Spring is Beautiful at The Botanical Gardens in Sydney

There is nothing like early spring at the Botanical Gardens in Sydney, clear skies, fresh air, and beautiful flowers appearing for the first time as dazzling displays of colour.

Sydney is buzzing with tourists - the sun is out and Sydney is again on its best display thrilling crowds with its natural (and man-made) beauty.

Botanical Gardens are a short walk from Circular Quay Station so are well worth the visit.

Find out more about the Botanical Gardens - http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/

Location: Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney NSW 2000

Images and write-up By Joseph Gale

Cruise Season Begins

For the first time Australian’s who chose to spend their holidays cruising has surpassed North America taking Australian to No 1 in the world for cruises per capita.

A record 833,348 Australians took a cruise last year and it is predicted to rise to one million by 2016 as more cruising ships enter Australian waters.*

As Sydney is a key departure point for many cruises, why worry about trains being delayed, traffic jams, problem of where to park the car, feeling stressed to the max before even arriving at the ship when you can stay in central Sydney in luxury apartments.

Metro Apartments Darling Harbour will be offering passengers pre and post cruise stays with a ten per cent discount on all packages and best available rates for the length of their stay. This includes a bottle of sparkling Australian wine and chocolates on arrival.

With cruises departing from the International Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay and from the White Bay terminal in Rozelle, both are just a short taxi trip from the Apartments to the terminals.

Situated in the heart of Sydney directly across from Darling Harbour, Metro Apartments Darling Harbour is an ideal location to explore some of the city before cruising.

Nearby is King Street Wharf and Cockle Bay where you can enjoy a cocktail in one of the many boutique bars, a meal in one of many harbourside restaurants to suit everyone’s budget or stroll across the footbridge to try your luck at The Star Casino.

Metro Apartments Darling Harbour are priced to be affordable for mid-week and weekend getaways starting from $199.00.

A selection of 32 recently renovated loft-style one-bedroom apartments, each with a queen sized bed and sofa bed, offer all the comforts of a ‘home away from home’ with the convenience of a perfect city location. Each apartment is appointed with a fully-equipped kitchen, washing machine, dryer and ironing facilities, air conditioning and heating.

To make a reservation, visit www.metrohotels.com and enter the code CRUISE to be entitled to the 10% discount or call the toll free reservations on 1800 114 321.

View details of Cruise Sydney Accommodation Package at Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour

* Source news.com.au

Art and About Sydney 2014

Art & About Sydney is a collaborative arts festival where every street, laneway, building site, intersection and thoroughfare is a canvas for creation and storytelling.

From home-delivered theatre performances in private living rooms, to Sydney’s largest backyard party in Martin Place, Art & About Sydney 2014 is set to excite and delight.

With a program boasting works from the quirky to the quintessentially Australian, local and international artists will present works that explore the festival theme of ‘endangered’ from 19 September to 12 October.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the 13th Art & About festival contains a unique three week program of works that will surprise and delight the city.

“This program of artworks and performances provides great insights and reflections on our rapidly changing society. I invite everyone to come and enjoy the wonderful things on offer”

Friday Night Live – Quarter Acre Block Party
Once a staple of Australian life, the quarter acre block is a fading dream in many parts of Australia. The 2014 Art & About Sydney launch will be a celebration of this diminishing pastime and all it stands for – evoking memories of our own backyards and neighbourhoods.

Martin Place will be transformed into a giant backyard – a welcoming and relaxed ‘block party’, featuring entertainment, quality food and drinks and a great place to begin your festival adventure. BBQs, Hills Hoists, back fences, lawn cricket, garage bands, garden furniture, dogs, vinyl records, beer and snags….all slap bang in the middle of Sydney’s CBD.

Australian Life
For the first time, the former Sydney Life photo competition and exhibition is going national. The Australian Life exhibition in Hyde Park will display large scale images depicting Australian life across the nation. 

The $10,000 competition winner will be announced at the Art & About 2014 opening night.

Little Sydney Lives
The always-popular Little Sydney Lives photo competition is back, displaying a selection of images from our smallest citizens, set amongst the greenery of Sandringham Gardens.

Entries for Little Sydney Lives, Australian Life Exhibition & Prize and a new $5,000 Instagram competition (#australianlife) are now open.

The Banner Gallery – Milk Bar
Passiona, a mix bag of lollies, a milkshake – Australia’s much-loved Milk Bar is back, with images of this fading icon emblazoned on our city banners during Art & About Sydney. 

The changing landscape of our beloved bars were born out of The Island Continent by Eamon Donnelly, an online archive capturing the colour, nostalgia, fashions, design and people across our country. Image credit, below: Eamon Donnelly.

Neon Nomads
Ten three-metre-high tepees in Hyde Park will illuminate the works of some of Australia’s and the world’s most respected graphic artists. The designs, by artists including Wendy Red Star, Phil James and Brett Chan, will pay homage to nomadic lifestyles and urban lifestyles.

Us
An outdoor photographic studio set up at the Queen Victoria Building will invite strangers to come together for old school style group photos as part of Us. Created by James Dive and The Glue Society, each participant will receive a copy of the photo.

The Walking Neighbourhood
Kids will turn the tables and take adults on a tour of city streets, providing a rare glimpse into their world. Taking the reins, kids guide adults on a 90-minute curated tour of Kings Cross and Redfern, sharing their thoughts and experiences of the ‘hood.

Bodies in Urban Spaces
Under the direction of Austrian artist Willi Dorner, 20 human bodies will cram themselves into doorways, alcoves and any gap they can find in the CBD. Dressed in brightly coloured clothes, the audience will spot them in all sorts of nooks and crannies as the festival finale.

Trolleys
Best described as part dance performance, part ballet, part outdoor spectacle, Trolleys is a 20 minute outdoor high-energy theatre work where street dancers and acrobats come together with the humble shopping trolley to spin, glide and slide across city spaces. Created by Shaun Parker & Company, Trolleys will take over Martin Place, Customs House Square, Hyde Park and Pitt Street Mall. Main image credit: Irven Lewis.

Armchair Apocalypse
Jumping off the stage and into your home, Armchair Apocalypse presents three brand new lounge room theatre shows, written and performed by some of Sydney’s most exciting young writers. Sydneysiders will be able to order these performances straight to their door and into their lounge room.

View Official Art and About website

Slash, Train to kick off NRL Grand Final

Slash will pump up the crowds at the NRL Grand Final on October 5

Former Guns N' Roses guitar god Slash and American pop-rock group Train - both of whom headline Australian music festivals in the next few months - have been picked to pump up the crowd before the NRL Grand Final on October 5.

Both acts also have new albums out in the next month. 

Slash will release World on Fire with his band Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators next month, while Train's seventh album, Bulletproof Picasso, is due out next week.

Train have a strong chart history here, scoring a No. 1 single in 2009 with Hey Soul Sister and a No. 5 with Drops of Jupiter in 2001. The band also has three top 10 albums.

What songs will they play? Slash (who is actually English and a fan of Stoke City football club) accompanying at least one Train song is a good bet (Hey Soul Sister is the obvious choice), while the top-hatted axeman is certain to turn out at least one classic Guns N' Roses number.

While the choice of entertainment won't entirely satisfy fans pining for the return of AC/DC or even Cold Chisel, Slash and Train seem a better fit for a big, expectant footy final crowd than Sir Tom Jones. 

The 74-year-old Welsh crooner will kick off procedings before the AFL Grand Final on September 27.

Slash is a headliner at the Soundwave festival next February and March while Train have already confirmed for Bluesfest next April 3.

Say ‘Oi’ to the Brazilian ‘Ritmo’ Sydney Festival!

Say ‘Oi’ to the Brazilian ‘Ritmo’ Sydney Festival!

The Culture Beats festival season at Darling Harbour continues with the Brazilian ‘Ritmo’ Festival on September 21! Portuguese for ‘rhythm’, ‘Ritmo’ is a perfect description of the event, which celebrates the soul and passion of Brazil’s unique fusion of cultures.



The Brazilian Community Council of Australia (BraCCA) is delighted to welcome an expected crowd of 20,000, including fans and newcomers alike, to Tumbalong Park for this hugely popular event, where the young, the old (and the young at heart).

With an interest in Brazilian culture can indulge in a full day of entertainment featuring live music, dance, cultural performances, art and craft stalls and traditional Brazilian cuisine, and learn a thing or two about Brazil’s vibrant culture while they’re at it!

Sing the Melody



Performers in this year’s star-studded line up include The Voice favourite Emily Rex, whose rendition of ‘Pure Imagination’ on the prime time TV show won her a place in the heart of the Australian public. 

A proud member of the Brazilian community, Rex will explore both modern and traditional Brazilian sounds throughout her set, hinting that she may even treat crowds to some smooth and sassy bossa nova! 

Also treading the stage is The Voice season two hero Ben Goldstein, who will bring cool acoustic summer vibes to springtime Sydney.

Tap the Beat



Demonstrations of the Brazilian martial art Capoeira, which combines music, acrobatics and dance, will be led by Edielson da Silva Miranda, aka Mestre Roxinho, who has been undertaking the discipline since 1979.

Roxinho is considered one of the world’s best Masters of Capoeira Angola, and founded Project Bantu, a program that uses Capoeira Angola as a tool to engage marginalised youth and thus forge out positive social outcomes in Brazil, Australia and the Asia Pacific.







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An Evening of Mexican Flavours and Aztec Treasures | Viva La Independencia

An Evening of Mexican flavours and Aztec Treasures | Viva La Independencia

Be one of the first people to view Aztecs, our upcoming blockbuster exhibition, on a particularly important evening – Mexican Independence Day. Your ticket to this limited capacity event includes:

·         An authentic Mexican cocktail on arrival

·         A unique after-hours viewing of our new Aztecs exhibition with a like-minded people

·         Plenty of entertainment including a fiesta photo stand complete with sombreros and ponchos as well as a conversation corner where you can learn some fun and easy phrases

·        Themed canapés and drinks

The exhibition features more than 200 priceless artefacts and dramatic multimedia that tell the story of the spectacular and ultimately tragic rise and fall of the Aztec empire. 

Step into their world and marvel at the extravagant possessions of the Aztec emperors while exploring their sacrificial rituals and uncovering the mysteries of the Aztec afterlife.

The evening is warm and balmy. The intoxicating scent of orange blossoms fills the air, mingling with hints of tequila and gunpowder. The place is Dolores, Mexico, and the year is 1810...

A group of Mexican nationals are conspiring to overthrow the crown. Music plays, dancers sway, revellers drink and the night takes on the knowing grin of anticipation...

Priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is freeing his men from prison, ready to incite a revolution which will mark the first independence Mexicans’ have known in 300 years...

Hidalgo recites his Grito de Delores ‘Viva Mexico’, ‘Viva la Independencia!’...
Soon they will all be free from Spanish rule to become Mexica, once again... 

Photos on this page are for illustrative purposes only

Event Type: Special event

Date: 16 September 2014 to 16 September 2014

Time: 06.30 PM to 09.00 PM

Location: Australian Museum, entry via College St

Admission: $95 ($80 Members)

Find out More Information http://australianmuseum.net.au/event/Viva-la-Indepencida-Evening

UFC Announces Sydney Olympic Park Event November 08, 2014

UFC Announces Sydney Olympic Park Event November 08, 2014

ALLPHONES Arena at Sydney Olympic Park will be the venue when the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Sydney with a fight card on Saturday, November 8.

Two years after the promotion last visited the harbour city, with the UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann card, the Octagon will return for Australia’s fifth event in four years.

The previous five events had seen a combined 66,000 fans in attendance and $10 million in gross gate earnings.

UFC president Dana White spilt the beans on the Sydney show prematurely last week and hinted that adopted Australian fighter Hector Lombard could be included.

Lombard, who is ranked sixth in the welterweight division, fought in Australia’s last UFC card on the Gold Coast in December 2012.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt, Lombard moved to Sydney after competing for the Cuban judo team at the 2000 Olympics.

Possible Aussie inclusions are No.8 ranked heavyweight Mark Hunt, Menai’s Robert Whittaker, Dubbo’s Kyle Noke and Concord’s Anthony Perosh.

The promotion has held two events at Allphones Arena, with tickets selling out in under an hour for both.

The UFC will hold a press conference next Thursday at 11am, which will include fighters and UFC Managing Director for Australia, Canada and New Zealand, Tom Wright.

UFC in the Gold Coast in 2012, Aussie George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson did battle.

Australia’s Robert Whittaker is tipped to feature on the card.

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