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Sustainable Living Festival

Sustainable Living Festival

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The Sustainable Living Festival returns to Melbourne this February and seeks to inspire and empower everyday Australians to accelerate their uptake of sustainable living. This year’s theme  is ‘Embrace It’, where everyone is encouraged to embrace the winds of change.

Many of the Festival events have been developed by and are being held within local communities ranging from city and metropolitan locations to regional cities and rural towns. The Big Weekend is the flagship three-day event held at Federation Square, Melbourne on 12-14 February 2016.

Some major highlights include:

The Green Market –  showcasing over 100 exhibitors offering sustainable home and lifestyle solutions, garden advice and gear, fair trade products, and local organic food. Visitors are encouraged to explore the Festival’s rich and diverse program of forums and workshops, exhibitions, films and performance, markets and tours to make their world come alive! So come along and check out what’s on offer at the Sustainable Living Festival.

The Great Local Lunch – On banks of the Yarra River, in the heart of Melbourne, over 200 farmers, backyard growers and Melbourne foodies will share the fruits of their labour in one massive locally grown and foraged feast. Host Costa Georgiadis will unearth gardening, cooking, recipe and sustainability tidbits, introducing Melbourne food scene movers and shakers.

Living Tiny – Join Alicia and her partner Andrew as they take you through their own journey of designing, building and moving into their own Tiny House. With a desire to live more simply, sustainably and in line with their values, they set out to change their lives by choosing a ‘tiny’, low footprint, alternative housing option. As the movement continues to gain momentum in Australia and around the world, come connect and explore Tiny Houses with like-minded people in sharing a dream for a better world.

When: 6 Feb – 28 Feb

Where: Federation Square

Visit the website here. 

Fat Tuesday

New Orleans Carnival

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Po’ Boy Quarter joins forces with Ding Dong Lounge to present Fat Tuesday New Orleans Festival Melbourne on Tuesday, 9 Feb at Piazza Italia, Argyle Street in Carlton.

New Orleans is known for it’s party vibe, delicious food, jazz music and of course a swinging good time, and this festival promises all that. The evening will showcase a rich smorgasboard of Southern food with Po’ Boy Quarter, Girl with the Gris Gris, Bluebonnet BBQ & Taco Truck cooking up all the traditional dishes including Louisiana Gumbo, Po’ Boys, Texas BBQ, Tacos and more.

To get you dancing and swinging your hips, music will come from Adam Rudegeair’s Bayou Tapestry with Henry Manetta, Jazz Party, Horns Of Leroy, The Always for Pleasure Allstars with Kerri Simpson and The Gumbo Blues Band with Chris Wilson, Steve Lucas, Jerome Smith, Matt Dwyer and Ash Davies & Skyscraper Stan and The Commission Flats.

To top it all off, there’ll also be a fortune teller’s booth and a costume competition that will culminate with the crowning of Melbourne’s very first King and Queen of Mardi Gras!

Book your tickets now!

When: 4pm – 10pm, Tuesday, 9 Feb.

Where: Piazza Italia – Lygon Street & Argyle Square Carlton

Visit the website here

Celebrate the Chinese New Year

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Chinese New Year is just around the corner and if you want to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Monkey we recommend these following celebrations during the Melbourne’s Chinese New Year Festival.

Chinese New Year Festival Opening Ceremony – Federation Square

Welcome the Year of the Monkey with a spectacular Chinese New Year celebration held across two days at Fed Square! This Saturday marks the official opening ceremony and celebrations will start at 10am, including Chinese lion dance, drumming, beautiful light displays, children’s performances, live music and a variety of stallholders serving up your favourite Chinese dishes.

Chinatown – Saturday 6th Feb – Sunday 14 Feb

The 2-week program of events will be unveiled and celebrations will commence on the weekend, right here, right in the heart of Melbourne Chinatown, an integral part of the City of Melbourne since the goldrush days of the 1850s. During the day, roving musicians, artists and performers will take to the streets of Chinatown. Traditional figures in Chinese mythology, Chinese traditional musicians and artists will enthral passers-by. Other activities include an outdoor cinema in Chinatown Square with Asian short films screening from dusk to CHINATOWN COUNTDOWN; celebrations in the night; and cultural workshops. Finally, keep the 8th of February free as MasterChef Contestants bring their culinary skills to Chinatown Square to tackle a challenge celebrating Chinese New Year.

Yarra River – Saturday 6 Feb – 21 Feb

Come and see Australia’s largest illuminated Dragon Head at Eureka Skydeck Plaza Area. At Southgate Melbourne there will be Chinese Zodiac lanterns and along its pedestrian bridge there will be cute illuminated Pandas on show. At Queensbridge Square, the Monkey Arch Corridor installation will be positioned as an extension to Sandridge Pedestrian Bridge and an installation of lanterns depicting Chinese Opera with a matching soundscape will be located on the Queensbridge Square stage.

Food Truck Park at Southbank – 5 Feb – 21 Feb

The Food Truck Park joins Chinese New Year at Southbank. Celebrating The Year of the Monkey, Melbourne’s favourite food trucks bring the festivities to the city this February. Rafts of Asian influenced cuisines, lighting installations and cultural performers are arriving to delight crowds at Queensbridge Square during the 17 day activation. Acts from Melbourne’s Chinese community include the dazzling lion and dragon dancers and the Monkey Arch Corridor providing entertainment to attendees along the Yarra throughout the festival. Enjoy the flavours of China and beyond from Melbourne’s favourite food trucks including The Hungry Panda, White Guy Cooks Thai, Nem n Nem, Flying Wok, Mamma Van, Van Go, Korean Fried Chicken, Caliko BBQ and many more.

Chinese Museum – 16 Feb – 1 Mar

This treasury of heritage and culture of Australia’s Chinese community located in Melbourne’s Chinatown will be hosting a 14-day celebration of Lunar New Year. Highlights include a Penjing Tea Garden where you can enjoy the traditional art of Chinese tea in a Chinese Bonsai or ‘Penjing’ setting along with classic Chinese music; A Penjing workshop; Free Open Day ( 22 Feb, 12pm to 5pm)  visit the museum for free and learn about the heritage and culture of Australia’s Chinese community and see the world’s largest processional dragon.

Lunar Markets at the Docklands – 4 Feb – 14 Feb

The very first Melbourne Lunar Market is an 11-day pop-up food and drink market celebrating the Chinese New Year. Dine your way through over 20 different stall holder dishes ranging from Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Asian fusion, Thai and more. There’ll also be a range of outdoor bars and entertainment over 11 nights.

MSO Chinese New Year Concert – 14 Feb

Melbourne’s Chinese New Year Concert has become a much-loved part of the MSO season. Join the Orchestra for a concert of works inspired by Eastern and Western music, conducted by composer Tan Dun. The program includes Tan Dun’s evocative work, The Map, inspired by the ancient village music of Southwest China.

Looking for accommodation in the heart of the city and only seconds away from the Chinatown festivities? Stay at our 4.5 star hotel, The Swanston Hotel Grand Mercure or our 3.5 star hotel, Mercure Welcome Melbourne. 

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.

Zoo Twilight Series

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Get down to the Zoo Twilight series for fifteen concerts over fifteen nights in a live music setting like no other. Each Friday and Saturday from January 29 to 12 March 2016 your favourite local and international artists will perform under the stars to fight against wildlife extinction. The shows will kick off from 7pm but if you get there  a little early  you will be able to explore the Zoo at dusk with animal exhibits open exclusively for Zoo Twilights guests. Pre-purchase a tasty food hamper or choose from a great selection of delicious meals and snacks, alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks available on the night.

Artists include: Jose Gonzalez, Josh Pyke, Belinda Carlisle, Birds of Tokyo, Jebediah plus many more.

When: January 29 to March 12 2016.

Where: Melbourne Zoo

Visit the website here. 

 

Dominoes

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Experience the thrill of thousands of breezeblock ‘dominoes’ falling one by one to create a moving sculpture, running through the city and unfolding over the course of a day. Along paths and promenades, through buildings and across plazas, the domino line will work it’s way through Melbourne. There’ll be over  7000 giant dominoes forming a 2km chain threading its way through historic and everyday parts of Melbourne.

When: Saturday Feb 6 from 1pm. The Domino Fall will start from 5pm

Where: Download the map here. 

Victorian Pride March – 2016

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Representing The Swanston Hotel, Grand Mercure and Mercure Welcome Melbourne under the Accor Hotels banner – we participated in the Victorian Pride March, 2016 last Sunday. The theme this year – Marriage Equality.

A small, but dedicated group of cool individuals – it was actually our first time marching as a team, but armed with enough rainbow flags to kit out a small army and some jumbo bubble wands, we rocked out to the sounds beats of JOY FM, and were even lucky enough to be marching behind My Pet Warehouse who brought along some gorgeous puppies (including a super-cool, giant Great Dane).

And let’s be honest, puppies trump EVERYTHING!

Accor Hotels are committed to celebrating Diversity in all shapes and forms and have recently submitted an open letter to publicly pledge support for Marriage Equality. As a company, Accor supports diversity and recognises the rights of it’s LGBTU employees to live and work, free of prejudice and discrimination.

‘THRILL ME: The Leopold & Loeb Story’

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Intelligent, wealthy Chicago law students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, no longer entertained by the rush of petty crimes done for fun, planned and executed in 1924 what they thought was ‘perfect crime,’ the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks.

Later caught, and narrowly missing the hangman’s noose thanks to their hotshot lawyer Clarence Darrow – the story of the ‘thrill killers’ has shocked and fascinated people for decades and is told fabulously in Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb.

Having a slight fascination with the dark and macabre, not only was I excited to be invited to see this show, but I also confess to researching the heck out of the true story before going along. I was surprised, unlike other movies or shows of a similar vein, how closely this show stuck mostly to the facts, whilst also at the same time keeping the audience entertained and completely drawn into the whole proceedings.

The set was simple, but dark and reminiscent of a dark, 1920’s prohibition Chicago, and though there was only a cast of two, the story moved at a fast pace – jumping from the 1958 parole hearing of Nathan Leopold , to key flashbacks along the way, unfolding the story in a succinct, but enthralling fashion.

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story

Rumored to be lovers, the chemistry between Leopold (Vincent Hooper) and Loeb (Stephen Madsen) was incredible and the stark character contrast between a haughty, superior Loeb and an almost worshipful Leopold rounded out a fantastic show, an enthralling storyline, simple but creative musical interludes and an all-round fabulous evening.

Thrill Me is running at Chapel off Chapel through to 31 January as part of Midsumma Festival. For more details check out the website here: midsumma.org.au

Moonlight Cinemas Summer Shows

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Australia’s favourite outdoor cinema, Moonlight Cinema have just released their tickets for the month of February and mong the line-up are three of this year’s standout biopics: Steve Jobs, Trumbo and Joy; as well as three advanced screenings of inspiring films based on real-life events: The Finest Hours, Concussion and The Lady In The Van.

There’ll also be  advanced screenings of Hollywood’s biggest films Hail, Caesar! and Zoolander 2; alongside cult classics Clueless and The Rocky Horror Picture Show and all the latest blockbusters including  The Hateful Eight from Quentin Tarantino; Joy starring Jennifer Lawrence and The Revenant for Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar contending performance.

For all the romantics, cult classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s will be returning on Valentine’s Day presented by Lindeman’s, who are providing everyone with  a free glass of sparkling on arrival.

And if that’s not enough to get you booking, there’ll also be advanced Moonlight Cinema screenings including Michael Fassbender’s not to be missed performance as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston in a whole new light as Dalton Trumbo, in Trumbo. 

When: Through to March 27, 2016

Where: Royal Botanic Gardens

Visit the website here. 

 

Modern Vietnamese breakfast with a twist at TBC

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Looking for a decent breakfast in the city is like looking for a needle in a haystack. While there are so many cafes that do serve up a breakfast menu, there are few and far between that do anything that little bit different from your standard bacon and eggs/avocado on toast combo.

The Brass Coq (TBC) are hoping to change that all with the recent launch of their breakfast menu. You may remember our review of our dinner menu last year when the We Know Melbourne team were invited along to try the dinner – remember that VFC (Vietnamese Fried Chicken)?! Located in the ‘legal precinct’  this little spot is now open from  7am in the morning until 11pm. 

The breakfast menu is filled with popular Vietnamese breakfast dishes with Asian and French influences (yes there’s even rare beef pho on the breakfast menu!) and is one of the CBD’s first modern Vietnamese breakfast.

We dined on 3 different dishes. First on the list was the TBC’s Scrambled eggs, where the scrambled eggs were given an Asian twist with tofu mixed into the eggs. Although a tad bit salty, we loved the variation on the eggs and the creaminess of the eggs that the tofu brought in. Next we dug into the ‘Braised pork hock, poached eggs, beans Tomato, served on sourdough.’ The dish was hearty and the texture and flavours delicious. It’s quite a meaty dish with lots of pork skin so don’t order this one if you’re not that hungry! Lastly we ordered the ‘Crispy Brioche, apricot jam, linseed cream.’ Sweet and delicious, this was the perfect dessert breakfast for all the sweet tooths.

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TBC also offers up a ‘bottomless coffee’ service (Padre coffee) to pair with breakfast as well as delicious fresh juices. The watermelon and lime was definitely a stand out!

While a little bit out of the way if you work right in the central hub of the city, if you’re up in the legal precinct we’d recommend you stop in for a quiet Vietnamese breakfast.You won’t get anything quite like it in Melbourne.

 Where: The Brass Coq, 470 Little Lonsdale St

When: Breakfast: 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Weekdays); Lunch: 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM (Weekdays); Dinner: 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM (Thursday – Saturday)

Visit the website here.  

Your guide to Australia Day

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Everybody loves a good party and this Australia Day there’s plenty of celebrations around town to  commemorate the first fleet of European ships that set foot in Australia and of course all things great about Australia. So whether you’ve got the day off (or for the lucky ones, the whole weekend), here’s your ripper guide on what to do this Australia Day.

Australia Day Parade

One of Melbourne’s favourite Australia Day activities, the vibrant Australia Day Parade sees thousands of people line Swanston Street each year. A family friendly event, the parade will see more than 100 community and cultural groups come together for this spectacular annual event.

The Food Truck Festival

The Docklands will come alive for Australia Day  events, activities, fun, food and fireworks throughout the afternoon and into the evening. 17 of  Melbourne’s favourite food trucks, (includingStreet Feast, C’est Chick, Nem n Nem, White Guy Cooks Thai, Real Burgers, Chilli Express, Kurbside Cravings and many more) will be coming to the party cooking up  everything from crepes and cakes through to burgers, bangers and Thai. To keep you refreshed there’ll also be a Cider Bar serving up ice-cold cider and craft beer,  as well as live entertainment and designer markets.

To get you moving and shaking throughout the day, there’ll also be a huge lineup of home-gown talent with live performances from Tim Rogers and The Bamboos, The Getaway Plan, Passerine as well as The Voice Australia’s Scott Newnham and NOVA’s DJ Nath and Deano. B-boys, beat boxers and urban dance crews bringing their moves to the stage at 6pm before the grand finale fireworks at 9:45pm.

 

Visit the website here.

Welcome to Thornbury Hottest 100 Party

Open from 12pm  this Australia Day, Welcome to Thornbury will becounting down the Triple J Hottest 100all day with  ice-cold Australian themed Cocktails on offer and some classic Australiana dishes from the Food Trucks on-site! Best of all, it’s free entry!

Visit the website here.

Corner Hotel Hottest 100 Party

Cooking up a good old Aussie bbq The Corner Hotel will be throwing a Hottest 100 party in their sunny rooftop bar,  celebrating local and international acts. Food and drinks kick off from midday and the Hottest 100 streaming through the venue all afternoon and into the evening.

Visit the website here. 

Fatboy Slim Australia Day Beach BBQ

Fatboy Slim is back! Although it’s been 3 long years since Melbourne experienced a Fatboy Slim set, and even longer since he has performed in Melbourne outside of a touring festival, that is all set to change this coming Australia Day with the announcement that the legend himself will finally be playing an exclusive Melbourne headline set on the waterfront of Riva at St.Kilda Beach.

Visit the website here.

Trailer Park at the Village

Celebrating all things Australian, Trailer Park returns to the Garden for one day only. Eat your way through  the best Aussie food trucks, drink specials & count down the Triple J Hottest 100 with the rest of the crowds.  Runs from midday to 8pm.

Visit the website here. 

Australian Open Festival

Spend the day watching all the action on the big screen as the best tennis players for the Grand Slam. Canadian Club will be serving up the drinks and food stalls include Mamasita, Combi, Mistress Estelle, Huxtaburger, Huxtable plus so much more. Best of all it’s free!

Visit the website here. 

Moonlight Cinemas

Feel like something a bit more chill this Australia Day? Escape the parties and enjoy a movie and picnic under the stars at Moonlight Cinemas. Screening The Dressmaker, a movie about a glamorous woman who returns to her small town in rural Australia, this is the perfect way to spend a quiet, balmy summer evening.

Visit the website here. 

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.