Fan-boys-and-girls unite: The Australian Movie and Comic Expo is coming to Melbourne this October! The unique event is a must-attend for all self-confessed ‘movie-geeks’ and pop culture aficionados. An expo for the whole family, the event will encompass everything from live events to unforgettable exhibitions.

Every year, a roster of international and local entertainment figures take part in a movie and comic expo like no other. Formerly known as the Armageddon Expo, the organisers have always done their utmost to ensure proceedings are engaging and entertaining. And this year looks set to be one of the best yet.

Expo organisers will be honouring the ‘Back to the Future’ film trilogy, cult 60’s TV series ‘Get Smart’ and comic icon ‘The Flash’ with a series of guest appearances and Q&A events. Guests will gather to discuss the social impacts of these important pop-cultural milestones, as well as in-depth investigations on the art and methods behind creation.

So far, several high profile guests have been announced. These include voice-over couple Hal Rayle and Maggie Roswell (known for their work on The Simpsons), local comic book artist Tristan Jones (who recently completed a Mad Max: Fury Road adaptation) and comic legend Dean Rankine. Also in attendance: 80’s screen heartthrob and Stargate actor Lou Diamond Phillips and Marty McFly’s original girlfriend, the actress Claudia Wells.

In addition to these standout events, organisers have also sought to provide a diverse array of entertainment options. The Back To The Future DeLorean and the 1966 Batmobile will be on display, and guests are encouraged to enjoy live demonstrations, cosplay competitions, a unique ‘Lazer Tag’ arena and a LEGO Brickvention designed for the event.

In this new Golden Age of comic-book heroes and villains, there are plenty of good reasons to re-fuel the flux capacitor and head out to the Australian Movie and Comic Expo!

What: The Australian Movie and Comic Expo 2015
Where: Melbourne Showgrounds, 276-318 Epsom Road, Flemington VIC 3032
When: 17/10/2015 to 18/10/2015
For booking and more information visit: www.ticketek.com.au

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An iconic celebration…

On Melbourne Cup Day, Australia’s institutions and inhabitants (human or otherwise) stop for an afternoon of fun and frivolity. The nationally celebrated cultural event is centred on a rich thoroughbred horserace, worth a staggering $6.2-million in prize money. This year’s Emirates Melbourne Cup is set to be the sporting event of the season, so visitors are encouraged to get gussied up for the racetrack!

Taking place on Tuesday the 3rd of November, the event is a crucial element of the Spring Racing Carnival, and the social festivities surrounding the main stage are always entertaining. At the racecourse, guests are likely to see the cream of the crop of racing’s high-society, but ordinary folks can also enjoy the ‘champagne-and-dollar-bets’ lifestyle. In short, it’s a vitally important mixer-type festival that brings out the best in everyone.

The Melbourne Cup’s roots stretch back to 1861, when the first race was held. The 3,200-metre turf race is the richest two-mile handicap event in the world, a factor that appeals to many of the world’s top trainers and owners. As such, the competition for first place is intense. The Cup has come a long way since its humble regional days, rightfully claiming its place near the top of the horseracing calendar.

On that first Tuesday of November, the nation’s pubs and bars will enjoy thriving business. Social and work-based events are designed to make the most of ‘Melbourne Cup Fever’, a truly perennial disease that affects the locals’ brains and impedes their ability to complete work. Everywhere you look, you’ll see people crowded around small or large TV screens, yelling in unison and glancing furtively at the small scraps of paper between their fingers. Win or lose, the celebration is all that matters.

Elsewhere, a scene of refreshing colour and unabashed style will be created as more than a hundred thousand spectators pack Flemington. The atmosphere is downright electric; the nation is watching. Will you be there too?

What: The 2015 Emirates Melbourne Cup
When: Tuesday the 3rd of November
Where: Flemington Racecourse, Flemington Drive, 428-550 Epsom Road, VIC
For more information visit: www.flemington.com.au

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Good clean family fun

For local and international guests, the Royal Melbourne Show is an iconic and distinctive part of Victorian culture. The community event brings together the best in agricultural and urban life, offering visitors a range of unique old-world social events and family fun. It’s not to be missed…

This year, the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) has organised one of its best festivals ever. There’ll be entertaining competitions and challenges, educational and interactive events for the young ones, and plenty of good food and beverages for the older folk. This year’s animal precinct will feature alpacas, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, cats and dogs, and, as always, there will be plenty of carnival rides, stunt shows and live performances to keep you entertained for days.

Gourmands will be pleased to hear that some of the region’s top producers will also be in attendance, offering patrons the chance to gain an intimate knowledge of some of Victoria’s finest fresh food. ‘Pop-up’ restaurants will serve a rotating roster of tasty treats throughout the event, and organisers have even lined up live cooking shows featuring some of Australia’s top chefs and cooking personalities. What more could a lover of all things food related ask for?

Live music acts, including Justice Crew and Jessica Mauboy, will have festivalgoers grooving throughout the Show, and festivities continue after dark with a nightly Fireworks Spectacular and Freestyle Motorcross Stunt Show, which wraps up at 7.45pm. Featuring a jet-theme and daredevil displays, it’s the perfect way to cap off a fun-filled day.

For tickets and bookings, be sure to visit the Royal Melbourne Show website. There you’ll find a detailed breakdown of the events, show times and maps for the whole family. It’s a rollicking good time, so dust off your cowboy boots and head out to the big country (the Melbourne Showgrounds) for a heck of an Australian show. And, of course, don’t forget the showbags!

What: The 2015 Royal Melbourne Show
Where: Melbourne Showgrounds, 276-318 Epsom Road, Flemington, VIC
When: 19 September–29 September, 10am – 9pm
For more information: www.royalshow.com.au

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A genuine natural landmark…

Victoria’s iconic Twelve Apostles attracts massive tourist crowds, offering guests the chance to see some of the most unique and celebrated natural formations in the world. But recent criticisms of the site have centred on one critical problem: too much wastewater was being discharged into the waters surrounding the rocky attractions.

Recently, a sewage leak caught the attention of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). According to local authorities, the leak was due in part to excess strain being placed on the parkland’s existing public toilets. With around 25 restrooms in the area, droves of visitors have become accustomed to a long wait and smelly restrooms, but the resulting leak was truly unexpected.

Corangamite Mayor Chris O’Connor told the ABC that the problem was serious and potentially game-changing. “We’re not even in peak time and certainly last year, with the speed of numbers, we were just at absolute full capacity,” he explained. “They’ve got portables in there. The place often smells pretty badly when you get out of your car, and just the capacity is not coping.”

Locals are also concerned about the ‘flow-on’ effects of the toilet shortage. “The likes of Port Campbell wouldn’t have the capacity to cope. We would be in real trouble,” Mayor O’Connor added. “Who knows what would happen but it would be highly embarrassing and it’d be obviously a major shock to our local economy.”

“People come in their thousands; they come in buses, they come in cars. If you don’t have facilities, I suppose you can only imagine what would happen around the site,” he explained. “Humans have got needs, and I guess when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.”

But some have advocated for a visitor’s fee to be imposed on the site. The added revenue could help more adequately manage the area. Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism Board spokesperson Wayne Kayler-Thomson said a $10 fee could address the imbalance. “If you go to other natural attractions around the world, you’ll find it’s common practice to pay a fee to access those facilities and that helps to maintain the facility,” he told the ABC. “So we need to investigate ways and opportunities of doing that as part of the long term sustainability of the site.”

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In my opinion, Groovin the Moo is the best one-day festival in the country – it’s affordable, offers a phenomenal lineup of artists and takes place at a variety of country towns around the country, meaning you get to see some unique areas of Australia during your partying. Groovin the Moo combines the international lineups featured at bigger festivals such as Big Day Out and Stereosonic, yet it leaves out the shirtless, drugged-up festival heads. It has a down-to-Earth atmosphere more akin to the smaller festivals but includes a more impressive array of artists and food and drink stalls.

Groovin the Moo 2015’s lineup is no exception to its usual grandeur, boasting the likes of Ball Park Music, Sticky FIngers, A$AP Ferg, Charlie XCX, Hilltop Hoods, RL Grime, Flight Facilities, Broods, The Preatures, Peace and Peaches. As well as these well-known artists, GTM is also an oasis of emerging and upcoming artists, showcasing the fresh sounds of DMA’s, The Delta Riggs, Meg Mac, Tkay Maidza, Saskwatch and San Cisco just to name a few. Already in my preparation for the festival I have found some incredible new artists that I can’t wait to jig out to live: One Day, You Me At Six and Triple J Unearthed Artist Yours Alone are just some of these artists I have already discovered.

Groovin the Moo kicks off in Oakbank on 25th April, followed up by Bunbury, WA the next day, then travels over to Bendigo in Victoria on 2nd May and Canberra on 3rd May. The final weekend will see the artists travelling to Maitland, NSW on 9th May and its final performance will be in Townsville, QLD on 10th May.

Tickets are just $99.90 (+ booking fee), making it the most affordable festival ticket of the calendar year. Its rural location also makes the festival the perfect excuse for a road trip through the authentic Australian countryside. GTM provides bus links to and from the festival  and also gives you many sources to find accommodation. Unfortunately, tickets to Maitland, Bunbury and Bendigo have already sold out, but if you can make it to the other venues be sure to book your tickets today.

If you’ve already secured tickets to Groovin the Moo, be sure to get listening to a Spotify playlist and book in your transport and accommodation today!

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By being connected to the ground, you are able to appreciate the slow and subtle shift in vegetation across the country, meet true blue Aussie characters and observe rural and country town Australia in all its warmhearted but slightly bogan glory.

Traipsing through the Australian ‘outback’ provides a much more authentic and unique experience as opposed to simply driving up and down the populated East Coast. As of 2012, according to the Australian Population & MIgration Research Centre, just 0.34% of the Australian population lived on 84.2% of the land area, at a density of 0.1 persons or less per km – and this land is all in Central Australia.

Of course there is a reason the East Coast of Australia is the busiest section of Australia, for both residents and travellers: there are incredible sights, stunning coastlines, plenty of exciting activities and festivals, and the abundant tourism makes getting doing things and getting around much easier.

However, there is something incredible about travelling to the inland of Australia and experiencing the heart of the country.

I believe one can’t say they’ve truly experienced Down Under if they haven’t planted themselves in the open plains where yelling at the top of your lungs elicits no response; met the quirky but incredibly friendly bar owner of a country town pub; sweltered in the blistering sun and watched the sweat drip down your body past the ripples of heat cascading across the red sand; and sung along to classic hits in a packed car with your head enjoying the breeze as it dangles out the car window.

A word of warning though: I don’t want to glorify this type of trip too much as of course road tripping through Australia can get a little dry – in both senses of the word. The subtle changes in vegetation are beautiful…but they truly are subtle and looking at similar landscapes for long periods of time can quickly become tiresome; the heat – as vital as it is to experience at one point of another – can quickly become very irksome; and sitting in a car for long periods of time can sometimes lead to sore legs and bums, agitated passengers and claustrophobic tendencies a little too easily.

The key to an exciting and memorable road trip through country Australia is to break it up. Stay in little towns along the way, break frequently for food or activities, and bring plenty of things along for the ride to keep you occupied. Good music, riveting books, and a repertoire of fun car games are an absolute must for Aussie road trips. It is also a great idea to bring along balls, a cricket set or surf boards to give you something active to do to burn off all your pent up car-sitting energy.

Taking it slowly also means you need to leave a fair amount of time to complete a road trip. Try not to rush a trip – you need time to enjoy the little things, and leave enough room for you to be spontaneous and head to unplanned areas that might take your fancy.

Another word of advice to make the most of your country road trip is to go a different route on the return journey. While all of the above aspects are important for travellers to experience, they are never quite as exciting as the initial trip. Doing one trip along the coast and the return journey through central Australia (or vice versa) would provide a remarkable experience that gives you the best of both worlds.

For example, my recent car journey from Sydney to Adelaide was a phenomenal drive through country New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. But taking the longer route back home along the coastline was well worth the extra time to experience a different side of the country and make the most of the beaches along the way.

When done right, a road trip through country Australia could easily become one of the most memorable and exciting journeys you undertake in the nation.

Everyone has their opinions on what constitutes a good holiday. Are you a beach person? Do you prefer cold winters and big jackets? Are you a lover of museums and art? Maybe, you’re a car enthusiast. And if you are, we have just the holiday for you.

Picture yourself, travelling around Australia, exploring all the museums, worshipping modern car advancements, and driving a few cool vehicles yourself. We’ve got the top places you have to see if you have any kind of love for cars.

National Motor Museum

Your first stop, naturally, should be the best museum in Australia. Nestled in the beautiful surrounds by the River Torrens in Adelaide’s picturesque hills, this museum is a short 50 kilometres from Adelaide. It houses over 300 of Australia’s most prized vintage, veteran and classic motor vehicles. It gives visitors an image of what life was like in the heyday of the car, and how cars have changed over time.

The museum hosts special events each year including the Bay to Birdwood Run, The Bay to Birdwood Classic and the Rock ‘n Roll Rendezvous.

Harris Street Motor Museum

This little gem is not as big as other car museums, but certainly makes up for it in charm and location. Situated right behind Darling Harbour, Harris Street presents over 160 classic motor vehicles, bikes and commercial vehicles. Among the top notch attractions are an Edward VII Gardener’s Serpollet steam car, the unique Delorean, and actor Anthony Quinn’s 1959 Chevrolet.

Portland Powerhouse Motor and Car Museum

Another classic transport place of worship, this museum features everything from a Penny Farthing bicycle to a 1920’s Cable Tram and Grip car. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of vintage car memorabilia to get you going, as well as stacks of interactive fun with two sectioned, push button operated motors, a Holden 6 cylinder grey motor and a Mazda rotary. You’ll find this one on the corner of Percy and Glenelg St, in Portland, Victoria. Enjoy yourselves!

Classic Car Investments

If you’re still dying for a little more exciting motor vehicle action, there’s one more stop to make on your trip. A tour of Oz would not be complete without delving into the world of classic car investments and the restoration business. Classic Car Investments hosts seminars on all your favourite  models, gives you the chance to have a vintage car restored, and even buy into an investment. Think luxury classic and vintage car investments in Australia, and you’re bound to get the heart racing. These guys have classic car investments in Australia, the UK and USA, so if you can’t make it to Australia’s museum, you can discover the magic all over the world.

Classic, vintage and iconic car models are a highlight of many holidays. Sure, they’re mainly a guy’s idea of heaven, but there are plenty of fun things to find in all of these old-style museums. Add it to the bucket list, and make it a mission to see at least one of these amazing museums. The trip down history lane is too good to miss!

You don’t believe in magic? You’re wrong. Though I must admit the various covens have done very well in keeping it quiet. But trust me, magic – and I’m not talking the pulling-a-rabbit-out-of-the-hat type magic – is as alive and well as it has ever been.

And I’m talking about the dangerous type.

About three months ago a long standing dispute between various covens exploded into outright war. I witnessed one of my brothers wither and die in the space of three days. An Aboriginal Kurdaitcha Man (executioner) pointed the bone at him and cursed him; cursed him good.

A Chinese Shaman paralyzed an English wizard while he was in a crowd on the Melbourne streets. Through just the merest, briefest touch the Shaman directed his chi through one of the poor fellow’s pressure points.

It has now been five months – he has just regained control of his eyes.

And the English coven, the descendants of Aleister Crowley, well they gave as good as they got. Several Melbourne homes are now inhabited by demons that will drain the blood from your body while you sleep and send you mad in a day.

Eventually the war got to the point where the magical fraternity were bringing attention upon themselves. Too many curious disappearances, too many strange deaths, too many questions.

The problems, in short, became bigger than of the disputants in Melbourne. For if these magical communities were discovered then it wouldn’t be long before communities around the world were identified. And then it wouldn’t be long before they were either regulated or disbanded.

And so the governing body, from Salem Massachusetts (and nobody messes with these hombres), arrived to broker a deal.

The first problem they had was finding a place all three parties could meet. None of them trusted the others. Places, you see, have power. And power comes in different forms. The Aboriginal Kadaitcha can harness the power of the bush, The Chinese Shaman can control the elements, the wizards can direct the power of Holy places.

It’s like acupuncture. The world has pressure points, just like the human body. Stonehenge, Ayres Rock, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall are just a few places that exert immense power. And this is why the choice of meeting place was so crucial. Melbourne is an old city (old by Australian standards). It contains a lot of history and lot of ghosts; it contains a lot of power, if one knows where to look, power that could be used by one of the factions to influence the negotiations.

But the Massachusetts peace-brokers were no fools; they’d done their research and found a neutral zone right in the heart of Melbourne: the Ether Conference Center has been constructed along the lines of Ayurvedic philosophy. Since the Indian fakirs had no part in this dispute it seemed the ideal place for the warring parties to hammer out a truce.

By rights I shouldn’t have attended, I’m nowhere near high enough in my brotherhood. But the ranks of our council had been thinned somewhat and so I was brought along to make up the numbers.

Our betters had booked the Harmony Room of the Ether conference Center. The  light colors of the room calmed everyone immediately, the wood floors grounded and settled everyone, the recessed walls allowed for private conversations when the need arose.

In fact, the Ether Conference Center was ideal for the use it was put to. Yes, it was beautiful; yes it was well equipped and staffed; but more than this it exerted a calm over everyone.

A peace deal emerged from the three-day meeting. It was one that disappointed each of the factions, so I suppose it must have been fair.

“I’d better order before you lot, else there’ll be nought left,” I joked. I had gone down to breakfast at the Cocoon Breakfast Bar down on the mezzanine level of the Swanston Hotel. This sumptuous hotel, right in the middle of the Melbourne CBD offered the most glorious breakfasts I’d eaten on any of the five continents. But this morning I had to wait a brief time for a table. A short line of big men preceded me.

The large man to whom I spoke smiled, but said nothing.

“Are you gentlemen part of some sporting team?” I asked, feeling that so many large fellows all in one room had to be more than a coincidence.

The bear/man turned to me again. “Yes sir,” he growled, “We’re the All Blacks Rugby team.”

“And who are you playing?”

He paused at this and looked at me hard. “Australia.”

Well, I felt a right Charlie. “Please forgive me. I travel a great deal and have no knowledge of rugger.” I tried to pass off my ignorance by redirecting the conversation. “I myself am an artist. I’ve come to the Swanston Hotel to take part in their featured day tour to the Great Ocean Road.”

We fell to conversation over breakfast. This man may have looked a brute, but he was clearly intelligent and knowledgeable about art. He had an Aunt who was a renowned painter in New Zealand and had at one point tried his own hand at watercolours.

“I don’t know when you fellows have your match, but speak to the concierge about the day tour, it leaves tomorrow bright and early. I’m told it’s not to be missed.”

This was my first time at the Swanston Hotel. As I said, I travel a great deal, but I am always very careful about where I stay. My lodgings must be comfortable, they must be central to the area I am exploring, and they must offer good food. The Swanston meet these criteria in spades. And in fact offer even more. Things like the day tour and various attractions tours only reaffirmed it as the right choice for my visit to Melbourne.

The next morning was cold and dark, the sun barely peeping over the horizon, when I was joined at the bus stop by several large, bleary-eyed, bruised fellows. Evidently my recommendation of the day tour had made the rounds and a few hardy souls had accepted the challenge.

It is one thing to experience the wonders of the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles, Torquay and Bells Beach; to cast your eye over the Great Australian Bite and think ‘there is now no land between me and the Antarctic. It is another to do it in the comfort offered by the Swanston Hotel and the good company of its guests.

I do recommend it.

However, over time the term White Night has been reconceptualised to incorporate activities and festivals rather distantly associated to sunlit nights. The Nuit Blanche (French for white night) was officially founded by Jean Blaise in Paris in 2002 after the deputy Mayor invited Blaise to host an event. A single, all-night long celebration showcasing the streets of Paris as an exciting contemporary art scene ensued. The White Night Festival is now an annual event celebrated in over 23 major cities across the globe. Australia’s cultural capital, Melbourne, is one such city. 
2013 marked the debut of the White Night Melbourne Festival in Australia. And Melbourne’s  12-hour arts and cultural celebration certainly didn’t disappoint. Over 300,000 people flocked to White Night Melbourne in 2013 from all around the country and even the world to experience the wonder of viewing Melbourne lit up at night. The night features street performances, exhibitions, art and lighting installations, film screenings, fashion displays, concerts, dance shows and classes and plenty of interactive events. And it’s central location makes staying at Melbourne CBD hotel accommodation easy and convenient.

Yet in 2014 on the 22nd February, word on the street is that the flamboyant celebration is set to be bigger – in budget, geographical size and number of installations and performances – and better than…well, last year.

White Night Melbourne is a 12 hour long celebration from dawn until dusk (officially 7pm-7am) which completely transforms Melbourne’s city centre into one huge cultural playground. The family friendly event runs from the National Gallery of Victoria in the South right up to around RMIT and the State Library in the North. Melbourne’s streets, laneways, cultural institutions and public venues will all be radically transformed and resplendently lit so as to create an entirely new space, perhaps closer to your conceptions of Wonderland than ordinary Melbourne.

A secret garden, tattooed city, molecular kaleidoscopes at the State Library, synchronised dance shows at Melbourne baths, light tunnels and interactive pom pom making are just some of the smaller events being hosted on the night. The major venues include a completely metamorphosed Flinders Street Station, which becomes a rustic, perfectly amplified music venue, the wonderland precinct which sees all the major buildings and laneways of Flinders Street lit up in a majestic sea of vibrant lighting illuminations, a special Bond James exhibition at the Melbourne Museum and a huge R & B music stage on Bourke Street.

Essentially, every nook, every secret passageway and every corner of the Melbourne CBD will have something intriguing, astonishing or entertaining to show you. White Night Melbourne is an explorative journey of hidden wonders and dazzling spectacles. Victorian Prime Minister, Denis Napthine, believes the more exciting and more innovative White Night Festival of 2014 will truly put Melbourne on the map as “one of the greatest arts and culture cities of the world”. And that to me sounds like something you don’t want to miss out on.

Make a weekend of this incredible festival by central right in the heart of the action at Swanston Hotel. With art installations, music performances and interactive shows right at your doorstep you simply can’t pass up a getaway like this. Because White Night Melbourne is the only festival of its kind in Australia, anyone in the country on the night of Saturday 22nd February has no valid reason not to be in the centre of Melbourne’s flamboyant family-friendly celebration. Then get some shut eye the following day at Swanston Street Melbourne CBD hotel accommodation. Book your flights and plan your trip now to avoid missing out on this lavish and exciting annual event.