The Potting Shed is the latest venture by Alexandria's food and coffee mecca The Grounds, and it must surely be the only Sydney restaurant where the entrance is adorned with a flaming wheelbarrow. As each table is nestled amongst planter boxes, hanging gardens and lush green foliage, selecting a spot for dining in the low-lit al fresco area conjures a sense of being part of a Disney princess's daydream. Hence, The Potting Shed is equally perfect for romantic dates or casual groups. While perusing the extensive menu, we recommend relaxing with a warm pear cider ($12) comprising vanilla bean, pear syrup and Hillbilly Cider, brewed locally in the Blue Mountains. This cosying refreshment is charmingly heated over a soft open flame at your table. Be sure to peek inside the tin teapot and retrieve the two soft pear cheeks infused with the aromatic spices. The first section of The Potting Shed menu, Share with friends, consists essentially of communal plates designed for leisurely grazing. The generous meals are therefore ideal for sharing as well as catering to those who enjoy sampling a little of everything. The crispy school prawns with sriracha mayo ($11) was a standout, as was the delectable cheese plate ($20 for two). This plate is handsomely laden with internationally sourced cheese, cured meats, fruit, marinated vegetables and also hosts an assortment of daily baked breads. If guidance is required, the cordial waitstaff can offer suggestions on the perfect pairing from their substantial wine list. The salads are hearty numbers; roasted baby beets with goat's cheese, radicchio and hazelnuts ($19) particularly impresses and would provide a fresh accompaniment to any of the meat-centric main courses. The mains menu features free-range locally produced meats, and with grand portions, consider sharing a selection amongst a group, unless you're starving. There's sticky glazed slow-cooked short ribs ($22) and crumbed veal cutlet with spiced plums ($24); however, it's difficult to bypass the charcoal Holmbrae half chicken ($28) — three hours of sous vide, then finished on the fire and served atop a bed of grains alongside an elegant salad of cucumber ribbons, pomegranate, fenugreek and walnuts. The charcoal chicken was so incredibly succulent it amazingly managed to possess the flavour of eight chickens packed into one god-like super chicken. On the lighter side, there's the Pansotti ($19), plump pasta parcels stuffed with sweet roasted carrots and goat's cheese, dressed with an earthy walnut sauce and a drizzling of marjoram burnt butter. This artfully balanced vegetarian dish is decidedly where the money is at. If you have any space left for dessert, don't pass up banana tarte tatin with coconut icecream and hazelnut praline ($12) or the mango and pineapple sundae with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream ($12). Otherwise, if you can't muster another course, there's a comprehensive cocktail menu, if you prefer your dessert to be of the liquid variety.
White apartment walls are so blah. Make them so yesterday with one (or all five) of these simple do-it-yourself art projects. Relatively easy, cheap, and removable, these projects are ideal for the broke, rent-paying tenants out there, and could fool anyone into thinking you're an interior designer. 1. Paint Sample Wall Designs Ever left the hardware store with a stash of these in your pockets? The paint sample wall is hard to resist, with its enticing, color-organized array of shades. If you don't want to commit to four whole walls of 'Pacific Pine' or 'Blackberry Harvest', simply trim each sample to a desired size and arrange in a design of your choice. 2. Wallpaper Transfer Bust out the old trusty Sharpie and mimic the artistically sketched wallpaper designs by the likes of Marimekko. Craft blog Curbly shows you how. 3. Coffee Stirrer Wall Art Surely Starbucks won't mind if you 'borrow' a few extra coffee stirrers. Follow Make & Do Girl's tutorial to create these fabulously tactile, wooden pieces of art. Simply paint, arrange, and glue. What could be easier (or cheaper)? 4. CD-Case Frames The advent of the iPod certainly rendered CDs obsolete. But before you designate all of those clear jewel cases to the rubbish, reconsider. With just a little effort from you, they may be transformed into the perfect picture frames for that poster you've been meaning to hang. 5. Custom Colour Wall Calendar Inject a little fun into your daily scheduling by creating your own custom colour wall calendar. Chalkboard-finish paints are available in traditional shades in stores, but if you use this Martha Stewart formula, you can concoct your own hue. [via GOOD]
Last year I described the inaugural Handa Opera on the Harbour as "probably the best outdoor event to ever be staged in Australia". This year it is even better. This applies whether you love opera or can't fathom it. There's so much to enjoy in this night out: the transporting music, the lively choreography, the larger-than-life costumes, the themed pop-up bars and that eternal fail-safe: the outlook over the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and other wonders of Sydney Harbour. If your thoughts wander away from the action on the stage, it's to drink in the sense of occasion and feel immediately intoxicated. This year's Opera Australia production, made possible by the funding of philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa and the International Foundation for Art and Culture, is Georges Bizet's Carmen, the fiery Spanish love story with the French libretto. It's programming is a good call on many counts. First, there's the music, the familiar melodies of which are giddying. If you don't know the Toreador's Song by title, you might know it as an ad for roll-a-doors, while the trills of Carmen's Habanera are instantly recalled via classic renditions or mash-ups of the likes seen in the 2001 Beyonce/Mos Def/Lil' Bow Wow TV movie, Carmen: A Hip Hopera. It's also a show that takes place mostly among the underclasses and so has the grungy charm of a West Side Story, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or other perennial of popular entertainment. Director Gale Edwards and her team have moved the setting forward 60-80 years into early 20th-century Spain under the fascist rule of Francisco Franco, which adds an appropriate air of oppression given Carmen's literal and romantic imprisonment. The revamped setting also gives designer Brian Thomson a clear aesthetic to work with, and the design elements cohere better than in last year's La Traviata. It's a glam military-industrial look that lends itself nicely to neon, fireworks and tanks swinging in on cranes. The Carmen set may look like its been built to be viewed from the Opera House (from where you can read the giant letters as if they're the Hollywood sign and you're on Mulholland Drive), but its real value is definitely seen from the stadium seating at Mrs Macquarie's Point. The reverse of the letters is moodily rusty, lit in many different ways and hides scaffolding that is impressively utilised during the show. One of the best non-traditional additions to the opera is the contemporary, pasodoble- and seguidilla-inflected dance numbers choreographed by Kelley Abbey (a familiar name to US So You Think You Dance fans who also has a long history in Australian musical theatre). Coupled with the costumes of Julie Lynch, they add a flamboyant sense of passion and spectacle. I've left it till late in this review to delineate the plot of Carmen, because it's not that pivotal. Carmen is a freethinking gypsy who has to choose between the bullfighter she loves and the military officer she kind of likes who busted her out of prison once. And because it was written in more misogynistic times, one of these men will have to kill her. It's not too deep. On the plus side, the music of Carmen quite clearly communicates character and even emotional struggles within characters, an aspect of opera that can usually be hard to grasp for beginners. The drama is well paced, although the denouement happens all of a sudden and perhaps more could have been done to make it feel like a real ending. With state-of-the-art sound only audio engineers could distinguish from concert hall acoustics, Opera on the Harbour is a polished production and an accessible way to experience opera. It's not cheap, but the $79 C-reserve seating at least affords a decent view (unlike most opera houses) and the tapas dining option is reasonably priced and quickly dispensed. And with the balmy March of 2013, you've every chance of a dry, dreamy night. Thanks to Opera Australia, we have two double passes to give away to Carmen on Saturday, April 13, and Sunday, April 14. To be in the running, subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email us with your name and postal address at hello@concreteplayground.com.au. Carmen closes on April 14.
Take a kid or several, then add a skill to be mastered and a feat to be overcome. Next, paint the protagonists as underdogs, and show synchronicity between their efforts and the act of growing up. It worked in 1980s fantasies Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story — and the adventures of The Goonies too. The approach trickled through the baseball-themed The Sandlot Kids and the hockey-centric The Mighty Ducks trilogy in the 1990s. Circa 2000s, the espionage antics of Spy Kids and the wizardry of the Harry Potter films followed the formula. Now comes the locally made Paper Planes, a feature for a new generation of childhoods yet one that feels ripped from all others that came before. As the title suggests, the age-old pastime of creating plane-like shapes out of paper provides the movie with its premise. In this activity that anyone can enjoy, one ordinary child finds a new ability, chases glory, and circles a solution to his adolescent problems. Yes, it is supposed to sound familiar. No, it is not supposed to be subtle. Twelve-year-old Dylan (Ed Oxenbould) is the Western Australian kid in the spotlight, often left to his own devices by his grieving father (Sam Worthington) and deemed different in his country class but soon anointed with the promise of something more. A simple schoolroom lesson unlocks his knack for folding and throwing paper planes, a talent his teacher (Peter Rowsthorn) encourages. With the help of a bully turned best pal (Julian Dennison) and his cheeky grandpa (Terry Norris), Dylan sets his sights on national and international championships. By design, the path plotted by writer/director Robert Connolly and co-scribe Steve Worland isn't difficult to discern. In his coming-of-age quest of trying to triumph in the paper plane arena, Dylan encounters an adversary (Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke) and makes a new friend (Ena Imai); however, being comfortable in his own skin and repairing the relationship with his dad are more important outcomes. With magical realism and hearty humour bubbling through the film in abundance, Paper Planes endeavours to offer the same joyful jaunt for all ages that helped fellow homegrown efforts Babe and Red Dog achieve success – and with the same penchant for striking backdrops and broad performances, too. Well-meaning cheesiness, as seen in repeated sequences of planes rocketing past outback landscapes, and earnest portrayals of stereotypical characters acting as expected (including brief appearances by Deborah Mailman and David Wenham) are what the feature is made of. Alas, it is nostalgia, not enchantment, that keeps Paper Planes flying, if never quite soaring. Think back to the feel-good movies of your youth, because Connolly obviously has. Simplicity, sweetness and sticking to the well-worn script are the main aims of his Australian fable, and ones attained with the biggest blast of old-fashioned exuberance the filmmaker – and the film – can muster.
The best way to avoid being disappointed on Valentine’s Day is to avoid having any expectations. And you’ll definitely want to leave any preconceptions at the door if you’re planning on showing up to The Standard on the 14th, because this chaotic musical adventure will hold more surprises than a box of assorted chocolates eaten with chopsticks while wearing a blindfold. Love Me is a sonic assortment of unique performances from Australian and international artists, who will be conducting a journey through the jungle of love via an unpredictable selection of covers, collaborations and reinterpretations. Delving into everything from rock cabaret and post-pop to musical comedy and burlesque, the only thing that’s certain is that unless you’re in a bona fide relationship with Ryan Gosling then this will be way better than any Valentine’s Day plans you’ve got lined up already. Performers include Australian rock diva Paul Capsis, NYC bravest and bawdiest burlesque duo The Wau Wau (that’s “vow vow”) Sisters, Triple J presenter/piano basher/ukulele painter Brendan MacLean, cabaret comedian Queenie van de Zandt and the silvery-voiced Tyran Parke. More will be announced closer to the time, though if they’re anything like the unpredictable bunch already named then knowing who they are won’t really tell you what to expect anyway.
Sydney's oldest pub, the Fortune of War, reopened in May 2025, ready to receive guests again almost 200 years after it first opened. Relaunching with the new 60-seat Bistro 1828 and an expansive breakfast offering, the venue's next chapter is bound to be a bright one in its enduring history. Nestled in a heritage-listed building, two neighbouring retail stores and a bar were carefully transformed to create the new bistro, with its name serving as a nod to the year former convict Samuel Terry founded this venerable institution. While the venue was revamped, maintaining its old-world character was a vital consideration for WDS Hotels group co-owner Steve Speed. Inside, design details reflect the building's immense legacy, from beaten copper panelling to 19th-century medicine bottles and old maps. Says Speed: "We had outgrown the previous space, so by opening Bistro 1828, more people are able to enjoy the historic charm, character and sense of community that accompanies every visit to Sydney's oldest pub." From its home on the corner of George and Globe Streets, the bar offers a mix of high, table and bench seating. Slide into the Italian leather banquettes to sip down a cold brew as the sun streams in through the stained-glass windows. Then, in the main dining room, floor-to-ceiling windows and an elevated rear space provide several cosy spots to suit your mood. Meanwhile, a new open kitchen slots between these zones, significantly increasing the venue's capabilities, with an extensive breakfast offering an exciting addition. Led by Executive Chef Mark Williamson (The Woollahra Hotel), the menu spans classic and signature options, like avo on toast, eggs benedict and breakfast burgers, alongside the Fortune of War big breakfast. Plus, there's a bloody mary made with the pub's secret recipe set to give your day a boost. The venue's all-day dining menu is available to order from in the original pub, Bistro 1828 or amid the sunny al fresco area. Regulars will be happy to know that much-loved favourites like the beef and Guinness stew and the fish and chips are still on the menu, while Williamson has added fresh salads, pastas and shared starters. The Fortune of War's accommodation has also received a complete renovation, with the upstairs Russell Boutique Hotel ready for bookings. Featuring 28 rooms with unique designs, each offers a sophisticated blend of modern comforts and vintage charm, from antique furnishings to marble fireplaces. "[The Fortune of War] has been a destination watering hole for almost 200 years, and this renovation will ensure it stays that way for the next 200," says Speed.
Get your wish, This That fans: come November, the coastal festival will return for the first time since early 2022 with another impressive lineup. US singer, songwriter and producer Porter Robinson leads the just-dropped roster of talent for the two-city touring event, which hits up Brisbane and Newcastle, joined by Australian favourites Gang of Youths. Queenslanders, you're heading to Sandstone Point Hotel on Saturday, November 4 to dance to 'Goodbye to a World' and 'Let Me Down Easy'. Music lovers of New South Wales, make a date with Wickham Park in Newcastle on Saturday, November 11. Also on the first This That 2023 lineup announcement: Peking Duk, Hockey Dad, Alex Lahey, Slumberjack, Set Mo and The Presets doing a DJ set, plus Lola Scott, Trophy Eyes, Dear Seattle, Chillinit, Hooligan Hefs, Jesswar, Sophiya, Godlands, Kinder, Alice Ivy and more. This That has traditionally taken place in spring, but that time of year wasn't happy for the fest, or for Newcastle and Brisbane folks planning to dance their way through the music festival, in 2022. The event had to pull the plug on its October and November dates "due to a combination of issues", organisers advised; however, it always promised that it'd be back in 2023. Some of this year's acts were also on last year's cancelled lineup, such as The Presets, Winston Surfshirt, Chillinit, Hockey Dad and Jesswar. This That 2023 will take place across three stages: the This stage, complete with fireworks; the That stage, the go-to for DJs and rappers; and the Other stage, which is about art, immersion and sensory installations. THIS THAT NOVEMBER 2023 DATES: Saturday, November 4 Sandstone Point Hotel, Sandstone Point, Queensland Saturday, November 11: Wickham Park, Newcastle, New South Wales THIS THAT NOVEMBER 2023 LINEUP: Porter Robinson Gang Of Youths Alex Lahey Alice Ivy Chillinit Dear Seattle Eliza & The Delusionals Godlands Hockey Dad Hooligan Hefs Jesswar Kinder Kita Alexander Lola Scott Peking Duk The Presets [DJ set] Set Mo Slumberjack [Live] Sophiya Trophy Eyes Winston Surfshirt + Triple J Unearthed winner Newcastle only: Made On Sunday DJs Ned Bennett Who Is Arcadia Daydreaming Soundsystem Queensland only: Rory Tolsher Sammy G Jess Toasty This That will return in November 2023, playing Sandstone Point in Queensland and Newcastle in New South Wales. For more information, and for pre-sale tickets from 8am on Tuesday, August 1 and general sales from 8am on Thursday, August 3, head to the festival's website. Images: Mitch Lowe / Jordan Munns / Zagexma via Wikimedia Commons.
To the north of Bongil Bongil National Park is Sawtell Beach and headlands, where the coastal views are worth a visit any time of the year but are most popular during whale watching season. You can view the humpback migration from a grassy picnic spot as the headlands allow both northern and southern views. Just ten kilometres from Coffs Harbour, the beachside town is also a popular spot for a swim or surf. While you're here, check out Sailors Bay at low tide, when you'll be able to reach the tidal rock pools. Image: Destination NSW
Here at Concrete Playground, we're big proponents of the night-time economy. Cities that keep things moving after dark often offer the best in food, beverages and culture. And while Australians are notorious morning people (who love their 8am flat whites), data from Visa has shown that we still find a lot of value in getting out in the evening. The Visa Australia Night-time Economy Index 2025 is a new in-depth analysis measuring data such as spending, vibrancy, venues open and even the number of nightworkers who are boosting the economy after dark. According to the data, Melburnians are getting off the couch the most frequently and spending their hard-earned dollars on bars, restaurants, and late-night feeds. Sydney and its surrounding metro areas also nabbed 12 of the 20 top night-time hotspots, proving that the city is slowly bouncing back from its lockout laws. Of course, it's not exactly surprising that the two most populous East Coast cities are ruling the after-dark economy. However, there are also several regional areas, such as Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, that are tapping their cards once the sun sets. Canberra is also increasing its evening spending, thanks to tourists and the opening of more eateries. To learn more about the future of the night-time economy and what's trending after dark right now, Concrete Playground's Managing Editor, Eliza Campbell and Staff Writer Alec Jones shared their insights. CP: Melbourne was named the number one night-time hotspot in Australia according to data from Visa. Does this surprise you? Eliza: It doesn't surprise me at all. This city has an inherent underground nature that invites you to always be exploring and looking beyond the surface — particularly after dark. And nightlife isn't limited to weekends, either. Between gallery exhibitions, secret music gigs and speakeasy bars, there's something to get lost in at all hours, any day of the week. CP: 12 out of 20 of the night-time hotspots were in Sydney and its metro areas. What's your favourite thing about Sydney after dark? Alec: This began to pick up in late 2023 after we all shook off the last of lockdown fever, but it's that feeling of merriment in the air. It's like static electricity. Walking past busy bars and restaurants in suburbs like Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, and Newtown, hearing the chatter and seeing people share food and drinks with their friends and family, it never fails to make me smile. CP: What's one trend you're seeing emerge in the night-time economy that excites you? Eliza: The resurgence of secret gigs and DJ sets. I love the idea of last-minute announcements to see some of the world's best artists in intimate settings — first-come, first-served. There's less of a distinction between going to a live gig and going to a bar now. We want once-in-a-lifetime cultural experiences that blend seamlessly into the fabric of our city's nightlife, and I'm so here for it. Alec: Venues in Sydney that are really performing are the ones with a loyal audience, but also a hook. Something you can't find anywhere else, whether it's on the menu or just in the space. People aren't going out just to get drunk or have a feed; they're doing it to go to these specific places. [caption id="attachment_885691" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Above Board[/caption] CP: What's your top tip for planning the perfect night out? Eliza: Have a rough outline of the kind of evening you want to have — but leave room for spontaneous adventures. There's nothing worse than not knowing where to go or what to do next, but equally, some of the best nights are all about the memories you make getting from point A to point B. CP: What's a venue or precinct that gets the night-time experience right? Alec: YCK Laneways in the Sydney CBD has actually done a great job of revitalising an area that doesn't really scream "nightlife." The bars in that area are some of the most interesting venues you'll find in the city and are all within walking distance of one another (and your bus or train home). Eliza: One of my favourite Melbourne venues that absolutely nails the night-time experience is Collingwood's Beermash — and its (somewhat secret) adjoining speakeasy bar, Above Board. Beermash spotlights independent craft beer and wine producers and lets you take-away or drink-in at bottleshop prices. Al fresco drinks on the Smith Street terrace can be followed by award-winning cocktails upstairs in what's, in my opinion, one of Melbourne's most unique hidden bars. From casual and fun to cosy and intimate — the perfect evening trajectory. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beermash (@beermash) [caption id="attachment_1025682" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Hyde Park[/caption] CP: How is nightlife intersecting with other parts of culture (like art, fashion, live music) in interesting ways right now? Eliza: What's interesting about the intersection of nightlife and culture right now is that there's less separation than ever before. With the rise of low- and no-alcohol trends, nightlife in 2025 isn't just about partying or bar-hopping anymore. People still want to experience their city after dark — but that now spans the full spectrum of the arts: galleries and museums staying open late, fashion infiltrating the food and drink scene, and live music spilling out from bandrooms into public (and often free-entry) spaces across the city. CP: Where's your favourite after-dark venue? Eliza: An after-dark venue needs good music, good drinks and just the right amount of grunge. For me, that's Heartbreaker in the CBD. Catch me screaming post-punk revival with a negroni in hand in the early hours of the morning. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Heartbreaker Bar 💔 (@heartbreakerbar) Alec: Crows Nest on the lower North Shore has exploded since the Metro station opened, Parramatta is packed with great venues, and love it or hate it, Bondi continues to be iconic without trying very hard. Ask a local who lives in a different part of Sydney from you and follow their advice. [caption id="attachment_994726" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Carriageworks[/caption] CP: What do you hope to see more of in our after-dark spaces from both venues and councils? Eliza: I'll always scream and shout about supporting the Arts. Free entertainment like live music, performance and exhibitions not only supports our incredible local arts community but also helps people stay connected to the endlessly inspiring, exciting and thought-provoking creative industries — especially in tough political and economic climates. The more we can bring people together, the better. Alec: Regular events like night markets consistently draw big crowds from locals, but what if instead of the same old gozleme and chips-on-a-stick stands, we got famous restaurants from around Sydney to get involved? That'd help connect communities with food and drink they can't usually find on their side of whatever the closest bridge is (we don't cross any of them enough). CP: For people who say, "There's nothing to do after 9pm anymore", what would you tell them? Alec: You're not trying very hard. You can find something really cool if you just look a little bit harder. Eliza: I'd say, "Where are you? Obviously not in Melbourne." Discover the vibe near you. Lead image: FG Trade Latin / Getty
It's easy to understand why Bart Freundlich, filmmaker and husband of Julianne Moore, decided to remake After the Wedding. A best foreign-language Oscar nominee in 2006, the original Danish feature is a thorny melodrama that's big on moral dilemmas, but even bigger on revelatory moments and performances — and gender-swapping the main characters, shifting the action to America and giving Moore a lead role was clearly too juicy an opportunity to pass up. So was casting his wife opposite Michelle Williams, another actor who can play steely and fragile in the same breath, excels at portraying complex, realistic women, and manages all of the above with the utmost subtlety. Indeed, if any uncertainty hovers over Freundlich's movie, it isn't "why?", but "why didn't it happen sooner?". Perhaps the answer to the second query resides in After the Wedding's narrative, which acts like a Rorschach test for audiences. Some will see splotches of #firstworldproblems connected through convenient, even implausible twists. Others will notice how the film stresses the enormous chasm between the needy and the rich, refuses to trade in simplicity, and has meticulously calculated each and every plot development. Of course, both perspectives can prove accurate at once. A movie can seem neat, chaotic, overly structured and random in tandem, because life almost always does the same thing. Leaning into these contradictions actually deepens After the Wedding — as its conflicted characters are forced to navigate testing circumstances, Freundlich's film never even thinks of settling into a safe, cosy niche. Location-wise, though, the opposite is true. After the Wedding is largely set in a privileged world, spending the bulk of its time in New York penthouses, offices and country estates. The film introduces Isobel (Williams) while she's meditating at the Kolkata orphanage she helps run, then whisks her across the globe to secure funding from business high-flyer Theresa (Moore) — and makes a point of stressing how uncomfortable Isobel is with the change of environment. That's the first major upheaval that pushes Williams' calm yet flinty character out of her comfort zone. When Moore's brittle hotshot demands that Isobel extends her trip and, even though they've just met, also insists that she attends her daughter's upcoming wedding, additional surprises follow. It's impossible to delve further into the plot without giving too much away; however Isobel is hardly thrilled when she meets Theresa's sculptor husband Oscar (Billy Crudup), or takes a proper look at Grace (Abby Quinn), the blushing bride. The best moral dilemmas double as mysteries, inspiring a series of questions. How will the intricate plot pieces fit together? How will the various players respond? How will tussling with a life-altering scenario change everyone involved? After dropping the first big revelation early — his film is called After the Wedding, after all — Freundlich keeps the complications coming thick and fast, but takes time to revel in Isobel, Theresa, Oscar and Grace's reactions. That's the nuts and bolts of the movie, as relayed in heated altercations, awkward exchanges, pensive moments, and big breakthrough scenes that push Isabel and Theresa to their limits. Naturally, Williams and Moore couldn't be better; fresh from stellar work in Fosse/Verdon and Gloria Bell, respectively, that's why the reliably excellent duo was cast. Without them, After the Wedding might've felt soapy, especially after discarding its predecessor's jittery camerawork for conspicuously smooth and gleaming visuals, but that's never the outcome. When a story loves thrashing in as many different directions as this one, it takes particularly textured and nuanced performances to hammer home its tender core, which is what Williams and Moore continually bring to the table. Elsewhere, Crudup is understated but underused in support, while Quinn holds her own with the film's high-profile leading ladies — and that's no mean feat. The elephant in the room? It's the place where elephants are far more common, with Isabel's life in India — and her bond to eight-year-old Jai (Vir Pachisia), the abandoned boy she's become a replacement mother to — never fading from view. Still, while she's desperate to return and keep making a difference, hers is never a clumsy white saviour tale. This part of the story is noticeably blunt, as are the film's other attempts to address class differences (as Isabel rattles off stats about child prostitution to Theresa, they're interrupted by a catering snafu over a lack of lobster, for example), yet the instinct to grapple with one's issues by helping others rings true. Perhaps surprisingly given how many twists it strings together, After the Wedding proves affecting and engrossing in general for the same reason: no matter what the film throws at the screen, its heaving emotional landscape always feels devastatingly real.
Wiseman's Ferry is a teeny, tiny village perched on the banks of the mighty Hawkesbury River, surrounded by national park and with a population of just 220. The settlement gets its name from one Solomon Wiseman, an ex-convict who, in 1827, organised the first river crossing by ferry. And his service still runs today. A weekend at Wiseman's usually involves hours lolling by, on and in the river; pretty walks through nearby Dharug and Yengo National Parks; some pub grub at Wiseman's Inn and perusing paintings by local artists. On top of that, the annual Return To Rio rolls into town in November for three days to add even more reason to make your way to the idyllic village. This year, Carl Cox and Eric Powell will be powering through their Mobile Disco, a twelve-hour (yep) marathon of funk, soul, disco and classic house, pumped out by a live, twelve-piece band. Also in the line-up are Incognito, Lee Foss, &ME, Fabio and Grooverider, Bedouin, Neil James and loads more dance music legends. When you're not furiously making shapes, you can take a timeout at yoga classes, meditation sessions, markets and swimming holes. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you make the most of your Return to Rio. Here are the best options for what to eat, what to do and where to stay during the festival weekend. EAT AND DRINK At Return To Rio, expect an array of food stalls, peddling all kinds of international cuisines, from steaming pho to massive burgers, designed to fuel all-night dancing. Vegos and vegans, fear not: you'll be well catered for, too. Also, if food options are any worry, you're invited to pack your own steak or haloumi slab and fry it up on one of the barbecues provided. Outside of the festival, no visit to Wiseman's Ferry counts without a visit to Wiseman's Inn. Built in 1827, this sandstone retreat was once Solomon Wiseman's stately home and is now owned by ex-Wallaby Bill Young. On cool days, relax by the open fire; on hot ones, head into the shady beer garden. Either way, keep an eye out for the local ghosts who are said to be roaming the halls of the inn. Meanwhile, you can find coffee, house-made pies and wraps at Wiseman's Ferry Grocer, and a solid modern Australian offering at Busby's Cafe, where dishes include garlic prawns in creamy chive-white wine sauce, as well as baby barramundi fillets with kipfler potatoes and tomato-rocket salad. For a fancier bite, reserve a table at Riverbend Restaurant, within the idyllic, landscaped gardens of The Retreat. The ever-changing menu is big on local, seasonal produce. DO Festival bound? Your first job is to dance until you're wrecked. After that, wander around the Return To Rio markets, relax at a yoga session and restore your energy by the pool, complete with cocktail bar and soundtracked by reggae. Your ticket also gets you access to the resort's facilities, which include a nine-hole golf course, volleyball and tennis courts and plenty of river frontage. When you're ready to find out what lies beyond the festival gates, a bush walk is a good starting point. For a piece of convict history, as well as some stunning Hawkesbury vistas, there's the Old Great North Road World Heritage Walk, a nine-kilometre loop that begins on the river's northern bank (you'll need to catch the ferry). If you're short on time, it's possible to stroll along just one section, such as Hangman's Rock. A more challenging adventure is the 11 Kilometre Walking Track, which takes in ferny forests, friendly creeks and some steep sections. Next up is the question of getting onto the water. Hawkesbury House Boats hires out various vessels, from kayaks to speedboats. Meanwhile, Xterra Adventures offers guided tours in the form of a four-hour escapade up MacDonald River, a tributary of the Hawkesbury that includes morning tea. Keen to meet a few arty types? Wiseman's Ferry's natural beauty and isolation have been attracting them for years. Check out their work at Ferry Artists' Gallery, a community-run venture that exhibits painting, sculpture, jewellery, ceramics and glassware. There are occasional workshops, too. STAY The festival grounds give you pretty much every accommodation option under the sun: camp it (with your own tent), glamp it (with Simple Pleasures providing all your needs) or tipi it (in one of Rainbow Tipis' magnificent creations). Should you seek the protection of four solid walls, book a cabin, lodge or home — depending on the size of your crew. Last, but not least, you're welcome to bring your own mobile digs, be they van, car or motorhome: just make sure you book a spot before leaving home. Like the idea of popping in and out of the action? Get some buddies together and sleepover on a houseboat. Able Hawkesbury River Houseboats have them for all budgets. At one end, there's the five-star Spa, with five queen-sized ensuite bedrooms, a ten-person jacuzzi, full kitchen, lounge room and wrap-around deck. At the other, there's the humble Aquavan two to four berth, with sleeping space for up to four on day lounges that turn into double beds, a shady front deck and a barbecue. The benefit of the Aquavan's littleness is that you can go exploring on the Colo and MacDonald Rivers. Back on land, the aforementioned Wiseman's Inn harbours a bunch of straightforward, affordable rooms. Or, if you want to go all out on a luxe stay, check into The Retreat, a 50-acre property with 54 rooms, including spa suites, as well as a golf course, tennis courts and pool. Return To Rio takes place at Del Rio Resort from November 3 to 5. Personalise your next adventure via The Playmaker, driven by Mazda3.
Clear your weekend schedules Sydneysiders — a bottomless margaritas and tacos weekend brunch is here. Carbòn, Bondi haunt Taqiza's new wood-fired Mexican joint, has decided to indulge in a brunch experience that brings all the good vibes of a summery vacation in Tulum to a standard Sydney weekend. Every Saturday and Sunday from 12–5pm, you can feast away on all the tequila, lime and salsa goodness your belly can fit for $75 per person. For the tacos, imagine the likes of confit beef brisket, fried barramundi, barbecue octopus and even vegan chorizo. The high-quality ingredients don't stop at the food either, with Carbòn using some of the best tequilas and mezcals for those margs you'll be downing — including the aromatic vintage Tequila Ocho. So, for a non-stop flavour feast, reserve a table online, put on your snazziest pair of stretchy pants and hop on down to Bondi for all the margaritas you can drink and tacos you can eat.
Could you get more theatrical than glorious Walsh Bay? Soaring warehouse conversions, the glittering harbour — and the iconic STC at the hub of the Arts Precinct. Walsh Bay Kitchen, within the Roslyn Packer Theatre, opens its doors on the burgeoning food strip of Hickson Road. The space is slick with off-Broadway style: think parquetry floors and leather banquettes. The recessed lightboxes seem a nod to stage lights, casting dress circle moodiness. But instead of the whispers of a reverent audience, here chatter bounces off the upholstered walls. If mirth and merriment bars a thousand harms and lengthens life, there isn’t a better reason to catch an end-of-season show and dig in here. Specialising in pre-theatre dining and post-show supper, the restaurant opened to coincide with the launch of The Present and was thrust into the world. The fare, with hints of modern Asian, isn’t reinventing the wheel. Like Upton and Chekhov, classic combinations needn’t be toyed with. And with daily lunch specials of nachos, fish and chips and spag bol, it seems head-chef Kay Huang is playing down any stuffiness once associated with theatre-going. The dinner menu (two course $47, three course $57 with a glass of wine) offers good food piled high on stunning, Insta-worthy glazed plates, like free range chicken pat? with moscato jelly, pickle and baguette toast ($16). There’s a bar menu for grazing over aperitif hour; the ginger scallop ceviche a highlight ($16). It’s a decidedly Sydney spread, from zingy Japanese to the creamy bistro classic of the snapper. The unabashedly rich chocolate slice for dessert ($14) is a fitting finale in a town that prides itself on flamboyance, cut by a good dose of sea salt. There are many reasons catching a play is a good idea — the thrill of entertainment with an intimacy often lacking in our screen-obsessed world — and Walsh Bay Kitchen is one more. Simplicity with an elegant, Australian ease, this is a place you’ll sneak into at intermission and come back to again, ticket not necessary. Walsh Bay Kitchen is also open Sundays as per the performance schedule.
A character drama about a West Texas woman who wins the lottery, but six years later has nothing to show for it except pain, alcoholism and burned bridges, To Leslie is all about English talent Andrea Riseborough's remarkable performance — famously so thanks to her Best Actress Oscar nomination for an indie film widely underseen until that nod of approval. Nothing can take away the power of the Mandy, Possessor and Amsterdam star's stunning portrayal. A spectacular performance is a spectacular performance regardless of what surrounds it. So, Riseborough's work in the debut feature from seasoned TV director Michael Morris (Better Call Saul, 13 Reasons Why, Brothers & Sisters) remains a gut-punch no matter the controversy around the campaign by high-profile names to help get her the Academy's recognition, with Kate Winslet, Edward Norton and Jennifer Aniston among those advocating for accolades. To Leslie remains Riseborough's movie despite comedian and actor Mark Maron uttering the words that sum it up best, too. In his latest compassionate performance — with a less-gruff edge than he sports in GLOW — he plays Sweeney, the co-proprietor of a roadside motel in Leslie's hometown. That's where she ends up again after the money runs out, plus her luck and everyone she knows' patience with it. As scripted by Ryan Binaco (3022), Sweeney is another of To Leslie's flawed characters. The movie teems with such folks because everyone of us is flawed, and it sees that truth with the clearest of eyes. In a sincere but awkward chat, Sweeney explains how his now ex-wife's drinking helped end his marriage; however, he catches himself afterwards, making a point to say that just because his story turned out like that, that doesn't mean Leslie's will as well, or that he thinks it that'll occur. One person's tale can be everyone's — cinema, and storytelling in general, thrives on the fact that the deeply specific can be profoundly universal — but no one's experiences ever play out exactly as another's have. That's an essential message at the heart of To Leslie, and it's one that asks for understanding but not judgement. While watching the film's very fictional namesake on-screen, it's easy to spy parallels, to relate, and to feel what it is to be in Leslie, Sweeney or the feature's other figures' shoes. Movies are empathy machines, after all. That said, battling assumptions about what the course that Leslie's story has to follow, and what that says about her and other people who've struggled with addiction and poverty, is as important to Morris and Binaco's picture as Risebourgh's awards-worthy performance. There's such weight and soul to the actor's titular portrayal in this tale of redemption — when Leslie is at her best, worst, hovering in-between and splashing between the two extremes alike. In early footage that's repeated later, Riseborough is giddily ecstatic holding a giant cheque for $190,000 and hollering in a local news interview about what an impact it'll make (and promising to spoil her young son). She cuts a still-wiry, still-determined sight, but now fraught rather than euphoric, in the hard jump to after the cash has been drunk away, which is when she's being kicked out of her The Florida Project-style digs for not paying her bill. There's a visible difference between the two Leslies, as her grown-up boy James (Teague, The Stand) notes without saying when she reunites with him next — but much of Riseborough's efforts are about what's churning inside Leslie moment by moment, whether inebriated, desperate for whatever she can sip or stone-cold sober. When she turns up carting a pink suitcase containing all of her worldly belongings, James has one rule for Leslie's attempts to reconnect: no booze. Part of the heartbreak of To Leslie, and of Riseborough's performance, is foreseeing what might happen while witnessing how Leslie endeavours to battle against it. Similarly, part of the film's joys and surprises spring when addiction doesn't win out. With James, though, Leslie can't keep her promise. When she's sent home to Dutch (Stephen Root, Barry) and Nancy (Allison Janney, Breaking News in Yuba County), pals she was once as close as family with, she's met with the spite and bitterness of former friends rather than a son's disappointment and hurt. The bulk of the small town's residents similarly have long memories, largely treating her as a joke. And Sweeney's colleague Royal (Andre Royo, Truth Be Told) is hesitant when the former sees her sleeping outside their motel, initially runs her off, but then generously offers her both a place to stay and a cleaning job. Country music echoes within the film, heard and spoken about, in a telling choice for a movie about second, third, fourth and fifth chances (and more). Notes of Wild Rose, another feature about a woman piecing her life back together, filter in with that in mind; the two pictures have plenty of dissimilarities, too, but share exceptional leads. Indeed, simply watching Riseborough sit at a bar nursing a drink and listening to a twang-filled tune makes for an astonishing scene, with Morris shrewdly holding the moment, and cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All At Once) lighting a lengthy closeup like it's extraordinary and ordinary all at once. In what might be her biggest acting feat in a deservedly well-regarded career, Riseborough knows how to be Leslie, not play her — in this scene and from start to finish. This isn't a performance courting attention, but one committed to conveying what's swishing and swirling within a tumultuous character whose strengths and missteps are both always in view. To Leslie's least impressive trait is its fondness for neat and conventional beats, although Riseborough ensures that even the most predictable plot developments never feel like a standard pour (as does Morris' ability to recognise what he has with Riseborough as the narrative's anchor). Stories can turn out like this, traversing the highs as well as the lows, and To Leslie certainly isn't afraid of getting messy through its protagonist and her lifetime's worth of tussles before it starts letting hope loiter. It definitely isn't scared of showing what's worth striving for, either, be it the tenderness of Leslie and Sweeney's blossoming bond, the yearning of a mother who wants to finally be able to do right by her son, or a path to a future that's safe and sustainable. Riseborough is striving, of course, but her every move and expression — alone, and when paired with the also-excellent Teague, Maron and Janney — couldn't be more raw, complex and lived in.
Step into the 1950s in The Dairy Bar. Hidden down a laneway off Berry's main drag, this old-school milk bar is the new offshoot of The Treat Factory, which has been doling out sweet goodness for years. Its home is an 1895 factory that was the first in New South Wales to turn cream into butter. Grab a seat on the shady verandah overlooking Irish-green farmlands and dig in. Every dairy dish on the menu comes from local milk, sourced from farming cooperative South Coast Dairy. That includes the gelato, which is made daily. Try tried-and-trusted classics, like vanilla, Belgian chocolate and pistachio — or go for something more adventurous, like lemon cheesecake. There's also a bunch of OTT sundaes if you want to kick things up a notch. The S'more is a tower of vanilla and chocolate gelato, layered with Graham Cracker crumbs, chocolate pâté and a piping hot s'more (that's a Graham cracker sandwich, packed with chocolate and marshmallows). Meanwhile, the Apple Pie is a mountain of stewed and fresh apple, vanilla gelato, cinnamon almonds, waffle crumbs, caramel sauce and cream.
There's something about the festiveness of winter that might have you nostalgic for Christmas — regardless of whether you've actually experienced a white yuletide before. Unfortunately, there's still a good amount of time left until the most wonderful time of the year and, when it does arrive, it is usually too hot for the traditional roast (not that it stops us). But the good news is, if a holiday feast is already calling your name, you won't have to wait until December. Each Friday and Saturday night throughout July, you can attend Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney's Christmas in July feast for a large spread of your festive favourites. From 6pm at Cafe Mix, you'll indulge in an international buffet filled with all the fixings for a delicious holiday dinner. Start with a warming chestnut and leek soup before filling your plate with roast essentials, like the whole roasted turkey served with orange, macadamia and cranberry sauce. If you want to go beyond the standard Christmas dinner expectations, you can also sample offerings from the rest of the cafe's stations: California maki, mango chicken curry and a side of papaya salad with peanut sauce. Let a little local Christmas tradition creep in and pay a visit to the seafood station filled with Sydney rock oysters, tiger prawns and crab. Wash it all down with some eggnog or spiced mulled wine, and be sure to leave room for the desserts that pastry chef Anna Polyviou has created. At $85 for adults (and $42.50 for children), this Christmas in July feast will be the gift that keeps on giving — at least until it's actually time for festive feasts. For more information and to make a reservation, visit the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney website. Images 1 and 2: Nikki To.
For the past nine months, The Lume has dazzled Melburnians with an immersive, multi-sensory exploration of the works of Van Gogh. Now, the digital art gallery is gearing up to launch its second exhibition, swapping the giant projections of Sunflowers and The Starry Night for a showcase of iconic works from the French Impressionist era. Announced today, Monet & Friends Alive is the next dynamic art experience set to take over the gallery's lofty spaces, kicking off Wednesday, October 26, in the site's permanent home at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). Taking visitors back in time to 19th-Century Paris, it'll celebrate the paintings of Impressionist icons from Monet to Renoir, and Cézanne to Manet. As with its predecessor, the exhibition will display its artworks via supersized projections splashed across its sprawling surfaces, and paired with a curation of tastes, aromas and sounds. Here, that means you'll be able to wander over a bridge and right into a recreation of Monet's famed 1899 work, Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies. Other interactive experiences will include a studio space where visitors can have a go at creating their own replicas of Monet's best-known paintings. Further tapping into the French bohemian spirit will be The Lume's own take on a 19th-Century Parisian cafe, Cafe Lumiere, which will be serving up a menu of small bites, share plates and desserts to enjoy after your artistic adventures. The Lume is the brainchild of Melbourne-based Grande Experiences, which, for the past 15 years, has hosted immersive exhibitions and gallery experiences in over 130 cities across the world. The company also owns and operates Rome's Museo Leonardo da Vinci. You've still got a few more weeks to catch Van Gogh at The Lume before it wraps up on Sunday, October 9, making way for Monet & Friends Alive to take over. 'Monet & Friends Alive' will launch on October 26, with tickets available from August 26. Head to the website for more details.
When Lewis Carroll first sent Alice down the rabbit hole back in 1865, he couldn't have guessed just where she'd end up. While the English mathematician-turned-writer obviously knew she'd be wandering around Wonderland, that was just the beginning of her white rabbit-chasing journey. Countless film, TV, comic book, game, stage, music, music videos and ballet adaptations have taken the famous character far and wide — and, come 2018, she'll be stopping by Melbourne. From April 5 to October 7, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image will pay tribute to all things Alice in Wonderland, the centre's major exhibition for the year as part of the Victorian Government's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series. A world-premiere event crafted and curated by ACMI, the entirely original showcase will take fans through the screen history of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There — aka the two Carroll-penned books that introduced not only the titular heroine, but the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, and food and drink with "eat me" and "drink me" labels. Proving a date you won't want to be late for, fans can follow Alice on her voyage through more than 40 cinema and 30 television versions, as well as through popular culture in general. Spanning her first big screen appearance in 1903 to 2016's Alice Through the Looking Glass, the exhibition will step through her different guises, and the technologies that have brought her story to life, all in an interactive, experiential way. That includes animation, puppetry, live-action cinema, video games, CGI, 3D and more, as well as playful environments, digital activities and behind-the-scenes glimpses. "With Wonderland, ACMI has created an interactive exhibition where audiences will explore the magic of film craft and its integral role embedding this much loved story in our imaginations for generations," explains ACMI CEO and director Katrina Sedgwick. Given ACMI's two on-site cinemas, it's safe to assume that an enchanting lineup of Alice in Wonderland films will also feature.
Me-Mel may only be 300 metres long, but — like all of Australia — the heritage-listed harbour island has a rich Indigenous history, and was once the home of Woollarawarre Bennelong and his wife, Cammeraygal woman Barangaroo. You can learn about some its history during this three-hour guided tour, as well as the island's native flora. The trip will start with a ferry to the isle, followed by a Welcome to Country. There'll be cultural song and dance performances, too, as well as demonstrations showcasing traditional artefacts. To finish, you'll get a bush tucker lunch and a campfire Q&A session with the performers — before jumping back on the ferry back to the mainland. Image: Tribal Warrior
The Gold Coast, Australia's beach club capital. That isn't how anyone refers to the Glitter Strip to at the moment, but it might soon become a reality. The tourist spot is already home to a rooftop beach club in Surfers Paradise, and will welcome a pop-up beach club on the sand at Broadbeach this month, too. Plus, sometime early in 2022, it'll also boast La Luna, a new floating beach club at the Marina Mirage. The space is the brainchild of the Gennari Group, which is already behind the Gold Coast's Koi Broadbeach, Glass Dining & Lounge Bar, The Loose Moose, Maggie Choo and Roosevelt Lounge. This new venue will clearly stand out, though — setting up a beach club on pontoons will do that. La Luna will take inspiration from its European counterparts — and from Mykonos and Saint-Tropez in general — with a few cues gleaned from the setups in Tulum in Mexico as well. Think: daybeds, private cabanas and pools, obviously, as well as a bar, and dining both inside and by the water. Based on concept images, the look is light and airy, with splashes of pink and blue against white and cream-hued furniture — including ever-trusty beach umbrellas. Given the venue's moniker, circles, glowing orbs and lunar shapes aplenty pop up, too. And, as well as making you feel like you're on the other side of the world, La Luna is aiming to radiate big yacht life vibes. Basically, it'll be the beach club you hang out in when you want to pretend you're spending your daily lazing around on a boat's deck. Bring your adult siblings, start bickering and you'll feel like you're in Succession, perhaps? While specifics in terms of menu and entertainment haven't been revealed as yet, La Luna will serve up Mediterranean and Asian fusion bites made with local produce, have DJs set the mood and host parties under the stars. Cocktails will be big on the drinks list, naturally. La Luna's restaurant is currently slated to have a soft launch in January, ahead of the full venue opening sometime early in 2022 — so whether you'll be able to add floating pool club hangs (and living the yacht life without the yacht) to your summer plans hasn't yet been confirmed. La Luna Beach Club will open at Marina Mirage, 74 Seaworld Drive, Gold Coast sometime in early 2022 — we'll update you with further details when they're announced. Images: artists' impressions of La Luna Beach Club.
Kick start your day at this bright and breezy coffee and smoothie purveyor, located inside Kiaora Place. The menu here extends far beyond a plain latte, offering your standard coffees made with Allpress coffee beans alongside bulletproof coffees (a long black with grass-fed butter and XCT oil) and matcha lattes. You'll also find a heap of cold-pressed juices and an extensive smoothie menu, where fruits and greens are blended up with nutrient-dense superfoods like ashwagandha, blue spirulina, astragalus root, maca and lion's mane mushrooms. If you're hungry, you can also grab a sandwich, toastie, acai bowl or a burrito bowl.
A piece of history is making history in Australia. Until October 2024, Melbourne Museum has a must-see sight on display for everyone interested in dinosaurs — so, everyone — courtesy of its Victoria the T. rex exhibition. The titular fossil isn't any old Tyrannosaurus rex, not that such a description ever fits the first kind of dino that always comes to mind when anyone thinks about dinos. This one happens to be one of the world's largest and most-complete T. rex skeletons, and also the biggest and most-complete specimen ever to display Down Under. Showing until Sunday, October 20, 2024, Victoria's fossil has made Aussie debut in the state with the absolute best name for the occasion. In the process, it also marks the first time that a real T. rex has ever been on display in Victoria. And it isn't small: found in South Dakota in 2013 but dating back 66 million years, Victoria is comprised of 199 bones, including a skull that weighs 139 kilograms. The fossil reaches 12 metres in length and 3.6 metres in height. And, because the skull is so heavy, it has to be displayed separately as it can't be mounted upon Victoria's body. The Victoria the T. rex exhibition also features interactive elements, such as multi-sensory installations that let you experience how the Tyrannosaurus rex saw and smelled, plus dioramas and a section where you can make your own customised 3D T. rex. Welcome to... the cretaceous period, then. The informative side of the showcase steps through recent palaeontological findings, so that you can get an idea of what Victoria's life was like all that time ago — and also find out what brought about her end. If that's not enough dino action to make you feel like David Attenborough — or his brother Richard in Jurassic Park and The Lost World — Victoria the T. rex is displaying alongside Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs, which has been open at Melbourne Museum since 2022. The latter permanently features Horridus, the world's most complete Triceratops fossil, and entry to both exhibitions is included in one ticket. At IMAX Melbourne, 45-minute documentary T.REX 3D is also be showing, complete with footage of Horridus. "Victoria the T. rex is a monumental addition to our world-class exhibition lineup. Melbourne Museum is the home of dinosaurs in Australia, and currently the only place on earth where visitors can see two of the finest examples of a real T. rex and a real Triceratops under one roof." said CEO and Director of Museums Victoria Lynley Crosswell. As Museums Victoria Research Institute senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology Dr Thomas Rich explains, there's another highlight, too. "Not only can visitors to Melbourne Museum see one of the world's finest examples of a T. rex; they can also see a related and extremely rare fossil cared for in the State Collection: Timimus hermani, one of the state of Victoria's most unique dinosaurs and possibly a great-great-great grandfather of T. rex. This 105-million-year-old fossil is an example of the only undoubted tyrannosauroid from the southern hemisphere and is on public display in the exhibition 600 Million Years." Victoria the T. rex is on display from Friday, June 28–Sunday, October 20, 2024 at Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton. Head to the museum's website for tickets and further information. Images: Eugene Hyland.
Everyone has a preferred temperature. Some folks like rainy days, while others crave sunshine. Tropical weather beckons to some, and snowy climes call others. That remains the case when you go on holidays, but unless you're going skiing, you probably want to head somewhere where it'll be warm but not blistering hot, and where you won't need an umbrella. And, now, regardless of when you're getting away, you can always find the perfect destination. Ryan Whitaker thought that working out the best place to go at any particular time of year would be easy; however when he found otherwise — "searching Google for things like 'best places to visit in January' or 'best time to visit Spain'", and coming across broad recommendations that weren't backed up by data or experience — he decided to create his own. Available on DecisionData.org, the result is a map called The Best Time to Visit Anywhere in the World, and yep, that's exactly what it tells users. [caption id="attachment_618852" align="aligncenter" width="1219"] Image: DecisionData.org[/caption] Just enter your preferred week of travel, the temperature range you're after (including ideal minimum, maximum and average values), and how much rain you'd accept, and Whitaker's map has the answers. Available in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, it's based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data from the past ten years, captured every day at between 10,000 and 12,000 weather stations — or 35 million lines of information. Users can also exclude areas that don't report on precipitation to minimise showery surprises. Whitaker includes a reminder that his map isn't designed to replace local knowledge of events or seasonal attractions, but aims to "supplement it with good data on where temperatures are ideal." Keeping all that in mind, it's certain to prove a handy tool when you're planning your next getaway. Say goodbye to filling your suitcase with everything from an umbrella to swimwear to a warm coat — just in case — and hello to perfect holiday conditions. Via AWOL.
It was true in 2023 and it's the case again in 2024: The Calile in Brisbane is the best hotel in both Australia and Oceania. After earning those honours on the inaugural World's Best 50 Hotels list last year, the Fortitude Valley venue has backed up the accolades for a second year. This time, it isn't the only Aussie accommodation spot to make the cut, but it still ranked higher than anywhere else Down Under. In 2023, The Calile came in at 12th place. In 2024, it sits in 25th. The awards called the James Street hotel an example of "laid-back, sun-soaked, chic Aussie hospitality", noting that it "riffs on modernist Miami and Palm Springs while also nodding to the design stylings of 1960s Australia". Also getting some love: its onsite dining and drinking spots, such as Hellenika, Biànca, Sushi Room, SK Steak and Oyster, and Lobby Bar, some of which have scored Nigella Lawson's approval as well. "Brisbane is becoming an increasingly interesting place to dine and The Calile's six restaurants have been instrumental in making that a reality," the World's Best 50 Hotels noted. Praise was also showered upon the site's ability to ensure that indoors meets outdoors, the 30-metre pool surrounded by cabanas and the service. "The Calile's stunning botanical pool deck is undeniably the hotel's centrepiece, with sun lounges filled with tanned and leggy guests, overlooked by the curved balconies of the hotel's poolside rooms. The seven cabanas can be booked for dinner or cocktails, which are the best place to observe all the action of Brisbanites at play," the accolades continued. The Tasman in Hobart is the other Australian spot to nab a place in the top 50, coming in at number 48. It received attention for its "three distinct architectural eras cleverly melded into one seamless, luxurious whole". "What binds this eccentric collection of styles together is an uncompromising attention to detail, a sense of relaxed luxury and a uniquely Tasmanian style and pace," the awards also advised. If you're looking for Aussie spots for a staycation or vacation, there's your top two suggestions sorted. If you're keen to say at some of the world's best hotels beyond Australian shores, you have 48 choices, capped by Capella Bangkok — which was 2023's Best New Hotel — in first place. [caption id="attachment_973399" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Capella Bangkok[/caption] Passalacqua in Moltrasio in Italy dropped down from top spot last year to second this year, while Rosewood Hong Kong came in third and Cheval Blanc in Paris ranked fourth. From there, The Upper House in Hong Kong sits in fifth place, Raffles Singapore came in sixth, Aman Tokyo ranked seventh, Soneva Fushi in The Maldives nabbed eighth place, and The Atlantis Royal in Dubai and Nihi Sumba on Sumba Island in Indonesia round out the top ten. Per continent, as well as The Calile being named the best spot in Oceania, Capella Bangkok did the same in Asia, Passalacqua was named Europe's top hotel, Chablé Yucatán in Mexico did the honours in North America, Rosewood São Paulo notched up the feat in South America and Mount Nelson in South Africa scored the title in Africa. [caption id="attachment_918889" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Passalacqua © Ruben Ortiz[/caption] The World's Best 50 Hotels sits in the 50 Best stable alongside the World's 50 Best Restaurants, the World's 50 Best Bars, Asia's 50 Best Bars, Asia's 50 Best Restaurants and more. Debuting in 2023, the countdown highlights excellence among places to stay, and initially favoured Europe heavily among its selections — but its second year sees Asian hotels earn more spots on the list than anywhere else with 19 in total, including four from Bangkok alone. European accommodation spots are represented in 2024 by 13 places, North American hotels nabbed nine, Africa features four, Oceania scored four as well and South America has one. The World's Best 50 Hotels winners for 2024 were picked by more than 600 international travel experts, all with a significant number of stamps on their passports, with the list unveiled in London. [caption id="attachment_819667" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rosewood Hong Kong[/caption] "To have been selected two years in a row marks a significant affirmation of The Calile's place on the global hotel industry stage. This is a win for our team, our collaborators, our loyal guests and a win for Brisbane as a destination, and we are humbled to again represent Australia and be recognised as leading in the Oceania region," said The Calile Hotel co-owner Catherine Malouf, who attended the ceremony in the UK. Brisbane keeps garnering the international spotlight, as does the broader Sunshine State as well. The River City was named one of the best places to go in 2024 by The New York Times, travel guide Frommer's also selected the city as one of 2024's best spots to visit and TIME put it on its world's greatest places list for 2023. Further north, Palm Cove near Cairns topped Condé Nast Traveller's beach list for 2024, and was named the home of the best hotel in the South Pacific, and also Australia, by Tripadvisor. For the full World's 50 Best Hotels list for 2024, head to the awards' website. The Calile images: Cieran Murphy.
The (ever-evolutionary) Standard has announced its latest incarnation: Standard Bowl. That’s right, as of March 2014, you’ll be able to dazzle your friends with your knack for strikes, while treating your eyes and ears to free live music. Anyone who’s checked out the world-famous Brooklyn Bowl will be familiar with the format. DJs, rock gods and folkies do their thing in the front bar, with a ten-pin bowling alley keeping the crowd happy out the back. Rolling Stone has described it as "one of the most incredible places on Earth". In fact, it was during a recent sojourn in New York City that Standard part-owner Paddy Coughlan and ex-Annandale Hotel boss Matt Rule ventured into said venue. Several frames later, there was but one conclusion to draw: Sydney people need this. “We have an unwavering commitment to live music and unique spaces, and preferably live music in unique spaces,” Coughlan explains. “It seems only natural to create a grungy, industrial-looking bowling alley with a cool bar that offers free live music. With our current booker headed overseas for new adventures, it was also the perfect opportunity to work with Matt’s new entertainment venture Music Booze & Stuff who are doing some pretty exciting things. We’re looking forward to an exceptional 2014!” Doing away with the previous ticketed gigs, Standard Bowl represents yet another creative addition to the pub, club and dining scene from this team, following on the heels of The Vic in Enmore, Tokyo Sing Song, Johnny Wong’s, Miss Peaches and Lo-Fi.
It isn't every day that wandering through Federation Square involves walking past — or through — a whopping 3000 kilograms of clothing waste. Thanks to an eye-catching, awareness-raising, three-day-only pop-up, however, Melburnians can currently do just that. Until Thursday, April 28, a hefty pile of discarded fashion is sitting in the middle of the Victorian capital, all to draw attention to how many threads are thrown away by Australians. The sustainability focused installation is a collaboration between Kathmandu and zero-waste advocate Joost Bakker, and it'll instantly teach you something — because the 3000 kilograms of discarded clothing that's pivotal to the piece only represents the amount of textiles disposed of by Aussies in a mere five-minute window. That's how much that gets thrown away every five minutes, in fact, with Kathmandu and Bakker's team-up designed to make that stark truth hit home. "The thing that shocked me the most — I just thought I'd use 500 kilos of clothing, but then I got 200 kilos of clothing in just one day," Bakker tells Concrete Playground. "I just went 'oh my god'. There's just this huge volume. I just couldn't quite comprehend the volume, and the weight. And then when you see these piles of clothing, or you see factories full, or you see it in landfill — the energy, the water, the labour, everything that's gone into creating that, and it's just thrown into landfill, it's crazy." The 3000 kilograms of clothes that Bakker has amassed for this project — with the help of clothing recycling centre Upparel — is used in a tunnel structure that visitors to Fed Square can mosey through. Still, it's hard not to feel the the scale of it. Again, that's completely by design. "My core belief is that people are aware, they'll do something about it," says Bakker. "Even if it's just one person who walks through that structure and gets inspired and comes up with a solution — that's what's so exciting. Globally, so many people are putting their energy into finding solutions that, over the next ten years, it'll be a thing of the past. I have no doubt that clothing waste will not exist very quickly because we're all putting our energy into it and trying to find solutions. Humans are amazing at finding solutions when we put our energy and efforts into it, and that's what's happening now. That's really what this installation is all about," he continues. The reason for the collab with Kathmandu: the company asked, and gave Bakker free rein to come up with his own way to highlight the fashion-waste problem. "I thought it was quite inspiring that a brand wanted to actually highlight this, and so I got quite excited," he notes. "I wanted to really come up with a way that you could actually immerse yourself in a volume [of textiles]. If you have a pile of clothing, it's very difficult to get a sense of how much that is," Bakker tells CP. "So I wanted to create a structure where you were really in it and immersed in it. And I'm based in Monbulk, I'm surrounded by flower farmers, and I was able to access plastics that are used for greenhouses — these are all offcuts, and we've put lots of layers of offcut plastic to create that structure that allows you to see the enormous waste that's generated." Kathmandu is also launching a new 100-percent biodegradable BioDown puffer jacket, which Melburnians will see hanging through the installation. It's made from materials — outer, inner, down, zips, threads, tags and all — that are treated with a special additive that helps accelerate biodegradation, but only in a landfill environment. The jackets will hit stores from Thursday, April 28. Bakker notes that it's moves like these that'll help see textile waste eliminated — an issue that's only been around for half a century or so anyway — and unwanted fashion items reused and recycled instead. "My belief is that waste is just a human thing. Waste is something that pretty much is only a fifty-year thing, it's a very short space of time that we've generated a waste industry. Even if you go back 60, 70 years, everything was a resource, so we didn't have things like landfills and waste dumps," he explains. "I view waste as something beautiful. It's amazing how many people have commented 'the structure is actually really beautiful, but it's filled with waste, it's filled with something that we discard, something that we don't put any value on'. All my work has been about turning that around," Bakker continues. "In nature, there's no waste. You don't walk around a forest and go 'oh my god, I'm surrounded by all this rubbish'. It's only a human thing, because everything becomes something else again. I think the sooner that as a society we embrace that idea, we can completely design waste out of everything. It can happen really quickly, and I think it will happen really quickly, because we are all aware now." Kathmandu's fashion-waste installation is on display at Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne, from Tuesday, April 26–Thursday, April 28.
Fresh from opening a pop-up restaurant on top of a Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon (and suggesting something similar for Brisbane), celebrity chef Luke Mangan is back with a new Sydney opening, combining two of his favourite cuisines. Luc-San pairs flavours of France and Japan in what Mangan is calling a "French izakaya". "It was a meal at Joël Robuchon that triggered me to explore the union of French and Japanese," said Mangan. "I designed the menu to pay homage to my classic French training under Michel Roux, coupled with my affinity for Japanese cuisine developed during my time owning and operating Salt in Tokyo." Located in Potts Point, the 90-seat neighbourhood restaurant welcomes you in with moody lighting, a red terrazzo bar and a soft neutral colour palette running through the dining room. The menu features highlights like prawns paired with a French butter-based sauce, seaweed and shiso; tuna croissants served with Hokkaido scallop salad; and panko-crumbed pork topped with pickled mustard leaf and sauce choron. The robata grill will be firing, with pork, yuzu chicken, mushroom and wagyu beef skewers all on offer. And for dessert, the pick of the sweets is either the white chocolate pudding partnered with green team and lime chantilly, or the soft meringue, yuzu curd and brandy cumquats. If you want to sample your way through everything that's on offer, there are two set menus. The six-course option features pickles, market fish sashimi, pork skewers, confit duck and soba noodles with peanut, sesame and dojon rayu — plus the soft meringue dessert — all for $75 per person. Alternatively, you can opt for eight courses, which adds the signature prawns as well as fragrant ginger and garlic mushrooms to the mix for an extra $20 a head. Then there's the drinks. Pair your prawns and panko pork with your choice from the extensive wine and sake list — or, take your pick from the cocktail menu. The Luc-San martini is described as "a warming ginger pash laced with electric shochu", combining Summum Vodka, shochu, massenez lychee, pineapple and ginger; while the Provincial Daiquiri is pitched as "the unofficial Barbie cocktail" and features white rum, Dolin Dry vermouth, watermelon, seasonal berries, lemon and lavender tincture. Luc-San is now open on the corner of Pennys Lane and Kings Cross Road, Potts Point — operating from 4pm–late Tuesday–Saturday.
Established in 2013 as an online gift store stocked with items for apologising, showing gratitude and getting a little romantic, multi-hyphenate concept store Sorry Thanks I Love You has continued to evolve with the launch of a second Sydney concept store in Paddington. Moving into 25hours Hotel The Olympia — a long-awaited boutique development — this forward-thinking fashion, design and art space feels right at home alongside a similarly eclectic mix of neighbours. Slotting in beside an Australian outpost for London's renowned Palomar restaurant, specialty cafe Jacob The Angel, and a Hollywood-inspired cocktail bar, Sorry Thanks I Love You brings together rare clothing and accessories from around the world. Think high-end names like Comme Des Garçons, Bao Bao Issey Miyake and MM6 Maison Margiela, alongside emerging designers from Paris' Dover St Market incubator. Plus, locals like Loco Love, Momoko Hatano, and Dinosaur Designs round out the collection. Yet this brand-new storefront will feature garments of a different kind, as STILY has recently revealed a debut clothing collection of its own. Designed by Co-Founders Ant White and Caroline Ball, fashion-forward pieces span cut-to-length velveteen jersey t-shirts, diamond quilted denim jackets and water-resistant parkas that wouldn't look out of place in an Oasis photoshoot. Made in Japan and Portugal, each silhouette is the result of months of careful consideration. "It's the beginning of a new chapter for Sorry Thanks I Love You: one fuelled by experience, experimentation and a quiet obsession with doing things properly," says Ant. Similar care has been taken in designing the new store. Led by Paddington local and award-winning architect, Shelley Indyk, the Oxford Street location presents as a calming, light-filled space. For those familiar with STILY, the Yves Klein blue returns, adorning a pressed-tin ceiling, plush velvet curtains and custom detailing throughout, contrasting with stark white walls and garment racks that tread the line between fashion boutique and art gallery. "If Sydney is a city of villages, then Paddington is its capital," says Caroline. "The Olympia is the kind of beautiful electric shock that Oxford Street has been waiting for, and we can't wait to show Sydneysiders what's inside." Sorry Thanks I Love You is now open Monday–Saturday from 10am–6pm and Sunday from 11am–5pm at The Olympia, 1 Oxford Street, Sydney. Head to the website for more information.
Audrey Wilkinson — or the patch of land in the Hunter Valley that its vineyard calls home, to be specific — has been around for some time. It's been more than 150 years since the Wilkinson family first acquired the spot, and almost 120 years since it started winning awards for its tipples. The winery has been owned by the Agnew family since 2004, who've continued on with a small and dedicated staff that's devoted to the task at hand. Simply put, these guys know their stuff when it comes to vino. Located on 270 acres, the winery is sure to impress any wine aficionado. You can go on a tour of the on-site wine museum, enjoy a tasting in the cellar door, have a picnic among the vines, sample fortified wine and fromage, and even stay a night in one of the stone cottages.
"I don't think that art can change the world. But at least art can help us to unveil life," says Tehching Hsieh in conversation with academic Adrian Heathfield. This unveiling of life is imperative to Hsieh's performance art; he collapses the distinction between art and life in a way that is profound, pioneering and uncompromising. In 1974, Hsieh arrived in New York City. Using the name 'Sam' to mask his illegal immigrant status, he abandoned painting and began exploring durational performance art. This involved embarking on five one-year-long works, unprecedented in their physical and psychological exertion. Carriageworks presents Hsieh's debut solo exhibition in Australia: a rigorous documentation of One Year Performance 1980-1980 (Time Clock Piece). For this work, he punched a time card, once an hour, every hour, for an entire year. The installation consists of the grey uniform he wore, witness testimonies, an artist statement, the time clock, 366 time-cards, 8,621 photographs of himself punching the time clock, and perhaps what is most affecting, a 16mm film crunching the year-long experience into a gruelling six minutes — during which time, hair sprouts from his shaven head, growing to his shoulders. Intuitively, many read this work as a critique of industrial labour and exploitation. Hsieh embodies the alienated worker, tethered to a relentless, repetitive action. Yet, he is not creating a product to be consumed in a conventional sense, in his own words, he is "working hard to waste time". However, Hsieh insists that although his work fits into a political framework, he is not a political artist. His quest is more philosophical, investigating the universal aspects of being. In a way, the idea of 'punching time' is akin to killing time — a way of dealing with its constancy and absurdity. The methodical grid of 'mug-shots' wallpapering the space induces a feeling of claustrophobia. Over a prolonged time period, the execution of a simple instruction becomes a momentous task. Yet it's difficult to spot cracks of frustration or unrest in Hsieh's physical appearance. He is remarkably disciplined in the way he makes and documents his art, striving forward with self-punishing dedication. There are only very subtle details that individuate the photographs, as he presents the same resolute expression and stands in the same position. Also, Hsieh's artist statements could almost be legal contracts. They clearly outline each step of the project, committing him for the stipulated time period. In saying this, there were a number of occasions where Hsieh failed to punch the time card. However, these elements of failure seem to humanise the work. Like reporting an absence, he scrupulously documents the reasons for these failures. From working as an unfunded and illegal artist, Hsieh is now a seminal figure in the world of performance art. In recent years there has been a critical reappraisal of his work, with exhibitions at MoMA and the Guggenheim. Encircled by these hourly portraits, it's difficult not to be impressed by Hsieh's iron-clad determination. This is one work in an oeuvre of physical extremity and conceptual purity. Hsieh made out list of ten crazy things people have done in the name of live art. Check out the other nine. Image: Zan Wimberley.
Around 9000 cattle are still run at the historic Goonoo Goonoo Station, just 25 minutes south of Tamworth. But in recent years, this gem has become best known for its boutique accommodation and award-winning on-site dining offering, Glasshouse Restaurant. The buildings that once made up the station village (many dating back as far as the 1840s) have been expertly restored in a massive project, which has delivered a spectacular event destination and unique holiday spot. Of the nine transformed heritage buildings, The Homestead is the largest. It sleeps up to ten guests and includes a private pool, billiard room and epic views of the undulating landscape from every sitting room and sunchair. What to do when you're not reclining or dining at the station? Visit local landmarks like the Big Guitar, the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame or the Tamworth Regional Gallery. And if boot-scootin' is your group's jam, line up your trip with the next Tamworth Country Music Festival (January 13–22, 2023). Top images: Destination NSW
With its rolling hills, picturesque vineyards, and delicious food scene, the Orange region has everything you need for a relaxing and rejuvenating vacation away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Whether you're planning a quick weekend trip, a longer four-day stay, or an extended winter break, our guide — curated with the local legends Orange360 — will help you make the most of your time in the area. Pack your bags, grab your coat and get ready for an unforgettable winter adventure in this charming New South Wales region. WEEKEND If you only have a couple of days to explore this foodie's paradise this winter, it's best to focus on the region's highlights: wine, food and views. These can, of course, be combined in whatever accommodation option you choose. If you're keen on tasting wines, why not stay at a winery with glamping options? Or if food is more your thing, then you've got studio cabins over a cherry orchard. Check out our round-up of cosy accommodation options in the region if you're keen to stay a while. Since you've only two days, it's best to stick close to the centre to ensure you get as much as possible packed into your weekend. Either arrive in the morning or save the early commute and drive up the night before and stay in one of the aforementioned snug stays. First off, we're going to get our blood pumping and our tasting tested. Grab breakfast at the iconic Agrestic Grocer. This humble grocer in the heart of Orange sells some of the region's finest produce — everything from beer soap to local wines. There's also a cafe attached that has an all-day breakfast and lunch menu with items like the classic brekkie roll, grilled focaccia with season veg and pesto, okonomiyaki and 'Recovery Feast' — a full breakfast to ensure you have the calories needed to continue on your adventure. Once fed and watered, grab a few bits to make a picnic out of the sensational local bread, cheese and produce available in the store. The next stop is your workout for the weekend. You've got the supplies, so it's fitting you should find a picnic spot. A short 12-minute drive away, you will find Lake Canobolas Reserve, located at the base of Mount Canobolas. The lake and its surroundings are home to an abundance of native flora and fauna. At the northern end of the reserve, you'll find a walking and cycling trail that leads to a suspension bridge over Molong Creek. You can stop there or continue back on to the town — the total track is about 8.5-kilometres and takes approximately two hours, whereas it takes 30–60 minutes to get to the bridge. At the southern end, there is another walking trail that circumnavigates the lake — it's a 2.4-kilometre easy loop and takes about 30–60 minutes depending on how long you spend looking for echidnas by the water and has plenty of areas suitable for your picnic overlooking the gorgeous scenes in the reserve. If you need a pick-me-up after your trek, you can grab a flat white at the Lakeside Kiosk & Cafe. Now, it's time to test your palate and indulge in some of the region's finest wines. Canobolas is the centre for many of the region's best-known wineries — and there are many to choose from. You could head over to Printhie Wines, just a short drive from the reserve. Owned by the Swift family, it's a five-star Halliday-rated winery. It's also relatively young for the region as the first vineyard was planted in 1996. Experience the stunning vistas over the hills to the landscape below as you enjoy a wine tasting. Or have an early dinner (or second lunch) with the four-course degustation, described as a "destination dining experience" — with the option to upgrade to wine pairings for each dish. On day two, it's time to focus on the city centre. After breakfast, get in some retail therapy along the high street, and check out Hawkes General Store for a browse and coffee. Have lunch at Groundstone, one of Orange's most popular cafes serving up seasonal dishes that highlight the fresh produce of the region. It is attached to The Orange Regional Gallery, where you should spend your afternoon exploring the current exhibitions before heading back on the road home. FOUR-DAY STAY Four days in the region allow for a bit more breathing room in your plans to explore the region, especially if you are there to enjoy the Winter Fire Festival when wineries wine and dine their guests with unique events around the theme of crackling fire. Enjoy a delicious meal and rich red wines — all locally produced — under a starry night sky throughout the course of the festival. You can follow the itinerary for the weekend but a longer stay means you can perhaps explore further afield. Save one day for a jaunt out to Carcoar, a charming heritage town about 30 minutes from Orange. You'll find quaint homeware stores, historic buildings and delicious dishes. Speaking of which, instead of just visiting one winery, make sure you set aside at least a day in your four-day sojourn to visit some of the region's finest winemakers. Near Mount Canobolas, you'll find Swinging Bridge Winery, a family-owned estate with commanding views of the mountain. In addition to the standard cool-climate wines you will find at most wineries in the region — think pinot noir, shiraz, riesling and chardonnay — you will also find some interesting drops here at Swinging Bridge. The hashtag (#) range features fun experimental wines that showcase the exceptional fruit of the region in a new way. As this range is experimental, you never know what will be available. One standout is the Tempinot, a luscious combination of the bold tempranillo grape and the softer pinot noir. LONGER Lucky you, you get to experience this region for even longer. And there is still oodles left to explore. A leisurely 25-minute drive from Orange, Molong is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. With its captivating blend of natural beauty, rich history, and warm hospitality. Stop in at Molong Stores, offering a curated range of local and international brands — specialising in hats and gifts for men. Pop across the road to Lime and Stone for coffee and a bite to eat. And a must-visit in the area is Yuranigh's Grave, the only known site in Australia where Aboriginal and European burial practices coexist. If you haven't been overindulging at the winter festival or while enjoying a tipple at one of the cosy cabins in the region, pull yourself out of bed in the morning in time to hike up to the Pinnacle Lookout. The view from Towac Pinnacle lookout at sunrise is well worth the effort — although it is equally as stunning at sunset, too. Set amongst the tall shady gum trees, the reserve features picnic shelters for you to enjoy your morning brew from a local cafe while you watch the Orange region wake up to a new day and uninterrupted views across Towac Valley. On your way back to the city, stop in for a taste of Asia in the heart of Orange CBD at Mr Lim. The menu is a celebration of the restaurant's owner and namesake's life experiences. You will find Korean, Japanese and Chinese items on the menu created using the bountiful produce of the region. Standouts are the drunken duck — made with marinated local and Chinese shaoshing wine and seasonal citrus — and the 'Let Sammy Feed You' banquet menu, with fried Korean curry bun, dumplings, sashimi, bossam, Korean-fried chicken and much more. Continue to discover unique wineries west of the city. First stop, the family-owned estate that's sure to get wine lovers' taste buds tingling: Patina. Here, owner and winemaker, Gerald Naef, blends age-old traditions with cutting-edge methods to create his boutique range of wines. Sip on the fruits of his labour while rugged up and exploring the garden — you may even spot a nibbling wallaby exploring the conifers, lavender and heritage roses. If you haven't had your fill of wine from the region — honestly, how could you? — ChaLou Wines in Emu Swamp is a must-visit if you have longer to stay. Owners Nadja and Steve are self-professed "farm kids" and are passionate about leaving the land better than they found it. Vines and winemaking aren't the only activities happening on the 65-hectare property. Their farm is home to sheep, horses and a flock of chooks. The winery has three ranges, each with its own unique style: Dreaded Friend (fun, vibrant and creative vinos), The Somm and the Winemaker — the result of a partnership between Nadja and Sydney sommelier Louella Matthews — and, of course, the ChaLou Estate range with classic varieties from the Orange region: chardonnay, pinot noir and riesling. Book a tour and a tasting while there to see what's happening in winter. For your final night in the region, head down to the heart of Orange to The Union Bank where you'll find locals and visitors sitting down to have a chat and a drink with one another. As the name suggests, the pub was originally a bank but is now a thriving local food and hospitality precinct. The seasonal menu highlights the rich food and wine culture of the region and is designed to celebrate the social aspect of dining — in other words, it's meant to be shared. There are small and large share plates and an option for the chef's choice degustation with paired local wines on offer as well. It's an ideal locale to celebrate your last wintry night in this charming region. It won't be long until you are dreaming of returning to see how the region evolves in spring. Plan your excursion to wine country for when the Orange Winter Fire Festival takes place each August — showcasing the best of an authentic country winter through a series of events. Images: Orange360
There's something about spending a long lazy summer day at the beach that just can't be beat. Some of our overseas friends have got this down to a fine art — think beach chairs and shady umbrellas set up ready and waiting on the white sand of a Brazilian beach, with caipirinhas and coconuts served up from the little stalls dotting the shoreline. But fear not! Although we're a little short on beach bars (except this one), back in Australia we've perfected beach luxury, BYO-style. Here are our ten favourite beach chairs to bring along with you to your favourite sandy spot, whether it's on the grassy knoll at North Bondi, on a buzzing Gold Coast main beach, Victoria's quaint Brighton Beach or a tiny secret beach at the mouth of the Hawkesbury. BANANA SUNLOUNGE, SOMMERSAULT We couldn't resist. No list of beach chairs would be complete without the humble banana lounge. They'll take you to the sand, to the park, and all the way back to those memories of the days before water restrictions when you plonked one under the sprinklers in the backyard. You can even pull them out for sleepovers. Inexpensive, functional, iconic... and don't forget they fold flat for easy storage with that familiar 'click-click'. BEACH SEAT HAVANA, SUNNY LIFE Modern comfort, lightweight portability and a retro-inspired colourful print? This chair ticks a lot of boxes for seaside adventuring. As well as that, being from the clever people at Sunny Life, you can even find a beach umbrella or towel to complement your chair. But it's not just about looks — this chair has a handy pocket providing a place to stash your valuables. And see that strap? That makes for easy carrying without bumping aluminium poles all over your shoulder. DANIA FOLDING TEAK BEACH CHAIR, SKAGERAK We know teak is pretty — Danish mid-century furniture sure taught us that. But did you know this tropical hardwood also has a number of special properties that make it an excellent outdoor material? A high oil and rubber content make it naturally weatherproof, it's strong, and with a little love and recent finishing is easily cleaned. This teak beach chair will let you bring all those perks to the beach, in a fetching Danish design. If you're into your eco-credentials and a bit wary of tropical hardwoods, check out this bamboo option, and the recycled number below. TRIOPLINA CHAIR, MUUMUU DESIGN With lush covers to choose from including black and white cowhide, leather, cotton canvas and even kangaroo, Muumuu Design makes each of their stunner folding chairs by hand right in Sydney. Featuring sustainable marine-grade plywood frames and hand-finished with either a stain or clear protective finish, they're designed to last, as well as look good. The Tripolina design was first patented in 1877, and has been popular as a campaign or safari chair ever since. This is a chair with a pretty long history — and it's had a modern update thanks to the folks at Muumuu Design. Check out their full range. RECYCLED DECK CHAIR, ECOCHIC We love a good folding deck chair. Especially when they're locally made and recycled, like this chair from Ecochic. Handmade out of recycled Australian hardwood, these chairs come in natural or white. As well as being made-to-order, they're made to last — right down to the stainless steel screws and bolts. Ecochic are on a bit of a mission to make eco-friendly furniture available to people around Australia, whether or not they have access to a store. That means they keep their shipping fees as low as possible. You can check out their eco credentials here. PANTONE FOLDING CHAIRS, SELETTI Introducing Seletti, the company bringing Pantone to the beach. Their range of folding chairs are available in those familiar colours loved by many a design aficionado. Team up with your friends and see what colour palette works best for your beach times this summer. TREKKER LOUNGE, THERMAREST Next on the lounging front is this cleverly designed number from Thermarest. Known for their top-notch sleeping mats, if you do already have a Thermarest packed away for your outdoor adventures, all you need is the Trekker Lounge chair to convert your mat into a lounge chair fit for the beach. It's pretty clever, and as a bonus it's super lightweight which means it can see you from the beach to the bush, if you're planning some summer hiking too (or both, if you're lucky enough to be hiking to a secret beach somewhere). ORSON DECK CHAIR, RODA Last but not least, check this one for style. Designed by Gordon Guillaumier for RODA, the lovely lines of this chair are perfectly complemented by its matching footstool. The chair features a teak frame, and the little capote (that's the shade sail) means this is another super comfortable, shady chair to kick back in. All that's missing from this picture is some kind of delicious cool drink, and maybe one of Sydney's cracker sunsets after a day at the beach. BUNGALOW BEACH CHAIR, BUNGALOW As part of our search for the ideal beach chair, something came to us. Shade. How nifty is it to have a little awning over your head, protecting your face from the beating rays and your arm muscles, tired from shielding your face all day? So it was with much delight we stumbled across the Bungalow Beach Chair. Not only does it have a comfy towel design that lets you lounge out right on the sand, there's a hammock-shaped back to support you. But what we're eyeing off the most is that shady shade, right above where our heads go. This chair also comes with a zippered pocket for your things. Want the ultimate summer set-up? Check out these seven nifty beach tents.
Sometimes, a romantic comedy tries to do something different. Sometimes, it just seems like it does. The film's concept aside, there's little about 5 to 7 that defies convention; however even as it offers up the sweetness and convenience the genre is known for, plus a whole lot of culture clash commentary and comedy thrown in too, it proves an elegant effort to watch. Here, adherence to type doesn’t make for a bad film, just a routine one. 5 to 7 has certain charms, but you have to be willing to go along with quite a few contrived and heavy-handed elements to enjoy them — like being told, repeatedly and through montages, that there's a difference between Americans and the French. Chief among those obvious aspects is protagonist Brian (Anton Yelchin), aka the US-oriented party of the central couple. He's a 24-year-old aspiring writer who has dedicated his youthful years to his dream, preferring words to real-life experiences. If he sounds familiar, that's because he's the kind of earnest fellow many a movie is littered with. And those of his ilk often find their world changed through a chance meeting with a lovely lady, such as as the one that starts Brian's connection with European export Arielle (Bérénice Marlohe). After spotting her on the streets of New York City, Brian and Arielle chat and agree to cross paths again the next week. Their catch-ups then move to the titular hours of 5pm to 7pm, which is when she says she is available. The reason for her limited schedule: she’s married with two kids. While her diplomat husband (Lambert Wilson) is fine with her having an affair — in fact, he's having one as well, with an up-and-coming literary editor (Olivia Thirlby) — confining their extramarital dalliances to that daily period is just the way the French apparently do things. Cue Brian's intertwined infatuation and anguish, playing out over typical rom-com park strolls, hotel room liaisons and long chats about everyone's feelings. His parents (Glenn Close and Frank Langella) share reservations about their arrangement, but are similarly won over by Arielle — which shows just how lightly 5 to 7 skims the surface of its scenario. This isn't a film about challenging traditional ideas about relationships, or even exploring something different; it's simply a standard romance narrative navigating a series of problems, using adultery as a point of difference and wrapping everything up in "but she's French!" sentiments. Somehow, though, the actors and their subtle performances mostly make the movie work. Yelchin isn't helped by the writer-side of his character (with a wannabe author looking for his big break also frequent film fare), yet his awkwardness comes across as genuinely as his rapport with Marlohe. When they're just walking and talking, Woody Allen and Richard Linklater style, they're at their best, even if their dialogue remains a collection of clichés and clunky lines. That first-time feature writer/director Victor Levin likes to largely look on from afar, gives the film a leisurely pace, and knows how to put a graceful image together also helps the handsomely shot offering, which clearly aims to be one of cinema's classic love stories. Of course, 5 to 7 never reaches such heights, but it is a breezy and pleasing-enough attempt beneath the platitudes and predictability.
Next time you pick up a club, order a drink and hit the mini-golf greens at Newtown's Holey Moley, you'll be able to swing your way around E.T., Forrest Gump, and Jaws-themed holes — or, if you'd prefer, you can grab a microphone. The popular King Street spot occasionally gives its two nine-hole courses a revamp, with the multi-level venue unveiling its latest creations after refurbishing half of them. As well as making over a considerable part of its existing site, Holey Moley has also made two crucial new additions: two karaoke rooms. If you're fond of belting out a tune, you can jump between pretending you're in Happy Gilmore and living out your A Star Is Born dreams by heading into the two onsite singing suites. For those keen to keep tap, tap, tapping away, the rebadged holes also span snakes, sharks, Lego and pineapples under the sea, and come with names such as 'The Loop Hole', 'Gone Fishin'', 'The Moon and Pars' and 'Draw Fore'. [caption id="attachment_628408" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Holey Moley Newtown by Tom Wilkinson[/caption] While in renovation mode, Holey Moley has also shaken up its menu — and is offering bottomless brunch every Saturday and Sunday between September 21–October 31. For $50, you get a cocktail on arrival, unlimited mini-golf, two hours of bottomless beer, cider, wine and sparkling, and a feed. The latter includes waffle fries, burgers, fried chicken ribs and popcorn shrimp with vegan options available. As Holey Moley loves themed things, the cocktails will match the new holes, with options such as the Shark Bite Colada, BlockManDu (topped with lollies and Lego) and an espresso martini made with Reece's peanut butter cups. While Sydney isn't short on boozy bottomless brunches, this one is great for when you want to do more than just sit down and eat (and drink). Holey Moley's bottomless brunch sessions will run every Saturday and Sunday from September 21 to October 31. It's available from 11am–4pm and can be purchased at the venue.
One scrap of detail sums up much about the new Superman reboot, Man of Steel: He doesn't wear underpants. The 75-year-old character's red underwear, worn on the outside, is among the silliest ensembles ever dreamed up, but it's also iconic. To take on the role of Superman is sometimes called 'donning the red underpants' for that reason. The modern Superman interpreter can go one of two ways with this: 1. Keep the red undies, finding a self-aware spin on old anachronisms (we'll call this the 'Marvel way'), or 2. Ignore the undies, because contemporary superheroing is serious business (aka the Dark Knight way). So when you see Henry Cavill on the promo posters, looking pretty and pumped and decidedly sans contrast knickers, you should have a fair idea of what kind of Superman you're in for. And sure enough, it's Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer who are behind this story, along with director Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch, Watchmen). The costume is not the only beloved bit of camp that's gone: this Clark Kent is not yet trying to keep up his dorky cover as a Daily Planet reporter, and this Lois Lane (Amy Adams) won't be unable to recognise him just because he puts on some specs (that last change, at least, is way overdue). Of the sprawling Superman mythos, Man of Steel tries to fit in the origin story and the bit immediately after. It opens on Krypton, as the planet is being torn apart following the over-mining of its natural resources (relevance!). General Zod (Michael Shannon) has also chosen this time for a military coup. Baby Kal-El's father, Jor-El (Russell Crowe), and mother, Lara (Ayelet Zurer), save him — and, with him, they hope, Kryptoniankind — by putting him on a shuttle bound for Earth. We next see Kal-El as a young man, drifting around the globe trying to find clues as to his real identity. In a spaceship buried in the Arctic, he finds the answers, recounted to him in detail by a hologram of his father. It's all ready-made, including his suit, and the film quickly moves on to its bulkier second part: The hero working out whether his place is with the human or the alien. And General Zod is on his way back from the Phantom Zone to help with that quandary, by invading Earth. Ahead of the screening, I thought there was no way the Dark Knight approach could work for Superman. Or any approach, nearly; he's a hard character to make interesting. He's not conflicted, he doesn't have a dark side and he's not funny. He's never going to have a battle 'with himself' or one that's morally ambiguous. His powers are perfect. He has no hubris. Like Captain America, he's just kinda lame. As it happens, the team does surprisingly well with portions of the material. They find an involving moral question without descending into darkness, and their 'scientific' explanations of a lot of the mythology work well. Cavill is super-handsome but also reasonably charismatic, which is the more important draw. In many ways, this is the strongest Superman reboot for a long time. Unfortunately, the story manages to be both rushed and overlong — because Clark finds the tell-all hologram in 30 minutes, there is no sense that he's struggled. The pace, afterwards, is flat. But Man of Steel has a bigger problem: director Snyder has no taste. Again and again, he's come up with some amazing visual styling and action sequences, but he doesn't know when to say stop. When to pull back. The fight scenes between super-strong characters, who destroy rows of buildings with a single punch, are repeated to the point of exhaustion. The final battle should have been two battles earlier. Lois isn't a 'strong female character'; she's superhuman herself. Exposition is heavy. It's all very loud. So there you go: a Superman with both strengths and weaknesses. It's rumoured an Avengers-style team-up of dour DC heroes will follow, which isn't hugely thrilling. But with his own sequel, this Man of Steel could yet firm up. https://youtube.com/watch?v=T6DJcgm3wNY
Airports are a necessary part of the international travel experience. They're hardly most people's favourite place or anyone's ultimate destination, but you can't fly overseas without visiting them. Next time you're jetting abroad, however, you might want to add a visit to Singapore's Changi Airport to your trip. Nothing breaks up a long-haul journey like a 40-metre tall indoor waterfall, after all. After hosting a short-term immersive Harry Potter-themed world over the Christmas period, the Asian transit point has now launched a new permanent addition — the 137,000-square-metre Jewel Changi complex, under a glass-and-steel dome, that's jam-packed with shops, dining options, greenery, activities and one massive water feature. Designed by Safdie Architects, it takes over ten storeys, including five above the ground and five below, as part of the airport's terminal one expansion project. If it's the cascading attraction that you're most interested in, it's called the Rain Vortex. As the name suggests, it uses water collected from above. Running from 8am–12.30am, it's also the world's tallest indoor waterfall, and also provides the backdrop for a light show. Surrounding the Rain Vortex is the Shiseido Forest Valley, which is home to over 2000 trees and palms, as well as more than 100,000 shrubs, all across five storeys. To allow visitors to really soak in the natural splendour, the manicured garden features a number of walking trails that take around half an hour each to complete — and they're open 24/7. Although the waterfall and garden have been welcoming travellers since Wednesday, April 17 — as has Jewel Changi in general, its new onsite IMAX theatre and YOTELAIR Hotel, plus Nike, Marks & Spencer, Muji, Zara and Uniqlo stores as part of 280 retailers and eateries overall — there's also more to come. From June 10, the site will mark the opening of its fifth-level Canopy Park, which'll bring with it a heap more adventurous activities. Specifically, visitors will be able to walk along a bridge suspended 23 metres above the ground, and even see through the glass floor to the garden below. You'll also be able to bounce along a 250-metre span of sky nets, wander through both a hedge maze and a mirror maze, and slip down the slide-filled sculptural playground. Forget just killing time on a layover, searching for a phone charger or suffering in uncomfortable chairs while you're waiting for your flight home. Here, you might have to remind yourself that you're actually at an airport. For further details, visit the Jewel Changi Airport website.
If you're over the typical lunch feasts of the festive season, it's time to break it up. To help expedite the excitement of the season for you, we've gathered a list of Solotel venues across Sydney that can make for some unconventional new traditions.
You've saved the date. You loved the lineup. If you're keen to hit up 2025's One Night Stand — and see Spacey Jane, LUUDE, Ruby Fields, 3%, Blusher and Velvet Trip while you're there — you'll now want to make plans to visit Busselton in Western Australia. That's where the Triple J initiative is heading this year, marking its first visit to the state in almost a decade, since 2016. All of the above acts, plus a yet-to-be-announced Triple J Unearthed winner, will take to the stage in Barnard Park on Saturday, May 24. Part of the reason for the long gap between trips west: this music festival does the rounds, setting up shop in a different part of the country each year. Another factor: that One Night Stand took a break from 2020–23 due to the pandemic. [caption id="attachment_996055" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitch Lowe[/caption] After 2019's One Night Stand, music lovers in regional Australia waited till 2024 for the event to return. Thankfully, there's no five-year delay between festivals this time. In fact, One Night Stand is returning just over eight months since 2024's festival, which took place in the Victorian town of Warrnambool in September with G Flip, Ruel, What So Not and Thelma Plum leading the lineup. Victoria hosted the most-recent One Night Stand and also the first: 21 years ago now, Triple J gave the town of Natimuk a day to remember when the spot 300 kilometres out of Melbourne welcomed its very own major music fest. When the ABC radio station put on the festival every year between 2004–2014, then again from 2016–2019, however, it hopped around states. Fellow Western Australian spots Collie and Geraldton have already welcomed the festival, for instance. [caption id="attachment_996056" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cole Barash[/caption] Ayr, Dalby and Mt Isa in Queensland; Port Pirie, Tumby Bay and Lucindale in South Australia; Cowra and Dubbo in New South Wales; Sale and Mildura back in Victoria; Alice Springs in the Northern Territory; and St Helens in Tasmania: they've all enjoyed the One Night Stand experience as well in prior years. It was true in 2024 and it remains the case in 2025: the all-ages event is returning at time when the Australian live music scene has been suffering, and after a spate of festivals have been cancelling or saying farewell forever, including both Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo sitting out 2024 and 2025. Tickets for 2025's One Night Stand will cost $15 plus booking fee, and all proceeds will be donated to charity. One Night Stand Lineup 2025 Spacey Jane LUUDE Ruby Fields 3% Blusher Velvet Trip Triple J Unearthed winner to be announced [caption id="attachment_996060" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Savitri Wendt[/caption] 2025's triple j One Night Stand will take place on Saturday, May 24, 2025 in Barnard Park in Busselton, Western Australia. Tickets go on sale from 5pm AEDT on Thursday, March 27, 2025. For more information, head to the radio station's website.
It's now a whole lot easier to get your mitts on one of those recognisable (and authentic) Fjällräven rucksacks, as the Swedish outdoors label behind the bags has opened its first-ever Sydney store. Launching its first Australian store in Melbourne late last year, Fjällräven has today unveiled its new flagship store on York Street. Located in an old sandstone building, the new space gives Sydneysiders a chance to shop the internationally renowned brand in person, browsing an extensive range of its sustainably made clothing, accessories and outdoors equipment. Here, those brightly coloured box-shaped Kanken rucksacks (and the mini versions) will be on show in over 40 different colours alongside menswear, womenswear, tents, sleeping bags, and plenty of other travel accompaniments. The brand's Aussie flagship store also offers complimentary coffee — for locals needing a quick fika (a coffee break) — and loads of expert advice for those plotting their next outdoors adventure or even just an overseas jaunt. Fjällräven, now famous worldwide for its clever fusion of functionality and style, has been kicking on since 1960, when founder Ake Nordin made and sold his first aluminium-framed backpack. The label has since expanded to a huge line of fashion and equipment for nature-lovers and style-savvy city dwellers alike. Find Fjällräven at 38 York Street, Sydney
The Green Square Library has been nominated for Best New Space in our Best of 2018 awards. Like it? Vote for it right 'ere. Welcome to the future of libraries. When Green Square Library officially launched on Saturday, October 27, it unveiled way more than books — a high-tech lab, underground reading garden, amphitheatre, music room, cafe and meeting rooms are just some of its swish facilities. The building, which you'll find in Zetland – around three kilometres south of Central Station – is hard to miss, thanks to its six-storey glass tower, which emerges from a tree-dotted plaza. Behind the partially subterranean architecture is Alexandria-based studio Stewart Hollenstein, whose design topped a 167-strong international competition held back in 2013. While books — and underground gardens in which to read said books — are still the central focus of the library, it also features many spaces dedicated to music. The sprawling music room has a baby grand piano, which can be hired out by Beethoven hopefuls stuck in tiny Sydney apartments, and the open air amphitheatre will play host to many public gigs over the upcoming months. As well as being an eye-catching piece of art itself, the library also contains two stunning installations. High Water, a series of massive LED screens that interpret local weather patterns in abstract colours, by Indigo Hanlee and Michael Thomas Hill dons the plaza, and Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro's Cloud Nation – a vintage aircraft with wings containing the miniature world of Laputa, from Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels – hangs inside the library. Gaining 500 members in its first week, the library is quickly becoming a hit with locals. And we think the underground garden will be the perfect spot to escape the summer heat, book in hand, in the upcoming months. Green Square Library is now open at 355 Botany Road, Zetland. It's open 10am–7pm, Monday to Wednesday; 10am–6pm, Thursday and Friday; and 10am–4pm, Saturday. Images: Katherine Griffiths.
It has been more than two decades since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first brought its magic into our lives, and muggles still share one particular dream: to attend Hogwarts. Yes, it's a fictional setting. Yes, we all know that. But that still hasn't stopped all manner of places trying to make the school an enchanting reality, from HP-inspired wizarding schools to huge brunches held in Great Hall-like spaces to activewear decked out in house colours. London's Warner Brothers Studio Tour is going one step further as part of its The Making of Harry Potter exhibit: it's letting visitors try on authentic Hogwarts robes. Short of casting a spell to go back in time and star in one of the eight Harry Potter films — or somehow finding your way onto the Fantastic Beasts' set — that's as close as you're going to get to some actual Hogwarts action. The specific tour wizard obsessives will want to take is the Behind the Seams experience, which dives into the costumes created for the movie franchise — all 25,000 of them. Sketches, finished outfits and stories about their creation are all part of this wander through a workshop-like environment, with threads worn by Cedric Diggory, Professor Sprout and even Voldemort on display. That's all great and bewitching, but the main attraction is the chance to pick your house colours and pop on a robe that featured in one of the movies. We'd tell you to BYO wand, but you've probably already thought about that. Anyone finding themselves in London over the next few months can take the Behind the Seams tour between May 23 and July 22, with sessions running daily until June 2 and then every weekend afterwards. Tickets cost £65, which includes the one-hour costume frenzy — but no, you can't wear your Hogwarts garb for the whole hour, sorry — as well as the standard studio tour, complete with a walk through the Forbidden Forest and a wait on Platform 9¾. For more information, visit the Behind the Seams website.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, laneways, car parks and outdoor city spaces have taken on new lives as event organisers, restaurant owners and city councils look to these outdoor areas in response to restrictions on indoor venues. In Melbourne, the City of Melbourne has been running an outdoor dining program and a CBD carpark is being used as a cinema. In Sydney, the St. Mary's Cathedral forecourt has been reinvented as a temporary gig space, a northern beaches laneway was transformed into a beer garden and Sydney Opera House's forecourt is set to become a dance and workout space. Parramatta is no stranger to these kinds of outdoor transformations, with annual events series like Parramatta Lanes and Parramasala taking over its streets each year. The latest is Parramatta Nights, a three-week event program that's popping up in Parramatta Square, Prince Alfred Square and the City Centre Car Park rooftop with music, movies, a roller skating rink and carnival rides. Parramatta Nights was originally scheduled for January, but was postponed due to the northern beaches and Berala COVID-19 outbreaks that occurred in late 2020 and early 2021. Following the postponement, the series will now run between Thursday, March 25 and Sunday, April 18. Kicking things off is The Rooftop Hangout, a four-night music series on the City Centre Car Park rooftop from Thursday, March 25 to Sunday, March 28. The lineup is overflowing with talent across the four nights, with the likes of Briggs, The Chats and Ruby Fields taking to the stage. If the music wasn't a big enough drawcard, there will be food on hand from fried chicken faves Butter, as well as a rooftop bar. An openair cinema will be set up in Prince Alfred Square from Thursday, April 1 through to Sunday, April 18. The cinema will be showing cult Bollywood classics and family favourites including The Greatest Showman, The Karate Kid and a Grease sing-a-long. Next to the cinema in Prince Alfred Square will be a roller skating rink and a ferris wheel. If you're looking for a more relaxed musical experience, head to Parramatta Square where you'll find free jazz nights every Thursday–Sunday between March 25—April 11. You can find the full program and go into the draw to win free tickets to the Rooftop Hangout and openair cinema at Discover Parramatta's website. Parramatta Nights will run across Parramatta Square, Prince Alfred Square and City Centre Car Park rooftop between Thursday, March 25 and Sunday, April 18.
Icons teaming up with icons: when documentary series Pretend It's a City hit Netflix in 2021, that's what it served up. Earning attention: Fran Lebowitz, with Martin Scorsese directing. The focus: the acclaimed writer, humorist and social commentator chatting about her life for the legendary filmmaker, following on from Scorsese's Lebowitz-focused 2010 feature-length doco Public Speaking. Of course, Lebowitz doesn't need to be nattering with Scorsese, or in front of The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman helmer's lens, to prove a must-watch figure. Her sharp opinions and deadpan humour have made her famous for more than five decades now, and over a career spanning magazine columns, books, working with Andy Warhol, notable late-night talkshow appearances and public-speaking tours. It's the latter that's bringing her back to Australia in 2024 — getting talking along the east coast. [caption id="attachment_912247" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Harrison Dilts[/caption] "Ever since Pretend It's a City exploded on our screens, we have wanted to bring Fran Lebowitz back to the Sydney Opera House. In this special event, we all get to take on the role of Marty Scorsese and ask her what she thinks about absolutely anything in our puzzling, frustrating, sometimes maddening world," said Sydney Opera House Head of Talks & Ideas Chip Rolley, with Lebowitz's Harbour City stop presented in conjunction with the venue's talk-focused programming strand. "It's then our job to sit back, relax and laugh until we can no longer. Sydney should prepare itself for a banner night out with one of the world's great cultural satirists." [caption id="attachment_912248" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lia Clay Miller[/caption] Melbourne and Brisbane should also prepare accordingly, with Lebowitz also taking to the stage at Hamer Hall in the Victorian capital and QPAC in the Sunshine State in February. Will she chat about attending the Succession season four premiere party? Her role as a judge in the Law & Order franchise (and The Wolf of Wall Street)? Saturday Night Live's parody of Pretend It's a City? Being a columnist for Warhol's Interview mag? Growing up in New Jersey? New York in the 70s? Topics such as race, gender, media and politics? Anything that vexes her? Everything? At least some will earn an unfiltered mention — including at the audience Q&As. AN EVENING WITH FRAN LEBOWITZ: Tuesday, February 13 — Sydney Opera House, Sydney Thursday, February 15 — QPAC, Brisbane Sunday, February 18 — Hamer Hall, Melbourne An Evening with Fran Lebowitz hits Australia in February 2024. Head to the Sydney Opera House, QPAC and Arts Centre Melbourne websites for tickets — with pre sales from Tuesday, August 8 and general sales from Thursday, August 10 — and further details. Top image: Bill Hayes.
When winter hits in 2021, Sydneysiders can prepare to be ensconced in projections once again. After taking a year off in 2020, Vivid Sydney's annual festival of light, music and ideas will transform the city over 23 nights with a jam-packed lineup of cultural events, pop-ups and activations. Public spaces across Sydney will be treated to Vivid's beloved light installations — including the previously announced Cockle Bay light walk and Customs House's 3D visual storytelling project, and the freshly revealed activation Fall, a multi-sensory experience in The Rocks playing off the heritage area's leaky drains as a comment on our collective water consumption. The program's lineup will sprawl across iconic Sydney buildings and open spaces in Circular Quay, The Rocks, Barangaroo and Darling Harbour. [caption id="attachment_761801" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jordan Munns[/caption] In Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House's sails will light up with a digital rendition of Yarrkalpa (Hunting Ground), a stunning painting created by the Martu Artists of the Pilbara region. Inside and in front of the iconic harbourside venue, Vivid Live will feature an array of boundary-pushing and fan-favourite musicians from Australia and New Zealand. Across the three-week festival, music fans can catch the world premiere of Sampa the Great's new stage show, a tenth anniversary showcase of Sydney record label Astral People, rock and jazz legends Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), Jim White (Dirty Three) and Chris Abrahams performing together, plus sets from Golden Features, Flight Facilities, Hermitude, Gordi, G Flip, Miiesha and Connan Mockasin. [caption id="attachment_813276" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Vivid Sydney, 2019[/caption] English actor and The Good Place star, Jameela Jamil will appear as part of Vivid Ideas, discussing body positivity, social media, diet trends and mental health via a virtual talk with Australian author and podcast host Jamila Rizvi. Elsewhere on the Vivid ideas program, Magda Szubanski will discuss the importance of art and laughter, and Briggs will be joined by YouTuber Nat's What I Reckon to discuss mental health while discussing food and music they've been loving. Author of Honeybee Craig Silvey will also be in attendance with screenwriter, performer and multi-disciplinary "trans queen" Glace Chase to talk gender fluidity and representation. Away from the Sydney Opera House, cultural events will activate across the city. Carriageworks will play home to a Cantina OK! pop-up, featuring food and cocktails from the CBD bar, a roster of DJs and performances from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Amyl & the Sniffers. LGBTQIA+ party collective Heaps Gay will bring its Kween's Ball to Luna Park, while FBi Radio will invite audiences into their studio for performances from local musicians. The UTS Great Hall will host a series of talks, seminars and film screening, and the Australian Museum, Parliament House, MCA, the Powerhouse Museum and Maritime Museum will all continue with their after-dark culture series Up Late. [caption id="attachment_809934" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Destination NSW, an artist's render of a Vivid installation.[/caption] Vivid will run from Friday, August 6 until Saturday, August 28. You can check out the full program via Vivid's website.
At the end of July, the MCA will showcase four decades worth of work from Aleks Danko. This Victorian-based performance artist and sculptor creates poetry out of objects. He is continually playing with puns and visual jokes. Growing up in suburban Adelaide to Ukrainian parents, Danko gravitated toward art school as a place to explore his feelings of alienation. The whimsical and cartoonish nature of his practice caught the attention of national and international galleries, transforming him into one of our foremost conceptual artists. Curated by Glenn Barkley and Lesley Harding, this show will unpack how Danko works with objects and the way he gives them a kind of veracity and performative power. As the son of immigrant parents, he is also keenly aware of Australia’s social and political fabric and frequently satirises cultural values.
There's no denying that everyone loves a themed party, and Single O is hosting a cracker of one. Lining up the best of the best in black brew coffee to compete in the 2017 Australian Aeropress Championship, the event will centre around the theme 'Aussie nasties'. What does that mean? Well, along with coffee, the folks at Single O are buddying up with some talented inner-west legends to bring you native Aussie food and drink. While the champs behind the machines are brewing some seriously good coffee, Newtown's Rising Sun Workshop will be combining some unusual flavours and deceptively shaping them into classic burger form. The first burger on offer is a match of camel (yes, camel) with pickled cactus, and the second a prickly vegetarian 'shroom' and stinging nettle creation. Add a house-made blood orange soda to the mix and there's a cocktail of flavours to try. If you thought pickled cactus and stinging nettles would be a mouthful, then the Black Tyrant Ant and guava sorbet made by Cow & the Moon will really challenge your tastebuds. Black Tyrant Ants are native to the east coast of Australia and we're told that they have a citrus zing that bursts in your mouth. The Enmore gelato gurus have capitalised on this unique flavour, folding it through the smooth guava sorbet and serving it all up in the classic waffle cone style that they are known for. There will be 25 competitors at the event and the champion will win a place in the 2017 World Aeropress Championships held in Seoul, South Korea. So the comp is pretty serious. Spectator tickets are only $5 and this will also get you a 4 Pines beer on arrival — just in case you need help swishing those ants down. Images: Alana Dimou.
When Palace Verona opened its doors 27 years ago, Nicole Kidman did the honours. In 2024, it'll turn off its projectors and shut up shop. The arthouse cinema chain has announced that its Oxford Street picture palace will close in January, when the company's lease on the site finishes. The building that the theatre is in is then set to be redeveloped. One big-screen spot may be bidding farewell, but another will then say hello: Palace Moore Park. Sydney movie lovers won't have to wait long to swap Paddington for Entertainment Quarter, with Palace's latest addition slated to open in February. So, think of this as a relocation — or a reboot, if you prefer. Entertainment Quarter already has Hoyts onsite, but Palace's venue will be solely devoted to arthouse and international cinema, rather than blockbusters. "As we bid farewell to Palace Verona, we want to express our sincere appreciation to all of our patrons who have shared in the magic of cinema within its iconic walls. The passion and enthusiasm you have shown over the years have truly made Palace Verona a cherished community landmark," said Palace Cinemas CEO Benjamin Zeccola. "We are committed to preserving the arthouse ethos that Palace Verona is renowned for and having that live on at Palace Moore Park," Zeccola continued. "Moviegoers can expect an enhanced experience with an expanded range of films, more immersive events and, of course, our unwavering commitment to excellent hospitality". The Verona building will fall under new management once Palace departs. Over at EQ, the chain names parking and public transport options among the new drawcards — and dining options as well. Find Palace Verona at 17 Oxford Street, Paddington until January 2024, and Palace Moore Park at Entertainment Quarter from February 2024 — with exact closing and opening dates yet to be revealed.
Over the past year, the MCA has hosted a number of powerhouse women. We've had Yoko Ono, Tabaimo and now Annette Messager. Spanning four decades, this major retrospective is a text-heavy universe bouncing between playful and sinister. Messager is a difficult artist to categorise and deliberately so. She pushes against categorisation, skating between the peripheral and the mainstream art world. Motion/Emotion is a conglomeration of different things. There are threads of French conceptualism and a touch of surrealism. There are homages paid to both Outsider Art and kinetic sculpture. But mostly, there's a preoccupation with the body — from the protective layering of clothing to internal organs. Messager also unravels gender codes, breaking down binaries and turning man and woman into a jumble of ubiquitous body parts. The combination of childlike innocence and morbidity can be seen in works such as The Gloves-Grimace, consisting of individual gloves hanging from the gallery walls. The fingertips are pierced by brightly coloured pencils. Plucked from the primary school pencil case, these sharp tools turn the gloves into claws. Perhaps punning on the idea of little monsters, this is an example of how Messager’s human fragments can become animalistic. The large-scale installations are where the kinetic aspects of her practice are in full swing. The show-stealer is perhaps Casino, which won Messager the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2005. This Pinocchio-inspired installation features dangling marionettes, a little city of lights, and waves of sumptuous red silk that gradually ripple and build to a billowing climax. It’s like being the wooden puppet inside the whale’s mouth. But it also feels like a cavernous womb, communicating notions of rebirth and becoming human. Another wonderful work resembles a gothic toy town or something Tim Burton might dream up. It’s full of conical shapes and motorised movement. A projection of Giacometti’s man paces around the room and fabric globes gently inhale and exhale. In fact, many of Messager’s kinetic works appear to be guided by the pattern of human breath, making them feel like sleeping creatures. The lack of colour here is also quite significant. More recently, Messager’s practice has undergone a kind of blackening, as if signalling a depressing or dangerous state of affairs. There’s a lot of pleasure to be had here. Both enchanting and demonic, Messager’s practice is broadly appealing. She reclaims devalued arts such as embroidery and ‘women’s work’ as well as Outsider Art, which she admires for its timelessness and simplicity of media. Parts of her practice resonate with the likes of Cindy Sherman and Francis Picabia. However, Messager casts a wide net in terms of theme and media; she is always looking for new boundaries to test and new tools to work with.
Top-of-class bars and restaurants have been a major focus of the mammoth $60-million renovation of the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. House Made Hospitality has delivered four new hospitality concepts within the upgraded hotel: earlier in October, the first two venues – Tilda and Bar Tilda – located on the ground floor, were opened to the public and now, two more plush spaces are ready to welcome their first guests. French-Vietnamese fusion restaurant Delta Rue channels the vibrant old-world spirit of Hanoi but with a refined sense of luxury. With seating for 150 diners, plus space for an additional 60 on the sweeping horse-shoe terrace, this impressive restaurant seamlessly blends al fresco charm with indoor elegance. On arrival, guests can visit the intimate champagne bar, where seven by-the-glass sips — from single-village grower champagnes to vintage selections — are on offer. The 390-square-metre dining room's interior design, by Fender Katsalidis, also sets a luxe tone, taking its cues from French-colonial architecture and Vietnamese-style textiles and prints. "In this space, east meets west, vibrancy and structure collide, and there's a magical balance of neutrals and colour," says Karen Morris of Fender Katsalidis. A soft, nature-inspired palette of muted greens and greys counterpoints the verdant wallpaper, designed by artist Kerrie Brown, featuring lush foliage and exotic birds, while seating crafted from solid reclaimed teak with woven rope backs underlines the 1920s colonial era look. On the menu, fresh, crisp, quintessentially Vietnamese flavours take centre stage. Crafted by the hotel's Executive Chef Elliott Pinn, who has formerly overseen the dining offering at House Made's other major dining hub Hinchcliff House, there are some playful flourishes for diners to enjoy, such as the bánh mì trolley, which constructs the crowd-pleasing Vietnamese sandwich tableside to the diners' taste, before it's sliced into bite-sized pieces for easy sharing. Many of the mains are also social affairs designed to share. Guests can get hands-on with roasted duck legs, a whole roasted snapper or a dry-aged steak, accompanied by nuoc cham, rice paper, butter lettuce, and pickles, to create classic Vietnamese wraps. A fresh crab and green mango salad loaded with fresh herbs or a banana blossom salad featuring a textural mix of shaved banana blossom, pineapple, and chilli make for the perfect side dishes. Washing that down is a wine list that skews 70 per cent French alongside a range of local and international fortified and dessert wines. The cocktail list is also French-leaning with some homegrown winks thrown in, such as the French 75 featuring Pommery champagne, Unico Zelo pomelo vermouth, pear eau de vie and finger lime extract. Located on the same level as Delta Rue, Wentworth Bar is a lush terrace watering hole that looks fated to become a top go-to for an inner-city sundowner. Also designed by Fender Katsalidis, the space is sophisticated yet relaxed. Conceived to cater to punters throughout the day, there are a variety of seating options, from low-slung chairs for sun-basking, cocktail in hand, to high tables with stools for those looking to perch for a quick drink and generous seating areas intended for group gatherings. Terrazzo tables and verdant planting centred around an impressive focal point — a mature tree — transport guests far from the urban hustle just five storeys below, while DJ sets keep the good times rolling. The cocktail menu amps up the fun with playful mixes that are easy to drink. A signature will be Wentworth Bar's party cocktails. Priced at $220, they come served in a showstopping glass fountain which holds 12 standard drinks. Get the party started with the Tai Chi Mumma, a refreshing mix of Ketel One vodka, rosé, and prosecco, rounded out with raspberry, lemon, and lychee or the Strawberry Yuzu Spritz - a bright blend of white wine, herbal aperitif, yuzu, and a fruity hit of mango, passionfruit, and grapefruit. Delta Rue and Bar Wentworth open to diners from Friday, October 25. For more details and opening hours, head the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth website. Images: Steven Woodburn
