All posts filed under: Lifestyle

Opera in the Bowl

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There’s no better way to spend a balmy summer’s evening than with a picnic in hand and live music in the Myer Music Bowl. Join the most‐loved opera chorus and arias from four leading soloists, the Opera Australia Chorus and Orchestra Victoria, this Saturday as they present Mazda Opera in the Bowl. Brought to you by Opera Australia’s Principal Partner Mazda Australia, this free concert celebrates the magic and memorable moments in opera. The 2015 line-up features dazzling soprano Eva Kong, gorgeous mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley; tender-hearted tenor Diego Torre; and commanding baritone Luke Gabbedy, with Orchestra Victoria conducted by Anthony Legge with the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Christopher Lawrence. Bring the kids, this event is family-friendly and free! So, whether you’re an opera aficionado or opera novice (like us), this is the perfect way to spend a chilled Saturday night. When: Saturday, 14 November Where: Sidney Myer Music Bowl Visit the website here. We Know Melbourne tip: You can’t book your seat, so be sure to  be sure to arrive early as capacity is limited to 10,000.

Food Trucks meet Fashion at Chadstone

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Food trucks are taking over Melbourne and their next truck stop party is at Chadstone! Just in time for summer, Melbourne’s finest food trucks will descend on the Fashion Capital launching this Friday, 13th November at 11am  until 10pm daily. The food trucks will give shoppers the much needed break from crossing off their Christmas lists for a few share plates with family and friends in the alfresco atmosphere. There’ll be over 30 food trucks on rotation inlcuding Sliders on Tyres, Cali & Co, Dude Food Man, Toasta and more. Whether you’re in bibimbaps, burgers, or brulees, the food trucks are the perfect stop when the crowds get too much. When: Friday 13 November – Sunday 3 January. Where: Chadstone Shopping centre. #ForTheLoveOfStreetFood 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.

Melbourne Design Market

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Join other art and design lovers at the Melbourne Design Market this November. Profiling over a hundred designers, the market  has launched thousands of new products and is the perfect spot to find that unique gift for that friend or family member who has everything. Returning to the Federation Square carpark,  the Melbourne Design Market will give you the chance to meet the designers and get to know the unique craftsmanship behind their wares. The market will be complete with music, food and of course, the very best coffee. When: Sunday, November 8 12-5pm Where: Federation Square Carpark Visit the website here. 

Meet travel writer, Rob Mcfarland

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Ever dreamed of being a travel writer but didn’t have the courage to take the steps? Back in 2004, Rob McFarland was an IT consultant, but knew he needed a change. After a career break and a lot of self-help books, he decided he would give travel writing a go. Prior to leaving his IT career behind and making the jump he had never being published before. Today, Rob has gone on to become  one of Australia’s leading travel writers and is a regular contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald, Sun-Herald, The Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle, NZ Herald, West Australian, Luxury Travel, Let’s Travel & GQ magazines. Rob has also won  six awards including Travel Writer of the Year. We took the opporutnity to have a chat with him to find out a bit more  about the travel writing industry and also asked him for some tips for all the budding travel writers out there. Dividing your time between  Sydney, New York and the UK, where do you call home? That’s a tricky one. Most of my family …

Bogan Bombshell

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On Friday night we were welcomed into what felt like Janeen from Clarinda’s lounge room where she told us of her exploits from scrubbing bathrooms as a Sanitation Engineer – with her secret weapon BAM, through an ill-fated attempt at burlesque dancing (where she ‘couldn’t get them out’) to finally playing the role a phone sex operator – all to raise money for her McDonalds Preston manager husband, Johnno’s bail.  Hares and Hyenas was the perfect setting for this show, it felt intimate and personal. At one stage a lucky door prize was drawn, and the winner awarded a family-sized Aero bar which was then passed around the audience, everyone sharing chocolate to the aptly named song ‘An Aero Comes Along’ – definitely a fun vibe, unpretentious and all-inclusive. Susie McCann brought a huge amount of energy to one-woman role of Janeen, and the songs were pretty darn catchy to boot – the tunes of some of your old favorites, matched with witty, ironic bogan pride lyrics. Ultimately a winning combo. If you are a …

The Village Festival

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Celebrating it’s 10th birthday, The Village Festival returns to Edinburgh Gardens this October. Part old-school circus, part village carnival, and part edgy arts festival, the festival is the perfect one to welcome in the summer festival season. The birthday festivities will feature  four days and nights of creativity, curiosity and craziness. With a program full of interpretive dance, theatre, and kids performances, this is truly an event with something for everyone (and their dog!). When: 29 October – 1 November 2015 Where: Edinburgh Gardens, Fitzroy North Visit the website here. 

The Changing Face of Victoria

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Take a step back in time and discover the people, places and events that have shaped Victoria. From Ned Kelly’s original armour, to letters from World War One and images of Coles 100 years ago, the Library’s historic collections of photographs, personal accounts and artefacts will delight and amaze.  New items and stories are added to this exhibition twice yearly, revealing different aspects of the Library’s historic collection. Visit The Changing Faces of Victoria exhibition in the octagonal, fifth-level balcony of the State Library’s Domed Reading Room. When: 1 Jan 2014 – 31 Dec 2016 Where: State Library of Victoria Visit the website here. 

Federation Bells

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Birrarung Marr’s Federation Bells are a set of 39 bronze bells that chime out more than 30 compositions three times and the City of Melbourne with Arts Victoria are giving the public the opportunity to  compose the music for Melbourne’s Federation Bells. Head to  www.federationbells.com.au, where you can create a virtual multi-track masterpiece using the 39 distinctive bells. Publish your composition and you can hear it played on the Federation Bells installation in Birrarung Marr. Listen out for the bells ringing each day between 8am to 9am, 12.30pm to 1.30pm, and 5pm to 6pm. When: 22 Jan 2014 – 20 Nov 2016 Where: Birrarung Marr Visit the website here.

Unset Typologies

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‘Unset Typlogies’  by Izabela Pluta, explores how the nature of photomural wallpaper enables observers to hypothesise the existence of a past and glimpse the possibility of a future while inviting us to contemplate the relentless renewal of the CBD over time. Commissioned by the City of Melbourne Public Art Program, her photomural banner depicts a transitional site, where light fittings, ceiling panels, vents and lights are suspended as a result of a building’s transformation. When: 30 Jan 2013 – 30 Dec 2015 Where: CitiPower Substation, 620-640 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, Visit the website here. 

Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei

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What do you get when you cross one of the most influential figures in contemporary art and culture with one of the leading Chinese contemporary artists of this time?  The biggest contemporary exhibition Melbourne has ever seen! This December, NGV International will be showcasing the works of Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei for Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei,  before it moves onto The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. “Developed by the NGV and The Andy Warhol Museum, with the participation of Ai Weiwei, will explore the significant influence of these two exemplary artists on modern art and contemporary life, focussing on the parallels and intersections between the two artists’ practices. Surveying the scope of both artists’ careers, the NGV exhibition will present over 300 works, including major new commissions, immersive installations and a wide representation of painting, sculpture, film, photography, publishing and social media.” There’ll be over 200 of Warhol’s most celebrated works ( including the famous screens such as Campbell’s Soup, and celebrity portraits, sculpture and installation, and an extensive selection of film, music and publishing; …