Sydney Life '09: Festivals and Cinematic Events in Sydney..

One thing i love about living in Sydney and Melbourne is the multitude of events which seem to be held round the clock throughout the year...there doesn't seem to be a moment when there's not something going on somewhere around the city...the following are just some of the events i went to in the first half this year:

Sydney Chinese New Year Parade 2009:

I managed to catch this at Chinatown..lining up with all the other tons of people! It was fantastic, much better than i thought i'd be...i was lucky this yr, being able to catch quite a few events for cny in Sydney such as going to the inaugural Sydney Chinese Film Festival for the opening film 'The Assembly' with some colleagues and attending this parade as well as going to the Dragon Boat Race at Darling Harbour...on top of celebrating CNY in Taipei with the Reunion Dinner with relatives of cos!!hehe...

Sydney CNY Dragon Boat Racing 2009 at Darling Harbour:

Went to this event at Darling Harbour during CNY...my first time, it was great seeing all the people participating in it...many company groups and non-company groups...a hot day it was though..badly sun-burnt!!!

St George Open-Air Cinema 2009 at the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens:

I missed this last yr due to some personal reasons but went this year for the closing night 'Last Chance Harvey' starring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman..this event is a must-go for any Sydneysiders and tourists alike (if you happen to be in Sydney then!) as where else in the world can you watch an open-air cinema of the latest works with the Sydney Harbour Bridge,Opera House and cityscape all in view behind the screen?? It's even better than those open-air cinemas held in gardens i presume given the background: amazingly splendid night view you get whilst enjoying the movie...tickets sell fast though there are always some tics at the door..be sure to arrive early to secure the best viewing spots, preferably where you can see the Harbour Bridge as well as the Opera House and the Sydney cityline...like me!!!You can save seats with paper stickers they give you to stick on the seats whilst going to grab something to eat at the lounge with friends...it was a fantastic night!!

Sydney Spanish Film Festival 2009:

I learnt about the Spanish Film Festival last yr but didn't get a chance to go and was lucky enough to be able to attend this yr on it's opening night film 'Chef's Special' which sold out..(i had also wanted to attend the German Film Fest' but after looking at the selections on offer, thought i'd give it a miss as nothing seemed interesting)...Spain is fast becoming my favourite country in Europe..in fact, i'd rate Spain and Germany as my top fav countries in Europe now..never been a fan of the more popular England and France...i think they're overrated..hehe...no offence but just my personal opinion..this film was fantastic! I was surprised...it was funny,witty, and nice...about a gay chef and his relationship with this closeted soccer player/coach as well as his son from a previous marriage and his best gal pal all living in the gay quarter of Madrid. It talks about family, relationships,one's past, gay and sports, etc all happening at the restaurant he owns and his life. I am now becoming a fan of Spanish gay cinema, they seem so nice and witty, unlike the American ones which make me feel like wanting to puke and very turned off, makes me kinda homophobic even!! Just too 'in your face' and 'shallow'...

For those living in Sydney there's a special screening on at Wed 24th June 2009 at 9pm at Palace Academy Paddington in celebration of Pride Month. Do check it out if possible!! Also book tix in advance as it was very popular first time around and tickets were booked out with people waiting on the day to see if they could get it on the day with no luck!

Link:http://www.spanishfilmfestival.com/sydney/

Tickets at: http://www.mca-tix.com.au/

The Inaugural 'Vivid Sydney' 2009:

I had caught Vivid Sydney by chance...i had seen the Opera House being lighted up when i was at The Rocks and left but then thought i'd go over just to see what was going on...and found out that i had seen these banners around the city advertising the event but never paid attention to what it was and thankfully i had arrived on the last night of the event!! How lucky! I grabbed a brochure and walked using the suggested route...i also caught one of the free performances in front of the MCA...walked all the way to the Sydney Observatory area and the night view was simply amazing and gorgeous...i'd never seen Sydney at night like this before...it was similar to another out-of-this-world amazing sight of Sydney cityscape when i did the Harbour Bridge Walk walking towards the CBD bck in 2007. It was truly an amazing event/night and experience..this was the first yr they had this event and i hope they do it again next yr!!

Sydney Jazz and Blues Festival 2009:

I went to this annual event despite not being very impressed last yr with it...maybe it was cos of all the raining last yr but i didn't really enjoy it that much last yr and my friend wasn't really impressed too..but this yr, it turned out to be really nice!! And of course, it ended with fireworks...as usually happens at all events held in Darling Harbour..haha..

All for now:-)