Please accept our heartfelt congratulations and sincere thanks.  You rock. It would seem rude not to pay homage and raise your glass to World Cocktail Day today – first recorded on 13 May, 1806 in New York in a journal called The Balance and Columbian Repository. The Martini, Mojito and Manhattan; so much to be grateful for. Not to mention how much better words like ‘hour’, ‘dress’ and ‘party’ sound, when preceded by ‘cocktail’ and shaken together.  A menu to mark the occasion has been created at Hugo’s Bar Pizza, where you can try some old classics like Martinex (the father...

As soon as you play One by U2, Hey Jude by The Beatles, or Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, where does it take you? Certain melodies transport you instantly to a different place. It could be back to your high school years, your first serious relationship, or the heart-ache of the subsequent break-up. Emotive stuff, and no wonder there’s 120 million plus iPods around. The Australian Institute of Music is putting on four performances this week; nostalgic journeys through 40 years of music styles, from 1968 to today. During each concert, significant world events like the Vietnam War, the untimely passing of...

Convincing the bouncer that you’re with the band can only get you so far. How about… I AM the band, buddy! Maybe it was on the cards once upon a time but life took over since then and it’s hardly appropriate for you, the with-it professional, to be gallivanting about on stage? Yeah? Well those days are back! If you’re wise enough to keep your day job, but know one end of a guitar from the other, or can belt out a tune, Weekend Warriors is your next gig. A group of muso’s gather for a meet and greet jam...

You were born with it; an able body with the need to go fast. And once a month, that need manifests in the form of going hell bent in a racing kart, F1-style around an outdoor track.    True to Formula Una, you get 15 minutes and a chance to clock the fastest lap time possible. Each subsequent competitive race then determines your final race’s starting position. Expect at the end of a Thursday night’s mini prix to speed diligently around 70 laps. Enough to get the heart rate pumping. There’s a full points scoring system. Championship podium place winners take home kudos and...

The household hasn’t been the same since Jack took the well-deserved So You Think You Can Dance title. There’s been far less chatter during mealtime, and no-one has been able to appreciate your new found vocabulary critiquing Ballroom, Hip Hop, Jazz and Contemporary. Take heart; you can dust off the withdrawal symptoms at the biennial ReelDance International Dance on Screen Festival. ReelDance celebrates all things film and dance by giving you a truncated version of the best contemporary local and international dance shorts and movies. You can choose from seven distinct screening sessions. Tap into social dancing, danced-based music video clips, and...

No authority figures, no rules or regulations. A place of infinite possibilities on the side of a snow covered mountain. Want to see how the world’s skiing and snowboarding elite play? You can later this month, when Warren Miller’s PLAYGROUND tours nationally and turns the State Theatre into its playing field. This film is all about pure winter sports action footage. Free styling and big air events, ski riding and racing, heli-skiing, aerial acrobatics and more, all taken in stunning destinations like Sweden, Canada, Japan – even in the unlikely Arabian Desert in a resort called Ski Dubai. Experience the famed...