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Sydney, Australia: Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Gala Proves Outdoor Screenings not just for Cinema

By on February 2, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

It’s officially a wrap! Entry period for the $35,000 Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards is over and late entries are being posted on the site right now (see here for the goods).

The Awards are now in the hands of our staggeringly experienced and good looking Judges, who will be whittling all the entries down to finalists in three divisions:

Biggest Wave Ridden
Biggest Paddle-in Ride
Biggest Slab

Photogs and filmers will also be eagerly awaiting the news, since they’re in line for Shooter Awards based on the rider winners.

The finalists will be notified (and posted here) within the coming week, and the winners of those massive cash prizes for charging out of their noggins will be feted at our celebrity-packed Gala Presentation Evening at the Bondi Open-Air Cinema, , on February 17!

Nuts.

Watch the site for finalists, wrap-ups, post-event interviews, and of course a rogue’s gallery of party attendees right after the Big Night.

Source-http://www.surfinglife.com.au/news/asl-news/3335-big-wave-awards-boom

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Wagga Wagga, Australia: “Dive-In Movies” Give Way to Outdoor “Movies by Moonlight”

By on February 2, 2010 in Dive-in Theater, Outdoor Movie Events

WHILE the last of the Dive-in movies at the Oasis Regional Aquatic Centre came to a close at the weekend, there is still an outdoor movie experience available to residents with the Movies by Moonlight at the music bowl.

For the past month residents were able to experience the city’s first-ever Dive-in Movie screenings at the Oasis for four consecutive weeks.

Each different film brought with it new crowds of families and children keen for a swim or a float while enjoying a children’s movie.

The cool comfort of the pool was a haven for some families escaping the 40-degree heat of recent weeks.

The 50-metre pool and the surrounding area was transformed into an outside cinema with customary mats and tubes for comfortable viewing.

The four movies that played were Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Ghost Busters and Surf’s Up.

With the ending of summer movie series comes another month-long movie experience, with Movies by Moonlight at the Wagga Music Bowl.

The hit musical, Mamma Mia! launched the Movies by Moonlight series on Saturday, January 23, and a host of popular movies have been secured for the Saturday night summer series which runs until the end of February.

The movies aren’t only directed to a young audience, with box office blockbusters and Twilight and classic musicals including The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz and Priscilla Queen of the Desert making the list.

Movies by Moonlight director, Matthew Canny, said he was hoping record crowds would attend the 2010 season.

Laura Suckling

source-http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/movie-screenings-move-to-music-bowl/1738867.aspx

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Adelaide, Australia: Choose from Several Locations to Watch an Outdoor Film Under the Stars

By on February 2, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Summer is the season for ice cream, the beach, bad sleep, skimpy clothes, overworking air conditioners and — if you’re partial to a film or two — evenings spent at your local outdoor cinema. On a warm night, slouching back on a picnic rug beneath the stars, the appeal is obvious.

Actually, there’s another important consideration: the film itself. One of the benefits of the outdoor cinema experience is the ability to choose between often eclectic line-ups of old and new titles. Who can say why blending current releases and yesteryear classics is a trait shared at almost every outdoor cinema across the land; it probably has something to do with outdoor cinema’s low-key vibe – the appeal of watching, on the big screen amid a plethora of people and picnic baskets, a film you’ve send plenty of times on DVD. Or perhaps classics you’re afraid to admit you’ve never watched before.

Certain titles, like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Goonies appear on the line-up without fail every year. The latter two are in fact playing tonight in : Tiffany’s screens at Moonlight Cinemas in the Botanic Gardens and The Goonies at St Kilda Open Air cinemas.

Here’s a snapshot of what else is on around the country tonight — and over the weekend.

Melbourne: Michael Jackson fans can head to Moonlight on Saturday to catch This Is It, a concert documentary comprising rehearsal footage of Jackson’s highly anticipated comeback tour, which was curtly interrupted by the pasty-faced star’s death three weeks before opening night. For an infinitely better musical experience wait one day and head to The Wizard of Oz on Sunday night — same Bat time, same Bat venue.

Rooftop Cinema on Swanston Street, which exhibits a program geared more towards film aficionados, is screening Peter Bogdanovich’s seminal small town drama The Last Picture Show on Saturday night.

: Tonight, there’s a bunch of very diverse films to watch. There is The September Issue, a documentary about Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as she prepares the 2007 fall issue of the famous mag, which plays at St George Open Air.

Those who haven’t checked out Bruce Beresford’s enjoyable if underwhelming biopic of Chinese ballet prodigy Li Cunxin, Mao’s Last Dancer, can give it a squiz at Bondi Open Air Cinema.

And if you’re in the mood for junky retro action populated by buff fellas and super-sized planes join Maverick and Iceman for a screening of Tony Scott’s 1986 high-concept low-brainer, Top Gun, at Moonlight. Or don your dancing shoes and flares and return forSaturday Night Fever on, erm, Saturday night.

: Adelaide this weekend will be treated to an outdoor cinema music-fest with Saturday Night Fever on Friday evening atMoonlight (way to defy common sense programming), This Is It on Saturday and Monty Python’s classic you-can-never-see-it-too-many-times-cuz-it’s-always-freakin-hilarious biblical spoof Life of Brian on Sunday.

Perth: For a quality new release flick, Perth residents get the pick of the bunch at Lunar Outdoor, where advanced screenings of director Lee Daniels’s moving Bronx-set drama Precious are playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The film, which features stellar acting and a gut-busting performance from Mo’Nique (expect to hear about her come Oscar time) may not be the typical easygoing movie synonymous with outdoor cinema, but it’s very much worth a look.

Luke Buckmaster

source-http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/01/29/daily-proposition-watch-a-film-under-the-stars/

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Broome, Australia: Sun Pictures Outdoor Cinema Within Film Actually the Beginning of it all for Writer

By on January 25, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

The pearling shed, redressed as the Roebuck Bay Hotel for the film Bran Nue Dae

The pearling shed, redressed as the Roebuck Bay Hotel for the film Bran Nue Dae

Move over Baz Luhrmann. With a fraction of the budget, less digital wizardry and even more unbridled joy, Bran Nue Dae does for the Kimberley what the movie couldn’t: shows off its famous turquoise bits and calls its star town by its own name. The east Kimberley formed much of ’s sweeping backdrop but was passed off as the Northern Territory.

By contrast, Bran Nue Dae was filmed and set where its spirit lies, in the north-western town of .

Tourism operators in the subtropical holiday idyll couldn’t have bought the publicity. The film mentions the word “Broome” with alacrity – I lost count somewhere near 27 – and showcases the iconic landscape of the Kimberley coast, as well as its multicultural liveliness.

“Filming in Broome added a million dollars to the budget but we couldn’t have filmed anywhere else,” says director Rachel Perkins, of the small-budget musical based on Jimmy Chi’s stage play of the 1990s. “Broome is so distinctive – the reds, the blues, the corrugated iron and the old pearling masters’ homes. We were lucky to find a lot of locations fairly unchanged since the 1960s, when the story is set.”

The film charts a 2000-kilometre journey between Perth and Broome but cinephile tourists keen to walk in the filmmakers’ footsteps need not dust off the Kombi to do so.

Apart from some scenes shot in Perth and Fremantle and the bit where a dewy-eyed Missy Higgins serenades her German beau at an anonymous watering hole (it’s Molly Springs near Kununurra), most of the filming was done within a tidy radius of Broome.

So if you’re looking for the “Port Hedland” eatery Tong’s Chinese, where Deborah Mailman’s character seduces the film’s young lead, Willie (Rocky McKenzie), look no further than Napier Terrace on the edge of Broome’s Chinatown. Further seduction beneath the whimsically adorned “Condom Tree” was shot at Roebuck Plains Station, north of town. “Every young bloke ends up at the Condom Tree,” insists Ernie Dingo’s character, launching a Kimberley myth.

Nothing had to be done to the boxy, charmingly uncharming Tong’s to recreate a 1960s feel. On the other hand, the Roebuck Hotel – scene of Jessica Mauboy’s bluesy solos and a series of all-in musical knees-ups – is too altered to pass as the rustic pub of Jimmy Chi’s adolescence (wet T-shirt competitions are part of its contemporary charm).

Ironically, the filmic stand-in was the town’s boutique brewery, Matso’s, the timber interior of which retains a nostalgic vibe (perhaps it’s the legendary ginger beer). Exterior shots were filmed at a heritage-listed pearling shed dressed for the period. Find it on Hamersley Street overlooking Roebuck Bay, just down from Matso’s.

Bran Nue Dae pilgrims will certainly spend an evening at Sun Pictures, Broome’s outdoor cinema and Australia’s oldest picture garden.

Scene of a monsoonal downpour early in the film, the nostalgia-riddled cinema, where geckos, bats and passing jet planes contribute to the ambience, is the same one in which Jimmy Chi devoured musical films as an adolescent, inspiring story.

Few travel to Broome and fail to visit Cable Beach, so even unwitting visitors will get a glimpse of the site of the film’s comic finale. The wide tidal beach and cobalt-blue water are unmistakeable. But beach scouting was a rigorous part of pre-production and Gantheaume Point, the dazzling pinnacle at the southern end of Cable Beach, landed a role without even trying.

“People come to Cable Beach and think they’ve seen the beach in Broome,” Perkins says. “But Gantheaume Point is a whole other story. We just had to include that amazing contrast of aqua water and bright-red sand.”

Gantheaume Point, home to dinosaur footprints and Anastasia’s Pool (dug from stone by a lighthouse keeper for his arthritic wife), feature in flashback sequences and wherever impossibly blue water is seen.

Perkins felt similarly drawn to the church at Beagle Bay, an Aboriginal community on the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome. “It so demanded to be in the film,” she says of the church, whose striking altar is made of mother of pearl shell. The three-hour, four-wheel-drive trek stretched the film’s budget but the pilgrimage remains one of Perkins’ recommendations for Bran Nue Dae groupies.

The low budget was no foil for serendipity on the film shoot. With a week to go before filming and no location secured for gun-toting, lascivious Magda Szubanski’s service station, a perfect venue sporting a For Lease sign materialised on Walcott Street. A certain seedy star quality now lingers at the disused servo in the wake of Szubanski’s lewd ways with hot Chiko Rolls.

In the absence of a cashed-up art department (no vintage Prada luggage here), the friends of cast and crew chipped in with wardrobes, kitchen utensils and bric-a-brac to flesh out this and other sets.

Crew member Arnhem Hunter gave his blessing to use his late father’s old house at Morgans Camp. Off Chapple Street in Chinatown (rubberneckers can visit – there are no doors), the house was the place where the young lead and his mother (Ningali Lawford-Wolf) shared a home. Look closely at the meal-time scenes for another sign of kismet. The table came straight out of Chi’s kitchen.

If you can’t visit a local’s house in Broome, this could be the next best thing. It’s got history (the ceiling rails were once used to hang pearl-diving suits), character (corrugated iron and natural ventilation) and tribal significance (it was gifted to a Bardi law man by the Yaru people). Besides which, you don’t have to go far to glimpse the legendary turquoise, white and red trifecta that makes its setting worthy of the big screen.

Megan Anderson

source-http://www.smh.com.au/travel/red-blue-and-nue-all-over-20100125-mtrk.html

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Broome, Australia: Outdoor Cinema Premier just the Beginning for 'Bran Nue Dae'

By on January 22, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Bran Nue Dae has taken $2.6 million at the box office during its first week – making it the second biggest opening of an Australian film over the past year.

The West Australian film based on Jimmy Chi’s musical play, starring Ernie Dingo, Geoffrey Rush, Jessica Mauboy and local Rocky McKenzie, premiered at the outdoor cinema on December 10 and has proved a loveable hit nation-wide.

The film took in more than $1.6 million in the first weekend, opening in 231 cinemas around the country on January 14.  In contrast, Samson and Delilah took in $199,163 on the first weekend, Balibo $206, 290 and Two Fists, One Heart $96,999.

The biggest local film of the year was Mao’s Last Dancer, raking in almost $15 million all up and $2.75 on its opening weekend.

ScreenWest chief executive Ian Booth said the takings madeBran Nue Dae one of the country’s most successful films in recent times.

The story of an Aboriginal boy desperate to return home to Broome from a harsh school in Perth features plenty of sing and dance routines, and a cast including some of the country’s finest actors alongside pop stars and musicians.

“Bran Nue Dae is connecting with audiences all over ,” Mr Booth said.

“It’s a gem of a film, one to see on the big screen.”

And the songs from the musical movie, performed by singers including Mauboy, Dan Sultan and Missy Higgins, were also proving hits on iTunes, with the film’s album currently number one soundtrack and in the top 20 albums, he said.

“Broome’s Sun Pictures and Sun Cinemas have screened to packed cinemas, and on opening, it was the number one location in Australia,” Booth said.

“With the story and songs originating from Broome, much of the filming taking place in Broome, and the film starring Broome teenager Rocky McKenzie, it is not surprising that Broome locals are flocking to see it.”

Daile Pepper

source-http://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/bran-nue-dae-rules-the-box-office-20100121-mo13.html

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Geelong, Victoria, Australia: 'Cup Cake Movies' Outdoor Cinema to Raise Funds for Hospital

By on January 21, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

’s skyline will light up with sci-fi characters and animated adventures when picturesque Eastern Park becomes the backdrop for a fundraising outdoor cinema.

Volunteer marketing manager Scott Talbot said the gardens would come alive for the city’s first Cup Cake Movies outdoor cinema next month.

Mr Talbot said the unique event would help raise money for cash-strapped Geelong Hospital.

“It’s a first for Geelong,” Mr Talbot said.

“It’s partly a fundraiser for the hospital but it’s also providing tourism and activities for the city of Geelong.

“I wanted to create something to touch, move and inspire people.”

The family-orientated sessions will feature G and PG-rated classics and new releases.

Mr Talbot said the event would have “options to suit everyone”.

He suggested patrons could bring rugs or chairs or choose items from the outdoor cinema menu, which would include fish and chips, popcorn, beer and wine.

Mr Talbot said the movies would cost $5 a head, with children under five admitted free.

“It’s probably the most affordable family activity,” he said.

“Everything is under $5. It’s a very affordable experience, so the community gets back an activity that doesn’t cost an arm or a leg.”

City of Greater Geelong has given the outdoor cinemas a tick of approval, Mr Talbot said.

He hoped Cup Cake Movies would become an annual event.

The outdoor cinemas start on February 19 for a one-month run.

Mr Talbot encouraged anyone interested in attending to visit www.cupcakemovies.com.au to help select the movie schedule.

The Independent is a sponsor of Geelong’s Cup Cake Movies.

Jessica Benton

source-http://www.senews.com.au/story/84520


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Mingara, Australia: Outdoor Movie Showing to Raise Funds for Several Central Coast Charities

By on January 20, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Actors Adam Sandler and Teresa Palmer in Bedtime Stories.

IT’S ONE for the young and the young at heart this weekend.

United Way Central Coast Community Chest is hosting an open air movie night at Recreation Club to raise money for the charity.

The movie showing will be the family-friendly comedy Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler.

The movie is about a hotel handyman whose life changes when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to come true.

But it won’t just be the movie on offer as entertainment.

“There will also be children’s rides, stalls, food and live entertainment for the whole family to enjoy,” United Way Central Coast Community Chest’s Kate Morris said.

Also on the night the charity will be handing over cheques to some of its beneficiaries.

United Way Central Coast Community Chest has served the Central Coast since 1980 and supports more than 85 Central Coast charities working with children, families, disabilities, youth, welfare and the elderly.

All of the funds raised stay on the Central Coast.

Some of the Central Coast charities the chest supports are Camp Breakaway, Central Coast Cancer Council, Coast Shelter and Wyong Hospital’s auxiliary group. “So come along to the event, have some fun and help support those less fortunate on the coast,” Ms Morris said. Bedtime Stories screens on Saturday, January 16, at the Gatorade Regional Athletics Centre, at Mingara. Gates open at 4pm and the entertainment starts at 5pm. The movie will screen from 8pm. Entry is by gold coin donation with all proceeds raised support The United Way Central Coast Community Chest.

Alison Buckland

source-http://express-advocate-gosford.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/open-air-cinema-raised-funds-for-central-coast-charities/

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Port Macquarie, Australia: Outdoor Movie a Family Event Featuring "Mama Mia"

By on January 15, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

HASTINGS Moonlight Movies continue tonight (Thursday) with the screening of Mamma Mia in Bain Park.

This follows the inaugural screening last night of Wal E.

The outdoor cinema is now a summer entertainment reality in Wauchope and across the Hastings with a total of five nights of free movies planned.

Hastings Moonlight Movies will feature two screenings in Bain Park Wauchope and three screenings on ’s Town Green.

According to Andrew Roach, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council General Manager one of the aims for the event is to create business in the CBD of both towns.

“We obviously have a lot of tourists in the Hastings at this time of year and putting on a family friendly event in the centre of Port Macquarie and Wauchope creates a reason for people to support the restaurants, take-aways and other businesses in the CBD,” he said.

“Outdoor cinema is a perfect family friendly, relaxed form of entertainment for summer and I’m thrilled we’ve been able to work with Country Energy as the other major sponsor to make it happen,” said Mr Roach.

“The events present local Chambers of Commerce and small businesses with the opportunity to leverage off the many CBD visitors that are expected to participate in these events – a key aspect of driving business growth within our town centres,” said Mr Besseling.

Patrons are encouraged to bring blankets or folding chairs with movies set to commence on dark just after 8:00pm.

James Gallagher

source-http://www.wauchopegazette.com.au/news/local/news/general/mamma-mia-its-movies-by-night/1725506.aspx

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Tingha, Australia: 'Night at the Museum" to be Night at an Outdoor Movie

By on January 15, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

ENTRY is free to see an outdoor movie screening in in two weeks’ time.

On Friday, January 29 Night at the Museum – Battle of the Smithsonian will be screened at the Tingha Sport & Recreation Club at 8pm.

Locals and visitors alike are most welcome to attend and need only bring a chair or rug for the outdoor movie experience.

Guyra Shire Council general manager David Cushway said he is excited about the outdoor concept and the growing interest.

Two movies will be screened outdoors at Guyra next week.

“The NECU Movies in the Park has laid the platform for Guyra Shire to host and build annual outdoor movie experiences that will continue to not only promote Guyra Shire but also the New England region and provide a real family experience,” Mr Cushway said.

source-http://www.inverelltimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/outdoor-movie-in-tingha/1725941.aspx

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Eumundi, Australia: Two More Outdoor Movies Announced for Flicks in the Sticks

By on January 14, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

The Outdoor Cinema Flicks in the Sticks has announced two more screenings at Showgrounds for January – The Blues Brothers for this Friday and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for Saturday, January 23.

“Both films have cult classic status in their own right and are a guaranteed great trip down memory lane,” said Flicks in the Sticks director Steve Beardsley.

“We’ll have a big shout out to anyone that makes the effort to dress up for The Blues Brothers – and getting up and grooving to the tunes will also be encouraged.”

Gates open at 6pm, with the screening starting about 7.15pm. Moviegoers are reminded to bring something to sit on – a picnic rug, chair, beanbag.

The candy bar opens from 6pm, with ice-creams, popcorn and all the movie munchies. There will also be a sausage sizzle and barbecue from 6pm until the movie starts.

“The cost is only $8 per person, and free for children under three,” Steve said. “The price also includes a glow light for everyone, as well as a drink and popcorn.”

source-http://www.noosanews.com.au/story/2010/01/12/catch-some-flicks-outdoors/

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Wyndham, Australia: Splash Out at Outdoor Movie Poolside in Werribee

By on January 14, 2010 in Dive-in Theater, Outdoor Movie Events

Ken Patton and Tracie Smith with Charlie, 5, Jasmine, 4, Georgia, 6 and Ruby, 2, get their spot for the movie.

Ken Patton and Tracie Smith with Charlie, 5, Jasmine, 4, Georgia, 6 and Ruby, 2, get their spot for the movie.

Don’t be surprised to smell salty popcorn over chlorine at ’s outdoor public pool this Friday.

A movie will be screened outdoors at the pool at dusk as the first of Council’s Dive-In Movies this summer.

The pool joins majestic Werribee Park as a second outdoor movie venue in Wyndham.

The council said that for the cost of entry to the pool, visitors could watch the movie 17 Again from lawns at the site, or from deck chairs in the wading pool.

More than 500 people are expected to attend. Rotary will cook up a fundraising barbecue.

The movie starts at 8.45pm with live music to swim to from 6pm.

Movie Ice Age 3 is on at the pool on Saturday, February 6. Pre-movie activities at this event will include kids’ karaoke.

The council launched Dive-In Movies at the Watton St pool last summer. A total of 800 people attended two separate screenings.

For people wanting a more relaxed movie setting, Movies Under the Stars is on at Werribee Park this Saturday.

The movie is Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Gates open at 7.30pm.

Other upcoming outdoor screenings at the park include The Notebook on February 13, Bourne Supremacy on March 13 and Armageddon on March 27.

Kellie Cameron

source-http://wyndham-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/splash-out-at-movie-in-werribee/

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Melbourne, Australia: St. Kilda's Openair Cinema Hot Summer Location for Outdoor Flicks

By on January 13, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Summer in has become a different, friskier beast in recent years, writes Annabel Ross.

FOUND yourself stuck in town this summer while your mates are all away? Spending your holidays in the city needn’t mean being cooped up indoors. Summer in the CBD has become a different beast in recent years, and it’s possible to enjoy the ”great outdoors” without so much as opening a Melway.

Tonight St Kilda’s Openair Cinema kicks off its eight-week season, following in the footsteps of the wildly popular Moonlight Cinema in the Botanic Gardens and Rooftop Cinema at Curtin House, to give Melbourne filmgoers another alfresco option.

Perched atop the St Kilda Sea Baths, the Openair Cinema adds a dash of salty sea air to the outdoor film formula, which here also includes a bar serving food and cocktails and live music before the screening.

Film buffs can bring picnic food and non-alcoholic drinks. Beanbags and deckchairs are provided from 7.30pm, when live acoustic and DJ sets are played until the screening at sundown.

Seats are unreserved, so arrive early for a better chance of securing a good spot. Bring your own chairs and blankets.

Like Moonlight and Rooftop, the St Kilda cinema will screen a variety of new releases, classics and cult films, with this season’s program including Avatar and The Goonies.

Despite the fierce competition in Melbourne, the St Kilda cinema has been holding its own.

Openair’s Ainslie Lenehan thinks the live music component of the evening helps set it apart from the rest.

”We needed to come in with something quite different to offer, and I think that’s what makes us so successful,” she says.

Also jumping on the alfresco bandwagon is the Melbourne International Film Festival, which is showing films free of charge on the big screen at Federation Square each week. Deckchairs are provided for the Thursday screenings under the stars, with a selection of MIFF favourites on the program for February.

The outdoors might be the new indoors for summer film-going, but you don’t need to be watching a movie to enjoy the breeze on a balmy evening.

At the Emerald Peacock’s ”Fiesta Sundays”, the glam bar adopts a more relaxed tone, with $10 pizzas, cocktails by the jug, and chilled-out music on the rooftop.

On the first Sunday of every month during summer, the Bouzy Rouge restaurant in Richmond is hosting ”Paella and Sangria Sundays” in its sun-drenched courtyard, bringing a little of piece of Iberia to Melbourne.

More Sunday fun can be found at CBD bar Madame Brussels’ ”rather fancy barbecues”, with food prepared by guest restaurants including Coda, Cumulus and ’s Icebergs.

”It’s Icebergs comes to Bourke Street. BYO budgie smugglers,” chortles Madame Brussels’ Miss Pearls.

Bookings are essential as the Astroturf rooftop heaves from 2pm on Sundays until the end of April, with $40 buying you three courses and a glass of Madame Brussels’ ”gay rosé”.

Even should the dancefloor beckon on a hot summer night, you needn’t head into a sweaty club.

Inspired by the European tendency to spill on to the streets when the sun is shining, Joe Gannon returned to Melbourne from Amsterdam with the idea of taking the party outside during summer.

Under the name Flaner, he organises free live DJ sets at various outdoor venues in the city including Degraves Street and Federation Square.

Gannon says the response has been overwhelmingly positive so far. ”At the Fed Square gig, we had people coming out from the surrounding bars and dancing, we had little kids dancing. At Degraves Street we had speakers set up on the dumpsters and it was more chilled out, but the feedback from both was really good.”

Perennially popular twilight markets also bask in the glow of daylight saving hours.

The Suzuki Night Market, now in its 12th year at the Queen Market, has more than 35 stalls of multicultural cuisine, licensed bars, live entertainment on three stages and some 150 vendors.

At the Queen Victoria Market’s ”Summer Sunday Sessions” on the first Sunday of each month until March, you can enjoy live local musicians in the beer garden and peruse the local designer market from 11am until 3pm.

The bohemian bayside charms of St Kilda are seen on Thursdays at the St Kilda Beach Night Market, where vintage clothing, arts and crafts are sold. Char-grilled corn and falafel can be eaten against a backdrop of bongo drums and fire twirlers.

The new Supper Market at the Abbotsford Convent kicked off in October and continues every Friday night until February 26. The historical grounds of the convent are home to hawker-style home cooking, live music and roaming circus performers as well as clothing, arts and crafts stalls.

Appealing to the more adventurous are the aerial workshops at the City Square, running four times daily between Saturday, January 23, and Sunday, February 7.

Expert instructors will guide wannabe circus performers through trapeze lessons, or you can leave it to the pros and watch their daily acrobatic show at 1.30pm.

The trapeze workshops are part of the City of Melbourne’s Summer in the City program, which includes sunset concerts in the Fitzroy Gardens, Sunday morning jazz sessions on Lygon Street and the opportunity to learn cheesy dance moves from films including Slumdog Millionaire and Dirty Dancing at Docklands on Saturday nights.

In addition to the MIFF deckchairs, Federation Square will run a range of outdoor events during summer.

The National Institute of Circus Arts will offer basic circus skills lessons in the Amphitheatre every Monday until March 22, while on Tuesdays the Urban Garden is converted into an outdoors pilates studio, with lunchtime classes until early March.

Provided that you keep your sangria intake to a minimum, The Humble Vintage bicycle hire company is the perfect way to flit around town on a sunny day. Matt Hurst’s business rents out vintage bikes from three pick-up points – Fitzroy, St Kilda and the city. For $30 a day you get a helmet, a bike equipped with a lock and lights and a custom map and guide written by Hurst, filled with recommended cycling routes and pit stops.

”It’s the best way to see the city,” says Hurst. Make hay while the sun shines.

source- The Age

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/basking-in-the-lights-of-the-city-20100112-m4m5.html

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Sydney, Australia: St. George OpenAir Cinema Premieres Musical 'Bran Nue Dae'

By on January 13, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Bran Nue Dae ... premiered at Open Air Cinema at Mrs Macquarie's Chair. L-R Missy Higgins, Jessica Mauboy, Magda Szubanski. Picture: Noel Kessel Source: The Daily Telegraph

While the stars of the well-received Aussie flick were out in force at the St George Open Air Cinema, a surprise guest was France-based songstress Tina Arena who looked quite frail in a tight pink frock. She said she was still jet lagged after arriving in the country with her son on Friday to tour with Irish crooner Ronan Keating.

Arena said her husband Vincent Mancini had not accompanied her on the trip. “He’s dealing with sick grandparents at the moment so it’s good to be close,” she said.

Indie artist and cast member Missy Higgins wowed the red carpet in a Marni Skillings mini-dress from her sister Nicola’s new Bondi boutique.

Higgins, who is currently single, is “hilarious” in the comedy as Annie, according to her cohort and good mate Magda Szubanski.

“She paid me to say that,” Szubanski joked to Confidential at Mrs Macquaries Chair.

Higgins has never acted before and said she requested an audition despite being offered the part by director Rachel Perkins. “I just wanted to make sure I was right for the role and didn’t end up making a fool out of myself,” she said.

R&B sensation Jessica Mauboy spoke of the awkward moment when her boyfriend Themeli Magripilis had to watch her kissing scene at the Darwin opening. “The poor guy, he just turned away. I felt so bad,” she said.

source-http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/brand-nue-dae-gets-hot-welcome/story-e6frf96o-1225818656175

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Tumbi Umbi, New South Wales, Australia: United Way Community Chest Raises Funds with Outdoor Showing of 'Bedtime Stories'

By on January 12, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

The United Way Community Chest presents Adam Sandler – Bedtime Stories at the outdoor cinema.
Help the Central Coast and spend time with your family and friends relaxing with live entertainment, rides and outdoor entertainment, rides and family outdoor movie at the inaugural Outdoor Cinema Family Fun Night.
Gates open at the Gatorade Regional Athletics Centre at 4pm with entertainment from 5pm. Movie Bedtime Stories from 8pm.
Gold coin donation on arrival.
All proceeds raised support The United Way Central Coast Community Chest that helps local Central Coast Charities.

source-http://www.thecoastnews.com.au/component/jcalpro/view/90/38.html?tmpl=component

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Melbourne, Australia: Outdoor Movie Screenings Part of Summer in Your Backyard

By on January 10, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Summer in the city ... catch a movie in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

It’s mid-summer and half of town’s still out of town but for those resisting the lure of “down the beach” an oft-overlooked destination is just warming up. city, fresh out of Christmas-new year standby mode and revving gently towards next week’s Australian Open, has much to offer suburban day-tripper and out-of-towner alike. Summer sales are in full swing, holiday activities abound, days are long and warm and the living is easy. It’s a great time to be a tourist in your own town.

Into the night

The City of Melbourne’s splendid sunset concert and dance series in Fitzroy Gardens are great catalysts to bring friends together for a twilight picnic set to free, live music. The Saturday concert series starts tonight with soul-funksters Pablo Discobar, Custom Kings on January 16, the Snappers on January 23 and Deborah Conway on January 30. Sunday dance sessions have free lessons in shuffle and swing, afro funk, Bollywood and salsa styles, followed by live bands so novices can practice their moves. Tomorrow night starts with shuffle and swing and continues on Sundays until January 31. Both concert and dance sessions are on 6.30-9.30pm on Fitzroy Gardens’ Stage Lawn. See thatsmelbourne.com.au.

Outdoor cinema makes great use of a warm summer night and the natural amphitheatre of Moonlight Cinema’s (moonlight.com.au) Royal Botanic Gardens site is the ideal place to indulge. Films screen every night except Mondays until March 14, with offerings over the next three weeks including Saturday Night Fever, Where the Wild Things Are and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Rooftop Cinema (rooftopcinema.com.au), atop Curtin House on Swanston Street, forgoes a leafy backdrop for a forest of highrises. Casablanca, Footloose and Taxi Driver are among the features.

Back in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Shakespeare Under the Stars (shakespeareaustralia.com.au) celebrates 21 years with nightly performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream from Tuesday to Sunday until the end of January and then Tuesday to Saturday until March 13.

If open-air imbibing is your thing, try the rooftop bars at Madame Brussels or Palmz at the Carlton, both on Bourke Street, or Russell Street’s Red Hummingbird. And January’s a fine time to revisit those no-bookings city eateries that kept you waiting last year.

Kids’ zone

When the saltwater or chlorine begin to pall, take the kids to the city for lunch and one of dozens of holiday activities. Find details of the following events on thatsmelbourne.com.au.

For the littlies, Fairy Fanfare puts on fairy-inspired song, dance and acrobatics in the Fitzroy Gardens at 10am and noon each day from January 16 to 31. Birrarung Yarn, at Birrarung Marr on Sundays from January 17 to February 14, brings indigenous culture to children aged three to 12 with dance performances and face painting.

Aspiring Adam Elliots can develop their own animations over two sessions at the ArtPlay Animation Studio in Birrarung Marr, on January 13 and 14, or 21 and 22. The workshop is for eight-year-olds and above and costs $35.

Bringing the beach to town, a crew of international sand “artists” has sculpted a sand installation at Docklands. It’s on display from Monday until January 31 and children aged four to 12 can make their own sand carvings at free 30-minute workshops from January 13 to 17. You’ll need to book, phone 9658 9658.

And the circus comes to Federation Square, where National Institute of Circus Arts trainers teach basic skills at free workshops on Mondays, noon to 2pm, from January 18 to March 22.

source-http://www.smh.com.au/travel/summer-in-your-backyard-20100107-lwjg.html

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