Kate LOVES Sydney

Get Your Skates On!

It may have rained, it may have poured, but it didn't stop anyone from getting their skate on at the opening night of the Sydney Winter Festival. The forecourt of St Mary's Cathedral has been transformed into a Winter Playground with an outdoor ice rink taking pride of place. Not even the winter rain could stop the enthusiastic crowds from hitting the ice last night as skaters flocked to the rink in rain ponchos. I even spotted one little kid who was not to be detrred and decided to skate around while holding an umbrella over his head!

As with all good festivals there's plenty of delicious food and drink to indugle in, including some yummy mulled wine was a crowd favourite last night. There's a petting zoo for the kids and for the romantics in Sydney, the chance to cuddle up under a big screen showing movies each night.

Head to the image gallery to see pics from last night's festival launch. The Sydney Winter Festvial runs until Sunday 21 June to hop to it and get your skates on!

Want to receive regular updates about what's happening in Sydney? Follow Kate Loves Sydney on Twitter.

Kate Loves Sydney is finally Twittering

Kate Loves Sydney is finally on Twitter! Follow me for regular updates at http://twitter.com/KateLovesSydney

Fire Water starts tonight!

That's right, Fire Water starts tonight as we prepare to bid farewell to Vivid Sydney. If you haven't had time to check out any of the Vivid events, make your way to Circular Quay and The Rocks this weekend to experience Smart Light, Fire Water and Luminous while you still can. Even Teri Hatcher did the Smart Light walk while she was in town this week!

The picture library has been updated with pics from Vivid and the Dungog Film Festival too. Enjoy the weekend!

Vivid Sydney

Sydney's always been known as a hub of creativity and inspiration, and now we have our own festival which celebrates this - Vivid. Vivid is a celebration of music, light and ideas that kicked off on Tuesday night. The festival features four events, Luminous, Smart Light, Fire Water & Creative Sydney.

In Luminous, the sails of the Sydney Opera House are being lit up each night with Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings, an audio-visual exhibition that's now showing in The Studio at the Sydney Opera House. Circular Quay was lined with people til the wee hours on Tuesday night, mesmerized by the ever evolving images shining on the sails. It's a must see.

The other component of Luminous is a music festival that Brian Eno has curated. Not sure who Brian Eno is? He was originally in 80's band Roxy Music and is now one of the biggest music producers in the world, producing the likes of Coldplay and David Bowie.

Smart Light is a series of energy efficient lighting installations located around Circular Quay and The Rocks. The walk is about 2km long, so ideal for a casual stroll around the city at night. My favourite installations are the Museum of Contemporary Art being lit with Yayoi Kusama's art and just down the road from the MCA, there's a fantastic display that runs on pedal power!

Creative Sydney is on at the MCA and The Roxy in Parramatta, and is a series of invigorating talks embracing musicians, designers, architects, photographers, writers and the media. If you're looking to be inspired by fellow creatives, this is where you wanna be.

And finally we have Fire Water, a re-creation of a convict ship catching fire and exploding on Sydney Harbour in 1814. There'll be musicians and live performers around Campbells Cove to set the party atmosphere before the visual show kicks off.

Vivid Sydney is running to 14 June and as you can see, there's plenty to see and do during the festival. If you're looking to make a night out of it and see the various events taking place, why not pick up an Enliven Your Senses card from Sydney.com and take advantage of the great 2-for-1 offers available, including cocktails at the Park Hyatt.

I'm off to Dungog today for the Film Festival. Enjoy Vivid and check back in next week to hear all about Dungog!

Wet Weather Contingency

The weekend’s almost upon us and Sydney has decided throw a tanty. It has said that it’s had enough of being bright and sunny and has instead turned on its dreariest weather. It doesn’t happen that often but when it does, there’s nothing to do but head indoors and wait for the glorious sunny days to return.

Before you head to Blockbuster with the intention of retreating and curling up on the couch, there’s still plenty to do around town and to help you out here’s my pick of what’s on & places to cosy up this weekend:

Sydney Writers Festival: The Festival is now the third largest writers festival in the world and runs until 24 May. The program for this weekend ranges from a Cartoon Workshop for kids, Dominic Knight from The Chaser in conversation and Surfing writers Tim Baker, Nick Carroll and Sean Doherty discussing surf culture in literature. So even if you can’t get out for a surf, you can still chat with some like minded souls about it. Most events are free with ticketed events costing approx $15.

Hot Chocolate: It’s miserable outside and your body is telling you that comfort eating is totally acceptable (can’t you hear it saying “Come on, everyone’s doing it”). And when all you desire is something cosy and warm, I suggest heading straight for your closest Chocolate Café. They’re everywhere! Max Brenner, Lindt, Guylian and they’re all fabulous. Indulge! You know you want to.

Wine Bars: Sydney’s wine bar scene has gone through a real resurgence of late so round up your friends for a night of good wine and good conversation at a wine bar near you. My picks are Mille Vini in Surry Hills, Small Bar in the city and Time to Vino in Darlinghurst. Friends running late? Time to Vino has books at each of the tables to keep you occupied while you wait. 
 
Find a fireplace: Still a bit unsure if you dare venture out on the town during the cold snap? How about if you could plonk yourself in front of a nice, warm fireplace? Sound good? Then a pub with a fireplace is what you’re searching for. Try the 3 Weeds in Rozelle, The Lord Nelson in The Rocks or Zeta Bar at the Hilton.

Chicago the musical: The weekend definitely needs some ‘razzle dazzle’ and Gina Riley, Caroline O’Connor and Craig McLachlan are bringing it at the Lyric Theatre, Star City.

To find out more about what’s on in Sydney this weekend why not visit the following websites: Sydney.com, What's on in Sydney and BCL.

Kings Cross Festival

A visit to Kings Cross is always guaranteed to be entertaining. You can arrive on any day of the week, at any time of day or night and you’re always going to stumble across something that draws your attention. Often, whatever it is that’s caught your attention happens to stumble across you in a literal sense. But one thing that’s certain about Kings Cross is just when you think you’ve defined the area and the crowd it attracts, you’ll visit again and find your theory is thrown out the window.

To test this idea and see if other’s feel the same way, I did a Google search on Kings Cross and found the following quotes:

• Kings Cross is a wild mixture of prostitution and crime, with stylish restaurants and hotels. Australian Explorer.
• Here in a mixture of charm and sleaze -- tawdry shops and trendy bars, cheap rooms and classy hotels, corner takeaways and colorful bistros -- is a place that can quite easily be one of continuing amazement. Go Australia.
• Kings Cross continually reinvents itself, with new restaurants, bars and entertainment venues opening up all time. Sydney.com

The quote from Australian Explorer is by far my favourite, only after my visit to the Cross on the weekend, I’d add an extra line: Kings Cross is a wild mixture of prostitution and crime, with stylish restaurants and hotels, families and their pets, politicians and drag queens. 

This was the scene I stumbled upon as I arrived at the 2009 Kings Cross Festival on Sunday. As I walked towards Fitzroy Gardens, revellers were emerging from nightclubs, bleary eyed and no doubt feeling super-seedy at seeing so many sprightly people about bright and early.

Walking in, I could hear over the loud speaker that we were arriving just in time to watch the festival dog show. The pooches were lined up with their owners, awaiting the call of the MC, a glamorous drag queen dressed as a Stepford Wife no less, to invite them on stage to strut their stuff.  Pooches of all sizes, colours and shapes twirled around the stage, some more obediently than others (if you were there I’m referring to the pooch that decided to do it’s business on stage – definitely not Best in Show this year) as the judges prepared to make their decision and award the cutest pooch. 

Of course, being the Kings Cross Dog Show, not just anyone was invited to judge the contest. And thus it was here that I found Malcolm Turnbull, Leader of the Opposition, judging the dog show with his wife Lucy. Judging by the picture on his website posing with the family pooches, the Turnbulls are clearly dog lovers but it was certainly a surprise to find them at the festival and proving once again that you just never know who you’ll see in the Cross.

I’m not sure which pooch ended up winning because I was distracted by a fluffy little dog standing beside me, perhaps looking on with pageant envy, but for reasons that will soon be apparent. This little one was rugged up for the cool autumn morning and won me over with a stylish jumper that read “I LOVE SYDNEY.”

Moving on from the dog contest, the Festival was brimming with people keen to sample food and drink from local businesses who had set up stands for the day. Gazebo Wine Garden was there, Sugarmill and Jimmy Liks too. There was even a giant seafood paella being cooked which judging by the queue was in high demand. Sometimes though, it’s the simplest things that win me over and this year it was the Darlinghurst Public School stand. I was drawn to the huge array of brightly coloured cupcakes and lollies like I was back in school and we were at the fete. Chatting to the ladies working at the stall I discovered everything had been cooked by the parents in order to raise money for the school. Good ol community spirit at its best.

So once again, I found myself surprised and intrigued after visiting Kings Cross. It was fantastic to watch so many different groups of people, families, drag queens, locals, tourists, party goers and shop owners all gathered to celebrate the this renowned area of Sydney.

What are your favourite things about Kings Cross? Is it the nightclubs, the restaurants or just some good ol fashioned people watching? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Dungog Film Festival

Last night, I joined Sydney’s film community at the Dendy Opera Quays for the launch of the 3rd annual Dungog Film Festival. Now, before you pull out a map or log on to Google to work out where the hell Dungog is and why they have a film festival, let me give you the stats:

• Dungog – population 8000
• Location – Upper Hunter Valley, 3 hrs north of Sydney
• Famous for… well, forests, mountains, bushrangers and increasingly, for the Dungog Film Festival

Held over four days, the Dungog Film Festival is a celebration of Australian film. It’s when the who’s who of Aussie film comes to Dungog and I’m led to believe that the population of this tiny town triples during the festival.

So what brings everyone to this sleepy town in May each year apart from the lure of Aussie films? Well the festival kicks off with the departure of the Dungog Express train which travels from Central Station in Sydney to Dungog on opening day. I’m told it’s commonly known as the ‘party train’ as the actors, directors and industry crew whose films are showing during the festival, are on board to get the festivities rolling.

On arrival, you’re whisked away to Opening Night Gala to watch a premiere Aussie film before celebrating at the Miners Marquee. Two of the premiere films that will have Gala Screenings this year are Richard Frankland’s Stone Bros and Kriv Stender’s Lucky Country.  We were shown clips of both last night and while Lucky Country looks riveting, Stone Bros is the flick I can’t wait to see. We only saw about 3 minutes of film but it was nothing short of hilarious!

What’s excited me most about the Dungog Film Festival is that it unashamedly embraces being held in a small country town. The films are shown in the James Theatre, Australia’s oldest continuously running cinema and also at the local RSL. The locals all get involved from selling tickets in the box office to billeting visitors in their homes. It seems like a very spirited community event.

Come the 28 May, I think I’ll venture out of Sydney for the weekend and head north to Dungog. It sounds like it’s going to be a fun weekend full of local hospitality and great Aussie films. And with a slogan like this, how could you not wanna go?

Done Sundance. Done Cannes. Dungog.

Become a friend of the Dungog Film Festival on Facebook.

Sydney Harbour YHA

Working at Tourism NSW, I’m always meeting and chatting with the fine folk that own and run the various tourist establishments around the state. We’ll often chat about future plans for exciting new tours and attractions and once they’re up and running, I’ll be there to experience it first-hand. Never before though, have I been allowed to visit a new tourist attraction while it’s still being built… that is until now.

I recently found myself at a construction site on Cumberland Street in The Rocks, donning a hard hat, closed toe shoes and a fluorescent workers vest. I’m sure this is sounding very similar to a scene in Flashdance, but what brought me here was not to re-live an 80’s cult classic, but to take a hard-hat tour of the new Sydney Harbour YHA development.

The Sydney Harbour YHA is a new youth hostel that will open in the heart of The Rocks in late 2009/early 2010. Let me say from the start, it’s not your typical youth hostel. It has all the standards of a typical hostel such as affordable prices, communal dining and social areas, but what makes this venue stand out is it’s amazing views of Sydney Harbour and that each room has a private bathroom.

When I visited, I found myself climbing what seemed to be a maze of scaffolding not quite sure what I was looking at until we stepped onto the roof of the building and what will be the hostel terrace. WOW – the view is amazing and I can assure you that this will be the place to be on NYE 2009. The terrace will be a communal area for guests to socialise, have a bbq or just take in the view. I’ve uploaded an artist’s impression of what it’s expected to look like so make sure to look at the latest photos.

What’s also interesting about the development is that it’s sitting atop of a significant archaeological site called The Big Dig. The building has even been designed in order to preserve the site and open it to the public for education.

It’s a really interesting development and you can read more about it at  http://sydneyharbouryha.com.au  Don’t get too excited just yet – bookings won’t be taken for a little while yet but all the info is there to whet your appetite!

Autumn Racing Carnival

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling and there’s no escaping the brisk, chill in the air, announcing that summer is officially over. Sure, this weekend we’re expecting fantastic weather, 25 degrees, sunny skies and no doubt there’ll be plenty of people at the beach. I however, am just not prepared to brave the 18 degree sea waters (a big wuss in other words). And as fantastic as summer is, I kinda don’t mind seeing it go, because it’s autumn in the city and that means one of my most favourite times of year has arrived – The Autumn Racing Carnival.

The Autumn Racing Carnival is a celebration of horse racing that runs over six Saturdays, beginning at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney’s west on 21 March before moving to Royal Randwick Racecourse on 11 April. The carnival is first and foremost about horse racing, but for most people, it’s less about the horses and more about fashion and socialising.

It’s an absolute guarantee that come Easter weekend, you’ll find me trackside at Royal Randwick Racecourse, with a carefully constructed new outfit, a race book full of tips and a glass of bubbly in hand. 

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, as half the fun of a day at the races is the preparation that goes into it. For women, it’s all about the millinery. Do you choose a hat or a fascinator, or even given the weather, maybe even a beret? Over the years I’ve learnt the hard way that you should always pick your dress before you pick your headwear. A few years ago I bought a gorgeous hat from the milliner Neil Grigg, only to discover that I had nothing to wear it with. Probably because as someone pointed out (not very kindly) it did resemble something Johnny Depp would have worn in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Believe me, it’s not easy to match a top hat to a dress!! And to make things worse, after parting with a decent sum for the hat, on race day I had the fashion faux pas crisis of running into a lady wearing the same hat. We saw each other coming in the distance, gave a polite nod of awkwardness to each other, kept walking and then tried to avoid standing too close for the rest of the day. Make sure you have a look at the picture gallery to see what I mean, it’s a pretty un-missable hat!

You can spend a fair amount if you want to on millinery for the races and there are some gorgeous designers out there such as Nerida Winter, who will tailor a headpiece to match your dress. If you’re on a budget like me (who isn’t really) then you can’t be past the markets for style and value for money. Paddington Markets is always a winner and further down Oxford Street, the Fringe Bar Markets is another gem. Both are only held on Saturdays and my tip is to get there early.

For the men, well, it’s a lot simpler preparing for a day at the races:
• Shower - check
• Suit - check
• Polish Shoes - check
• Sunnies – check

Enough said.

This years carnival officially kicked off on 21 March at Rosehill Gardens but this weekend is when things really start to ramp up. Saturday 4 April is the running of the Golden Slipper, the world’s richest race for 2 year olds. Crowds of over 30,000 are expected to converge on Rosehill Racecourse, coming from Sydney and across the nation.

The following weekend, things move over to Randwick Racecourse and being the avid racing enthusiast that I am, I’m very excited to see it roll around. A day at the races is always fun. Everyone gets dolled up in stunning and some not so stunning fashions, which is perfect as I love a bit of people watching. It’s very social and a perfect opportunity to meet and chat with new people. The prospect of winning a few dollars isn’t too shabby either.

As the day goes on, it’s hard not to notice that by the final race, a few punters are looking a tad worse for wear.  So let Nanna Kate (as I’m sometimes known) share with you some words of wisdom for getting in and out of the races with dignity in tact:
• Wear sunblock – it’s autumn, it’s likely to be cloudy and a bit chilly but you’re still going to get burnt. Don’t forget to slip, slop, slap.
• Alternate water with alcohol. Drinking during the day in the sunlight is a recipe for disaster. Make sure to keep hydrated with the H2O.
• Don’t leave in bare feet. If you're like a lot of women, your feet are going to be sore after wearing heels all day, but leaving in bare feet is not a good look and a bit of a safety hazard. Why not take a medium-sized clutch and put a pair of thongs (sandals for the non-aussies) in before you leave home. Then you can leave in comfort and not have to worry about stepping on something and requiring a tetanus shot.
• One final word of wisdom - Don’t forget your brolly. It is autumn and the weather is a little unpredictable.

Have I enticed you to spend a day at the races? I hope so, it's good fun and something to try at least once. If you have a free Saturday over the next few weeks, then pull your fancy threads out of the wardrobe and join in the roar of the crowd during the Autumn Racing Carnival. To learn more about what’s planned, visit www.theraces.com.au or www.ajc.com.au

Re-discover The Rocks

It’s 1pm on a Wednesday. I’m on my lunch break and I’m standing on a plank in a darkened room, trying not to lose my balance and fall into the water below. I’m surrounded by mirrors and a series of blue, yellow and red lights suspended from the ceiling, which in their reflection seem to stretch on forever and ever. The electric colours against the darkness of the room make me feel as though I’m in my own music video (think Justin Timberlake, Rock Your Body). Only I can’t sing or dance that well and I’m standing beside a friend from work and two complete strangers. One of whom dips his feet in the water below, just to re-assure himself that the water really is there and not just an illusion.

No, this isn’t a Freudian reference to how I’m feeling about work at the moment. I’m literally standing on what can only be described as a plank in a darkened exhibition room at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I’m in the Infinity Mirror Room: Fireflies on the Water, an installation space in the Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years exhibition.

Kusama is one of Japan’s most celebrated artists with her work being showcased across the globe and now, here in Sydney at the MCA. As a child, Kusama experienced hallucinations and obsessive behaviour, often seeing polka dots in her hallucinations. Later in life Kusama was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and it’s this theme of obsession and hallucination that can be seen throughout her work. A highlight of the exhibition is sitting in the I’m Here, but Nothing installation. Kusama’s childhood as she saw it was obliterated by hallucinations of dots and in this space she recreates that feeling. A simple, family living room is covered with dot sheet and ultra violet fluorescent light giving the room a psychedelic, out-of-this-world feel.

It’s one of these regular lunchtime detours that for me, make The Rocks precinct such an inspiring work environment. Where else can you go for an hour on your lunch break and see a lounge room lit up like a nightclub?

The week continues and as Friday lunch rolls around, all I can think about is Sunday morning... Sunday morning rain is fallin. Steal some covers share some skin… Although it sounds a little like I’m day-dreaming of a rendezvous with Adam Levine, I’m actually strolling through The Rocks Farmers Markets and listening to the strands of this week’s featured band. You may have heard about The Rocks Markets that are held ever weekend, selling jewellery, artwork, clothing and homewares? Well the Farmers Market is a relatively new addition to the family, selling fresh local produce. Each of the market stalls displays their food miles so you can tell just how fresh and ‘local’ their produce really is.

The market strip on Argyle Street comes alive each Friday between 10am and 3pm, with the band setting the backdrop for a relaxed, carnival vibe. The café’s lining the strip are filled with al fresco diners, the florist is bursting with colour and the baker is doing a roaring trade as the smell of fresh bread floats down the street. Yummo!

As the working week draws to a close and I’m stocked up on fresh fruit and veg for the weekend, it’s time to meet some friends for the time-honoured tradition of Friday night drinks. The Rocks always draws a crowd on a Friday night, given the large number of bars and hotels in the area. You can take your pic from pubs like The Australian and The Harbour View, the bar scene at The Argyle and even some German fare at the Lowenbrau Keller.

Tonight, I’m in one of The Rock’s newer venues, Wine Odyssey. It was recently opened by a group of three businesswomen (girl power) who are passionate about promoting Australian wine and it’s for this reason that Wine Odyssey stocks only boutique Australian wine.  They’ve made the venue accessible for all levels of wine drinking. If you’re a novice, simply grab a tasting card for example, Pinot Noir, follow the sampling suggestions and taste to your hearts desire. The card will tell you what scents and flavours to look for and what role they play in the wine. Know your stuff? Let the experienced Sommeliers’ talk you through the menu and match the perfect wine to your meal.

But tonight, it’s Friday, and I’m here to have a gas-bag with the girls, to relax and welcome in the weekend. It’s in one of the decadent interior-designed rooms I find myself relaxing in an arm chair, having a wine and chatting the night way. What a way to end the working week.

When was your last visit to The Rocks? There’s always something happening for visitors and locals alike, so why don’t you pay a visit and re-discover The Rocks? Click here to find out what’s on this week.