Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Tamworth Country Music Festival This January



If music gigs are your vice, then make sure you’re in NSW between 15 – 24 January 2016 for the Toyota Country Music Festival. As Australia’s largest music shin dig, you can enjoy 10 days with over 700 artists and 2800 events. That’s a lot of music, activities and musicians so remember to follow the official organiser’s tweets and keep up to speed on new artists in the lineup & venues. To date, the South Tamworth Bowling Club, The Pub Group and Wests Entertainment Group are on board. Depending on venue and artist, ticket prices vary from $7.00 to $150. You can check the ticketing page for the full run down calendar including performers such as Paul Costa, Macca & Friends, Simon & Garfunkel – The Concert, Guy Sebastian and Troy Cassar.
 
Take into account Tamworth is over 4 hours drive from Cremorne Point so you may need to organise accommodation while you’re there, especially if an 8 hour day’s worth of driving round trip isn’t something you’d appreciate. There are numerous hotels, B&B’s and motels listed on their website alongside caravan and camping facilities. The website provides full information including camping prices, location information and booking contacts.



If you want to be involved in the festival and are a budding or professional busker, then get ready to join around 600 other buskers, performing in Peel Street, aka, Boulevard of Dreams. Talented buskers will be acting up in the hope they’re spotted and rocketed to musical stardom. Big names such as Keith Urban and Beccy Cole were buskers on Peel Street so the odds of being discovered are in your favour. Then again, if you simply want to busk for the fun of it, go right ahead. Remember to contact the organizers to secure your spot and officially register. You can’t busk unless you are registered so don’t try sneak in or you could be barred. You can find more information about this in the ‘get involved’ page.

The festival is also ideal for families and there are many activities for under 18 year olds. The website states clearly which events are for kids versus adults so check the listings. The organisers will also be setting up a family zone with rides and entertainment for the little ones to exhaust themselves, daily. 

Finally, if you’re a super music fan and some of your favourite artists are performing, check the Fanzone website (featured in the FAQ). You’ll be able to hob nob with these musicians and banter with them. When you’re finally wiped out and returning back to Sydney, remember to book your stay at Cremorne Point Manor. The views of the Harbour are stunning and as our rates are kinder on your credit card than downtown hotel prices, it’ll be music to your ears.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Returns



If you’re heading to Australia during the holiday season or considering where to spend Christmas and New Year, then Sydney should be on your radar. The Rolex Hobart Yacht Race will start at 1.00pm on Boxing Day, so bring your turkey sandwiches. With over 600,000 attendees and millions of TV and online viewers, this is a mega event that’s not to be missed. 
 
Starting north of Shark Island, make a mental note to either perch your feet in this location or at the North or South Head for best viewing. With summer in full swing on the 26th December, the fleets will be racing along the shimmering Harbour waters. Also consider taking a kayak, ferry or water taxi for even better viewing. When the cannon fires and the race begins, there are a multitude of ways to keep up with the race, regardless of where your starting point is.

If you’re in the city and prefer to enjoy the race from a couch, Seven Network will broadcast the whole 90 minute race starting 12.30pm AEDT. If online viewing is your go-to communication platform, Yahoo!7 will be covering a webcast alongside the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race website live stream. Remember to be socially active and follow @rshyr for up to the second (or half second) tweets.



We highly suggest you keep an eye on the Yacht Tracker page so you can see specific boats progress throughout the race. It’ll show you how each yacht is performing and this technology integrates with a GPS network on Google Earth. Predicting who will win is all about following the tracker and placing your virtual bets between friends.

For the lucky ones who have access to a boat, you can actually follow the fleet down the Harbour and out to sea. The organizers suggest you start around Middle Head since the fleets are racing at break neck speed so you don’t want to be left behind. 

The CYCA official spectator vessels are also available but seating is limited. The tickets are $199.50 per spectator, including food, beverages and commentary. Tickets sell fast so here’s the link if you’re looking to pamper yourself on the vessel from 11.00am through 2.30pm and watch over 90 yachts speed past you during the early afternoon.

Over the past 70 years, the Hobart has become an iconic event and attracting so many hundreds of thousands of visitors, you should really be booking your accommodation now. Cremorne Point has the best views of the Harbour and our Cremorne Point Manor books out fast. Not only for the Hobart but for Christmas and especially New Years Eve. We pride in having the best wow location to see the fireworks. No wonder Tripadvisor’s awarded us our fifth consecutive Certificate of Excellence. If you need more ammunition in making your hotel accommodation decision, take a look at our home page short video. That Harbour water, in the video, is something to absolutely cross off your bucket wish list this December!  

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Shortest Film Festival In December



If movies are your vice, then Tropfest Australia on 6th December is a must-see in Sydney. Entries for movie submissions are now closed so make a note to submit yours by October 2016 if you’re planning ahead to the next year.  Keep in mind that Tropfest’s focus is to encourage new and established film makers in generating emotion and traction for a captured audience. In their words, it’s not about showing films, it’s about making them. 
 
With over 100,000 attendees around various theaters and movies in the country, you can join in with hundreds of thousands who perch rears on seats at these venues, or at home through SBS 2. The TV viewers will also be able to watch the official finalists in the featured film categories. What’s unique about this annual event is that they focus on the TSI ‘Card,’ including the TSI in your film production, using sheer creativity, whether it’s a sim card, credit card or greeting card within your storyline script. Make a whole movie using this or include it in the background, such as a cameo. Sylvester Stallone comes to mind, where he was famous for making a cameo scene in every movie he produced or directed. Now you understand the gist, you can start thinking of ideas for your 2016 submission, especially since your film must be a maximum of seven minutes. It’s a lot more than creating a Vine but not as long as a typical short movie. Then again, they also partner with Vine so remember to #TropVine.


Filmmakers will be awarded prizes during the festival including a $10,000 cash prize, a trip to Los Angeles and meet Hollywood’s greatest industry executives and possibly winning a Nikon D800, worth a walloping $2,000. There are 2nd and 3rd place awards alongside Best Female and Male Actor - award donated by a slightly well known actress, Nicole Kidman. Maybe you’ve heard of her.

Other great partnerships and offerings during Tropfest include Getty Images sponsoring free access to over 300,000 clips and 30,000 movie tracks in their library. The festival has played all the great cards to the max, bringing in industry experts to encourage you to produce your 2016 movie and attend this year’s big screen extravaganza. On a side note, we have to mention that submissions to this year’s festival for film makers are only $45. So when you attend the movies, you’ll also be supporting great artists who haven’t needed to pay through the nose, or be extorted by the festival committee. That speaks volumes about how much they encourage new producers and upcoming directors.

From 11.00am – 11.00pm on the 6th December, remember to head to Centennial Park, Sydney for the free movie showings. There are other screenings being updated regularly so keep a note of their website, for these surplus venues or follow Tropfest on Twitter. Now take another look at that photo. Amazing, right?

Twenty minutes by car or one hour by train, you’ll be back at Cremorne Point, sipping wine overlooking the stunning Harbour skyline. Grab your smartphone and take your own six second movie of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as the sun goes down. You’ll then be a directing star, under the stars.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Tee Off – Australian Golf Is Nearing



From the 26 - 29 November, if you’re a putting buff, then the Emirates Australian Open is a must attend event, especially since this is the 100th so the organizers are bound to go wild with this celebratory tournament. 
 
The planet’s greatest golfers are returning back for another round, namely 18, and the tournament is attributed by the greats in golf history including Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo. In 2012, Peter Senior was the oldest ever winner and battled the ball in gale force winds, a well documented feat. 

If you’re looking to compete and an amateur player, with a handicap limit of GA 2.0, then for $115 you can enter. Closing deadline is 5.00pm AEDT on the 5th November. For all professional players, you’ll need to contact the OneAsia committee directly. The Qualifier will be over 18 holes stroke play on 23rd November and only eight spots will be available in the Championship for non exempt players.


For anyone else who’s a super fan but isn’t going to get their clubs out anytime soon, the general admission tickets for 24 - 25 November is free. The 26 - 29th November prices are a reasonable $39 for adults or a weekend 2 day pass at $70. Kids under 16 years old attending with a paying adult receives free admission. Calling all business travelers in Sydney during this time, if you’re feeling the urge to show off to clients, then for $14,995 you can book the hospitality package which includes a multitude of typical attributes you’d expect for paying such a rate. It’d be worth it and remember, you’re expensing it all.

The Australian Golf Club is only 30 minutes from downtown Sydney and a rapid 10 minutes from Sydney International airport. Attracting golf lovers from all around the country, the organizers have mastered the transportation system, by not allowing public car parking but providing free shuttle buses to and from Mascot train station. Only taxis and limos are allowed to run drop offs, to avoid congestion.

This golf course is one of the country’s most exclusive and quite possibly the oldest, founded in 1882. If you truly need to know the twists and turns of each hole, the website features this alongside historic events that took place at most. We’re quite fascinated by Hole 2 which is one of the trickiest short holes in the country.
If you’re looking for affordable, historic accommodation while you’re in town for the Open, you’re looking in good shape as Cremorne Point boasts one of Sydney’s oldest hotels. Cremorne Point Manor’s heritage four star hotel is the best spot in town. Take off your shoes, grab a glass of wine, sit on the guest balcony and look at the sun set over the Opera House. The only birdie you’ll need to see is the one flying by the Harbour Bridge or when you tweet #AusOpenGolf during the event.