Archive for May, 2006
It’s a long weekend in Perth, with Monday being Foundation Day (commemorating the foundation of the Swan River Colony on June 1st 1826).
The BOM says it’s going to be fine and around 21 degrees, so outside activities are definitely possible, but there are also some (partly) indoor events going on this weekend.
- Fremantle Heritage Festival – watch as an archaeological excavation is being done behind the Fremantle Hotel (Sat), do the Freo Writers Walk (Sat 2pm), see the horses on the beach (7am Sun), do the Nyungar Heritage Walk (daily, 10.30am and 3pm, a Pubs tour (2-5pm, Sat), see the Navy Cadets at the Cannon firing at the Round House(Sun, 12.30-1.30pm), and much, much more!
- WA Wine and Food Festival – taste fine, sample food and enjoy the entertainment at the Perth Convention Centre. Some tickets include tasting vouchers.
- Japan Art Festival – cultural performances and exhibitions for free at the Perth Town Hall (Sat and Sun only).
- Italian Day – horse races, (kids) entertainment and food stalls, all for $10 at Belmont Park Racecourse (Saturday only).
- WA Middle Eastern Festival – heaps of workshops, including belly dancing, mostly given at the Mosman Park Arts Foundation.
We will probably go to the Freo Festival on Sunday, and go walking with Bailey in the hills or on the beach on Monday, though plans often change!
Let us know what you did in Perth this weekend, and how it was!
Sunday we went to the Dutch Community Cultural Day in Gosnells. It was mostly what I expected (not much!), with a lot of older Dutch people, but it was alright. There was traditional dutch food, dancing, singing, expositions, and some forums.
We mainly went for the delicacy on the right: ‘Broodje Kroket’ (croquette (something like meat Ragout deapfried), on a bun with mustard). It’s a bit dodgy, but most dutch people love it! We also had ‘poffertjes’, which are tiny little pikelets, with butter and powder sugar.
This day was organised by the City of Gosnells, with the WA Committee for ‘Australia on the Map 1606-2006‘, to celebrate 400 years since the Dutch first bumped into Australia, as the first Europeans. There are several events happening to celebrate this (a few have already taken place), including an exhibition at the Fremantle History Museum, about the ‘Invisible Dutch’. See this website for more information.
The WA Dutch Club Neerlandia has a website here.
Find other multicultural community groups on the web at Online WA.
Afterwards we had a drink with friends at Ogdens Bar and Grill, in the small beer garden. It was still warm enough to sit in our t-shirts.
Last night we went to the EP launch of Fighting For Alaska at the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth. A lot of good bands come there, but somehow we’d never made it there, so it was good to see it! It has a nice outside bar and garden, and inside a big room (Corner Bar) with a stage, bar in the middle, and two pool tables (which we used later on). There is also the ‘four5nine’ bar/restaurant, but we didn’t see that.The Sugar Army, The Fault and Grand Central played too, Halogen couldn’t make it. We really liked The Sugar Army, the others were good too, but not really our kind of music.
Fighting for Alaska were good of course, though we were surprised they only played for about 40 minutes! I guess we’ll just have to listen to the new cd for the rest of the songs! 😉
Unfortunately most of my photos are way too blurred. I have realised I need a camera which I can put different lenses on, etc…. I wish I had realised this before we bought our new digital camera (Nikon 7600) in January! I’m starting to get into photography a bit now (slowly), but will not be able to afford anything else for a while! (need a gas heater first 😉 ).
This afternoon Pascal and my brother biked part of the way to the city. They parked the car at Mt Henry Bridge, and then biked all along the Canning and Swan Rivers to the city, stopping at things like the Como Jetty on the way. They did a bit of shopping (bought some cd’s for Pascal’s birthday which is today!), visited the new Borders store and had a drink at ‘The Lucky Shag Waterfront Bar’, which is at Barrack St Jetty, so with a view over the Swan.
Pascal used to bike a lot when we lived in Mt Hawthorn; to work everyday in Subiaco and often to King’s Park or the city in the weekend. And occasionally I joined him and we biked around Lake Monger or Herdsman Lake.
But now we live a bit further out (Thornlie area), and there aren’t to many nice spots around here (except the hills). Luckily we have just bought a bigger car, and the bikes fit in the back, so that will make it easier.
Perth biking info
For all bike related news in Perth, plenty of cycle maps and other info, see the website of the Department for Planning and Infrastructure. Some of the maps are just for sale, but there are also pdf files with the paths of the Perth Bicycle Network, and other bike rides with maps and directions, which you could print out.
I enjoy biking around the river, Herdsman Lake, or King’s Park. You can also bike along the ‘Sunset Coast‘, but I’d choose a time when there won’t be too many people walking there, because that can get annoying, it’s a shared path! Also, think about the wind (Freo Doctor) when deciding which way you will bike (if you do it one way)!
Remember that you can take your bike onto the train, though there are special rules in rush hour.
Mountain biking
Then of course there is mountain biking in the Hills! First of all there is the Mundaring Loop Trail, which is a reasonably easy ride of about 17km. There is also the Railway Reserve Trail, which must be quite a lot harder, as it’s 40km, and goes through John Forrest National Park! Remember though, you can always do part of the route.
And last but not least (of my little list at least), the Munda Biddi Trail.
Comparable to the famous Bibbulmun Track (for walking), stage 1 (Mundaring to Collie) of this mountain bike trail opened in July 2004.
For more cycling links, see here.
Edit: Perth Trails also has bike routes (thanks Rebecca), and Bikely is website to create and find bike routes, and has a few Perth ones on there already (thanks Dee!)
If you have any tips on cycling in Perth, please leave a comment!
Click through to see a few more photos:
I mostly post about the big events happening in Perth, but there are a lot of smaller events that happen in specific area’s that the rest of the city won’t hear about.
Keep an eye out for posters and notices, and also check out your council’s website. A lot of these smaller events are often free, including things like concerts in the park, or samba lessons!
Click here for a list of councils and their websites in WA.
If you know the name of your council, it should be easy to find.
As an example, and something that interests me, this Sunday there is a Dutch Community Cultural Day on at The Agonis in Gosnells. I only happened to stumble across this two days ago, when I was on the City of Gosnells website!
I have never been in one, but I hear they have a very large amount of books and dvds, and a cafe.
It will be interesting to see how it affects other bookshops in Perth, but apparently the Brisbane one didn’t make the commercials (Dymocks, Angus & Robertson) or the independants close up. It still could have affected them of course.
My source: http://onedogsaid.blogspot.com/
Update: It has opened this morning, and the above blog checked it out, and has posted photo’s, check it out here!
UPDATE, see this post: World Cup – Pubs in Perth with extended trading hours!
I caught a snippet of the news saying that whenever Australia plays a World Cup match, there will be a huge screen in the centre of Leederville and roads will be closed off!
I haven’t been able to find any info online, so if you know anymore, let me know, and I’ll also keep an eye out!
What I did find is that at least the Leederville Hotel will have a big screen for every match, but I’m sure there’ll be other pubs joining them.
Looks like Pearl Jam are coming to Perth after all, with Kings of Leon (the support for the tour) showing on their website they have a show at Subiaco Oval on November 25th!
The other Pearl Jam shows in Australia have already been announced officially, with tickets sales starting on the 19th (today for Ten Club members), so keep an eye out on the Pearl Jam website for the official news on the Perth show!
Update: It’s all confirmed. Tickets on sale to general public on Friday the 26th May, 9am, from Ticketmaster.
The Fremantle Heritage Festival is on from 28 May to 5 June.
There will be music, activities, awards, many workshops, exhibitions, guided walks and more.
Most social and cultural events will happen on Saturday 3rd of June.
For example, watch and learn about the exercising of horses on South Beach, take a pub tour or go on a Nyungar Heritage Walk!
For the full program, see the website or contact Fre-info on 9432 9888.
With winter approaching, I have noticed there aren’t many festivals happening in the winter months.
That does not mean there’s nothing to do. Look on upcoming.org for the ‘full’ list of events (though it’s not the full list, please add if you find something that you think should be included!).
I will mention some of the main events, excluding all the music concerts.
Swedish Ship The Gotheborg is still in Fremantle Harbour until the 25th of May. Check out all the opening times on the website. There are lots of activities for kids too.
The exhibition ‘How to Make a Monster: The Art and Technology of Animatronics‘ at the WA Museum is still on until the 12th of June.
Next week there is a Craft and Quilt Fair at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre.
The City of Perth Winter Arts Festival starts on the 1st of June and lasts until the end of October! This includes a lot of different types of events, including theatre, ballet and an exhibition about Bunyips!!
The WA Wine and Food Festival will be held at the Perth Convention Centre in the weekend of the 3rd of June. There are events nearly every weekend at the Convention Centre: Human bodies, women, kids, cars, boats, fitness and money… something for everyone!
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow comes to town from June 20th to the 25th at His Majesty’s Theatre.
The Avon Descent is happening on 5 and 6 August. They start at Northam and finish in Bayswater. You could drive to Walyunga or Avon National Park and watch it there!