Wicked coming to Crown Theatre Perth May 2015

WICKED PREPARE TO BE SPELLBOUND

The most awarded new musical and Broadway’s number one show will thrill Perth at the Crown Theatre from May 2015. Awe-inspiring and spectacular, WICKED is the untold story of the witches of Oz.

Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood.

The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the enthralling story of two unlikely friends and how they became the wicked witch of the west and Glinda the Good.

It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas and includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel.

Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda the Good, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.

“The Defining Musical of the Decade” - The New York Times

Location: Crown Theatre Perth W.A.

Date: From 3 May 2015

Tickets: From $69.90 @ http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=WICKED15

The EB Expo Returns to Sydney In 2015

The EB Expo Returns to Sydney In 2015

EB Games was hardly going to turn its back on one of its best concepts ever, but just in case there was ever any doubt, today it was announced that the EB Expo is returning to Sydney in 2015.

The official date is October 2 until October 4 and tickets go on sale 9am AEDT on April 16. You can purchase them on the EB Expo website, at EB Games stores or through oztix.com.au. The event will be held, once again, at Sydney Showgrounds. It is, admittedly, a pretty cool venue.

If you’ve been to previous EB Expos you’ll know what to expect: early looks at upcoming video games, some event-style panels, and my personal favourite: a Waluigi made out of balloons.

Most major publishers seems slated to attend. PlayStation, XBOX, Nintendo, Activision, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are currently confirmed.

“EB Expo continues to set the standards by celebrating the video game industry and embracing pop culture. We’re boasting the most unreleased games of any exhibition in Australia this year,” said EB Games Marketing and Events Director Debra McGrath.

A couple of cool things to note: John Robertson, of ‘The Dark Room’ fame, will be performing at the show. Turns out he’s bringing his critically acclaimed show The Dark Room to the event. I’ve been super keen to check that out, so this is a positive.

Also — bizarrely — The Umbilical Brothers are also going to be performing. That’s cool. I guess? What does it have to do with video games? No-one knows (or possibly cares).

“Every year the EB Expo team will continue to add fresh new elements to the mix and we’re really looking forward to wow-ing our existing and new crowds with original content,” said Debra. I guess that might explain it.

I’ve always enjoyed the EB Expo and it does manage to get its fair share of top notch exclusive content. I played Titanfall there for the first time. That was cool

Gladstone Harbour Festival: What's on and when

IF you're keen to plan your week around the Gladstone Harbour Festival, here's a rundown of what is on each day.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1:

The festival kicks off with its opening night, which features entertainment and the popular talent quest.

Rides and sideshow alley will be open from 6-10pm.

Don Costa will perform on the food court stage from 6-10pm.

The talent quest will feature on the marina main stage from 6.15pm, with La Mont, the juniors and then the seniors.

THURSDAY, APRIL 2:

The Gladstone Ports Corporation's Family Fun Night heads festivities today, featuring the crowning of festival queens, LalaLoopsy, Curtis the Turtle, The Octonauts and Mr Bump.

It will all be happening on the marina main stage from 6.30pm, with fireworks at about 8.10pm.

Don Costa will perform on the food court stage from 6-10pm, and the rides and sideshow alley will be open from 6-10pm.

The 2014 Workforce International Gladstone Harbour Festival Parade.Mike Richards

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 3:

Good Friday is one of the biggest days of the festival, and there's plenty happening.

The Harbour Festival Fun Run starts at 7am, with registration from 6.15am.

There will be a 3km and 10km route from East Shores to the marina, taking in Spinnaker Park on the longer route.

The Marina Markets are on from 8am-7pm at the main festival site.

The Blessing and Dressing of the Fleet starts at 10am, with boats travelling along a course in Auckland Creek.

The event features an assembly and ceremonial sail past of fishing, sailing, pleasure and speed boats, which was a mainstay of the festival until falling from favour in the mid-1990s.

The best viewing spots for the event are East Shores and Spinnaker Park.

Kids and big kids alike got a thrill out of rides at the Gladstone Harbour Festival.

The Kids' Zone Marquee will be open from 10am-3pm next to the food court.

Kids can drop in to participate in lantern making.

Rides and sideshow alley will be open from 10am-10pm.

The Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race starts in Redcliffe Point, with the first yachts expected to be sighted entering Gladstone Harbour around 7.30am on Saturday.

The Gladstone Harbour Festival Street Parade gets underway at 6pm, with this year's theme being Lanterns and Lights.

The parade will start on Bramston St next to the Gladstone Region Art Gallery and Museum, travelling along Goondoon St before turning left into Lord St and then right to parade across the Marina Bridge.

The parade will then travel along Bryan Jordan Dr, finishing at the Mission to Seafarers building.

There's plenty of entertainment throughout the day on the food court stage. 

Entertainment includes:

• 10am: The Bucketseats
• 11am: Magic Glen
• 11.30am: The Bucketseats
• 1pm: Disco Fever Show
• 1.30pm: The Bucketseats
• 3pm: Magic Glen
• 4pm: Silly Circus Show
• 4.30pm: Don Costa
• 7pm: Talent quest winner
• 7.30pm: Jackson Dunn

Fantastic Friday Night kicks off on the marina main stage at 6.30pm, with the Disco Fever Show, Don Costa and The Australian Kylie Show, featuring Kylie Minogue's greatest hits from the past three decades.

There will be fireworks at 9pm.

The Gladstone Harbour Festival's Great Raft Race – not to be missed.Brenda Strong

SATURDAY, APRIL 4:

The first yachts in the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race are expected to start entering Gladstone Harbour from 7.30am, with the bulk of the fleet finishing late Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday.

The much-anticipated Great Raft Race is a highlight of the harbour festival, and will kick off at the Goondoon St boat ramp at 9.30am.

The Marina Markets are on from 8am to 1pm.

There are plenty of free craft activities on offer in the kids' activity zone from 10am to 3pm.

Make your own Mexican basket is on at 10am, followed by Rain sticks from South America at 11am, Make your own Mexican basket at noon, and Japanese flying carp at 1pm.

Phone 4972 5111 to book or drop into the harbour festival office on site to register.

Rides and sideshow alley will be open from 10am-10pm, with two for one rides from 10am to 2pm.

A jetpack display will be held at noon and 5.30pm, with the best viewing from Spinnaker Park and behind the markets.

There'll be cuteness galore at the Teddy Bear's Picnic on the food court stage from 2pm.

There are prizes for the largest bear, smallest bear, most festive bear, most loved bear and oldest bear.

Entertainment on the food court stage includes:

10am: Don Costa
Noon: Magic Glen
1pm: Disco Fever Show
1.30pm: Magic Glen
4pm: Don Costa
7pm: Swim
7.30pm: Jackson Dunn

Sensational Saturday Night kicks off at 6.30pm on the main stage, with the Silly Circus Show, Don Costa and The Australian INXS Show, which reproduces the live spectacle INXS was famous for.

There will be fireworks at 9pm.

Deb Bowen-Saunders during the Bush Poets' Breakfast at the Gladstone Harbour Festival.Luka Kauzlaric

SUNDAY, APRIL 5:

Sunday starts with the Bush Poet's Morning Tea at the food court stage at the marina.

The morning tea, from 9-11am, is $10 per person.

Kids in the Kitchen will feature in the Kids' Activity Zone today.

Participants can learn to make tiramisu at 10am, colourful pasta at 11am, sushi at noon, tiramisu at 1pm and colourful pasta at 2pm.

Phone 4972 5111 to book or drop into the harbour festival office on site to register.

Rides and sideshow alley will be open from 10am-10pm, with two for one rides from 10am-2pm.

There will be a jetpack display at 10am and 1pm, with the best viewing from Spinnaker Park and behind the markets.

Entertainment on the food court stage includes:

11am: The Magic Glen Show
Noon: Don Costa
2.30pm: Silly Circus Show
3pm: The Magic Glen Show
4pm: The Bucketseats
7pm: Don Costa

On the marina main stage the entertainment starts at 6.30pm, with the Disco Fever Show, Swim, and Dan Hamill and band, followed by fireworks at 9.50pm.

Hamill fuses contemporary chart toppers with the sounds of Motown and swing.

From Michael Jackson to Coldplay, Adele to Pharrell, you won't be able to leave the dance floor once he takes the stage.

View Source for More Information

Sydney Family Show - Easter in Sydney 2015

Put on a smile, but prepare to be grinning after you see all the excitement the Dodo Sydney Family Show has in store for you in 2015! The show will return over the Easter school holidays from 2 to 12 April, at the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. 

From cheering on the racing pigs, to enjoying the free Looney Tunes stage show, and meeting the life-size stars of the hit movie, Cars, in the Disney Zone, there will definitely be something for everyone!

Don't forget the numerous show bags to choose from and many delicious treats to fullfil your appetite. Plus, the best thing is, it's free entry, that's right, free! Grab the kids and prepare yourselves for a fun-filled family day at the show!

LOCATION: Sydney Family Show - Moore Park

EVENT DATES:

• Thursday 2nd April                                        10:00am - 5:00pm
• Friday 3rd April - Monday 6th April                   10:00am - 6:00pm
• Tuesday 7th April - Sunday 12th April               10:00am - 5:00pm 

Find More Information about this Free Event

Elusive Northern Hopping Mouse Caught on Camera

The elusive northern hopping mouse is on the brink of extinction but a new camera trap has captured video of the species for the first time.

The Elusive Northern hopping mouse (Notomys aquilo), a tiny native species on the brink of extinction, has been captured on video for the first time.

Found only around Groote Eylandt, a large island 50km off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, this tiny animal, with a body length of just 10cm, is near impossible to find, making conservation difficult.

"We need proper surveys to gather basic data about their populations, their distribution, and how many are left before we can go any further" says Rebecca Deite conservation biologist from the University of Queensland.

On a recent survey, Rebecca and colleagues were fortunate to capture not one, but three hopping mice coming out of a burrow - a feat that hasn't been done before because the species is so shy.
Hopping mouse a shy species

The northern hopping mouse is a true rodent but like its kangaroo cousins, it hops on two legs. They spend the day inside hidden burrows, only coming out at night to feed. Like many small animals they are 'trap shy', meaning that conventional baited traps don't work.

The only means of finding hopping mice was to look for small mounds of sand, the tell-tale signs of a mouse burrowing nearby. These signs of hopping mouse activity have been used to estimate their population numbers but new research shows that this could be a huge mistake.

"I was trying to camera trap hopping mice but wasn't getting any. I found out that delicate mice were making burrows and the finished product looked very similar to the hopping mice burrows," says Rebecca.

Delicate mice mistaken for hopping mice

The delicate mouse (Pseudomys delicatulus) is an unrelated species that is relatively common. If delicate mice burrows are inflating estimates of hopping mice numbers, then this endangered species may be in even more danger than previously thought. Whereas they was once thought to cover most of Groote Eylandt, hopping mice may be restricted to only two small sites on the island.

Rebecca is radio tracking hopping mice to measure their home ranges and try and understand what sort of habitats they use. By abandoning conventional baited traps in favour of night vision camera traps Rebecca is able to see hopping mice in action and get more reliable estimates of the numbers and distribution.

"I'm trying to get the baseline ecology of the animal, because we simply don't know anything about where it lives, what its habitat is and how it survives," says Rebecca.

The northern hopping mouse is one of five species of hopping mouse native to Australia. Credit: Rebecca Deite

View Post Source for the Night Camera footage

Fishers Spoiled for Choice in Gladstone Region

FOR those who know this region and the different spots to wet a line there is such a vast number of places to go and also species to catch.

From the harbour with the barra and the enormous king salmon out to the reef with those magic reds, trout, sweetlip, and mackerel, through to the inland systems like Awoonga, Callide, Monduran, and Cania Dams, for barra, mangrove jack, saratoga, bass, and in some spots we are seeing some pretty big longtoms being caught in Awoonga and in the Dawson River.

The local fishing pages on Facebook have seen some pretty good catches of black jew, mangrove jack and a snodger of a grunter measuring 69cm, which Thimoteus Newland caught and released this week, on a humble prawn bottom fishing.

I see Steven Strathdee spent some time out at Cania, and decided to walk the banks flicking stick baits around the snags and had a ball with the perch and bass.

The same thing applies with walking the banks of the Boyne - in "stealth mode" I call it - and targeting those snags which will hold barra, and jack.

In fact, you really don't need too much water for neither species, as the more shallow you get (Kermit the frog "knee deep") the more the little surface poppers, and walk the dog lures, come into play.

These predators will tend to sit, and wait in the lee of a rock, or gravel bank, as the water or tide comes in over the top, bringing with it some dinner, and it's these places you need to target.

To add another dimension, try fishing very light, say down to a 4-6 lb line, with an 8-10 lb leader, and only then the challenge commences.

This weekend is new moon Friday, with huge tides, nice balmy northerlies, and reasonably flat seas.

Tomorrow morning it looks as though the breeze could be down to 10 knots or a little less, from about sun up till around 2-3pm at the time of writing this.

It will swing around to the east after lunch, providing a very nice ride home if you venture out wide.

Sunday looks as though it'll be 10-15 easterlies all day, but that won't bother some.

The low tide around 4ish Saturday arvo is a big one though, and the likes of the Boyne Entrance will be practically unusable from 1 or 2 pm, and those using this access need to plan ahead.

For those chasing a feed of crabs, then this weekend should be awesome with some big chocolate bucks around at the moment, and coupled with the big tides you should be able to access some of those creeks, and drains which can't normally get to.

For those new to the region and keen to get into some crabbing, learning how this whole line of fishing works can be quite tricky and a good start to learn about the "art" of crabbing is to pick up a DVD of Johnny Mitchell's called the Mud Crab, at most tackle shops or via his website.

This year's Boyne Tannum HookUp being the 20th year, has now been open for entries for a little while and there is a steady flow of those booking their spot in this incredible event.

Having it back on the original weekend, being Queen's Birthday long weekend in June (6,7,8 ) is very cool.

And the committee, many of whom have been volunteering there time for many years now to bring you this extravaganza, are planning to blow you away beginning with that major prize boat from Curtis Coast Marine, Haines Signature, Suzuki, and Garmin.

You can't win this, nor any of the other nine boats if you aren't entered.

Entry is easy by simply going on line to www.boynetannumhookup.com.au and following the instructions.

Remember once it's full, it's full, but numbers are only restricted with senior entrants to 3000, whereas with the kids they are open to as many as they can get.

Finally share a thought for those at VMR Gladstone who diligently man the radios and the rescue boats, to help us out when things don't go the way we plan.

They are in constant need for volunteers on the radios. If you aren't a member then my best advice is to be one.

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Ipswich Festival 2015 Highlights

The spectacular Ipswich Festival is back in 2015 bigger than ever! Packed with fantastic shows, events, parades and concerts to suit the whole family.

Fire on the River launches the festivities with a spectacular explosion of colours lighting up the night sky. Join us for an enthralling display of fireworks synchronised to a dedicated soundtrack that is sure to delight the whole family. This spectacular pyrotechnic display has become a festival favourite with a stunning showcase of the very best "feature" fireworks and fire canons.

Best vantage points are at Riverlink Shopping Centre and David Trumpy Bridge.

Date: Thursday April 16th @ 7pm
Location: Riverlink Shopping Centre, Upper Level, Ipswich Central

Parade of Light - Cheer on the cavalcade of our spirited community groups, classic cars, lively marching bands, local businesses, festival characters, schools, and energetic dancers.

For the first time, the Ipswich Festival Parade moves into the night creating high excitement and a colourful carnival atmosphere. Be amazed as giant, magical lanterns journey along Ipswich's inner city streets creating a night of spectacular surprises.

Themed "Our People, Our Culture", the parade celebrates Ipswich's rich history and diverse community and will be an impressive display that is sure to entertain. The annual parade is a must-see highlight of the festival.

Date: Saturday May 2nd
Location: Brisbane St - Between Waghorn and Bell St

Lunchtime Sessions - Revolutionise your lunchtime routine! Festival LunchTime Sessions feature five exciting days of free live entertainment in Ipswich City Mall. This is a FREE event!

Dates: April 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th
Location: Ipswich City Mall, Ipswich Central
Shows: See below

The Magic Parlour
A day of monumental magical mayhem! Two incredible shows so close up and interactive - they will delight and amaze you. The Super Steph Magic Show and Damien the Magician. Plus balloon art, live bunny and magical tricks galore. This one is for the kids as well as the young at heart.
Tuesday April 21st 11am - 1.30pm

The Romance of Strauss, Bach and Bluegrass
Lunch with over 20 musicians from the strings section of Ipswich City Orchestra. Come and be swept away to old Vienna with Strauss Waltzes played by the professional Orchestra's String section. Then get your hands clapping for some good old fashioned bluegrass with the Suzuki Students of Ipswich.
Wednesday April 22nd 11am - 1pm

That's Entertainment!
Let us take you on a journey of timeless music and history, with 'Back to Basics' recreating the era of the Andrew Sisters, followed by a mash of your favourite hit pop rock songs of the 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond with live band Shriners Park. Tea & light refreshments early or BYO lunch.
Thursday April 23rd 11am - 2pm

Big Band Brassy
Swing and sway to the smooth and brassy sounds of the amazing C17's Amberley Brass Band and the gold medal award winning Redbank Plains State High School Marching Band. Sit back and relax or dance to the beat of big band swing, classical, new world symphony, and so much more.
Wednesday April 29th 11am - 2pm

Swing it!
With a double scoop of comedy and a generous serving of musical mayhem the Swingin' Martinis belt out the best of Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin classics through to the Proclaimers via ABBA and Tom Jones - all fused together to bring you some good old high energy and cracking entertainment.
Thursday April 30th 12noon - 1pm

Night Time Sessions:
Latin Dance with Brazilian Soul
Join in the fun or opt in the free dance class when Brazilian Soul perform a variety of Latin dance styles, all authentic from South America.
Wednesday April 22nd 5pm - 6pm

SwingaBilly Ray
It's a revival of the golden age of swing jazz. Kick up you heels doing the lindy hop, the Charleston, St Louis shag, or shim sham and jitterbug - all this to the sounds of your favourite swing tunes from yesteryear. Everybody welcome. Free Swing Dance Class.
Thursday April 30th 5pm - 7.30pm


To view more Ipswich Festival highlights visit their official website: www.ipswichfestival.com.au/2015/browse.php?cat=1