Spice Alley is set to expand its offering next week when Japanese diner Kyo-to joins Kensington Street's Southeast Asian foodie laneway. To celebrate the new stall's launch, head chef Jason Chan (Queen Chow, Papi Chulo and Felix) will be slinging his signature chicken katsu sandos for just $1 a pop. Or $5, if you pair it with a bottle of Asahi. The cheap eats are on offer November 26–28 from 5–7pm. The mini double-decker sando is piled high with crumbed chicken, shredded cabbage and Japanese mustard greens, all on a Hokkaido milk bun. As well as Asahi, surprise cocktail deals will be on offer on the Wednesday — with DJ Charlie Villas on the tunes, too. The wider rotating menu at Kyo-to will feature a range of ramen, including tonkatsu, truffle and charred duck varieties, as well as ramen noodles in XO sauce with pork belly, and a honeybug, scallop and roasted garlic ramen. You can also expect yakitori, karaage chicken and a range of dons and udons, such as clam udon noodles in kombu butter. The $1 katsu sando is on offer to the first 100 people each night and limited to one per person, so get in early or miss out.
Andreas Amador's life is a beach, playing in the sand...literally. Although for Amador, 'playing' in the sand proves to be a little more intense than it may sound. A working morning for Amador consists of meticulously carving enormous scaled designs into the sand - all under the time crunch of the ocean tide. Up before sunrise, Amador arrives at his local San Francisco, California beaches around low-tide, creating the biggest possible space for a beach canvas. He then executes his pre-conceived, generally abstract and organic, designs. The sand is contoured with rakes, giving it a multidimensional look that hopefully Amador can capture in a birds-eye photo before tide rushes in. He generally designates about two hours to the process, but there is always the risk of his work being washed away too quickly. Of course, all of his sand drawings are effervescent by nature, only adding to their beauty. Amador sells prints and postcards of his photographed works, and offers other art services as well. He leads team-building workshops, birthday celebrations, and personal transformation journeys; he also creates commissioned pieces, including sand-scrawled marriage proposals. Simon Beck is another artist with a similar technique; his medium, however, is snow. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP0O4Yu0kYE [via Gizmodo]
Priests of the marriage between indie rock and folky world music, Zach Condon and his band Beirut are returning to our shores for a third time this November. Since releasing his critically lauded debut album Gulag Orkestar at the tender age of 19 and following it up one year later with the unashamedly Francophilic The Flying Cup Cub, then-solo Zach Condon has decided to get inspired by things other than snowy European winters. His 2011 release The Rip Tide was influenced instead by a snowy upstate New York winter, with Condon voyaging inward rather than to old-world Eastern Europe. For his journey to the somewhat sunnier Harvest Festival later this year he's re-amassed the relative mainstayers of his ever-changing band, and together they're playing a string of sideshows in November. Voyage yourselves over to the 2042 postcode on November 14th to catch the Sydney leg of this musical nomad's ceaseless world tour. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sX7fd8uQles
One day a year, each and every year, American football attracts fans around the world who don't watch any NFL games at any other time. The reason: the Super Bowl. Maybe you just check it out for the half-time show. Perhaps you're just keen on the film and TV trailers that drop during the match. Either way, there's no avoiding Super Bowl Monday, as it is in Australia, when it rolls around. The 2024 Super Bowl is different. The Kansas City Chiefs are taking on the San Francisco 49ers. Usher is doing the mid-game performance. But plenty of people watching will be hoping to say "yeah!" to a different music superstar. Everyone knows that Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelce, who plays for the Chiefs. In fact, the NFL has already confirmed that Swift is on the ground in Las Vegas for the match. Taylor Swift is here with Ice Spice and Blake Lively! #SBLVIII pic.twitter.com/0x4XIDRupW — NFL (@NFL) February 11, 2024 So, where can you watch in Australia? If you're streaming along from work or home, you have a few options. Via free-to-air TV, 7mate and 7plus are showing the game, which starts at 10.30am AEDT / 10am ACT / 9.30am AEST / 7.30am AWST, with coverage commencing half an hour earlier. Or, if you have Foxtel or Kayo, you can also stream the match there. The half-time show is expected to kick off at midday AEDT / 11.30am ADCT / 11am AEST / 9am AWST. [caption id="attachment_940494" align="alignnone" width="1920"] D.roller.saparena via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] While much of the focus has been on Swift, including if she'd make to Las Vegas after her Tokyo Eras gigs before heading to Australia for her Down Under tour leg, there's another reason for Aussies to be interested. Mitch Wishnowsky plays for the 49ers, and could become the first Australian to play in and win the Super Bowl if his team beats the Chiefs. Jesse Williams received a Super Bowl ring for the Seattle Seahawks in 2024, but didn't actually play in the match. The Chiefs also won 2023's Super Bowl, plus 2020's — against the the 49ers in the latter. [caption id="attachment_940492" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Accedie via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The 2024 Super Bowl takes place from 10am AEDT / 10am ACT / 9am AEST / 7.30am AWST on Monday, February 12 in Australia. Watch along via 7mate and 7plus, Foxtel or Kayo. Top image: All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia via Wikimedia Commons.
Maybe Sammy is no stranger to winning an award. The Sydney bar has been named in the top 50 bars in the world every year since 2019 and took out the Best International Bar Team at the Tales of the Cocktail 2022 Spirited Awards. Now, all of those accolades have culminated in it taking out the top spot in the data-driven Top 500 Bars list for 2023. The international award compiles its list based on over 2000 sources, including hospitality experts, journalists, online reviews, search engine results and social media. It announced the list in Paris on the morning of Monday, November 13, Australian time, and the boundary-pushing Harbour City cocktail bar Maybe Sammy came out on top, being named the number-one bar in the world. [caption id="attachment_639976" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Black Pearl (#119)[/caption] Maybe Sammy was listed at number 17 in the 2022 list, jumping all the way to the top spot following another busy year for the inner-city haunt. Maybe Sammy Venue Manager Sarah Proietti and Bar Manager Hunter Gregory were in attendance to accept the award, with the venue beating out acclaimed bars around the world for the title. New York's Double Chicken Please, Barcelona's Paradiso, Paris' Little Red Door and Singapore's Jigger & Pony rounded out the top five, while 22 other Australian bars made the top 500. [caption id="attachment_707971" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Baxter Inn (#87), Leticia Almeida[/caption] The next highest spot on the list from Down Under was The Baxter Inn at 87, followed by Black Pearl at 119, Re- at 122, Cantina OK at 132 and Dean and Nancy on 22 at 134. The Gresham Bar was Brisbane's top-ranked venue, clocking in at number 475, while Adelaide's Maybe Mae snuck into the list at 485. "To be named number-one bar in the world by the Top 500 Bars feels very surreal," said Maybe Sammy co-founder Stefano Catino. "It's such an honour for our bar team to be recognised for the time and effort they put into making the experience at Maybe Sammy exceptional, and for that to be acknowledged on a global scale is so humbling." It follows a huge year for Maybe Sammy, which included the opening of the team's Paddington tequila bar El Primo Sanchez, a new Maybe Frank outpost at The Federal, and the launch of Maybe Cocktail Festival featuring guest bartenders from international cocktail bars — many of which also made the Top 500 Bars list. [caption id="attachment_795641" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Gresham (#475), Millie Tang[/caption] For the full Top 500 Bars list for 2023, head to the ranking's website.
Does the bulk of comedy lie in the gutter? Comics guru Scott McCloud thinks the magic of comics sits in the gutter-like spaces between panels. With the brain bridging the gap between the before and the after, ideas are spliced together into a single thing that lives and writhes, shocks and excites. Comic Dave Gorman taps into a similar mechanism to make you laugh, with Microsoft's best/worst information tool in Dave Gorman's PowerPoint Presentation, on as part of Just for Laughs 2012. In Gorman's hands, PowerPoint (the devil's presentation software once identified by the US Army as a great way of putting journalists to sleep — they call it 'hypnotising chickens') becomes a way of taking complex things and making them funny. Not unlike current fan favourites This American Life, Gorman describes his style as a 'true story show', proving that the star moments of his comic narratives actually took place. But, believe it or not, this should be an evening of comedy with more than you can cram into a few bullet points of dependent clauses.
"The mormons are coming", posters popping up in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane promised in the 2010s. If you start spotting something similar now, they might feature the words "the mormons are back" instead. After breaking records on its first Australian run, The Book of Mormon is returning Down Under, with the smash-hit musical's suitcases are packed for Sydney. Written by South Park and Team America's notoriously puerile creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, together with Robert Lopez of genius grown-up muppet show Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon is probably one of the most-lauded comedies ever to have centred on the Church of Latter Day Saints and African missions — and to approached both with Parker and Stone's usual humour. If it wasn't so smart and so funny, few would forgive it. But since it is, The Book of Morman has picked up nine Tonys, four Olivier Awards and a Grammy since it debuted in the US in 2011, when it was called "one of the most joyously acidic bundles Broadway has unwrapped in years". Australia's OG date with The Book of Mormon also earned accolades, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical at the 2017 Helpmann Awards. When the show premiered in the Victorian capital in 2015, it enjoyed the highest-selling on-sale period for a show at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. When it first went to Sydney, it also set a record for the highest-grossing musical in the city's history. A decade ago, Parker and Stone's hilariously irreverent hit production spent a year in Melbourne, then did the same in Sydney, then made two trips to Brisbane — because one wasn't enough. This time, debuting from July 2025, The Book of Mormon is hitting Sydney's Capitol Theatre first up. Exact dates haven't yet been revealed, however, and neither has any planned stops in other Aussie cities. If missed it then or you're keen to see it again, you'll be plenty excited that you're getting a new chance to go learn all the idiosyncratic details of Mormonism, meet war criminal General Butt-Fucking Naked and know the true meaning of the hakuna matata-like saying 'Hasa Diga Eebowai'. The waitlist is open now for the Sydney season, with no word yet as to when tickets will go on sale — or about who'll be taking to the stage in the cast, either. The Book of Mormon will play Sydney's Capitol Theatre from July 2025 — we'll update you when exact dates are announced. To sign up for the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website. Images: Paul Coltas, London Company.
IPAs, or India Pale Ales, have enjoyed a huge surge in popularity over the past couple of years. Lately, however, a new sub-style has spawned and enjoyed immense popularity — enter, the New England IPA. Named after a style that originated from the six northeastern USA states of New England, NEIPAs have a cloudy appearance and low carbonation, and feature jammy, juicy flavours of apricot, peach and pineapple alongside the heavy citrusy notes that IPA fans crave. More delicate flavours of hops are embraced here, too, rather than the piney, resiny bitterness favoured by their clear-bodied cousins. The beers characteristically pour a murky, mango colour reminiscent of cloudy fruit juice, and feature similar flavours in a beer context. Here follows this beer snob's top picks of the trending NEIPAs, that'll get your head into the clouds as the last warmth of autumn begins to fade. Jedi Juice is Hop Nation's brilliantly titled take on a beer it brewed for GABS (the Great Australian Beer Spectapular). It was originally a specialty brew, but enjoyed such popularity it was reignited as part of the Footscray brewery's core range. Jedi Juice features a gentle citrus aroma and the palate reveals juicy notes of passionfruit, pineapple, nectarine and grapefruit, with a smooth carbonation and a tangy kiss of bitter hops that punch through at the end. At 7.1 percent ABV, and with a white can packaging featuring a tattoo-sportin', blaster-totin' Princess Leia, the force is certainly strong with this one. Best consumed as fresh as possible. SHOPPING LIST Hop Nation Jedi Juice, 375ml can, $7.50 each (available from various stockists across the country) Sauce Brewing Co Bubble and Squeak, 500ml can, $10 each or $35 for four This beer is typically hazy, smooth and creamy with big citrus and tropical fruit notes (think mango and passionfruit) and a low bitterness. Rounding out at 6.5 percent ABV, it's a supremely well-balanced beer that offers new dynamics with each sip. Feral Brewing Co Biggie Juice, 330ml bottle, $7 each or $23 for four (available from various stockists across the country) This beer represents the popularity of NEIPAs in the mainstream beer scene. Under Amatil ownership, Feral is still brewing its Biggie Juice East Coast IPA. Sitting at six percent ABV, Biggie offers a rich bouquet of floral and tropical fruit aromas that follow through with a juicy punch onto the palate. The finish is smooth, with just a hint of bitterness, and a smooth carbonation that makes for an incredibly moreish drop. Hop Topics is our new bi-weekly beer column keeping you up-to-date with the latest beer trends happening around the country. Dominic Gruenewald is a Sydney based actor, writer and self-proclaimed beer snob. Between gigs, he has pulled pints at all the right venues and currently hosts Sydney's longest running beer appreciation society Alestars at the Taphouse, Darlinghurst.
The floristry team at Avalon Floral Art are local favourites, having been providing artistic arrangements for 20 years. It's worth giving the store's Instagram a follow for up-to-the-minute inspiration to help you decide what bunch you'll be after when you arrive. On offer are fresh posies, roses and native blooms from the Sydney Flower Markets and other local suppliers. You can also pick up a lovely new house plant like a peace lily or bromeliad — NASA has proven these help air quality, so it's not only good for your home but also your health. The store's Floral Art Club is free to join, and gives you discounts, floral advice and (very helpful) reminders, so you will never miss a birthday or anniversary again.
Sydney woke up to torrential rain and thunderstorms this morning as parts of the city copped more than a month's worth of rain in an hour. As a result, widespread road, train and light rail closures are being experienced across the city. In other words, it's, unfortunately, going to be a slow and wet commute to work this morning. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, West Pennant Hills was hit by 72.5mm in an hour, while Chatswood received 60mm. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1067511349415157760 The heavy rains have led to power outages across northern Sydney — with Ausgrid responding to 3500 customers across East Ryde, North Ryde and Marsfield — with flash flooding causing road, train and light rail closures and bus delays. Sydney Airport is also telling both domestic and international travellers to expect delays and cancellations, with the ABC reporting that the airport has closed two of its runways. At time of publication, here's where the city's at with road closures and public transport delays: Buses across the city are delayed, with the inner west worst affected with wait times of up to 60 minutes Trains between Sydenham and Campsie, on T3, have resumed — after being suspended due to flooding in Marrickville — but delays are to be expected Ferries between Parramatta and Olympic Park have been cancelled, buses are being organised The Harbour Tunnel has reopened — after it closed earlier due to an overheight vehicle — but delays are expected as traffic returns to normal Anzac Bridge outbound lanes are closed due to flooding A number of train stations have flooded and have limited or no access for customers. These include: Town Hall, Pymble, Wollstonecraft, West Ryde, Eastwood and Lewisham All lanes of Parramatta Road have reopened — after closing earlier due to flooding — but traffic and delays are to be expected All light rail services between Dulwich Hill and Central have been cancelled due to flooding The NSW State Emergency Service is urging motorists to avoid driving if possible and to not enter any flood waters, with flooding already affecting a number of roads across the city. The SES has responded to six flood rescues this morning since the rains begun. https://twitter.com/NSWSES/status/1067507852669939712 The NSW SES, BOM and NSW Police are working together to provide warnings across Sydney for potentially dangerous conditions, flood waters and unsafe roads. For updates, keep an eye on the BOM website. While it's expected to clear up by the weekend, we're not likely to see much reprieve from the rain today, with the BOM saying the rain's peak intensity will most likely be from mid morning and mid afternoon. This will likely impact your afternoon commute, too. For the latest updates on traffic and public transport delays and closures, head to Live Traffic NSW and Transport for NSW's official Bus and Train Twitter accounts. Image: NSW SES
A tale of love and hidden identities, Twelfth Night has arrived at the Sydney Opera House with beloved theatre group Bell Shakespeare returning to the iconic Sydney venue's Playhouse. If you're out of the loop, Twelfth Night sees protagonist Viola arrive in a new city following a shipwreck and disguise herself as a man in order to find work. Things get tricky when she falls in love with her boss and her twin brother Sebastian arrives. If this all sounds familiar, it could be because the story is the basis for the 2006 teen classic She's the Man. Bell Shakespeare's new iteration of the stage show comes from director Heather Fairbairn and places the characters in a more nature-driven outdoor setting. Fairbairn's version pulls on threads of gender and sexuality in the original, diving deeper into these themes through a fresh retelling of the story. Twelfth Night is also one of Shakespeare's most music-heavy plays, and Bell Shakespeare has gone all out with the soundtrack, enlisting the help of ARIA Award-winning songwriter Sarah Blasko to create original pieces for the show. Blasko has crafted six new songs, all of which are performed by the cast live on stage throughout the two-and-a-half-hour performance. "My approach to everything, including theatre, is just to go with a vibe! But, my initial inspiration for the music came from conversations with Heather who wanted to convey a sense of melancholy with the music but for it not to be depressing," said Blasko. "I felt the blues was the obvious place to start as most popular music has its roots there, and the blues has that sadness but is ultimately uplifting." You can catch the show in Sydney until Sunday, November 19. Head to the Sydney Opera House website to secure your tickets. Images: Brett Boardman.
After an ambitious three-year-long restoration, Sydney's historic Hotel Morris is just about ready to reopen. Come late January 2023, guests will get to see how this space has been returned to its former glory — all the while sneaking in a few Australiana features for good measure. When Hotel Morris opened back in 1929 in an eye-catching Italian renaissance building, it was the tallest hotel in Australia and known for wonderfully exemplifying Palazzo architecture. Buildings in this style were inspired by the ornate palaces built by wealthy Italians back in the Renaissance. In other words, they are loud, inside and out. The Accor team, who now operate the property, have made sure this grand Sydney landmark keeps this old-school feel with a more modern twist. Inside, it feels tastefully gaudy — an oxymoron, we know. It's very 'eleganza extravaganza' as the design team has carefully clashed several marble finishes with all kinds of other textiles. Within spaces like Bar Morris, many different coloured tiles sit alongside stucco wooden floorboards, brass and stone finishes and more marble. Works by Aussie artists have also been hung throughout. But they strongly focus on earthy tones, making it all work together. Our Italian grandmothers would love this over-the-top design. And we live for it too. While little has been said of the drinking and dining options at Bar Morris, we do know that the day-to-night menu will focus on simple, seasonal produce infused with Italian influences. Start with coffee and pastries, move on to deli-style small plates of food and eventually get into the Italian and Australian wines curated to work alongside heartier dinner options. It seems as if simple food will be served within these glam surrounds. Now, moving up the tall building, there are 82 rooms. Fortunately, for a greater sense of calm, they have gone down a different design route up here. Art Deco reigns supreme up in these rooms, ensuring Hotel Morris keeps that European feel — but in an altogether more understated way. Expect warm golden mustard tones with custom furniture, brass detailing and some earthy stone finishes. It reflects the rich features that have been preserved on the outside of the heritage building. The prominent ghost signage on the side of the building has also been revived, bringing some history and character back to central Sydney's streetscape. Hotel Morris, located at 412 Pitt Street, is set to welcome guests from late January 2023. Head to the website to see more updates before its opening.
For the past five years, gin lovers across the country have tripped over themselves to get their spirit-loving fingers on a bottle of Four Pillars' Bloody Shiraz Gin — and that's before they've even had a sip of alcohol. The limited edition shiraz-infused concoction really is that good, so we thought you'd like to know that the next batch goes on sale on Saturday, July 4. If you haven't come across the gin before, it's basically what it says on the label: gin infused with shiraz grapes. This gives the spirit a brilliant deep cerise colour and some sweet undertones (without a higher sugar content). That, along with its higher alcoholic content — 37.8 percent, compared to an average 25 percent in regular sloe gin — makes the Bloody Shiraz Gin a near-perfect specimen. It can be used to make a G&T or in cocktails where you'd usually use your regular gin, but, if you're feeling craft, the Four Pillars team suggests making a Bloody & Lemon (pour 45 millilitres of shiraz gin and 100 of lemon bitter or lemon tonic over ice and garnish with a wedge of ruby grapefruit) or a Bloody Spritz (pour 30 millilitres of shiraz gin and 30 of ruby grapefruit juice into a champagne flute and top with sparkling wine). Four Pillars created the game-changing gin back in 2015 when it came into a 250-kilogram load of shiraz grapes from the Yarra Valley. Experimenting, the Victorian distillers then steeped the grapes in their high-proof dry gin for eight weeks before pressing the fruit and blending it with the gin, and hoping like hell it would turn out well. It did. This year — after selling 50 percent of the company to beer behemoth Lion last March — Four Pillars has acquired more grapes from other Victorian wine regions to make more of the gin than ever before. The gin will go on sale on Saturday, July 4 at selected bottle shops, in the Four Pillars online store, at its Yarra Valley distillery and at the new Four Pillars Laboratory in Sydney (where the bar will also be serving it in cocktails). If you're lucky, you'll also be able to find it served at bars around the country. Godspeed. The 2020 Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin will go on sale around the country for on Saturday, July 4. Head to the Four Pillars website to buy a bottle.
We love a bit of alliteration, especially when tacos are involved. Thankfully, so does Mexican restaurant Chica Bonita. Kicking off on September 10, Head Chef Alejandro Huerta will be welcoming some of his chef mates into his CBD kitchen to serve up some next-level taco creations each Tuesday. What kind of next-level creations, you ask? Chef Jack New (Icebergs, Gorgeous George) will be creating golden salmon sushi taco with gochugang, a wagyu tartare variety with anchovy and chilli, and two vegetarian options: koji-roasted celeriac and edamame, pecorino and black garlic. New is also whipping out a sweet option — a cheesecake tostado for $7. Every week, you'll be able to eat four limited-edition tacos for just $30, with the most popular taco making it onto the restaurant's specials menu for the rest of the week. Other chefs stepping up to the grill include Jason Staudt (Barangaroo House), Toby Wilson (Bad Hombres, The George) and Pablo Vargas (Carbón Bondi), with more names set to be announced in the coming weeks. Walk ins are welcome, but if you're determined not to miss out, you can book here. Taco Tuesdays will run weekly from September 10. Chica Bonita image: Kitti Gould.
White sandy beaches. Sparkling aqua waters. Unspoiled bushland. Take your pick with this selection of sublime summer getaway spots. Whether it's a picturesque little fishing village on an untouched coastline or a land of rolling green hills flanked with vineyards on one side and hinterlands packed with diverse wildlife on the other, you'll find what you're looking for in a city escape right here, with our top ten summer getaways just hours from the CBD. Want more? We've got you double-covered with a killer cocktail recipe to try. So get your game on and get away. SEAL ROCKS See: One of only two of its kind in Australia, the Sugar Loaf Point Lighthouse is situated on the stunning headland to the east of the village. Another great option for daytime activities is a 4WD at Lighthouse Beach, or take a famous dive to get up close and personal with the grey nurse shark population at Seal Rocks. Stay: Underneath the historic Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, is the Lighthouse Keeper's once-upon-a-time living quarters – now renovated to make for a stunning getaway experience at the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse Keeper's Cottages. Surrounded by ocean, headland, and grassy slopes, this is the perfect place for soaking up the summer sun and letting the pressures of city life melt away. Keep an eye out for the whales as they make their way along the coastline, as well as the dolphins down on the beach. Drink: To wind up the day, kick back with one of Don the Beachcomber's legendary drinks that came from his tropical Tiki-themed restaurants. It's the ideal accompaniment for a lazy summer evening after a day of great walks, great views and great times. The Zombie is 30ml Appleton V/X, 30ml Appleton 8yr old, 25ml lime juice, 15ml grapefruit juice, 45ml unsweetened pineapple juice, 7.5ml Falernum, 10ml Maraschino, 5ml grenadine, 2.5ml Pernod and a double dash of Angostura bitters. Boom! JERVIS BAY See: Bordered by two gorgeous beaches and the National Park, Hyams beach is our top pick for the best way to spend your time in this dreamy part of the world. The stunningly transparent waters make this the ideal area for swimming, fishing, snorkelling, scuba diving and kayaking. For something a little more energetic, stand-up paddling in Jervis Bay is reasonably priced and just about as fun as it looks. Stay: If a luxury stay in a location leading the way in ecotourism in Australia, offering the highest quality food and drink right at your fingertips, and teeming with native wildlife surrounded by lush bushland takes your fancy, then look no further than Paperbark Camp. Drink: What could be more ideal than winding up a perfect summer day with a perfect summer storm? The Dark and Stormy is a highball-style drink that originated in Bermuda. Bermudans would traditionally balance the rich, sweet flavours of their local rum with spicy ginger beer, but once the popularity of the drink hit the United States, the addition of lime juice became standard in the recipe. Combine 60ml Appleton 8yr Old, 90ml ginger beer (not dry ginger ale) and 15ml lime juice in a glass and stir. The end. BYRON BAY See: Sunrise in summer from the summit of Mt Warning is pretty darn special. The Mt Warning Rainforest Park is found between the Gold Coast and Byron Bay and is the ideal place to establish yourself if a day full of mountain hikes, epic waterfalls and craft market explorations sounds like your thing. If you only have a day or so to spare, surfers should ditch the shortboard and go longboarding at the famous Wategos. There's truckloads to eat in Byron, and plenty of it local and organic produce, but for the best of the best head to Harvest Cafe in Newrybar – the crispy French toast with macadamia nuts and berries is off the hook. Stay: In Buddhism Shambhala means "mythical hidden kingdom" or "pure land" and blissful retreat Shambhala at Belongil sure lives up to its name. Incredibly private rooms with exceptional facilities make this the right move for any romantic weekend away. Drink: The Fish House Punch is one of the oldest cocktails known to cocktail bartenders around the globe and is a great summer drink to share. Shake and strain 45ml Appleton 8yr, 15ml cognac, 5ml peach brandy, 20ml lemon juice, 45ml water and 10ml sugar syrup over ice in a short glass. If you would like to make a punch bowl to share, simply multiply everything by 10 and adjust to taste. THE BLUE MOUNTAINS See: We often associate the Blue Mountains with a winter adventure, but it's got loads to offer for a short summer getaway. Sure, there are a wee handful of stunning bushwalks, bike rides and mountain climbs to be found in our own private little cranny of the Great Dividing Range, but what's a trip to the blue mountains without a scone-off? Paragon Cafe in Katoomba is the place. You're welcome. Stay: The 85-room Lilianfels is a stone's throw from the Three Sisters at Echo Point and it has serious old-world charm meshed with modern-day glam. Also? The spa baths in the bedrooms are really something to froth over, especially after a day of walks in the heat. Drink: Created in the 1920s, the Mary Pickford is a summer delight for sweet-tooths looking to top off a day of baked delights. Combine 60ml Appleton V/X, 45ml un-sweetened pineapple juice, 5ml Maraschino liqueur and 5ml grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice, then shake & strain into a glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. GERRINGONG See: Wine connoisseurs will especially appreciate Coolangatta Estate, as you won't come by these blends any closer to home, with two of the grapes they use being really hard to find outside Europe. Stay: The huge renovation Mercure Resort Gerringong by the Sea has seen has done wonders — the contemporary design on the boutique property is a country mile ahead of some of the cheaper options in Gerrigong. Drink: If you've had enough wine, change pace with this summer special. It's called a Pain Killer and accredited to Daphne Henderson from the Soggy Dollar Bar on the Island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. It's 60ml Appleton 8yr old, 120ml pineapple juice, 30ml coconut cream and 30ml orange juice. POLKOBIN See: You're in the Hunter Valley, so all the usual winery adventures are at your fingertips. But consider Hunter Valley Candymaking Classes for something a little different this summer. Adult candy makers (you) make adult candy for adult candy lovers to eat (also you). Need we say more? Stay: Hermitage Lodge is a boutique, homestead-style hotel of 20 rooms overlooking a vineyard. And you can get Il Cacciatore pizza delivered direct to your room. Drink: You'll need something refreshing after all that candy. Three Dots and a Dash is a fruity punch with fresh citrus that was created in late 1946 to celebrate the end and victory of WWII. Pour 45ml Appleton V/X, 15ml Appleton 12yr old, 15ml lime juice, 15ml orange juice, 15ml honey, 7.5ml Falernum and 7.5ml Pimento liqueur ingredients into a blender with ice, blend on high speed for five seconds and pour into a glass. Garnish with three cherries on a pineapple skewer to signify the three dots and a dash. MUDGEE See: A walk to 'The Drip' will work up your thirst and your appetite, so pack those picnic baskets and head along the river to a picnic for kings. The walk is approximately 40 minutes return and there are BBQ facilities at the picnic area. Stay: A huge historic cottage built in 1858, The Tannery is as big as that country house you've always dreamed of. Just the place to crack open a bottle of rum and hold court. Drink: The soft, rich Treacle is a great twist on a classic Old Fashioned. Add 60ml Appleton 8yr old, 10ml sugar syrup, 2 dashes of Angostura bitters and ice slowly to the serving glass a little at a time, constantly stirring. Float 15ml of apple juice over the drink and serve. GERROA See: Located in the Barren Grounds Nature reserve, the Drawing Room Rocks Walk is a unique and historical experience, with most of the reserve made up of horizontal Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone. The hike is not too arduous at 4.5 kilometres return, and you'll be trekking through glorious bushland and clifflines with blue ocean alongside you most of the way. Stay: Gerroa Caravan Park, a great little number just two hours drive from Sydney, is your pick for a getaway on a budget. There are top-quality facilities and lush green lawns, all located on the banks of the Crooked River. Drink: Time for a summer favourite; time for a Mai Tai. Shake 30ml lime juice, 15ml orange Curacao, 7.5ml sugar syrup, 7.5ml Orgeat, 30ml Appleton V/X and 30ml Coruba dark and strain into a short glass filled with ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a lime shell. Enjoy with your feet firmly placed on the ground. ROYAL NATIONAL PARK See: There's no end to the outdoor activities to partake in at the Royal — everything from bird watching to kayaking. The Royal National Park is gorgeous all year round, but in summer head straight for the beach and lagoon at Wattamolla to wipe away the work-desk ennui. The area includes one of our five favourite waterfalls to swim under near Sydney. Stay: The majestically restored Hill Top is your base camp of choice for a getaway of bushwalking, beach-going and wildlife-spotting. The house is heritage-listed, fitted with the best furniture and amenities, and sleeps six. Drink: Please a big, boisterous, swim-fatigued group with a traditional Planters' Punch. Combine 15ml of fresh lime juice, 30ml of sugar syrup (or 15ml of grenadine & 15ml of sugar syrup), 45ml of Appleton V/X, 60ml of water and a dash of Angostura bitters into a punch bowl, add your ice and garnish accordingly. (If you are just making one serve, pour all the ingredients into a highball glass, add ice and briefly stir to achieve correct dilution.) PATONGA See: Plenty of great walking, cycling and fishing spots make Brisbane Water National Park a great way to while away the hours in between epic barbecue breakfasts, barbecue lunches and barbecue dinners. Ancient Indigenous engraving sites and the array of gorgeous wildflowers will help you feel a mile from home when you're really just a hair's breadth north of Sydney, near Gosford. Stay: Just south of Gosford is the serene village of Patonga, and the Patonga Camping Area has all the facilities, with the hustle and bustle of Palm Beach just a lazy ferry ride away. A great option for a night or two of chilled out anti-city adventures. Drink: The Hemingway Daiquiri was created for the writer while he was living in Havana during the early 1920s, and there's no better drink to knock back as the sun sets on another summer day. It's documented in his novel, Islands in the Stream, but you'll enjoy it best IRL. Combine 60ml Appleton V/X, 15ml maraschino liqueur, 20ml lime juice and 15ml grapefruit juice into a cocktail shaker with ice, shake and strain into your glass.
Melbourne's Wheeler Centre is coming to Sydney, bringing with it three a new talk series to be held monthly at the Belvoir Street Theatre. Each will focus on a particular big idea. The first, happening on Monday 21 August, is all about anaesthesia. Journalist Kate Cole-Adams will be discussing her book Anaesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness with anaesthetist Tim McCulloch and Benjamin Law. Meanwhile, September's chat, planned for Monday 18, will be dedicated to booze. Jenny Valentish, music writer and author of Woman of Substances, will be thrashing out alcohol's role in Australian identity, as well as its impact on people and public health, flanked by arts broadcaster Kate Jinx and medical researcher Michael Bowen. Pop back on Monday, October 9 to hear barrister Julian Burnside discuss his commitment to asylum seekers and issues relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He'll be joined by Benjamin Law and Kat Armstrong, former prisoner and CEO of the Women's Justice Network.
Some of the world's fringe festivals go for curation, featuring the cream of the crop of local and touring indie talent. Others open their doors wider, allowing for the truly weird, unexpected or unconnected a chance to step under the spotlight and make a lasting impression. The Sydney Fringe Festival falls mainly into the latter camp, with its bewildering and Bible-thick program containing the wonderful, the luckless and every inflection in-between. The independent festival has grown into the city's largest alternative arts event, spanning most of September and including the media of visual arts, film, digital arts, theatre, music, comedy, musical theatre, circus/physical theatre, dance, cabaret, books, kids and family shows, poetry, food and wine and things just plain 'other'. The festival is spread out over five 'creative villages' mainly centring around the Inner West, and this year welcomes a new festival hub, Emerald City garden bar. Located in the Seymour Centre courtyard — in front of a key Fringe venue and a popular spot during summer's Courtyard Sessions — the late-night garden bar will give the sprawling festival a social heart, in the vein of the Sydney Festival's Festival Garden or Adelaide Fringe's famed Garden of Earthly Delights. Also among the new venues is Eliza's Juke Joint (at the old 5 Eliza festival bar); the Dendy Cinema car park, which will host the Artcore Guerilla Artfair; and the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, transformed into Camp Super Happy Sunshine Fun, a thing that we're assured is for adults (yay!). Comedy will continue to be based in the Factory Theatre, while Marrickville will also lead in the live music stakes, with artists such as Abby Dobson in the Camelot Lounge. "We have discovered hundreds of hidden gems within the city, not only focusing on a terrific arts program but opening up to artisan food, crafts and sub-cultures," says Sydney Fringe Festival spokesperson Kerri Glasscock. "We have unlocked the city and invite you all to join us in celebrating the wonderful world that is Sydney’s fringe." Want to know the latest from the Fringe? Check out our Sydney Fringe Festival Diary. For our top predictions, there's the ten best Sydney Fringe Festival events.
Six String is the first craft brewery built on the Central Coast and their beer is an ever popular facet of Sydney bottle shops and craft venues for good reason — its core range is all award-winning, which includes the Coastie, golden ale, pale ale and dark red IPA — all of which you can, and should, try at the tasting bar. The best reason to visit, though, is for the seasonal releases, many of which you can only try in Erina. They'll sort you with pop-up restaurants and food trucks as well, so you can keep your hanger at bay and enjoy the beery fruits of the Six String labour.
Every kid dreamed about stepping inside their favourite TV show or movie, whether you were an 80s child who wanted to dance magic, dance through Labyrinth, a 90s teen saying "as if!" to life outside of Clueless — or keen to stake vampires with Buffy — or a 00s Gossip Girl wannabe. Now that we're all adults, those kinds of fantasies keep becoming a reality, in a way, thanks to the seemingly non-stop array of immersive pop culture-themed installations and experiences that love popping up around Australia. So if you've recently been wishing that you could step into the twisted superhero realm shared by Gen V and The Boys, for instance, you'll soon be able to. Prime Video is taking Sydneysiders and everyone who happens to be in the Harbour City for the first-ever SXSW Sydney into the franchise's world from Tuesday, October 17–Saturday, October 21. How? Via Primeville, a small town-themed activation that's taking over Fratelli Fresh Darling and taking its cues from some of the streaming platform's popular shows — and one documentary. Primeville's spin on the Vought Cinematic Universe will involve a trip to Godolkin University, where you'll be shrinking down — well, pretending to — for games of Supe Shot. You can stay your regular size to give the prize wheel a spin to score freebies. If you're more fond of Reacher, there'll be a diner inspired by the series. For The Summer I Turned Pretty devotees, expect ice creams at Cousins Beach. And if you just like bites to eat themed around television shows, there'll be a milk bar serving up exactly that. In the town square: celebrating all things The Wiggles in the lead up to Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles debuting as part of the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival, before streaming via Prime Video from Tuesday, October 24. And yes, the Big Red Car will be in attendance, ready for plenty of snaps. If this all sounds a bit familiar, that's because Prime Video set up something similar at PAX Aus in Melbourne in 2022. In this case, the pop-ups aren't just open to SXSW Sydney badge holders, but to everyone. Entry is free, and you'll also score some Primeville dollars to go towards an ice cream, snack or drink. Primeville will pop up during SXSW Sydney at Fratelli Fresh Darling Harbour, 2/14 Darling Drive, Sydney from Tuesday, October 17–Saturday, October 21 — open from 12–6pm on the Tuesday and Saturday, and 12–8pm Wednesday–Friday.
The gin-making superstars at Four Pillars are at it again, this month unveiling their first new creation to hit shelves since 2016. The latest addition to the Yarra Valley distillery's much-lauded barrel-aged program is the Sherry Cask Gin, which has just spent over a year in former sherry barrels, to lend a rich, intense character to the final drop. It's rounded out with notes of crushed coriander, pine needles and star anise, and infused with a small amount of Amontillado sherry to give some length and sweetness. According to the experts who made it, this one works well neat, or with sherry and orange bitters in a classic Tuxedo cocktail. Also launching this month is the 2018 edition of Four Pillars' Chardonnay Barrel Gin, which used to go by the name of Barrel-Aged Gin. This time around, the spirit's enjoyed a full 12 months in chardonnay barrels, giving characters of ginger and spice, and an oak-driven sweetness. The Four Pillars team is recommending this one over ice, or with a sprig of rosemary and a drop of honey. Both gins are available online or at selected independent retailers.
The first time was the charm. The second time, too. And, there's no doubt that the third will be as well. However many seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under that Stan in Australia and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand want to put in our streaming queues, they're all certain to be fierce, fabulous, bright, bold and sassy — including the show's just-confirmed return in 2023. Yes, your viewing plans for next year got better, even if RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under doesn't have an exact season three airdate as yet. The Australian and New Zealand version if RuPaul's Drag Race debuted in 2021, then sashayed our way again in 2022. Keep it coming, obviously. Exactly who'll be donning eye-catching outfits, navigating dramas and vying for glory next hasn't been revealed yet either, but a new lineup of drag queens will endeavour to follow in Kita Mean and Spankie Jackzon's footsteps — after Mean took RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under's first season and Jackzon did the honours in season two. Whoever gets the gig, they'll be joined by RuPaul, of course — who takes on hosting duties again — with the judging panel also featuring Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson in the first two seasons. "I'm so excited for season three of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under! Australasian drag is spectacularly sickening, and I can't wait for a new cast of queens to flash their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent," RuPaul said, announcing the third season. Fans already know the format, which features fashion challenges, workroom dramas and lip sync battles aplenty. If you're a newcomer to all things Drag Race, you'll watch the next batch of Australian and NZ competitors work through a series of contests to emerge victorious, and join the likes of Mean, Jackzon and US contenders Jinkx Monsoon, Sasha Velour and Sharon Needles in being crowned the series' winner. Before it made the leap Down Under in 2021, the US version of RuPaul's Drag Race had already been on the air for more than a decade, first premiering in 2009 — and wholeheartedly embracing its mission to unearth the next drag superstars ever since. The original US series aired its 14th season in 2022, so this is a program with proven longevity. It has also spun off international iterations before, including in the UK — where it's also hosted by RuPaul — plus in Thailand, Holland, Chile and Canada. There's no trailer for season three yet, of course, but you can watch the Drag Race Down Under season two trailer below: RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will return for a third season in 2023 on Stan and TVNZ — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced.
In 2011, in this very country and galaxy, a pop culture favourite gained a singing, stripping burlesque parody. It's the mash-up that was bound to happen. Who hasn't looked at George Lucas' space opera, its sprawling drama and ample spectacle, and wondered what a steamier, funnier version with more visible butt cheeks would look like? Russall S. Beattie clearly did, and had a good feeling that other people would give it a shot. The Empire Strips Back was the end result. It became a hit around Australia, then took itself overseas to much acclaim. Now it's returning home for a 2020 tour — once again showing local audiences that lightsabers aren't the hottest thing in the Star Wars galaxy. The saucy show promises "seriously sexy stormtroopers, a dangerously seductive Boba Fett, some tantalising Twi'leks, a delightfully lukewarm Taun Taun, a lady-like Skywalker [and] the droids you are looking for", according to its website. Apparently Yoda doesn't get the sexed-up treatment, but there is plenty of song, dance, acrobatics and — because it's burlesque — the removal of clothing. A dancing Chewie and Han is just the beginning of this cheeky take on Star Wars cosplay. Given that it's got an upbeat soundtrack, the costumes are extremely detailed and the show throws out lots of references to George Lucas' original plot, it's not surprising that local audiences — presumably the same ones that pack out Star Wars parties and large-scale screenings with a live orchestra — have latched onto the production. Heading to the Enmore on Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15, The Empire Strips Back sits alongside Dame of Thrones in Beattie's pop culture parody stable — so if you've already seen one of your fantastical screen obsessions get the burlesque treatment, then you know what you're in for. If you're super keen, you can also nab a Wookieerotica magazine online: a 116-page, 70s-style men's mag, just casually featuring all of your favourite jedis, siths, ewoks and other Star Wars characters. Either way, it could be a great introduction to burlesque or Star Wars, depending on which way you're coming at it. Pre-sale starts at 9am on Tuesday, November 12. Images: Jon Bauer, Leslie Liu and Josh Groom.
It's not beyond the realms of possibility that V/H/S/2 contains a reference to every horror film ever made. Child ghosts, zombies, cult victims, alien abductions: you name it, you'll find it haunting, taunting, tormenting or terrorising someone in there somewhere. However, in attempting to pack more gore and perversity into 90 minutes than Quentin Tarantino could dismemberments into four hours of Kill Bill, the directors too often lose their grasp on the most devastating weapon in their repertoire – compelling storytelling. Created by seven directors who, collectively, list The Blair Witch Project, You're Next, Hobo with a Shotgun and The Raid in their filmography, V/H/S/2, the sequel to V/H/S, is, like its predecessor, an anthology of found-footage style vignettes. We view them through the eyes of two private investigators. After breaking into the home of a missing college student, they find themselves drawn into his demon-possessed, VHS-obsessed world. We meet a gentleman saved from blindness by a bionic eye, only to discover that the technology enables the infiltration of bloodthirsty ghouls; a pair of cyclists whose innocent, sun-kissed forest ride ends in zombie attack; a team of intrepid journalists risking their safety for an inside story on an Indonesian cult; and a party of out-of-control teenagers whose sex-fuelled teasing gets serious under threat of alien invasion. Of the four encounters, the third, Safe Haven, is the stand out. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Huw Evans (of The Raid: Redemption), its depiction of a suicide cult deluded by a deranged, megalomaniacal leader is deeply disturbing in its implication that the most nightmarish of our imaginings are not necessarily far removed from the extremities of human cruelty. Well-controlled gradations in suspense and incorporation of character-driven drama give potency to the horror when it hits. Unfortunately, the other three shorts are less effective in eliciting a genuine scare — physical or psychological. Shaky motion, erratic angles and a Go Pro camera (affixed, at one point to a family pet) aim to suggest a hand-held, home-videoesque authenticity, but, for the most part, are too self-conscious and persistent to allow suspension of disbelief. The violence is too relentless to provoke any chills and we don't learn enough about the characters to care much about why, how or when their demons deposit of them. Even though V/H/S/2 is, unusually enough for a sequel, an improvement on the original, it still feels as though there's too much of a focus on being demented, merely for being demented's sake. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8Rto5cyknzU
Beachwood Designs brings bespoke timber furniture to Avalon, and has been doing so since the early 90s. At the Avalon Parade shop, you'll find side tables made from elm next to driftwood floor lamps and more. Luckily for you, the local furniture company offers custom-made pieces, made from sustainable materials where possible — from reupholstered ottomans to dining tables hand-carved from oak or reclaimed timber. For something a little easier to transport, you'll find homewares to match, including dainty ceramic pieces, raffia bags and artwork by local artists. For those keen to really take a slice of Avalon home, or for the indecisive out there, Beachwood offers an interior decorating service for both locals and those a little further away. Images: Sam Mackie.
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is just your typical 15 year-old girl. She Lives in a remote hut in Finland with her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana), speaks half a dozen languages, is proficient in martial arts and can shoot the wings off a fly from fifty yards. So she's typical in the way any girl might be — assuming that girl has been raised from birth to be an assassin. It seems a questionable approach to home schooling until you learn that both Hanna and her father have been marked for death by corrupt CIA agent and oral-hygiene-fetishist Marissa Wiegler (played by Cate Blanchett), resulting in a nasty case of kill or be killed. Directed by Joe Wright, Hanna is a tense and often violent thriller that marks a solid departure from his last three films (The Soloist, Atonement and Pride and Prejudice). It's a dark, gritty and largely soulless picture that closely mirrors both the characters and the bleak European locations within it. Ronan absolutely shines in the lead, with the juxtaposition of her ethereal beauty and remorseless killing resulting in some moments of exhilarating action and unexpected comedy. Much like Chloë Moretz’s character Hit Girl from Kick Ass, Hanna kills quickly and she kills often, but she does so without the same sense of joy. Killing is instead pure necessity, with her father constantly reminding her to “adapt or die”. It's a film where you see a young girl cornered in a dark alley by a group of heavily armed men, and you feel genuinely nervous for the men. All the music for Hanna was provided by dance duo The Chemical Brothers, doubtless inspired by the success of Daft Punk’s brilliant original score from last year’s Tron, and at times it gives the movie an almost music video feel — especially during one of the key chase sequences. While the film ultimately lags towards the end due to an unnecessary plot twist, its sleek action scenes and solid performances make it definitely one worth catching if you can.
Cristiano, Neymar and Messi have been rendered as the futurist Incredibles in a new series of illustrations by up-and-coming artist Rafael Mayani. Bringing together twelve of the finest players in the FIFA 2014 World Cup, Mayani brought his playful style — often reserved for stunning, Disney and Nintendo characters — to slick renditions of Marco Reus, Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba and more WC favourites. Relatively unknown on the international circuit, Mexico City-based Mayani's talent for sketching footballers is evident in his sfumato charcoal Pele posted on his Facebook page: All twelve of the players feature on a limited edition poster available at Society 6. Devoid of sweat patches, day-old Cheezels and beer-stained couch groove, your World Cup addiction never looked so elegant. Marco Reus Didier Drogba Cristiano Ronaldo Iker Casillas Andrea Pirlo Leo Messi Via Fubiz.
Heading to an outdoor music festival normally means hoping for fine and sunny outdoor weather. At Snow Machine, you'll be praying for one thing: yes, snow. Because spending a day or several dancing to tunes in the open air isn't solely synonymous with summer, this event embraces its wintry setup, combining live music with a ski trip — as Japan first experienced in 2020, and New Zealand has been enjoying since 2022. The Japanese fest takes place for 2025 in March, but you'll want to mark September in your calendar if you're keen on the Aotearoa event. The hottest festival for the colder months is unleashing its avalanche of music and adventure at two mountain-topping NZ ski resorts between Tuesday, September 9–Sunday, September 14 this year. The snow-filled attraction has also just dropped its impressive lineup. On the Thursday night, Claptone and Hot Dub Time Machine will be headlining. On the Friday, Amyl and The Sniffers are playing an exclusive New Zealand show, with Mallrat also on the bill. Come Saturday, Netsky and Luude are doing the honours. Also helping to give Snow Machine's NZ winter wonderland a thumping soundtrack across the fest: Argonaut, Baby J, Ben Silver, Beverly Kills, Body Ocean, Boogs, Brian Fantana and Casey Leaver — plus Dannika Peach, Jimi The Kween, Lenni Vibe, Mell Hall, Montel2099, Odd Mob. And, then there's Bribera, Savage, Spacey Space, T-Rek and What So Not. As the hefty roster of talent demonstrates, attendees are in for a helluva few days, including hitting the slopes and partying at après ski events on both Coronet Peak and The Remarkables. How much dancing, skiing and sipping you want to do is up to you — as is how many other adventurous activities you'd like to add to your itinerary, such as heli-skiing, jet boating, bungy jumping, canyon swinging and skydiving. Snow Machine's official welcome party is also on the agenda again, taking place at AJ Hackett Bungy Kawarau Bridge. So is another annual highlight: the Polar Bare, which endeavours to set a world record for the most amount of people heading down the slopes their swimwear. Alongside the wintry backdrop and the fun that comes with it, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span both five and seven nights of accommodation, and include a four-day festival ticket, plus multi-day ski pass. If you'd rather make your own way or pass on the skiing, there are ticket-only options — and VIP packages if you really want to do it in style. Snow Machine 2025 Lineup Amyl and The Sniffers Argonaut Baby J Ben Silver Beverly Kills Body Ocean Boogs Brian Fantana Casey Leaver Claptone Dannika Peach Hot Dub Time Machine Jimi The Kween Lenni Vibe Luude Mallrat Mell Hall Montel2099 Netsky Odd Mob Bribera Savage Spacey Space T-Rek What So Not Plus stage takeovers from: Poof Doof Ski Club Thicks as Thieves Revolver Sundays Electric Rush Snow Machine 2025 takes place from Tuesday, September 9–Sunday, September 14 in Queenstown, New Zealand. Presale tickets go on sale on from 1pm AEDT / 12pm AEST / 3pm NZDT on Monday, February 24, 2025, with general tickets available from 1pm AEDT / 12pm AEST / 3pm NZDT on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. For more information, visit the festival's website. Images: Han Lowther / Amee Freeman / Luke O'Keefe.
When Caper Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival debuted in 2022, Louis Tikaram from Stanley in Brisbane was on the lineup. In 2024, the chef from the standout Sunshine State restaurant has curated the program. He has ties to the area, growing up on a 110-acre farm in Mullumbimby before hopping from Sydney's Tetsuya's and Longrain to E.P & L.P. in Los Angeles and then the Queensland capital's go-to Cantonese fine-diner — and he's now doing his part for this culinary fest's second event. Caper returns with a few changes. The festival has expanded its lineup from a four-day weekend to a ten-day run, and also moved from spring to autumn, taking place from Friday, May 17–Sunday, May 26. But its focus remains on celebrating food and culture in its seaside New South Wales home and the surrounding region, whether you're keen to eat, drink, listen to live tunes, or enjoy a drag night and trivia show. "Being part of the first-ever Caper Festival as a guest chef back in 2022 was a blast, and now I'm stoked to come back home to Byron Shire and curate," said Tikaram, announcing the 2024 lineup. "With heaps of mates in the chef and supplier scene, and top-notch produce at our fingertips, we've got some cracking events lined up. Can't wait to get stuck in and show off what we've got cooking." Tikaram's program is filled with fellow culinary names, including when the opening party takes over Three Blue Ducks. On the bill just for that night alone: Dave Moyle from Salty Mangrove (who organised the first Caper), Jason Saxby from Raes on Wategos, Ben Devlin from Pipet, Matt Stone from You Beauty, Mindy Woods from Karkalla, Karl and Katrina Kanetani from Beach Byron Bay, Pepsi Nakbunchuay from Bang Bang, Robbie Oijvall from Lightyears, Bruno Conti from The Hut, Marcello Polifrone from Harvest and, of course, Darren Robertson from the host venue. At the other end of the fest, the closing-night event will see Tikaram, Hawaiian chef Kanetani, Ross Magnaye from Serai Kitchen in Melbourne and Jedd Rifai from North Byron Hotel hone in on Hawaiian buffet-style snacks. In-between, long lunches, a yakitori party and a five-course smoke-fuelled feast are all among the fellow Caper highlights. Some meals will get you eating seaside. Other events are serving up an Italian-inspired aperitivo hour or a gin garden party. With Tikaram doing the honours again, you can also tuck into east-meets-west canapés at Byron Chinese restaurant Hutong Harry's. Whatever you're heading to, the North Byron Hotel is the fest's official watering hole, hosting tunes, cooking demonstrations, and cheese and wine tastings. If you've got a ticket to the fest, you'll score a drink coupon for a complimentary beverage, too. Caper Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival runs from Friday, May 17–Sunday, May 26, 2024 at various locations around Byron Bay and the Northern Rivers region. For more information, head to the festival's website. Images: Jess Kearney / Ella Dice.
Get ready to feel like a big kid again, because Luna Park is reopening this winter. Yep, after a few quiet months, the fun-filled harbourfront venue is switching the neon lights back on, so you can get your kidult thrills once again. Just in time for the school holidays, Luna Park will reopen from 10am on Friday, July 3. So, you'll be riding the ferris wheel, bumping your way around the dodgem rink and tearing your way down the Hair Raiser at 80 kilometres per hour in no time. Then, you can take a ride on the carousel, zoom around on the old-school rollercoaster, Wild Mouse, and hit up Coney Island to race down gigantic slides. For the relaunch, the fun park will be offering unlimited ride passes for a flat rate of $50, with two four-hour sessions available daily, from 10am–2pm and 3–7pm. To sweeten the deal, your ticket will include one sideshow game and a $10 voucher to spend on snacks. You can opt for burgers and hotdogs from Helter Kelter Cafe, buttermilk southern fried chook and pulled beed po' boy from The Hungry Horse, gelato cones from the Ice Cream Parlour and, of course, fairy floss. For passes, head here. Of course, there'll be more restrictions than usual due to COVID-19, so expect extra cleaning measures and entry requirements, such as temperature and identity checks. After that, let the fun begin. Luna Park is reopening from 10am on Friday, July 3. It will be open daily, with two sessions available, 10am–2pm and 3–7pm.
Carnivores, come pair your love of meat and liquor at the Newtown Hotel's The Animal. During World Class World Cocktail Week (forgive them that title), they're offering a Meat Meets Whiskey menu, which basically means you can go and consume Bulleit Bourbon via bone luge. Other meat-inflected concoctions on the menu are a Gumbo Manhattan (of Bulleit Rye Whiskey, Gumbo Bitters, Italian sweet vermouth) and a Benton Old Fashioned with bacon-infused Bulleit Bourbon, maple syrup and orange bitters (both $18). The perfect side to either is clearly the bone marrow toastie, a sweet $10. Vegetarians should probably avoid this like the plague. But some other part of the libation-loving event program of WCWCW will please you. Check out the auspicious Bar Swap between Sydney's The Rook and Melbourne's Black Pearl, or the Pimp Your Shake menu at Hinky Dinks. There's also a nationwide #garnishoff happening on Instagram, and your dinky orange slice ain't going to cut it. World Class World Cocktail Week runs a series of Australia-wide events from May 6-13, curated by celebrated Sydney foodie Ms Darlinghurst. Check out the website for more information.
When Greta Gerwig's Margot Robbie-starring Barbie takes audiences on an opening tour of Barbie Land, it makes one thing supremely clear: Barbie can be anything. The famous doll can be President, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, a diplomat and a Supreme Court justice. It can be a mermaid, doctor, lawyer and Pulitzer-winner, too. Off-screen, Barbie the movie can be one helluva pink-hued pioneer in smashing records as well — including by reaching $1 billion at the box office globally. It took just 17 days from release for Barbie to notch up that figure, Variety reports. In the process, it earned that massive stack of cash faster than any other movie from Warner Bros, beating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2's 19-day feat. Raking in all those takings from all those cinemagoers basking in Barbie's joys is all well and ace, but making Lady Bird and Little Women filmmaker Gerwig the first solo female director to hit the billion-dollar mark is a stunning achievement — the kind that really deserves a giant blowout party with all the Barbies, planned choreography and a bespoke song. [caption id="attachment_907779" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caroline McCredie[/caption] Barbie is only the second film this year to crack a billion at the worldwide box office, after The Super Mario Bros Movie. Since the pandemic hit, only Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Jurassic World Dominion and Spider-Man: No Way Home have also brought in that much money. Wondering where Barbie's Barbenheimer buddy sits? Christopher Nolan's vastly dissimilar atomic-bomb thriller Oppenheimer has hit half a billion at the time of writing. The Robbie- and Ryan Gosling (The Gray Man)-led film has beaten Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Little Mermaid, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' respective 2023 takings too — all of which sit alongside it, Mario and Oppenheimer in the global top ten right now. On the list of highest-grossing films of all time, only Frozen, Frozen II and Captain Marvel place higher with a female director at the helm — but all three were co-helmed with male filmmakers. Back when Barbie reach the half-billion mark on July 28, Warner Bros Pictures President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein and President of International Distribution Andrew Cripps said that "the extraordinary Greta Gerwig and her marvellous cast and crew have delivered an event for every kind of moviegoer everywhere in the world and, as critical praise continues to mount, what is quickly proving to be one of the best-reviewed movies of the year." "We couldn't be more thrilled or proud of these phenomenal results, and congratulate the filmmakers, cast and our colleagues at Mattel on this spectacular run, which — like Barbie herself — continues to defy all expectations." In Australia, Barbie made history almost instantly. The film notched up the biggest opening at the Australian box office for 2023 so far, raking in $21.5 million including preview screenings, over its first weekend — and earned the biggest opening weekend ever for a film directed by a female filmmaker. Alongside Oppenheimer, it also saw the Aussie box office score its biggest-ever Saturday and Sunday takings. And, it's likely to soon surpass The Super Mario Bros Movie as the highest-grossing film of 2023 in Australia so far. Yes, Barbie definitely can do anything. Check out the trailer below: Barbie is showing in Australian and New Zealand cinemas now. Read our review. Via Variety.
Looking for an treat with teeth this Easter? Benriach Distillery — the renowned purveyor of Speyside single malt scotch whisky — has teamed up with KOI Dessert Bar to create the Scotch Cross Bun, a playful, adults-only reimagining of the beloved holiday treat. Crafted by KOI's in-house dessert experts, the Scotch Cross Bun hits all the marks needed to leave a lasting impression, Blending the comforting nostalgia of a hot cross bun with contemporary cake design, this limited-edition dessert sees a rich vanilla mousse infused with autumnal spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, before being spiked with currents soaked in Benriach's The Original Ten single malt for a rousing finish. Want to get your hands on one of these decadent Easter creations that KOI's creative team describes as "familiar, yet completely unexpected"? From now until Thursday, April 17, KOI Dessert Bars in Sydney and Melbourne will serve up the Scotch Cross Bun for both dine-in and takeaway for $22. For some extra Easter cheer, customers who purchase the Scotch Cross Bun are invited to take home a complimentary 50ml bottle of Benriach's The Original Ten. "The Scotch Cross Bun is a perfect example of how versatile Benriach whisky can be — not just for sipping, but as an incredible ingredient that enhances and elevates flavours in unexpected ways," says Benriach brand manager, Stuart Reeves. "Partnering with KOI, known for their innovative approach to desserts, has allowed us to bring a fresh twist to Easter while showcasing the smooth, layered complexity of The Original Ten." With these revamped hot cross buns ready for purchase, there's no need to wait until the long weekend rolls around. Sydneysiders can experience the bold flavours and inventive craftsmanship at KOI Dessert Bars in Chippendale and Ryde, while Melbourne fans can get their hands on these desserts at the Queen Street location in the CBD. The Benriach x KOI Dessert Bar Scotch Cross Bun is available until April 17 in Sydney at Chippendale and Ryde stores, as well as in Melbourne at the Queen Street location. Head to the venue's website for more information.
This haphazard little produce market has some of the friendliest staff you'll ever meet, and it's sort of a classic Aussie corner fruit shop and Asian grocery rolled into one. Redfern Fruit Market stocks some impressively diverse items, so it has a reputation as the go-to place if you can't find an uncommon ingredient. As well as fresh, well-priced fruit and vegetables, they also offer a wide range of spices, nuts, organic goods, ready-to-eat Asian meals, and some luxe gourmet goods. Image: Trent van der Jagt.
Some films were always going to grace screens, and The Dry was one of them, all thanks to the huge on-the-page success of Jane Harper's beloved novel of the same name. That 2021 big-screen release's sequel, which is now called Force of Nature: The Dry 2, is another. The first movie was such a hit — notching up more than $20 million in Australian ticket sales, and coming in sixth at the Aussie box office two years back after Hollywood franchise titles Spider-Man: No Way Home, No Time to Die, Godzilla vs Kong, Peter Rabbit 2 and Fast and Furious 9 — that greenlighting this sequel must've been the easiest decision ever. In 2022, news arrived that The Dry would indeed score a big-screen follow-up, as based on Harper's second novel Force of Nature. Then it was revealed that the film would release in 2023, instantly becoming one of this year's most-anticipated flicks. Now, Roadshow Films — which is behind the movie, and will distribute it in Australia and New Zealand — has unveiled an exact release date. Mark August 24 in your diary: that's when you have a return movie date with Eric Bana (Dirty John) as Detective Aaron Falk. Actually, given that timing, you might just be able to see the film at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival or Melbourne International Film Festival. This chapter is set in Victoria, so it'd make a nice opening- or closing-night pick at MIFF in particular. In Force of Nature: The Dry 2, the focus is on a corporate hiking retreat attended by five women, after which only four return. So, alongside fellow federal agent Carmen Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie, Ruby's Choice), Falk heads deep into Victoria's mountain ranges to try to find the missing hiker — who also happens to be a whistle-blowing informant — alive. [caption id="attachment_787502" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Dry[/caption] As The Dry was, Force of Nature is written and directed by Robert Connolly (Blueback). Again, it boasts quite the pair when it comes to Aussie crime cinema — with Connolly the producer of one of the best local crime movies ever made, aka 1998's unnerving The Boys, and Bana famously the star of the similarly excellent Chopper. "Adapting Jane Harper's remarkable Force of Nature for the cinema has been an exciting adventure, a rare privilege to be able to revisit the world of detective Aaron Falk and to work again with Eric, an extraordinary supporting cast and a wonderful team of creatives and crew," said Connolly. "Jane's novels evoke the often-terrifying beauty of the natural world, and in this sequel to The Dry we take audiences into a new landscape to solve entwining crimes in the remote Australian wilderness." [caption id="attachment_796115" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Dry[/caption] Also featuring in Force of Nature, which has a powerhouse Aussie cast like its predecessor: Anna Torv (The Last of Us) as missing hiker Alice Russell, plus Deborra-Lee Furness (Jindabyne), Robin McLeavy (Homeland), Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) and Lucy Ansell (Utopia). Richard Roxburgh (Elvis), Tony Briggs (Preppers) and Kenneth Radley (The Power of the Dog) pop up, too, while Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor (Heartbreak High) is back in the role of Erik Falk. Although there are now two images from the film to check out — see the header picture at the very top of this article, then the first among the text — it's still too early for even a teaser clip. Until one arrives, revisit the trailer for The Dry below: Force of Nature will release in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on August 24, 2023. Read our full review of The Dry. Force of Nature images: Narelle Portanier.
Dispelling the old thought that art and science cannot mix, The Creators Project showcases the talent of those who have simultaneously mastered both fields. The Creators Project is a product of a partnership between Intel and Vice, and has been held in various locations throughout the United States, as well as in the UK, France, China, South Korea, and Brazil. Held in San Francisco, California last weekend, the event featured both established and new artists who use technology to create their art. “The countries we travel to in our global event series are all comprised of innovative communities at the forefront of the marriage of art and technology," said David Haroldsen, Intel's Creative Director for the project. “Many of our creators are based out of these countries which has in turn helped us further expand, enabling us to form relationships with more and more forthcoming artists in the art and tech communities.” According to Haroldsen, the goal of the The Creators Project is to find the world's most innovative tech artists and provide them with the resources necessary to give their work exposure. Hosi Simon, GM of Vice, said: "We discuss the artists’ dreams and ambitions in great detail, and find ways of how The Creators Project can help them reach their goals. We want to create long-term partnerships and collaborations." The event featured an incredible range of unique pieces. One installation piece titled 'Six Forty by Four Eighty', by Zigelbaum + Coelho2, allowed event goers to interact with giant pixels. The pixels could be controlled via remote, or cloned by holding a hand over a particular pixel and then tapping another. 'The Treachery of Sanctuary' by Chris Milk similarly allowed for interaction by using Kinect sensors to transform participating people into birds on the projection screen. Other works included a giant, LED-lit cube which featured a light show, a giant wall of Instagram photos shared by attendees, and more. [via Mashable]
Tumbarumba, with Snowy Mountains peeking in the distance, gurgling streams and picturesque greenery, is a wine lover's fairy tale with crisp days, beautiful sights and remarkable wines. Thanks to its cool climate and pure mountain air, the region produces some standout chardonnays (2016 was a good year) and pinot noirs — the two key grapes for good sparkling wines. Though the fine Tumbarumba grapes are often sold to bigger wineries, there are still some producers keeping things local and opening their own cellar doors at the foot of the mountains. Courabyra Wines is a favourite, winning best small cellar door in Gourmet Traveller Wine's 2019 awards. Courabyra was established in 1992, but didn't open its cellar door and restaurant until 2014. Here you'll find cool-climate chardonnay, pinot noir, reisling and sparkling alongside more Euro-style varieties such as grüner veltliner and pinot meunier. The cellar door has a roaring fire in winter and you can match your vino tasting with a ploughman's board ($26 per person). Otherwise you can get some seasonal dishes likes homemade gnocchi ($26), slow-cooked beef brisket ($30) and a pot pie ($22) from the onsite restaurant. Bookings for the cellar door and restaurant are recommended, particularly for groups. Images: Destination NSW
Since the Middle East conflict sent global oil prices into chaos, fuelling up at the petrol pump has caused plenty of pain. Now, travellers can expect plane tickets to rise, too, with Qantas today announcing it is increasing fares and adjusting capacity to mitigate its significantly higher-than-expected fuel costs. According to the latest Qantas Group Market Update, the airline previously estimated fuel costs to reach $2.5 billion in the second half of the financial year. However, with considerable uncertainty around supply for the foreseeable future, this estimate has risen by about $800 million to $3.3 billion. At the same time, Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar will reduce domestic capacity by about five percent for the fourth quarter of 2026. With fuel price volatility and global economic conditions behind the capacity cut, Qantas Group says it "retains optionality to take further actions to mitigate fuel cost increases over time." "The Group is working closely with the Government and jet fuel suppliers who continue to provide confidence in fuel supply for the remainder of April and well into May. We are closely monitoring the situation given the ongoing uncertainty in global fuel supply chains," says the market report. Signifying this downturn in domestic capacity, Qantas has already cancelled its services to and from Mount Gambier, in regional South Australia. With flights between Mount Gambier and Adelaide halted from Monday, May 18, Qantas said the flights were no longer viable, with some operating at less than 20 percent capacity. Meanwhile, the airline says it's offering additional support to customers navigating network changes across the Middle East, including more flexibility to move flights or receive a refund. "Qantas continues to see strong demand for international travel to Europe as customers seek alternative routes. In response, the Group has redeployed capacity from the US and its domestic network to increase flights to Paris and Rome." Head to the website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
This pristine expanse of beaches, national parks and picturesque villages on the New South Wales Central Coast make for one excellent trip, whether you're just driving up from Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. On top of all the nature, there's a growing foodie scene, driven by down-to-earth experts wanting to do their thing without the burden of city rent prices. Ever sipped on a Six String brew? You've already begun your acquaintance with the Central Coast's creations. Now it's time to go deeper with a visit to Patonga, Pearl Beach and Killcare — and, lucky for you, we've partnered with Destination NSW to uncover some the area's dining gems, top-notch activities and luxe waterside accommodation, too. Please stay up to date with the latest NSW Government health advice regarding COVID-19. [caption id="attachment_697582" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Boathouse Hotel Patonga[/caption] EAT In the teeny-tiny, 200-person settlement of Patonga is where you'll find seafood feasts at The Boathouse Hotel Patonga. Nab a spot in its sunny courtyard or inside the restaurant's luxury yacht-like interior, either way you'll have expansive water views. The seafood platter of tiger prawns, oysters, baked scallops, battered fish and salt and pepper squid is a must. Otherwise, you can opt for the likes of burgers, steak, pasta, pizza and a bunch of share-style plates. If you'd rather take your feed even closer to the water, you can grab fish and chips from the takeaway shop next door. For your next meal, make your way to Pearl Beach. It's the first town east of Patonga — a swathe of national park cuts between the two — with Pearl facing Broken Bay. For a fine diner, head to the aptly named Pearls on the Beach, headed up by chef Scott Fox and his partner Melissa for the past 20 years. Housed in a beach cottage just a few steps from the sand, the restaurant is clean and uncluttered, with pastel colours and white tablecloths. The menu is seasonal, but you can expect dishes like marlin carpaccio served with a burnt shallot, jalapeño and coriander salsa, blood orange marmalade and cashew cream; carrot katsu topped with gochujang ketchup, wasabi mayo, wakame oil and pickled shitake; and pomegranate-glazed quail served with beetroot labneh and pickled radicchio. If you're after something more casual, drop into Pearl Beach General Store and Cafe for hearty, healthy breakfasts and laidback lunches. Travelling north from Pearl Beach, the national park withdraws west to make room for the bigger, more connected towns of Umina, Ettalong and Woy Woy. Located on the redeveloped Ettalong Beach foreshore, The BOX on the Water is one of the go-to spots around. The sleek building capitalises on its absolute waterfront position, with floor-to-ceiling windows that disappear during warm weather. Here, you'll find an assortment of share-style plates, with an emphasis on seafood — think chilli garlic prawns, lemon zest-dusted baby squid, barramundi with a side of coastal greens and seafood paella. Now, we're going to jump across Brisbane Water to Killcare, one of the southernmost villages on the Bouddi Peninsula. It's here that boutique hotel Bells at Killcare stretches across 8.5 acres of gardens, housing its rebooted restaurant Wild Flower Bar & Dining. Famed chef Sean Connolly is behind the menu, which makes as much use of the 500-square-metre kitchen garden as possible. Tuck into whole-grilled fish, rigatoni with king prawns, eggplant moussaka, seafood bouillabaisse or Berkshire pork chop with salsa verde. Or, go for the $120 chef's tasting menu, with the option to add paired wines, too. Drive over the hill and you're back beside still water in Hardys Bay. Here you'll find fun-loving Southeast Asian eatery The Lucky Bee, located right on the water, as well as The Fat Goose Bakery, Deli and Cafe, which dishes up a mean bacon and egg roll, plus pastries and other breakfast fare. [caption id="attachment_789513" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Distillery Botanica, Destination NSW[/caption] DRINK Your first port of call for a drink should be the award-winning Distillery Botanica in Erina for an afternoon G&T. The stunning garden distillery is from Philip Moore who just so happens to be the man behind Mr Black cold drip coffee liqueur — which you can sample and purchase here, too. The distillery's gins are made using botanicals grown in the garden, including murraya, jasmine, orange blossom and coriander. You can either stop in for a gin tasting, or head to the on-site Bar Botanica for a gin-based drink. If you need a pick-me-up after you imbibe, it also does a great cup of joe. Or, you can grab an ice cream from the Mr Goaty gelato bar, also located within the gardens. Just down the road, old mates Chris Benson and Adam Klasterka have been revolutionising the Central Coast's craft beer scene with their Six String Brewing Company. According to the guys, when they first started back in 2012, people on the Central Coast only wanted to drink Carlton Dry. And that wasn't the only challenge — the duo grappled with three years worth of red tape before setting up for good at the current site. Fast forward to 2020 and their brewery and taproom is buzzing almost anytime of day. Plus, the venue's small kitchen is whipping up southern US-style snacks like buffalo wings, nachos, brisket and burgers. On weekends, live music is a nice addition to the good brews and grub. If you're after a refreshing spritz or bottle of minimum-intervention vino, Young Barons in Woy Woy is sure to satisfy. And, while you're sipping away, it'd be remiss not to try some of its freshly made pasta. [caption id="attachment_790154" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bouddi National Park, Destination NSW[/caption] DO Between all that feasting and carousing, you might want to consider doing some moving. If you're keen to give surfing a crack, then book a lesson with the Central Coast Surf Academy at one of NSW's top surfing beaches, Umina. While dragging your board through the whitewash, instructor Peter Hayes will give plenty of tips for novices and intermediate surfers alike. On land, there are walks and bike rides aplenty. For the best trails in Bouddi National Park, visit our guide over here. Meanwhile, Ettalong's shared path gives you 7.5-kilometres of waterfront bike riding, walking or running. Or, if you don't mind sharing the road with traffic (and tackling a few hills), the epic, 14-kilometre Putt Putt to Putty ride carries you from Wagstaffe's Mulhall Street Wharf all the way to Ettalong Wharf. Alternatively, should your ultimate weekender mean laying horizontal and doing absolutely nothing, check into the Central Coast Day Spa at Bells. Don a bathrobe and sip on complimentary tea before being led into a candle-lit room. There's a range of spa treatments available, but we recommend you book in for the signature Kodo massage, which comes with Australian essential oils and a smoking ceremony. It's inspired by Indigenous techniques and based on rhythms aimed at balancing the body and the mind, too. If you can muster enough energy for a post-massage wander in Killcare, the handful of shops are worth exploring. Among them are the Central Coast's only Aboriginal art gallery, Bouddi Gallery. Most of the paintings, jewellery, carvings, ceramics, weaving and glassware you see come from non-profit, Aboriginal-owned art centres in the Kimberley, Central and Western deserts, Tiwi Islands and Arnhem Land. [caption id="attachment_789509" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bells at Killcare, Destination NSW[/caption] STAY If you want to kick back in quiet, Patonga is your best bet — and you'll want to check into the aforementioned The Boathouse Hotel Patonga. After a massive revamp, the hotel's accommodation now includes three one-to-three bedroom apartments, each with waterfront balcony views. The trio of rooms sit on the structure's upper level, and also feature separate living and dining areas, marble bathrooms, and either a kitchenette or kitchen. Unsurprisingly, each room is coastal-themed, complete with timber and terrazzo flooring, nautical-inspired fabrics, handmade shell mirrors, and rope and cane pieces. And, should you need to swim immediately, Patonga Beach is across the road. Be warned, though, a night here will set you back a cool $550–1200. Pearl Beach is pretty relaxed, too. Protected by the National Trust, it's reached its maximum capacity, at 600 dwellings. So, while other parts of the Central Coast battle with sprawl, this village, with its sheltered beach and ocean pool, is sitting pretty. Plus, it offers a heap of quaint accommodation options, including this secluded retreat, nestled among the trees and perched just a quick hop from Pearl Beach and a contemporary six-person beach cottage rocking a bright and elegant coastal style, with a primo outdoor entertaining area and a pool to yourself. Or, you could stay right above the water at the luxurious two-level Seabreeze apartment, offering breathtaking panoramic views. If you want to be able to access more northern parts of the coast — and their dining and drinking gems — Killcare is where you want to be. As already mentioned, Bells at Killcare is a bit of an institution and is definitely worth staying at if you have a spare $504 (minimum) lying around. Inspired by the chic designs of The Hamptons, Bells offers a range of accommodation options, from king suits to villas and one- and two-bedroom cottages. Whichever you choose, expect it to be decked out with Ralph Lauren-style furnishings, swish bathrooms and luxe linens. If you'd rather be a bit closer to the beach, both The Nest and Beachviews sleep up to eight people and offer sweeping ocean views. Now that interstate border restrictions have started to ease, start planning a trip to this stunning stretch of NSW coastline. For more details, visit Destination NSW's website. Top image: Pearl Beach, Destination NSW FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
You'd think the frozen winters and polar nights where the sun doesn't rise might act as a buzzkill, but Finland once again ranks as the world's happiest country. Topping the United Nations' World Happiness Report 2026, it's actually the ninth consecutive time the Nordic nation has confirmed its contented status. So, what makes the average Finn so happy? According to the report, it might have something to do with how the country's people remain as close to nature as ever, not to their screens. With this in mind, Visit Finland is celebrating their latest joyful milestone by inviting six pairs from around the world to indulge in a free seven-day digital detox. Named the 'Chill Like a Finn Challenge,' selected winners will travel to Finland's Lakeland — a picture-perfect region teeming with almost 200,000 lakes, vast forests and peaceful cottage life. What's more, the itinerary is designed to help people master the art of relaxation, rather than spending their holiday plugged in and always on the move. "In Finland, we don't really chase happiness — we tend to find it in small, ordinary moments," says Heli Jimenez, Senior Director, International Marketing at Visit Finland. "When life feels overwhelming, sometimes the best way to feel better is simply to slow down, step outside and chill a little — like a Finn." That means you'll be encouraged to seek out a more balanced way of life, where spending time in nature takes precedence over staying online. Over the course of a week-long experience, you'll take refreshing lake swims, cleanse mind and body in traditional saunas and relish seasonal food and good company — all with barely a device in sight. Keen to apply? Applications for the Chill Like a Finn challenge are now open until 7.59am AEDT on Monday, March 30. Just complete Visit Finland's social media challenge, then submit your application form on the website. With participants chosen in April 2026, this summertime escape will have you appreciating what makes Finland so happy. Applications for Visit Finland's Chill Like a Finn challenge are now open until 7.59am AEDT on Monday, March 30. Head to the website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox. Images: Visit Finland.
The past year has seen the film industry embrace streaming in a far bigger way than anyone could've imagined just 12 months ago. If you'd told even the most avid of movie buffs that a heap of cinema chains would be setting up their online viewing services, and that film festivals would be delivering their programs online, you might've been accused of wishful thinking. But, that's now the world we find ourselves in, and Event Cinemas is the latest Australian outfit to join the digital realm. It isn't turning its back on bricks-and-mortar picture palaces, of course. Neither did Sydney's Golden Age, or the teams behind the city's Ritz and Melbourne's Lido, Classic and Cameo cinemas when they did the same thing. Rather, the Aussie chain and its predecessors are all giving viewers more options, while also adapting to current movie-watching behaviour. Called Cinebuzz On Demand, Event Cinemas' service operates on a pay-per-view basis. So, it's more like YouTube Movies or Google Play than Netflix or Stan. You simply pick what you'd like to watch from its 1000-plus launch library, then pay accordingly per title — with prices starting at $4.99 per film. You won't find brand new, just-released blockbusters on the platform, or even the same movies that you can see if you head to one of Event Cinemas' physical locations and sit in a theatre. That said, the current catalogue does include plenty of flicks that have been brightening up the big screen over the past six months or so, such as Tenet, An American Pickle, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Wonder Woman 1984, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Antebellum and Baby Done. If you're particularly keen on comedies, horror movies, superhero flicks or Aussie titles, Cinebuzz On Demand lets users search by genre and theme. Or, you can simply browse through the entire library from A to Z. The service takes its name from Event Cinema's existing loyalty program, with members also earning points for their online rentals. And, viewing-wise, Cinebuzz On Demand is available on iPhones, iPads and Apple TV, plus Android and Chromecast, and on Windows and Mac devices as well. Cinebuzz On Demand is available via the service's website, with titles available to watch on a pay-per-view basis.
If you missed the news in August last year, Applejack Hospitality officially took over the reins of Opera Bar and its neighbouring House Canteen, following 24 years in the steady hands of Matt Moran and his Solotel hospitality group. Now, revitalisation works are about to begin on Applejack's newest venues, offering a little insight into the new operator's long-term vision for the popular harbourside spot. From Monday, March 9, House Canteen will close while undergoing a significant refresh. Expected to reopen in June 2026 with a rebrand, regulars can look forward to an elevated dining experience and improved guest amenities, breathing new life into the all-day hawker-style diner. As these works take place, Opera Bar will keep on keeping on next door, complete with its standard menus and a pop-up cafe for morning coffee. Once House Canteen is back up and running, it will be time for Opera Bar to get a facelift as renovation work commences. Likewise, the upgrade will bring an improved dining experience, headlined by a new kitchen, bar and more indoor seating. With the works taking place over winter, those who love to soak up the million-dollar views with a cocktail in hand can look forward to a summer reopening. While there are several improvements on the way, one upgrade not to overlook is the electrification of both venues' kitchens. Bringing each in line with the Opera House's sustainability and decarbonisation commitments, this follows last year's electrification of the Green Room Café and Commercial Kitchen, helping to reduce the venue's overall reliance on fossil fuels. Following a competitive public tender process completed in mid-2025, Applejack secured a ten-year agreement to run Opera Bar and House Canteen. And it didn't waste any time bringing a new edge to both, offering locally driven menus, a refreshed music program and operational upgrades designed to make the visitor experience as special as the scenery. Applejack is no stranger to running bustling venues, with the hospitality group now holding 13 in total. Spanning restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes, some of the group's most popular include Bopp & Tone, Forresster's, June's Shoppe, Taphouse and RAFI URBNSURF. With renovation work on Opera Bar and House Canteen about to begin, more details about the venues' updated look and feel will be announced as the refresh progresses. House Canteen will close on Monday, March 9, with an expected June 2026 reopening date. Meanwhile, Opera Bar will close over winter and is scheduled to relaunch in time for summer 2026. Head to the website for more information.
James Turell, a Californian artist who has worked with light and perception as his media and subject matter since the 1960s, apparently studied perceptual psychology, mathematics, astronomy and geology at university before he moved into art history. He has recalled that during the lectures he was more enthralled by the illuminated dust particles in front the projectors than the images themselves, and when he finally saw real paintings by Rothko and other artists he deeply admired, he had felt disappointed that they lacked the luminosity they had as projected slides in the lecture halls. In 1966 Turrell rented out an old hotel in Santa Monica and turned it into his studio where he set about exploring light and the way it inhabits space. He started working with projected artificial light that was molded to give the illusion of mass and volume, and he made his first 'Structural Cuts' to the building's facade, abstracting external light from the city and the sun as pure geometric shapes. These led to Turrell's ongoing body of Skyspaces, where visitors look up at the wide blue yonder through a hole in the roof, and the enormous volume of the atmosphere appears to sit on the ceiling as a two dimensional image. The artist was evicted from the Mendota Hotel in 1974, losing not only his studio but a whole body of work. In the same year he received a Guggenheim grant for a new site-specific project that would develop many of the ideas initiated at the Mendota, but with a radically different scale and setting. According to Turrell legend, he spent the entire grant on airplane fuel and flew around the western United States on his own for seven months, looking for the perfect dormant volcano, finally settling on his 500,000-year-old Roden Crater. Part monumental land art, part naked eye observatory, the Rodan Crater has been an eagerly anticipated work in progress for over three decades, and still hasn't opened to the public. Meanwhile, however, a major new permanent Skyspace has just burst out of the earth at the National Gallery in Canberra, marking the first time Turrell has been commissioned in Australia. Set to open in spring, Within, without leads visitors to sit in a sparse domed room that forms a stage for diurnal celestial cycles, where we look at projected light in and of itself, rather than at what it illuminates.
As it turns out, that whole vinyl revival thing — it wasn't a fad. On the eve of another Record Store Day (RSD) — when music lovers pay tribute to independent record stores everywhere — physical music sales keep going up and up, with a recent ARIA report revealing sales increased 11 percent in 2025. While people continue to love vinyl, CDs are also booming, with a 30 percent increase in sales demonstrating strong demand for formats people can collect and connect with. Whether you're a lifelong crate-digger or just starting your journey, RSD is the prime time to get involved in the community. That's because the calendar is stacked with live in-stores, artist appearances and special events spanning both city and regional communities nationwide. Taking place on Saturday, April 18, it's time to leave the digital world behind and embrace Australia's thriving local music ecosystem, flush with incredible in-person experiences. In New South Wales, hip-hop duo Hermitude will visit eight record stores in 24 hours to celebrate the release of their new LP, with both live performances and raffles for limited-edition lathe-cut vinyl. Joining them at Bondi Records is Sydney dream pop trio Egoism, with the band heading to TITLE for a second set. Meanwhile, egg-punks (think heavy Devo influences) Media Puzzle take their DIY sound to Badlands Vinyl in Tweed Heads to support their RSD release, New Racehorse. The celebration continues across Victoria, with Queenie — the self-described trash queen alter ego of Melbourne's Eloise Thetford — taking over Desert Highways and Rocksteady Records with Nat Pavlovic, Merpire and more. At Soundmerch, you'll catch live sets from Public Figures, Owelu Dreamhouse, The Antics, The Gnomes and more. Then, from 3pm, Sensible J and Immy Owusu light up Bar Open. Of course, Northside Records is going large, with performances from Kee'ahn, Mokomokai and Steppers, alongside an exclusive Baker Boy signing. Further afield, Tassie's Suffragette Records will host an intimate performance from Naomi Keyte, performing songs from her album Milk, Paper, Gold. At the same time, Adelaide's My Dead Grandpa will have live DJs spinning tunes all day, and Clarity Records has over 2000 secondhand titles ready to fly out the door. Then, in Brisbane, Woolloongabba's vinyl-cafe hub, Echo and Bounce, hosts Das Druid and Bradley Zero. With loads more RSD events happening, check out your nearest spots to celebrate local tunes and help keep physical media alive. "At its heart, Record Store Day Australia is about championing our local music ecosystem, supporting independent stores, labels, and artists, while helping them reach new audiences," says Record Store Day Australia director Sarah Guppy. "We want to see the event continue to grow each year, and strengthen the role these stores play in their communities, ensuring they remain vital cultural spaces for years to come." Record Store Day Australia is happening at independent record stores across the country on Saturday, April 18. Head to the website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox. Images: Supplied.
Before heading along to Belvoir St Theatre, I usually say to people, "Oh, I'm going to see one of those edgy plays downstairs at Belvoir, you know, the kind with some nebulous storyline, butt cheeks right up in your face and someone smoking weed on stage." But Food is different. Writer and co-director Steve Rodgers has still included all that wonderful Belvoir-esque wackiness, swearing and gritty arthouse Australiana, but there was a depth and meaning in this work that I had never experienced in this theatre before. At the crack of dawn, Elma (Kate Box) is kneading and slamming dough on the counter in a takeaway joint somewhere in the backwaters of middle Australia while her sister, Nancy (Emma Jackson) pulses and jerks the night away in a South-East Asian nightclub. For two years, Nancy went missing, but unlike in a 'normal' family, her absence was never reported. Time skips forward and now that Nancy has returned, the sisters are left to their own devices in a family of two where they work hard to supply the local town with a staple supply of spring rolls, dim sims and Chiko Rolls. Between the shouting and banter of kitchen orders, sisterly squabbles and head-gripping wrestling, their teen-hood pains and complications begin to rise up like leavened bread. To add a little spice to the mix, a foreigner arrives in response to their kitchen-hand job advertisement. Hakan Leventelou (Fayssal Bazzi), from Olympus, Georgia explains nervously that his first name means 'Emperor' or 'King' and his family name means 'Son of Handsome'. With natural exuberance, he seasons their day-to-day grind with delectable anecdotes, incessant singing and adorable jokes about mice and dogs. He is also a man who loves "to watch and admire the women all the day", he explains in his thick, rhythmic accent. Tension builds between Hakan's overarching romantic universal perspective versus the sisters' static obsession with "who once stole whose Uggies". Wary as ever, Elma warns Hakan, "Mind your manners and don't fuck us around or I'll cut off your button." "Button?" he asks. Co-director Kate Champion, with her strong dance theatre background, has cleverly planned the choreography to the point of seamlessness. Although the stage barely changed, scene changes took place through movement and short interludes of carefully thought-out lapses, thus entering new situations or moments through the make-believe of your mind. Hakan may have been baffled by Elma’s button reference, but his intuition told him to tread carefully with these women.
In what could be a nice new trend for the Australian music scene, a small British invasion is taking place and the first group riding the wave is the psychedelic indie band, TOY. As part of a new live music series, Bulmers Underground, TOY are on their way to Australia to headline shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. The band, formed in 2010, have wasted no time over the past 3 years making a name for themselves, woth various members coming from moderately successful bands in the past. The music that TOY creates are distorted rock’n’roll concoctions that evoke the psychedelic peaks of the 70’s, but are contorted and refined so as to make the music contemporary and refreshing. TOY’s debut album sold out of its initial pressing not long after release, and have since gone on to perform with The Horrors and Primal Scream. Be sure to grab a ticket before they are all snapped up, and keep your eyes peeled for more international guests from Bulmers Underground.
If you've ever doubted that racism still exists in Australia, have a look at the toilet doors in Vernon Ah Kee's exhibition Not an Animal or a Plant, currently at the National Art School Gallery as part of Sydney Festival. Scrawled with violent, racist and misogynist graffiti, they are found objects, which Ah Kee took from a disused toilet on Cockatoo Island during the 2008 Biennale and transformed into a work titled Born In This Skin. "They take the breath away," Ah Kee says. "They're up-front in a way that's disturbing yet refreshing…Given that this country has been good at subtlety in terms of expressing racism." Ah-Kee's show, which is a survey covering the past 12 years, compels us to see racism "not as an historical error", but as part of life. "Many people would wilfully set themselves aside from Australia's treatment of Aboriginals and see it as history," he says. "But it's the life I live and the life we all live. Our children and grandchildren will live it, too." Born in January 1967 in Far North Queensland, Ah Kee came into the world as "property of the state". It wasn't until later that year, following a May 27 referendum, that the Federal Government recognised Indigenous Australians as people. 2017 is both Ah Kee's 50th birthday and the referendum's 50th anniversary. [caption id="attachment_604903" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Vernon Ah Kee's I See Deadly People (2012)[/caption] Walking into Not an Animal or a Plant, the first works you see are oversized, charcoal portraits, beautifully drawn and charged with emotion. Looking into the eyes of Ah-Kee's great-grandfather George Sibley, it's impossible to disregard his humanity. Yet, as Ah Kee says, "Politics and atrocities have relegated [our] status to less than human or always to become human." Text-based works Rush to judgement (2016) and Waltzing Matilda (2016) place us face-to-face with racist, yet commonly used, phrases, such as "pure-bred Aussie" and "love it or fuck off", printed in bold, confronting lettering. "What's disturbing is how normalised and popular these are," Ah Kee says. "'Pure-bred Aussie' is available in tourist shops all over the country … As someone who works with text, you can't resist it." Text is used, too, in Authors of Devastation (2016), a stunning installation of custom-made surfboards painted with rainforest shield designs and, more personally, in Many Lies (2004/2016), with verse painted on a 2.4 x 2.7-metre canvas. Ah Kee writes, "I tried to burn the words away, but only burned myself, and now I have deep scars on my skin, and the enduring ache of memory." Not an Animal or a Plant is now showing at the National Art School Gallery, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst until March 11. Find more details here. Top image: Vernon Ah-Kee's Annie Ah-Sam (2008). Shot by George Sibley.
It's safe to say that as we enter the final month of summer, it's still boiling out there and we could all use a little something to help us through the hot summer days. So why not cool things down (like, -196°C down) with the help of Suntory -196? And if anyone knows how to keep it cool, it's Suntory -196, thanks to their patented Freeze Crush Infuse Technology. This involves flash-freezing whole fruit at -196 degrees Celsius before crushing and infusing it with shochu and vodka, enhancing the flavour profile and providing an extra burst of fruity intensity. See out summer with Suntory and be in the running to win one of 80 Suntory -196 prize packs. While temperatures are still scorching, cool down with -196's refreshing, fruit-flavoured drinks and exclusive, never-seen-before merch created in partnership with Japanese artist Kentaro Yoshida. Lucky winners will score a Suntory -196 Double Lemon four-pack, plus a limited-edition Kentaro Yoshida x Minus -196 A2 screenprint and embroidered cap. The brand new merch designs a one-time-only run of Yoshida's ongoing partnership with Suntory -196 and can't be purchased anywhere else. Thirsty? Enter your details below to go in the running. [competition]988725[/competition] If you can't wait that long for a refreshing tipple, you can head to your nearest store to get your hands on a limited-edition Variety Pack featuring all the classic Suntory -196 flavours — Double Lemon, Double Grape and Double Peach — in a handy 10-pack. The perfect shareable option for you and your mates this summer. Check out Kenny Yoshida's work for an idea of the aesthetics in store, and what you've got to look for next time you're in the bottle shop. Enter now to beat the heat with Suntory -196 or head in store to pick up a Variety Pack now. The competition is for Australian residents aged 18 years and over; T&Cs apply. Images: Supplied.
With a big question mark looming over the future of international travel, it is only natural that we're craving a cultural escape. Luckily for Japan enthusiasts, Sydney is home to world-class Japanese cuisine and cultural experiences, so you have ample opportunities to immerse yourself in the traditions of the Land of the Rising Sun in the meantime. To help point you in the right direction, we've teamed up with The Japan Foundation, Sydney in celebration of its current exhibition Steam Dreams: The Japanese Public Bath. So, whether you're looking to take your taste buds down memory lane with a bowl of tonkotsu ramen, relive the electric nightlife of Shinjuku or explore the history of Japan's bathhouse culture, these eight experiences are sure to curb your wanderlust — and you won't even have to fork out for the flight. [caption id="attachment_796391" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kotaro Imada, Koto-ku Tokiwayu, 2009. ©️ the artist[/caption] CATCH 'STEAM DREAMS: THE JAPANESE PUBLIC BATH' Steam Dreams: The Japanese Public Bath is The Japan Foundation,Sydney's exploration into all things sentō (Japanese communal bathhouse). The Australia-first exhibition celebrates the history — and future — of Japanese bathhouse culture and is running till Saturday, May 22. Expect to see historical artefacts, mural paintings and photography, all documenting more than 150 years of Japanese communal bathing. Examining everything from the distinct bathing practices of the Meiji and Shōwa periods and changes to design features, gender divisions and the importance of the activity to the country, it's a unique and insightful show not to be missed. And did we mention entry is free? [caption id="attachment_760782" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gogyo, Julia Sansone[/caption] SLURP DOWN A BOWL OF STEAMING-HOT NOODLES As winter draws closer, the call for hot noodle soups grows stronger. Thankfully, there are plenty of top-notch ramen joints around Sydney where you can get your fix. Those looking for a no-frills bowl of ramen should head to Ippudo. The international chain's Sydney location is where you can slurp down a silky tonkotsu broth paired with signature pork chashu. If you're looking for something a bit left-of-field, opt for Chaco Ramen's yuzu scallop ramen with wontons, or head to Gogyo for kogashi ramen, which is burnt fresh to order and made by cooking lard at over 300 degrees till the substance turns black and bursts into flames. Keen for noodles in the AM? Then make tracks to Newtown's Rising Sun Workshop for its breakfast ramen of buttered toast bone broth topped with bacon, egg and tomato. [caption id="attachment_803431" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James Horan, Destination NSW[/caption] GET FRESH-AS SEAFOOD AT SYDNEY FISH MARKET If there's a delicacy that Japan is renowned for, it's seafood. And Tokyo's Toyosu Market, replacing the famed Tsukiji Fish Market, is the largest in the world. However, right here in Sydney, we have the largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere. Sydney Fish Market sells everything from bluefin tuna and prawns to lobster and eel. Keen to roll up your sleeves and try your hand at making sushi for an at-home feast? Head to the Pyrmont-based market early in the morning to nab the day's freshest catch. Or, if you'd rather leave it to the experts, venture there around lunchtime and take your pick of sashimi, sushi, grilled eel and more at one of the on-site diners. [caption id="attachment_803326" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Provider Store[/caption] PICK UP JAPANESE WARES Anyone who has visited Japan before will know of its rich and beautiful history of ceramic production. Fortunately, you don't have to venture overseas to get your hands on such wares — or stress about the potential breakage from lugging it through an international flight. You can head to Simply Native's showroom or Provider Store, both located in Surry Hills, to pick up beautiful, one-of-a kind pieces for your home. These stores are filled with carefully curated homewares like candles and bowls that are both sustainable and ethically produced, as well as skilfully produced by artisans. If you're more of a book lover, check out CBD bookstore Kinokuniya, which boasts an entire Japanese section, a great range of graphic novels and manga and an incredible range of art and design books, as well as every kind of fiction under the sun. SING YOUR HEART OUT AT GOROS Wander down the rabbit hole and enter the weird and wacky world that is Goros. The inner city izakaya and karaoke house is sure to transport you out of Sydney and into the neon-lit, anime-clad streets of Tokyo as soon as you walk through the doors. After indulging in some karaage chicken, gyoza and maple miso pork belly — and sipping sake and whisky highballs for courage — head to one of Goros' free karaoke rooms and get ready to belt out a banger. Whether you're in the mood for ABBA, Bon Jovi, INXS, Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, you're sure to find your go-to tune on the extensive song list. [caption id="attachment_789327" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brett Broadman[/caption] LEARN THE LANGUAGE AT THE JAPAN FOUNDATION, SYDNEY Anyone that's tried to learn a language overseas will know that the hardest thing to do is retain it when you get back home. For Japanese language enthusiasts keen to commit the language to memory, The Japan Foundation, Sydney's language classes are a good place to start. Catering for all skill levels, the language school offers plenty of options, from beginner classes to ten-week courses and ones for advanced students. Currently, classes are online due to COVID-19, but in-person classes are slated to resume later in the year. So, if you're hoping to master basic greetings and directions to prepare for when borders open, or your one goal is to finish an untranslated Murakami novel (which FYI you can borrow from the Foundation's public library), these classes have you covered. [caption id="attachment_776236" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kuro, Kitti Gould[/caption] HAVE A FINE DINING FEAST As much as we love the convenience of grabbing a hand roll, there's nothing quite like treating yourself to a Japanese fine dining feast. Impeccable service, fresh produce, exquisite drinks menus and a big focus on presentation are what make this experience truly stand out. And in Sydney we're fortunate enough to be spoiled for choice. If you're wanting to try the new kid on the block, Kuro in the CBD offers both a la carte and set menus. Though if it's A-class cuisine you're after, you'll want to book in at the on-site, eight-seat restaurant Kuro's Kitchen, which offers a chef's table experience at certain times throughout the year. Otherwise, you can't go past Tetsuya's for a high-flying feed. From the low-lit dining rooms overlooking a Japanese-style rock garden to the eclectic artworks, the heritage-listed building and its dishes, the Sydney institution is white tablecloth dining to a tee. Or, you can head to Sokyo at The Star for some of the finest sashimi, tempura and chargrilled meats our city has to offer. HEAD TO TRANQUIL HAVEN RYOKAN GOJYUAN Given we can't visit Japan, we may as well make tracks to the next best thing: Ryokan Gojyuan. Located in Balmain, this traditional Japanese-style hotel has just two guest rooms — a deliberate decision to offer guests the 'hospitality and service that is customary in Japan'. Here, guests are surrounded by traditional decor — tokonoma (alcove), oshiire (futon cupboard) and shoji screens opening onto a verandah overlooking a tranquil garden. Of course, with just two rooms it's difficult to get a booking. Fortunately, though, Ryokan Gojyuan also offers a heap of cultural workshops and experiences for day visitors. So, book yourself into a calligraphy or origami class, sit down to a tea ceremony and have a soak in the purpose-built hinoki bath. The Japan Foundation, Sydney's 'Steam Dreams: The Japanese Public Bath' exhibition runs till Saturday, May 22 and is free to enter. Head here for more details. Top image: Goros
Sydney will be graced with the presence of the inimitable Grace Jones, the vocal talent and dynamic diva who has been stirring up the music world since the 1970s, with hits like 'Warm Leatherette' and 'Pull up to the Bumper'. In her return to Australia this April, she's bringing her jaw-dropping Hurricane tour with her. Jones has been deemed 'amazing Grace' for her ability to effortlessly switch from her natural contralto tone to soprano, a skill that she only seems to improve upon every time she takes the stage. Her performing prowess, androgynous finesse and outrageous costumes will have you in awe. In fact, she's known for breaking tradition and pushing the limits. "I've always been a rebel," Jones wrote on her website, The World of Grace Jones. "I never do things the way they're supposed to be done. Either I go in the opposite direction or I create a new direction for myself, regardless of what the rules are or what society says." Grace Jones is an force of nature not to be reckoned with, but has a voice that shouldn't go unheard. https://youtube.com/watch?v=oTm9gDwwMZk
