Festival dishes up foodie fun

When you’re digging into the boat-load of crabs on offer this weekend, spare a thought for fishmonger Brendon Watts.
                                             
                        

For 17 years, Mr Watts’ family business Wattsies Place has been supplying the Channel 7 Mandurah Crab Fest.
The crustacean enthusiast said he would be extremely busy this year, with a record turnout expected when the festival opens on Saturday.
“We’re going to be working seven days straight in the lead-up with 3.30am starts and 5pm finishes,” he said.
“And that’s if everything goes to plan. There’ll be a lot of cleaning and getting them ready, so we really hope people savour them and not just smash them down.”
Mr Watts said conditions had not been ideal leading up to the weekend with imported stock needed to fill the large quota.
While the crab enthusiast said he would be avoiding the festivities because he “hates big crowds”, he said he loved knowing that people were enjoying the product. The entertainment is also expected to boost crowd numbers, with Australian music icons Thirsty Merc and Justice Crew headlining. There will also be more than 40 hours of free, live entertainment on the weekend including the popular Australian Army Band, Mandurah’s own Jonny Taylor, Moorditj Brothers and African Music Circles.
A range of food experiences are on offer with four ticketed events as well as market stalls, cooking demonstrations, licensed bar areas, water activities and a fireworks display.
A special cookbook, The Fish Trap, will be available to purchase at a custom-made booth for $20 with part proceeds donated to Mandurah Foodbank.
Mayor Vergone said the weekend was a celebration of local produce and flavours, in particular the popular blue manna crabs.

Sydney’s Tomato Festival returns in 2017

Whether they're reduced in a ragù, sliced and served with a ball of burrata, or in a sauce for pizza, tomatoes are at their peak right now, in late-summer. Celebrate this versatile vegetable at Sydney's two-day Tomato Festival, which returns for the fourth year to the Royal Botanic Gardens on 18-19 February, with a program filled with cooking demonstrations, talks, produce stalls and a communal banquet.
                             

While last year's theme was chilli-infused cooking, this year it's about pairing ruby ripe tomatoes with herbs. Learn how to make proper passata in Italian chef Luca Ciano's masterclass, find out Cornersmith's top tips and tricks for pickling, or pop by the produce market for tomato relishes, chutneys and more from local producers like Donna Does and Pepe Saya.

The jewel of the festival, however, will be the annual Longest Tomato Lunch, held across a 70-metre long communal table. Held on both the Saturday and Sunday, expect gazpacho, tomato-braised chicken with chilli and eggplant, as well as a slightly confusing coconut quinoa cream and salsa dessert.

Or, if your love for oxheart knows no bounds, the festival's debut Pomme D'Amour Lovers' Dinner on Friday 17 February is one to book. A candle-lit, three-course, tomato-driven meal will be served overlooking the harbour.

While entry to the festival is free, the Longest Tomato Lunch is $94 for two people, and the Lovers' Dinner begins at $185 for two, with additional romantic extras.

Childish Gambino, Violent Soho, The Avalanches light it up at Falls Festival

FALLS Festival celebrated its 24th year with a star-studded line-up — and it was spectacular.
         

Word on the ground was that Childish Gambino was the act to see, followed closely by Violent Soho and The Avalanches.

Client Liaison, comprised of Melbourne duo Harvey Miller and Monte Morgan, dutifully played into their blend of 80s dance pop with a Savage Garden vibe, with a rendition of I Want You. Miller, completed his image of swagger with a snow leopard print fur coat while playing latest single, Off White Limousine.

The back-to-back pairing of Grandmaster Flash and Hot Dub Time Machine provided a blast from the past, playing everything from 80s pub rock to Justin Bieber.

On day two, indie darling Gretta Rae crooned her way into the hearts of bleary-eyed punters on the Valley Stage. The talented 18-year-old coyly admitted Falls was her first festival and her banter with the crowd created an incredibly intimate experience. Unwind and Unexpected Feeling were her standout tracks.

Aussie rapper Illy entertained the crowd in the afternoon, while Golden Features got the party vibes started, warming the crowd up for dub and reggae legends, Fat Freddy’s Drop. With one of the longer sets of the festival, there wasn’t a single foot that wasn’t tapping to their heavy beats and the 15-minute jam of their first single Wandering Eye, was a highlight.

The New Year’s Eve, line-up was exhaustingly good, with Wollongong rockers Hockey Dad one of the standout acts. The Rubens and Jamie T. Pond entertained the crowd while they waited for Welsh rockers Catfish and the Bottlemen, who blew their fans away. The New Year was hailed in by The Avalanches, rocking tracks such as Frontier Psychiatrist, Frankie Sinatra and, following the understated New Year countdown, Since I Left You.

‘Winter’ is Winner in Macao Festival’s Glitzy Finale

The first edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao wrapped up with a snappy and well-drilled prize ceremony. The competition section was won by Argentinian film “The Winter” (aka “El Ivierno”) directed by Emiliano Torres.
           

The best director award went to Marco Martins for “Saint George” about an unemployed boxer. “Saint George” also claimed the best actor prize for Nuno Lopes.

The ceremony was held at the casino town’s cultural center Tuesday night. Notable film folk in attendance included Jon Chu, Gianni Nunnuri, Chin Han, John Penotti, Ludi Lin, the BFI’s Sandra Hebron and Ann Hui. Career achievement awards were accepted in person by top Chinese director Feng Xiaogang and producer-financier Yu Dong of Bona Film Group.

The competition section jury also included Shekhar Kapur, Giovanna Fulvi and Japanese actress Makiko Watanabe.

The festival was hatched with the idea of adding to the former Portuguese colony’s cultural activities and diversifying its appeal as a tourist destination.

While the sudden resignation of festival director Marco Mueller in October shook the organizers, the festival overcame that and delivered both a strong film lineup – jury president Kapur said “when you have a jury where everyone has a personal favorite that they champion you know you have a strong selection” – and an impressive industry section. It included a project market, conferences and a screening series.

British film, “Trespass Against Us” won both the jury prize and the prize for Lyndsey Marshal as best actress. The best screenplay award went to Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley for another British film “Free Fire.” The best technical contribution prize went to the sound design in tough Brazilian drama “Elon Doesn’t Believe in Death.”

One of the biggest cheers of the night was for the selection of Jennifer Yu as best newcomer for her performance in Macau director Tracy Choi’s “Sisterhood.” “The young actress delivered a difficult part, which is both dramatic and humorous at the same level, and kept us emotionally engaged in the story. For her very first feature film, this young actress showed incredible promise,” the jury said. “Sisterhood” also earned the audience prize.

Maitreya Festival May Be Returning In March Next Year

Ill-fated electronic music festival Maitreya has announced that it’s coming back next year despite previously saying it “may never” return.
                 

If you need a quick catch up on Maitreya Festival, here you are. Earlier this year, the festival ran into trouble when the council denied its permit to host the festival at Wooroonook Lakes. They announced a new site but cancelled the festival after police warned punters not to attend.

They then failed to offer refunds to all ticketholders and ticketing agency TryBooking were left over $400,000 out of pocket. Another event was planned “exclusively” for those ticketholders but that too was cancelled.

It’s been a journey that’s for sure but it sounds like they’re ready to do it all again.

Festival organisers have penned a very cryptic post on Facebook that basically says they’re holding an event in March.

When we say cryptic, we mean really cryptic.

“Time itself has also contacted us and made the request, warning of quantum malfunction of the warp sphere should the dance not take place,” reads one line from the post but it’s clear enough to reveal that something is happening in March.

They’ve asked punters to “follow us down the rabbit hole” in March and also said to, “please stay tuned.”

It’s unknown whether it will be a festival similar to what was planned for this year. They were previously unable to get council approval to hold it at their regular site but were hoping something would change as the CEO and mayor of Buloke Council had stepped down.

David Bowie tribute concert Nothing Has Changed shakes Hamer Hall's foundations

"Nothing has changed, everything has changed," is the full David Bowie couplet that gives this rock-orchestral tribute its name. The "everything" is still hard to bear sometimes, like when Tim Rogers slides down his microphone stand wringing those agonising notes of rage from the dying light of Lazarus.

But "we're all here because we love David," he had reminded us earlier, in between his sizzling Fame duet with Deborah Conway and saucy Sorrow with Adalita​. If anything has changed on that score since the great man's passing, it's exponentially.

Dressed in outlandish homage to Bowie's Ashes To Ashes Pierrot, iOTA's first line to Major Tom was a lightning rod for a physical rush of affection from the crowd. The joy on his white-painted face told a story of liberation so many of us shared. His soaring Life On Mars? was another high that drew vocal surges of emotion from the dark.

Conway's grin might have been equally about the sheer good fortune of having a song like Starman or Ziggy Stardust to sing, loaded with all that melody and drama and ingenious allegory. With almost breathless admiration, she framed the lyrics of Oh You Pretty Things to underscore Bowie's extraordinary prescience as a young man.

Darker characters haunted Steve Kilbey​'s songs, his face a mask of concentration as he channelled the post-apocalyptic decadence of Diamond Dogs, the psychopathic sugar daddy of China Girl – an ironically playful duet with Robyn Loau​– and the cocaine-enlightened Thin White Duke in the show's most ambitious selection, Station to Station.

Thousands enjoy food, fun games at Italian Festival

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Thousands of Staten Islanders turned out for the inaugural "Italian Festival at the Mount" this weekend at Mount Loretto in Pleasant Plains.
                 

The event was hosted by the Catholic Charities of Staten Island and was presented by ShopRite. It ran from 5-11 p.m. Friday, 3-11 p.m. Saturday and 2-9 p.m. Sunday at 6450 Hylan Blvd.

"It was a great display for Catholic Charities and a great way for the Staten Island community to come together for an event," said Anthony Rapacciuolo, who owns PRcision which coordinates events at Mount Loretto.

Rapacciuolo was thrilled with the overwhelming turnout at the event.

A cannoli-eating contest was sponsored by Alfonso's Bakery.

Vendors at the event included: Food Network star Chef Dom Tesoriero's Mac Truck, Soda City, John's Catering, Beansie Cakes, Montalbano's of Rosebank, Peter Botros' Stone House, Giovanni's Trattoria, Uncle Louie G's, Daiquiri on Wheels, Orange Theory, Pinot's Palette and Vincent's Zeppoles.

An Italian-style, outdoor cafe served espressos, sangria and Italian beers. The event included more than 10 trailer-style games, mechanical rides and live musical performances throughout all three days.

Admission to the festival was free, but parking was $5 which will be donated to the Catholic Charities organization.