reference, in New Zealand the bikes cost $1 (NZD) to unlock and then $0.38 per minute after that. Uber hasn't announced any plans to launch Jump in any other Australian cities yet, but if the trial goes well, we'd expect that it will in the near future. You can expect to see the Jump bike option in your Uber app from early March. We'll let you know when it launches. You can find more info on the Jump bikes here.
Since 2016's Suicide Squad, the DC Extended Universe has tasked Viola Davis with corralling super-powered folks, including villains forced to do the state's bidding (as also seen in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker) and regular world-saving superheroes (the just-released Black Adam). In The Woman King, however, she's more formidable, powerful and magnificent than any spandex-wearing character she's ever shared a frame with — or ever will in that comic-to-screen realm. Here, she plays the dedicated and determined General Nanisca, leader of the Agojie circa 1823. This is an "inspired by true events" tale, and the all-female warrior troupe was very much real, protecting the now-defunct west African kingdom of Dahomey during its existence in what's now modern-day Benin. Suddenly thinking about a different superhero domain and its own redoubtable women-only army, aka the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Dora Milaje in Wakanda? Yes, Black Panther took inspiration from the Agojie. If you're thinking about Wonder Woman's Amazons, too, the Agojie obviously pre-dates them as well. Links to two huge franchises in various fashions aren't anywhere near The Woman King's main attraction, of course. Davis and her fellow exceptional cast members, such as Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die), Thuso Mbedu and Sheila Atim (both co-stars in The Underground Railroad); The Old Guard filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood and her grand and kinetic direction, especially in fight scenes; stunningly detailed costumes and production design that's both vibrant and textured; a story that still boasts humour and heart: they all rank far higher among this feature's drawcards. So does the fact that this is a lavish historical epic in the Braveheart and Gladiator mould, but about ass-kicking Black women badged "the bloodiest bitches in Africa". Also, while serving up an empowering vision, The Woman King also openly grapples with many difficulties inherent in Dahomey's IRL history (albeit in a mass consumption-friendly, picking-and-choosing manner). It's under the cover of night that Nanisca and the stealthy, feline-quick Agojie first show The Woman King's audience exactly what they're capable of, as camped-out male slavers from the rival Oyo Empire are swiftly and brutally dispensed with during a mission to free abducted Dahomean women. From that vivid opening, the female-led The Woman King on- and off-screen lets viewers know what it, Davis, Prince-Bythewood and their collaborators are capable of, too. Potent, ferocious, mighty: they all fit. When it comes to the film's protagonist, she's fierceness personified, yet also always nuanced. In a role that'll likely garner her award nominations at the very least, to go along with past Oscar nods for Doubt, The Help and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — and her win for Fences — Davis is tremendous in the part, in battle and otherwise, exuding world-weariness, raw strength, and the kind of resilience that's only forged by navigating deep horrors. After the film's initial rescue gambit, the Agojie are down in number. Abandoned to Dahomey's King Ghezo (John Boyega, Small Axe) because she won't marry men who beat her, headstrong Nawi (Mbedu) becomes a new recruit. As the teen trains to become permanently accepted among them, including by the resolute and mischievous Izogie (Lynch) and Amenza (Atim), Nanisca endeavours to bend the ruler's ear about future battles and policies. The Oyo will keep attacking, and keep trying to trade Dahomey's populace into slavery. A Portuguese-Brazilian aristocrat (Hero Fiennes Tiffin, After Ever Happy) knows that he can profit off the Dahomey-Oyo tensions, and gain slaves to hawk along the way. Also, Dahomey itself isn't above selling Africans into subservience themselves. Nanisca has other concerns, too: getting revenge over a heartbreaking chapter of her past, the pain and sacrifice she still bears as a result, and instilling the Agojie's brand of sisterhood in Nawi. The Woman King's title isn't just another way to say 'queen'. Rather, it's a label given by Dahomey's male leader to the woman he sees as his equal in their lands. His preferred wife Shante (Jayme Lawson, The Batman) wants the designation in a firmly regal sense, but the conventions of storytelling and filmmaking mean there's zero doubt that Nanisca deserves the status. Bestowing the moniker is hardly the chief concern to her, Prince-Bythewood or screenwriter Dana Stevens (Fatherhood) — who also shares a story credit with actress Maria Bello (NCIS) — though. Nanisca is still the force to be reckoned with either way, and a compelling figure worthy of the movie's appreciation. So, in a feature about striving for freedom, fairness, parity, progress and justice, as well as countering misogyny, colonialism and greed, and also surviving trauma, consider that title a reminder about the fight for equality, and how female power is perceived and treated — two centuries ago and also now. Slavishly devoted to every single fact, Prince-Bythewood, Stevens and their film aren't. First and foremost, they're committed to their aims, themes and ideas — to being a rousing action flick about the Agojie, primarily; to delving into all that represents; to celebrating strong and skilled women; and to making a movie that truly doesn't otherwise exist — so thinking of its take on the truth as akin to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's is wise. The Woman King doesn't hide this, given that it finds time for long-lost family connections that could've sprung straight from a soap opera, and for a romance between Nawi and the often-shirtless half-Dahomey slaver associate Malik (Jordan Bolger, Tom & Jerry). When everything else in the movie is so stirring, getting loose with reality and throwing in pure emotion-swelling Hollywood inclusions never drags The Woman King down. Indeed, not that they have to here, but the phenomenal quartet that is Davis, Lynch, Mbedu and Atim could lift any material. For all the mastery that ripples from Davis, she's in astonishing company, with all three of her key co-stars turning in weighty, resonant and career-cementing portrayals — Lynch with perceptiveness, Mbedu with volatility, and Atim with both wisdom and comfort. Not that they have to either, but Prince-Bythewood, cinematographer Polly Morgan (Where the Crawdads Sing) and the former's regular editor Terilyn A Shropshire (dating right back to 2000's Love & Basketball) could improve any fray-filled picture as well. When it's in full fight mode, with radiant lighting that adores its cast, plus sharp, visceral, muscular and balletic action choreography, The Woman King is not just electrifying but spectacular. That won't be a surprise to fans of The Old Guard, another riveting feature that saw Prince-Bythewood take on a familiar template, give it a female focus and reinvigorate it. That's a warrior's skill, too, and she's terrific at it.
Isn't it lovely to see big companies doing their bit for the social good. In Google's case, it's not just about donating huge sums of money. Rather, they make essential communications technology accessible to those who promote positive change. Google's recent launch of Google for nonprofits brings together an extensive toolkit for non-profit organisations, including AdWords, special YouTube privileges, Apps and more. Currently, the tools are only available to Google Grant recipients who receive thousands in in-kind advertising from Google. The company realised that gifting the use of AdWords and the like wasn't enough: Goolge also needed to teach non-profits how to maximise the potential of such tools. Instructional videos and the Make-A-Change section will show users how to make the most of the tools to communicate their message; while the Marketplace will connect non-profits with service providers offering free or discounted rates. Google offers grants to approved non-profits in the US only, but the marketing manager of Google for nonprofits Kirsten Olsen Cahill hopes to expand to other nations soon. [Via Mashable]
Celebrating an impressive three decades of Performance Space’s work, 30 Ways with Time and Space is a free program of 30 performances spread out across the 12 days. Impressively named Australian artist Agatha Gothe-Snape is transforming the public spaces of Carriageworks into a multifaceted performance arena, comprised of ever-changing plinths and platforms ideally crafted to showcase the program’s short and durational works. "The performers will respond to these minimal plinths with minimal needs, returning their attention to their bodies," says Gothe-Snape. "As the focus shifts from one station to another, the technicians’ role will be made transparent." The series of daily performances will showcase well-known performance makers (celebrated names like Mike Parr, Lauren Brincat and Jon Rose) alongside exciting emerging artists working across dance, performance art, theatre, live art, sound and more. Celebrating the eclecticism and creativity of the last three decades at Performance Space, you can expect everything from sculptural collaborations, performances inside bubbles, deconstructed violins and acoustic storytelling. 30 Ways with Time and Space is part of the You're History season, something of a birthday party for Performance Space, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Also showing is Brown Council's ode to feminist performance artist Barbara Cleveland, the journey into mad methodologies in The Directors' Cuts, a creative send-off to analog TV and plenty more.
Remember Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 1988's mismatched buddy comedy about a washed-up private eye (Bob Hoskins) and an animated rabbit was (and remains) a remarkable piece of cinema: groundbreaking in its special effects, hilarious in its comedy and note-perfect as a noir pastiche. It set the standard for movies that seamlessly entertained both adults and children alike, almost as if there were two separate audio tracks where only those over a certain age could hear the gags about sex, drugs and violence. Watching the trailers for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, it was hard not to get excited that we might be on the verge of another Roger Rabbit-esque classic. Sumptuous special effects, a murky detective story, mismatched buddies and, as the pièce de résistance, master of deadpan Ryan Reynolds providing the voice of the eponymous Pikachu. Whether as a newcomer or a die-hard fan of the Pokémon franchise (which began as a video game and collectable-card craze), it seemed there was ample room for everyone to get beside the wise-cracking chubby rodent with the eyes of an angel and the mouth of a pirate. Alas, no. A convoluted plot, countless first-draft jokes and constant exposition dumb down the film to a level that even kids will find silly. It's not without its merits, but the overwhelming feeling is one of frustration at what might have been had they either embraced the world of Pokémon in earnest, or gone all-in on the detective story. Instead, it's a bit of everything and not a whole lot of anything. And to think, it all started so well. Detective Pikachu kicks off dramatically with a secret laboratory meltdown of sorts, prompting a prisoner escape, a car chase and a spectacular crash. The action then pivots to a delightful sequence involving a young man in a field, Tim (Justice Smith), attempting to catch and bond with a grumpy little Pokémon named Cubone. If the dynamics of human/Pokémon relations mean nothing to you, however, you'll quickly find yourself floundering from this point onwards, as the film all but glances over the details of what, for the franchise, were its core principles, rules and objectives. In fact, the film almost dismisses them entirely, setting its main story in Ryme City where the traditional sport of Pokémon combat is outlawed and humans and Pokémon instead live, work and play alongside each other as equals. Tim is there to finalise the affairs of his late father, Harry, whose death from the crash at the beginning of the film raises numerous unanswered questions. It's here where he also encounters Pikachu, and, to their mutual surprise, they discover they can communicate with each other. Pikachu has amnesia, remembering nothing except that he was Harry's former partner, and that he's convinced the death was fabricated. The stage is hence set for some classic sleuthing — but instead of going down that road, or even just following the story of the video game from which the film is based, Detective Pikachu simply jumps from one half-explored plotline to the next in a narrative that feels increasingly disjointed and rushed. It's such a shame, too, because in addition to the stunning visuals, Detective Pikachu boasts a pretty solid cast. Alongside Reynolds and Smith, there's Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe and Kathryn Newton, all of whom receive either far too little screen time, or not nearly enough character development. Being a kids movie doesn't mean its leads have to be basic or cliched (consider, for example, the complexities of some of Pixar's leading characters). Yet here only Pikachu and Smith get anything even close to resembling a back-story. From the audible gasps at various stages of the film, it's clear there's some joyous content for the true Pokémon fans out there, but for the uninitiated Detective Pikachu doesn't offer nearly enough to sink your teeth into. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1roy4o4tqQM
Andy Warhol bought a 16mm camera in the '60s and thought he’d give the whole filmmaking thing a go. He ended up making quite a few between 1963 and 1968, which begun underground before becoming more widely known. If you’ve got a bit of paper on your wall that has the words BA Arts on it, you have possibly already watched some of his works. But if you haven’t or want to watch them again in a Factory-like space at Alaska Projects, this is your chance. The University of Technology Sydney in collaboration with Alaska Projects have decided to screen some of Warhol’s radical films, which play with expanded forms and have a bit of a subversive content with a minimalist style. This is a one-off happening that will show The Chelsea Girls (a work that captures the 1960s New York art crowd) and other Warhol films from the Museum of Modern Art collection, including The Velvet Underground and Nico and Poor Little Rich Girl. There will be plenty of experimental shots of Edie Sedgwick in her lingerie, wearing a rather large earring sitting around smoking, and impromptu jam sessions filmed at The Factory. All films will be projected on 16mm celluloid, with The Chelsea Girls in its original double-screen format. If you’re a 16mm film lover, a massive Warhol or Velvet Undergrond fan, or maybe you want to see what the movie Factory Girl is based on, this night will be right up your alley.
When 11-year-old Toni (Royalty Hightower) looks at the world, she does so from a specific perspective. That might sound obvious; however The Fits doesn't just follow her journey — it embraces everything that makes the shy pre-teen who she is. When the camera isn't peering from her point of view, it's showing how her body reacts to everything around her. And with movement Toni's main way of processing her thoughts and conveying her feelings, the movie's editing tries to mirror its protagonist's distinctive presence. Indeed, if most coming-of-age films champion the universal nature of growing up, then Anna Rose Holmer's feature filmmaking debut endeavours to celebrate Toni's individual experience. The first-time writer-director understands that everyone encounters similar issues and situations at a young age, including the awkward prospects of trying something different and making new friends. But with her co-scribes Saela Davis and Lisa Kjerulff, Holmer also acknowledges that it's the unique details, rather than the broader strokes, that make each story interesting. Accordingly, The Fits burrows deep into Toni's mindset as it explores her attempts to join local dance drill ensemble The Lionesses. When the film opens, she's a tomboy happily tagging along to her older brother's boxing training sessions at the local community centre — until the cheering and chatter emanating from another gymnasium in the complex attracts her attention. Soon, she's testing out their moves when no one is around, and working up the courage to audition. Alas, as Toni moves closer to the group, something strange happens: the rest of her teammates mysteriously start fainting and convulsing. Of course, it's not an accident that The Fits' title has multiple meanings. As Toni tries to fit in, her peers are literally having fits, which the jerkiness of their chosen style of dance unmistakably resembles. Such a sense of synergy is just one of the layered touches that makes the movie so simultaneously intimate and expressive. While the film brings a particular narrative to the screen, it's more concerned with the emotional voyage that eventuates, rather than the underlying plot points. As a result, even though a number of eye-catching dance numbers feature throughout its 72-minute running time, The Fits isn't a dance film in the usual sense. Instead, it's a tale that can only be told through movement and a heightened awareness of physicality, and through the stylistic and acting choices that emphasise the difference between stepping up and communicating a psychological state. Holmer displays rare confidence behind the camera, especially when it comes to the film's immersive soundtrack, symmetrical framing and rhythmic choreography. But it's the cast of non-professional actors that ensure the film hits home. Led by Hightower, they're the reason the movie doesn't just look striking, but feels like an authentic glimpse into the mind of a pre-teen girl.
UPDATE, JUNE 23: First-release tickets for LEGO® CON have sold out. More tickets will be released on Friday, July 1. The winter school holidays are fast approaching, which means parents and caregivers Sydney-wide will be looking for ways to entertain the kids, ideally with activities that the adults in attendance can also get a kick out of. Here's one option that nails the brief. Following two years of online-only events, LEGO® CON is coming to Sydney this winter for a live weekend-long edition. The two-day event comes as The LEGO® Group celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, so expect a bumper celebration of all things brick with plenty to see, do and build. On July 9 and 10, little and big kids alike can make their way to Sydney Showground for a huge lineup of activities spanning the worlds across the full range including LEGO® City, LEGO® Friends, LEGO® DOTS, LEGO® Technic and more. And it goes without saying that a little construction is on the cards, too. Guests can create and play with a range of sets and help build a top-secret large-scale LEGO® project. LEGO® CON will also host the Sydney debut of the extremely impressive life-sized LEGO Technic™ McLaren Formula 1™ Race Car, most recently on display at the Australian Grand Prix. Kids are also invited to join a session of Build the Change, an inspiring conversation where little LEGO® lovers can share their hopes and dreams for the future. LEGO® CON takes place from July 9–10 at Sydney Showground (Hall 5). Entry is free, but registration is required to enter. For more info on the event and to register, head to the website.
Lovers of Australian architecture take note, the Sydney Architecture Festival 2018 is looking inwards for its 12th edition, with a celebration of two of Australia's most iconic buildings: the Sydney Opera House and Parliament House. Running from Friday, September 28, to Monday, October 1, the festival sets out to explore 'What Makes a Building Truly Great?' with a wide-ranging program of talks, tours and exhibits. The festival also coincides with two landmark birthdays: the Sydney Opera House turns 45 and Parliament House enters its 30th year. Presenting the pair's largely unexplored intertwined history, the festival will consider how these Australian monuments — alongside many others — can be preserved for generations to come. A lineup of leading local and international architectural voices will also explores how Australia can remain at the global forefront of urban development. Highlights include a striking revision of the Opera House's history with architectural historian Dr Anne Watson; a panel discussion on what equals great design with Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal winners Richard Leplastrier, Brit Andresen and Peter Stutchbury; and the previously untold challenges behind Parliament House with original architect Ric Thorpe AM and ABC's Annabel Crabb. For the first time, an architecture critic will deliver the 'World Architecture Day' address at the Sydney Opera House. Acclaimed New York-based writer Karen Stein will present the speech, drawing from her decade-long experience as a panel member for The Pritkzer Architecture Prize, and as a contributor to many of the world's leading architecture publications. Images: Hamilton Lund
Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, and absolutely mandatory if you've ever seen a Céline Sciamma film. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director. Few filmmakers even come close, and most don't ever even try. That's been bewitchingly on display in her past features Water Lillies, Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, any of which another helmer would kill to have on their resume. It's just as apparent in Petite Maman, her entrancing latest release, as well. Now 15 years into her directorial career, Sciamma's talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds is unshakeable, unparalleled and such a lovely wonder to watch — especially when it shines as sublimely and touchingly as it does here. In Sciamma's new delicate and exquisite masterpiece, the filmmaker follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. The girl's maternal grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has died, the house needs packing up, and the trip is loaded with feelings on all sides. Her mum wades between sorrow and attending to the task. With melancholy, she pushes back against her daughter's attempts to help, too. Nelly's laidback father (Stéphane Varupenne, Monsieur Chocolat) assists as well, but with a sense of distance; going through the lifelong belongings of someone else's mother, even your spouse's, isn't the same as sifting through your own mum's items for the last time. While her parents work, the curious Nelly roves around the surrounding woods — picture-perfect and oh-so-enticing as they are — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), a girl who could be her twin. The Sanz sisters are identical twins IRL, and why they've been cast is right there in Petite Maman's name. Spelling out anything further would be saying more than is needed going in; flitting through the story's intricacies alongside Nelly is one of its many marvels. Like all kids, she's naturally inquisitive about her parents' upbringings. "You never tell me about when you were children," she complains to her dad, who counters that, actually, he and her mother do. Like all kids, she's also keenly aware of the special alchemy that comes with following in your mother and father's youthful footsteps, all just by being in the house and roaming around the woods where her mum grew up. There's nothing as immersive in helping to understand why one of the people that brought you into the world became who they are. Indeed, it's no surprise that Sciamma and her cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Spencer) shoot the film in golden and glowing autumnal hues. Nelly has questions for Marion, too, and vice versa; however, spending time in each other's company, watching the connection that springs and embracing every emotion it evokes is Sciamma's plan for the quickly thick-as-thieves pair. Explanations about what's happening are unnecessary; only the experience itself, the mood and the resonance it all holds are what matters. So, the girls do what kids do, whether amid all that ethereal greenery or inside Marion's home, decked out in vintage decor as it is, where Nelly meets her new pal's mother. The two girls play, including in a teepee-like hut made out of branches. They write and perform their own play, costumes and all. They share secrets, talk about their dreams for the future, make pancakes, bust out boardgames, and also float through their new friendship as if they're the only people who matter — in that intimate, serious and earnest way that children do with their friends. Sciamma is exceptionally skilled at many things, creating richly detailed and textured cinematic worlds high among them. She doesn't build franchises or big fantasy realms, but surveys faces, spaces, thoughts and feelings — exploring them like the entire universes they are. The Sanz duo's pint-sized features whisper and bellow about the world whenever Mathon's lens looks in their direction, as Sciamma is well-aware. The young actors welcome Petite Maman's audience into their own insular zone, in fact, and it's a revealing place to inhabit. The landscape that surrounds them is just as laden with meaning and mood, brimming with possibilities as it is to Nelly and Marion. It's a playground, as all forests are to young hearts, minds and limbs. It's also the place that brings them together. That it never appears anything short of magical is hardly astonishing, even for a filmmaker as acutely attuned to her characters' relationship with their scenery as Sciamma has always been. That love for observing, soaking in the minutiae and letting what's seen speak louder than what's said — and doing all of the above with sensitivity and matter-of-fact naturalism — pulsates through every frame of Petite Maman like a heartbeat. The film resembles a gentle but soul-replenishing breeze in its rustic look and serene pacing, but it thrums with feeling and insight about forging one's sense of self and navigating generational angst at every moment. It's a modern-day fairy tale, too, complete with its glorious twist, musing deeply on mothers, daughters and the ties that bind in the process. It predates them on the festival circuit, but it'd make a heartfelt triple bill with Turning Red and Everything Everywhere All At Once. With Sciamma returning to the adventures and emotions of childhood again after dancing with adult longing in her breathtaking last movie, Petite Maman is as radiant, affecting, smart and perceptive a reminder there is that the links between parents and kids are their own unique realms. With French cinema's abundant array of coming-of-age tales — from François Truffaut's French New Wave masterpiece The 400 Blows through to Sciamma's pre-Portrait of a Lady on Fire films — Petite Maman springs from a rich history. It's a movie about history, in its own manner, but it also never treads in anything else's footsteps. That's one of its filmmakers many gifts, because no story she's brought to the screen yet has ever felt like it's been told this way before (and if Petite Maman had to be compared to another director's work, it'd by the enchanting and spellbinding visions of youth that Hayao Miyazaki has committed to animation). Here, Sciamma is clearly working in miniature. Her protagonists are petite, as the title makes plain. Her choice of locations is condensed, and her style and storytelling is modest. The movie itself only runs for a concise 72 minutes, not that it ever feels rushed. There's nothing tiny about a film that's as potent and wondrous as this, though, or as deeply moving.
The COVID-19 situation in Australia is changing every day, with the federal government first implementing a ban on non-essential events with more than 500 people and then mandating that everyone arriving from overseas self-isolate for 14 days. In response to the first restriction, events and venues around the country are cancelling and postponing their 2020 plans. The latest casualty: Bluesfest. The long-running festival was set to return to Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm — just outside Byron Bay — for the Easter long weekend, headlined by Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews Band, Patti Smith, Crowded House and Lenny Kravitz, among others. But, Festival Director Peter Noble this morning announced it would not be going ahead. "We are heartbroken," Noble said in a statement. "We believe we were presenting one of the best ever bills of talent for you." While the Easter festival has been cancelled, Noble says "we are now working through how to move forward". https://www.facebook.com/bluesfestbyronbay/posts/3896289597078132 It's the first time in 30 years the festival will not run, but the second year in a row it has come under threat. Last year, Noble contemplated moving the festival to a spot outside of NSW last year because of the State Government's strict music festival licensing regime. According to website I Lost My Gig Australia, so far 20,000 events have been cancelled, which has impacted 190,000 Australians and equated to $47 million in lost income. And those numbers are continuing to climb by the minute. We'll let you know if and when Bluesfest releases more details. To stay up-to-date with the events postponed and cancelled in your city, head over here. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Joseph Mayers
UPDATE, December 9, 2020: McQueen is available to stream via Stan, Doc Play, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Glamour meets the grotesque in the couture of designer Alexander McQueen. Indeed, it's not by accident that a recent hit museum retrospective showcasing his work took the moniker Savage Beauty. For two decades as the enfant terrible of British fashion, he crafted clothing that didn't just make a statement, but screamed it down the catwalk, splashed it across glossy magazine pages and shouted it at the world at large. "I don't want to do a show that you walk out feeling like you've just had Sunday lunch," he once said. "I want you to walk out feeling repulsed or exhilarated — as long as it's an emotion." That telling soundbite joins many others in McQueen, the film that ostensibly unpacks the life, career and death of its titular working-class lad turned tailoring apprentice turned provocative toast of the town. But, making their first full-length documentary, directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui do much more than that. Theirs is a movie made in McQueen's image, keen to show more than tell even though it doesn't shy away from talking heads. The filmmakers are well aware that everyone already knows its rise-and-fall story, with the man called Lee by his friends ultimately committing suicide in 2010. Instead of pretending that it's telling viewers something new, the movie focuses on how it approaches its subject as much as it does the specific details of McQueen's story. Cue chapters that take their names from his famous runway shows, in a segmented yet still cohesive film that takes its concept from another of McQueen's own comments. (In one of his trademark displays of cheek, he dubs his own candid home videos 'The McQueen Tapes'.) Each part stitches together a narrative about his fashions — from both his own label and his time at Givenchy — and the context surrounding each highlighted collection. The end result isn't as obvious as it might sound, of course. McQueen refuses to simply state that one particular aspect of McQueen's experiences gave rise to a specific element in his work. Rather, it explores the fabric of his life while demonstrating how he wrangled fabric in bold ways in his designs. The documentary doesn't need to blatantly connect the dots, as each sartorial series makes its own statement. With names such as Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims and Highland Rape, and challenging pieces within each collection to match, how could they not? Throughout it all, McQueen remains a constant presence thanks to archival footage, while his family members, friends and colleagues offer their intimate recollections and reflections. Even for those unfamiliar with the minutiae, there's much that's recognisable. Never seeming the typical fashionista, McQueen parlayed his talent, artistic eye and hard work into a thriving career from the early 90s onwards. But with success, attention and notoriety came drugs, depression and despair, matters that the movie perhaps doesn't touch on in as much depth as it could've. Still, even when it somewhat skirts over a few areas, the documentary proves revelatory in how it captures McQueen's complicated essence. The designer's clothing pieces were always going to feature prominently, but with its incredible detail, intricate construction and willingness to get dark, the film they're in feels like it was cut from the same cloth. If one scene in McQueen particularly stands out, it's one that's all McQueen's doing. More than that, it's one that he staged with as much theatricality, spectacle and flair as he ever displayed: his 1999 spring show. In a stunning sight to behold, model Shalom Harlow wears a white strapless dress made voluminous with layers of tulle, spins on a rotating platform like a jewellery box ballerina, and is sprayed with paint by two adjacent robots. As a depiction of life splattering and changing something luminous, it's vivid, almost violent and certainly intoxicating, all as its creator intended. McQueen was clearly relaying a message and, in both featuring the runway moment within the film and adopting its attitude, Bonhôte and Ettedgui ensure that McQueen sports the same force and power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwCd6WLPdE
Beached as a whale with a fondness for chuups, bro. Except swap the whale for Gastro Park chef Grant King, and the chips for cider, and you're there. Yup, this one is for the hardcore cider junkies out there. Every Sunday throughout December and Sunday you can chill out in the Beach Road Hotel's outdoor bar The Backyard, sipping on a cold Rochdale Cider and something from the cider-themed menu. The Beached As menu includes the Cider Slider (cider baked pig, crunchy crackles and apple celeriac slaw), Crispy Claw (crispy cider batter, encasing soft shell crab claws, lemon and lime mayo, wrapped in lettuce with cucumber and coriander) and The Rockdale Frostie (Cider caramalised apple ice-cream, with granny smith popping candy). So if a brightly coloured, traditional, medium dry cider with a matching menu in an outdoor bar sounds like your pint of cider, then Bondi is where it's at.
Getting tired of your usual nights out? Looking to shake up your routine? We've got just the ticket — four of them, in fact. We've teamed up with West HQ, the Western Sydney dining and entertainment hub that's home to a suite of stellar restaurants and leisure facilities, to give one lucky Concrete Playground reader the chance to enjoy a night out — or two – at the precinct. First up, you can win four platinum tickets to the Sydney International Ballet Gala. Whether you're a ballet lover or ballet-curious, you'll be dazzled by this spectacular showcase that'll present hundreds of years of ballet history on one stage. The repertoire, created by internationally acclaimed choreographers, will be performed by principal dancers and soloists from celebrated companies including The Australian Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and more. You'll see excerpts from some of the greatest classical and contemporary ballet works, as well as three world premieres and three Australian premieres during this stunning demonstration of artistry, elegance and technical precision. The performance will take place at West HQ's Sydney Coliseum Theatre, an internationally recognised, 2000-person seat theatre that's among the best in the west. To sweeten the deal, you'll also be greeted with a refreshment pack, which includes all manner of sweet treats and two bottles of mini Moët to enjoy during the show. The prize also includes a $400 voucher for Chu. A sibling to Woolloomooloo's award-winning China Doll, Chu presents contemporary interpretations of traditional pan-Asian dishes in a handsome 200-seat, 1940s Shanghai-inspired space. The menu includes highlights such as China Doll's celebrated lemon chicken, master stock pork belly with chilli caramel and nam pla and steamed Cone Bay barramundi fillet finished with ginger, soy and coriander, and is complemented by an equally impressive, three-Goblet-winning wine list. The best part? You can use the voucher at any time, whether for a pre-show banquet or a leisurely Sunday yum cha. Sound like a dream night out? Drop in your details below to go into the running. [competition]856221[/competition]
Beyond Cinema – the good folks who brought the Mad Hatter's tea party to the Botanic Gardens and recreated Titanic on Sydney Harbour – have turned their fantastical minds to an immersive sing-a-long edition of Les Misérables. Their plan is to bring Tom Hooper's 2012 film – which is based on the 1980 stage musical by writer Alain Boublil and composer Claude-Michel Schönberg – to Surry Hills' John Painter Theatre. This unique space will be transformed into a slice of 19th century France. You'll be invited to dress up accordingly and, once the film starts rolling, belt out all your favourite tunes – from "I Dreamed a Dream" to "Do You Hear the People Sing?" to "Castle on a Cloud". Fighting a war (and singing for hours) is thirsty work, and luckily there'll be a bar on site — serving both food and drinks. This isn't Beyond Cinema's only upcoming production, either. The busy collective of film buffs and story tellers is bringing The Great Gatsby to Sydney on Sunday, August 19, and has also promised a sing-a-long version of The Greatest Showman – at some point in the not too distant future Beyond Cinema's 'Les Miserables' will be held at John Painter Theatre, 1/55 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, on Saturday, December 15, from 2–5pm and 7–10pm. Tickets are on sale now.
In today's art world, it's hard to establish yourself as an emerging artist. Galleries will rarely take the risk of featuring your work, and investors won't even know you exist. Equally tough for wannabe art buffs is to develop a reputation of being a seasoned collector, known for having your proverbial finger on the pulse of the next big thing. The solution could be Artsicle — a try-before-you-buy art rental program based in New York which provides much-needed exposure to artists and affordable art pricing options for art afficionados. The site allows first-time investors to road test art before handing over the big bucks. Simply select from Artsicle's online catalogue, which largely features the work of young artists, and the original art is delivered to your doorstep. $50 a month gets you the pleasure of hanging new works on the walls of your home or office on regular basis. If you love the art enough you can buy it for your very own; if you don't you're under no obligation to purchase and can simply swap it for a new work. [Via PSFK]
To celebrate the start of the Year of the Pig, Darling Square's food hub Steam Mill Lane will be filled with giant zodiac lanterns, courtesy of Tumbalong Park's Lantern Festival, from Saturday, February 2. And that's not all that's happening in the buzzing laneway, either. Its residents will be serving up limited-edition eats, including nightly bottomless Szechuan-style buffets (for only $19.80) at Ricefields, an extra-porky roll pack from Marrickville Pork Roll, and loaded Chinese-spiced fries, milkshakes and lap cheong (Chinese sausage) beef burgers at 8bit. Plus from February 15–16, between 6 and 7.30pm, you can enjoy a night of bottomless wings and beer for just $40 at Belle's Hot Chicken (bookings essential) or dance with traditional dragon dance performances at midday and 2pm each day. And you can grab a free fortune cookie or test your mahjong skills (on Friday and Saturday night) and win some sweet prizes, too. You can head down to check out the laneway, its many eateries and large-scale lanterns from 8am–11pm until Saturday, February 23.
No one can know for certain what tomorrow will bring; however, the tales told on screens big and small, and through games and comics as well, have delivered plenty of visions of what might come. Will androids dream of electric sheep? Will a Keanu Reeves (John Wick: Chapter 4)-voiced rock star and terrorist make their presence known? Will Afrofuturist technologies transform life as we know it? These are some of the future possibilities conjured up by beloved pop-culture titles — and they're all part of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image's world-premiere exhibition The Future & Other Fictions as well. Displaying at the Melbourne screen museum across Thursday, November 28, 2024–Sunday, April 27, 2025, taking pride of place as its big summer showcase, The Future & Other Fictions is a love letter to and deep dive into futuristic storytelling. More than 180 works feature, including from Blade Runner 2049, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Creator. Saltsea Chronicles, comic series NEOMAD and Björk's music video 'The Gate': they're all also covered. Before he was just Ken, Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy) starred in the 35-years-later sequel to Blade Runner — and before he brought Dune and Dune: Part Two to the screen, Denis Villeneuve directed Blade Runner 2049. The Future & Other Fictions lets attendees follow in their footsteps via miniature sets, which are one of the exhibition's definite must-sees. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever gets the nod thanks to Academy Award-winning costumes by Ruth E Carter, while sketches from NEOMAD also feature — as do concept art from The Creator, Cyberpunk 2077 and Saltsea Chronicles. This showcase isn't just about well-known renderings of the future, though, thanks to work by Olalekan Jeyifous, Osheen Siva and Tāgata Moana art collective Pacific Sisters. Plus, via new commissions, DJ Hannah Brontë has her own take, and so does Liam Young and Natasha Wanganeen (Limbo). As it celebrates how screens imagine the years ahead via its array of artwork, sets, props and scripts — alongside clips, costumes and original design materials, too — The Future & Other Fictions also features a film season focusing on Björk, complete with Björk: Biophilia Live on the lineup. [caption id="attachment_974750" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mahia Te Kore[/caption]
When Jennifer Kent's The Babadook creeped its way across screens in 2014, it became an Australian horror classic. Now, five years later, the Aussie filmmaker is back with a completely different type of unsettling film. Prepare to feel just as uncomfortable in The Nightingale, which steps back to Tasmania circa 1825 to follow a young Irish convict (Aisling Franciosi) seeking revenge on a cruel British officer (Sam Claflin) — with assistance on her trek from an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr). Premiering at the Venice Film Festival last year, the movie made an instant splash, winning a special jury prize for Kent and nabbing the best young actor award for Ganambarr — a dancer from Arnhem Land who had never appeared on screen before. The Nightingale then screened at the Adelaide Film Festival, as well as at Sundance; however the bulk of Australia has been waiting for the film to finally hit cinemas. And, to even catch a glimpse of just what's in store. The just-released first trailer for The Nightingale takes care of the latter problem. "You don't want trouble, but sometimes trouble wants you," Claflin's character snarls menacingly in a particularly chilling moment, with the Hunger Games star definitely playing against type. As for when it'll release locally, the film is set to play this year's Sydney Film Festival before rolling out in cinemas around the country at the end of August. Unpacking Australia's colonial history, as well as its treatment of both women and the country's Indigenous population, it's an absolutely essential and shattering masterpiece — something we say from experience. The vengeance-fuelled film is also far from easy to watch, filled as it is with trauma, darkness, visceral shocks and deep-seated pain. Inspiring walkouts at the movie's sessions in Adelaide, Kent can't be accused of holding back. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPxmnMAyZw The Nightingale releases in Australian cinemas on August 29, 2019.
Fans of Brett Whiteley, and those eager to know more about the treasured Australian artist, should make a beeline for the Art Gallery of NSW after work on Wednesday, February 13. As part of the Brett Whiteley: Drawing is Everything exhibition, the gallery is hosting a free celebrity talk with Whiteley's muse and former partner Wendy Whiteley (yes, the same Wendy Whiteley who designed Lavender Bay's stunning Wendy's Secret Garden). The exhibition's curator Anne Ryan and author Lou Klepac will lead the conversation with Whiteley. Expect intimate insights into Brett Whiteley's life, inspiration and works — with a special focus on the pivotal role that the medium of drawing played throughout the decades of the celebrated artist's practice. Following the talk, you can meet Whiteley and Klepac and pick up a signed copy of the latter's book on the subject. Then, you're free to take in the rest of that evening's Art After Hours lineup. You might fancy a guided tour of the Masters of Modern Art from the Hermitage exhibition — or you can simply kick back with a drink and soak up a live performance by jazz musician Frances Madden. Celebrity Talk: Wendy Whiteley will take place in the Entrance Court at 6.30pm on Wednesday, February 13. This talk is free and no booking is required. For more information, visit the Art Gallery of NSW's website.
Over the past ten years, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have spent a considerable amount of time focusing on the most portrayed human literary character in film and television, all thanks to their Benedict Cumberbatch-starring series Sherlock. After four seasons, the series doesn't appear to be making any more episodes anytime soon, so the TV writers and producers have turned their attention elsewhere. To start a new decade, they're sinking their teeth into only literary character, human or otherwise, that's featured on the big and small screens more often than their beloved detective. That'd be Dracula. Adapting Bram Stoker's 1987 gothic classic for the BBC and Netflix, the duo's new take on the undead figure tells unravels the bloodsucking count's tale across a three-part mini-series. From ol' Drac's origins in Transylvania to his run-ins with Van Helsing, it's all covered — plus his encounters with solicitor Jonathan Harker and his wife Mina, and his impact in Victorian-era London, too — although Dracula promises to revisit and reshape the famous horror story in a fresh way. Baring his fangs as the most notorious vampire of all is Danish actor Claes Bang (The Square, The Girl in the Spider's Web), while the show's cast also features Dolly Wells (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), John Heffernan (Official Secrets) and Morfydd Clark (Crawl). Naturally, it all looks suitably creepy and brooding — and, in more than a few scenes, rather bloody. Netflix has just revealed the full final trailer ahead of dropping the entire show itself, which'll hit the streaming platform Down Under on Saturday, January 4. The exact time hasn't been revealed, but Netflix's newbies usually release at 6pm AEST / 7pm ADST. Check out the Dracula trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-b2HXpbg7U Dracula hits Netflix on Saturday, January 4.
Just like Lego, dodgem cars and games arcades, no one ever grows out of Easter eggs. Sure, once you're no longer a kid, you know that they're an expensive way to eat chocolate. You know that regular old blocks of the stuff are sold in the same supermarkets at the same time, too. But, when the world becomes obsessed with oval-shaped sweet treats each year, a familiar feeling kicks in. Your tastebuds still want what they want — and they want something round and chocolatey. In 2021, Mr Black has a new option to tempt your sweet tooth: dark chocolate Easter eggs filled with coffee liqueur caramel. Yes, they're the ideal option if you don't want to choose between a boozy beverage and chocolate — and you'd prefer to eat your dessert, not sip it. Hand-painted and measuring just over six centimetres tall, the Mr Black Easter eggs are a collaboration with chocolatier Meltdown Artisan, and cost $20 each. Both Mr Black and Meltdown Artisan are selling them. Usually, the latter's eggs sell out, so getting in quickly is recommended. If you decide to pick up some of Mr Black's coffee liqueur at the same time — or its bottled coffee negroni or old fashioned — you can also score a free egg if you spend over $50. The coffee liqueur-filled Easter eggs are available for $20 from both Mr Black and Meltdown Artisan.
We all remember those night cramming before a big exam. The frantic highlighting, notetaking and pangs of regret for not starting sooner. Inevitably, we'd have a good mate by our side to keep us company along the way. And snacks, of course. Whether it's hitting the books or starting that big idea of yours, our best results come when we work together. New ideas and unique perspectives help us to push harder and try things we'd never dreamed of giving a go. When business owners support each other, everyone benefits. But, how can you give back to those daring start-ups and innovative entrepreneurs who are pushing the status quo? To give you a dose of inspiration, we've partnered with the City of Sydney as part of its Retail Innovation Program to help get you started. From creating platforms for networking and collaboration to practicals tips for getting involved in your local community, here are the ways five Sydney entrepreneurs are supporting other local businesses. [caption id="attachment_735022" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent Van der jagt[/caption] SAINT JOHN ESPRESSO: GETTING INVOLVED IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY Since Kate Fellowes took over her local cafe in Glebe and transformed it into Saint John Espresso, the business has gone from strength to strength. The neighbourhood favourite continues to evolve, with the addition of a new look, a takeaway window and online preordering helping to boost sales. Fellowes attributes much of the success to her focus on giving back to others. "Because I live and work in Glebe I know a lot of the community, and they know me," explains Fellowes. "I have become a Justice of the Peace to assist the community, and I'm on the Glebe Chamber of Commerce and Coalition of Glebe Groups." And prioritising her local community is key to continuing her business' growth. "I've seen first-hand as a resident and business owner that locals support local businesses that interact with their community," Fellowes tells. "I like new locals to feel welcome in the community, pointing them in the direction of community associations or other businesses to support." FOODCOSTR: DEVELOPING TOOLS TO REDUCE WASTE AND IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY Trying your hand at a new recipe is, well, a steep learning curve. You're juggling cooking times and crossing your fingers all the flavours come together on the plate. And once you're done, you're surrounded by a sea of dirty pots and a bin full of wasted produce. For Min Cha, founder of the now-closed N2 Extreme Gelato, this was a situation he knew all too well. "Towards the end, it was impossible to calculate and update food costs. It was a problem that was bugging me a lot," Chai said. That's where his new venture Foodcostr will come in. While still in development, the app will primarily be a food management system that helps chefs and owners calculate food costs. From calculating profit margins to ordering stock, the platform aims to take the stress and 'guestimation' out of running a hospitality business. "I hope I get to a point where, you know, it would actually really help the chefs and they come up to me and say 'Thank you. This saved my restaurant'," he reveals. THE FREEDOM HUB: CONNECTING WITH LIKE-MINDED BUSINESSES Taking tangible steps towards ending human rights abuses can seem like an impossible task. But the team behind The Freedom Hub think otherwise. This business proves as ambitious as the mission they are working towards. It comes to life as an ethical cafe and event space with 100 percent of proceeds going towards its Survivor School, providing long-term support to those touched by modern slavery. The Freedom Hub is built on the concept of helping others, with partnerships proving an essential part of its business. With no funds to invest in marketing efforts, aligning with likeminded ethical organisations is essential to spreading its mission and goals to the world. For this team, it's about creating a network of businesses that strive to lift each other up in order for everyone to succeed. [caption id="attachment_734254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kimberley Low[/caption] KOA RECOVERY: PAVING THE WAY FOR INNOVATION Shaun Button, the founder of Waterloo's Koa Recovery health centre, created his business from a very personal experience. After a serious back injury, Button travelled to the United States and uncovered a world of innovative injury treatments that had yet to hit Australian shores — so he brought them here himself. As the first recovery centre of its kind, Koa Recovery is on a mission to revolutionise injury care to improve patient treatment and outcomes. For Button, working with nearby businesses to promote self-care and allow their employees access to world-class facilities is vital. "Providing Sydney with these facilities gives local businesses the opportunity to reduce workplace injury costs and increase productivity," he explains. POP-UP FINDS: PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR COLLABORATION Opening a brick and mortar store isn't easy — these days, many business owners are opting to play in the digital space alone. So, what happens when businesses work together to bring physical stores to life? That's the goal behind pop-up experience provider, Pop Up Finds. The platform provides furniture rental to help entrepreneurs and brands bring their pop-up shopfronts to life. Whether it's a jeweller bringing their designs to shoppers or an artist showcasing their work with the world, it's about giving every retailer a chance to launch a physical presence. These temporary, pop-up experiences also prove the perfect climate for collaboration. Whether its providing expert advice on planning an event or connecting like-minded owners so they can rent a space or host a pop-up together — thereby combining costs and support from their individual followings — Pop Up Finds hopes to enable businesses to work and grow together. Learn more about the City of Sydney Retail Innovation Program here. Top Image: Trent Van der jagt.
Music-streaming service Spotify is set to launch in Australia this week, finally blessing Australians with its promise of "all the music, all the time". It's about time, as Spotify has already become the music service of choice for over 10 million users in 13 countries. With an estimated 10,000 musical tracks added each day, Spotify is essentially a vast music library. It allows users to listen to any of its millions of tracks in real time (no irritating buffering required) on any desktop computer or mobile device, and to share those tracks effortlessly with friends. Spotify is forward-thinking in its approach to online music streaming; instead of fighting the changing face of the music industry, it is embracing the fact that people are just not purchasing CDs in the volume that they used to. Thriving off of an audio advertising revenue model, Spotify identifies a demographic target audience based on users' musical tastes. This method has proven satisfactory to advertisers and record labels alike; the majority of US and UK record labels seem to be of the thought that some revenue is better than none. The social aspect of Spotify sets it apart from other music services. It integrates into Facebook and Twitter alike, allowing users to create and share playlists. It's simple to see and hear what friends are listening to: just press 'play' on another user's playlist. All you need to get started is a username and password, and to download the service to either Windows or Mac. The Spotify website currently offers Australians the option to sign up pre-launch. Enter your e-mail address and be one of the first in line to delve into this gigantic music library.
In their quest for the perfect pop song, Gung Ho's Michael McAlary (guitar/vocals) and Ollie Duncan (bass/vocals) aren't doing too badly so far. They've spent many an hour in bedrooms self-producing their debut EP, Anywhere Else. Frustrated by the limitations of professional studios, they decided to take matters into their own hands. Their commitment to DIY is paying off. Over the past few weeks, Triple J has had the EP's three singles — 'Twin Rays', 'Side by Side', and 'Stranger' — on high rotation, and Gung Ho are on the eve of an extensive East Coast tour. All of this follows a highly charged 2012, which saw the duo support The Rubens, Bleeding Knees Club, and DZ Deathrays, as well as win over the crowd at Peats Ridge. With its reverb-enriched harmonies, seriously dexterous bass lines and punk-tinged feel, Anywhere Else is immediately accessible but certainly not predictable. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UY06ajzAMWU
