Darwin is set for the big festival

The Darwin Festival is the 'big one' when it comes to cultural events in the Top End of the Northern Territory -- and it kicks off this year on August 9 with the Santos Concert on the Esplanade, featuring some of the country’s most talented Indigenous musicians.

The popular Indigenous Saltwater Band will headline the concert, which is a free event set to attract a vibrant crowd as it gets the show on the road. The band is made up of eight young musicians from remote Elcho Island off the coast of North East Arnhem Land.

The performances move into the open-air Star Shell Amphitheatre with Nabarlek, a well-known indigenous band from Western Arnhem Land. This 12-piece group has toured extensively around Australia and will be performing songs from their new album Manmoyi Radio.

The fusion of Japanese art styles and Aboriginal stories from the Yirrkala community (near Nhulunbuy in North East Arnhem Land) will be the feature of this year’s Galuku Gallery, where the art works are suspended on palm trees in the Botanic Gardens.

This year’s Indigenous Dance Program features three renowned Top End dance groups and will be held from August 11-19. The highlight for 2007 is the North Central Arnhem Land group, White Cockatoo, who have an extensive international reputation. Their international touring schedule is such that this will be only their second performance in Darwin.

Taste of the Top is a one-night, silver-service, multi-course dinner held under the stars in the Botanic Gardens -- with a menu that features world-renowned chef Jimmy Shu’s reputable Indian/Thai and Nonya cuisine.

A brand new event for 2007 is 24-Hour Art’s Interpositions. This event is about bringing Asian artists to Darwin in a dramatic display of performance art on the streets around the city.

The Darwin Festival will be held over the 18 days from August 9 – 26 at various locations around Darwin, including Browns Mart, George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens and Darwin Performing Arts Centre.

Time out at the Birdsville Races

August sees one of Australia’s most famous horse race meetings taking place: no, not the Melbourne Cup (that’s in November), it’s the Birdville Races in Outback Queensland.

This year the races will be held on the weekend of August 31.

The motto of the Birdsville Races is "the dust never settles" and last year, after years of drought, not a living thing seemed to grow from the red dirt of the race track, surrounded by sand dunes.

Things should be different this year: good rains have greened the Outback. There are now wildflowers, waterholes and breeding birds all around the region.

So how do get to the Birdsville Races? You can get there by car, but you really need a 4WD vehicle. Tank up whenever possible and check your oil and water. Be sure your spare is pumped up and you know how to change a tyre. And don’t forget: mobile phones will not work in much of the Outback.

If you decide to drive to the races,remember that the legendary Birdsville Hotel does not offer accommodation during race week. And the Birdsville Caravan Park does not take bookings for race week, operating on a first-in, first-served basis. It has powered and unpowered camping sites, toilets, showers and washing facilities.

Visitors to the races are free to camp between the outskirts of Birdsville and the race track and along the banks of the Diamantina river. Only limited toilet facilities are available: there are businesses in town that offer showers for a fee.

The easiest way to enjoy Birdsville for the race weekend is by taking an all-inclusive tour.

From Brisbane, Greyhound has a six-day Birdsville Races coach trip for AUD 789 a head departing Brisbane on August 29. It includes tented accommodation in Birdsville.

Mick Hanslow has been going to the Birdsville Races for more than a quarter of a century. In 1994 he started Birdsville Race Tours from Brisbane and the Gold Coast so he could share the fun and excitement he has enjoyed with people from all over the world.

Mick’s seven-day tours offer plenty of stops along the way at authentic Australian attractions (such as the Windorah Yabbie Races), and a weekend at the races.

This coach trip includes overnight accommodation in a country hotel. Meals and tents are included in Birdsville.

For visitors to Sydney who want to hop up to Birdsville for the races – and do it is style, Centre One Tours has a three-day Birdsville Races fly-in tour departing Sydney on August 31.

The cost is AUD 2595 a head and includes flights, tent accommodation at the Birdsville caravan park, a tour of Bourke, meals and race-track entry.

Gourmet weekend in the Barossa

Wine lovers visiting South Australia are in for a treat in late August when this year’s Barossa Gourmet weekend offers an array of culinary and wine treats along with some great entertainment.

The event will be in full swing from morning till night on Saturday and Sunday on August 25-26.

Visitors can choose from traditional Barossa Gourmet experiences that include great food, wine and music with no prior bookings at Whistler, Kaesler, Elderton, Peter Lehmann and a host of other Barossa wineries, or book into a number of very special experiences.

The Gourmet programme will include international food styles matched with the region’s wines. The music too will stretch from blues and jazz to tango, flamenco, country and rock ‘n’ roll. And the grand piano at Richmond Grove winery will delight classical music lovers.

You can also book a special Gourmet experience and stay overnight in the Barossa -- special Saturday dinners are being staged by Turkey Flat, Barossa Valley Estate and Gomersal Wines. On Sunday afternoon, Ross Estate will match their wines to the flavours of Spain.

Krondorf Road will be a hub of activity with Rockford hosting a Krondorf Farm Breakfast each morning, Villa Tinto firing up the Argentine BBQ and Barossa Vines providing traditional Gourmet Weekend fare.

Special features this year include a comprehensive designated-driver scheme providing free non-alcoholic drinks for registered designated drivers and a shuttle bus service operating between participating wineries.

The 2007 Barossa Gourmet programme will be on the Barossa website from July 20.

The Territory is ready to party

The Darwin Beer Can Regatta will be held in the Northern Territory capital on July 29 -- an event that started as an unusual by-product of the devastation caused to Darwin by Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

The inaugural beer can race in 1975 was an instant success and has developed into a major event with boat entries ranging from one to 12 metres, some with fire hoses and ‘top-secret weaponry’.

Then from August 9-26 the Darwin Festival comes to town, including everything from free outdoor events to theatre, dance, music, cabaret, films, workshops, comedy and sensational cuisine.

Running for 18 nights with more than 1,000 international, national and Territory artists and cultural groups, the Darwin Festival reflects the indigenous, Asian and Pacific cultures of the region.

Meanwhile, on August 25, there is action in Alice Springs with the annual Henley-On-Todd Regatta, a day of fun where teams and individuals race ‘boats’ along the dry bed of the Todd River