The wholesome ravers behind Future Sound of Yoga are holding a weekend-long yoga retreat for the nocturnally minded. Held at Mangrove Mountain, the Phoenix Weekend is in it's second year and promises spiritual enlightenment, meditation, self-discovery and rave. You can camp, sleep in a dormitory or enjoy twin room cabin accommodation, munch on organic food and attend all workshops as part of their all-inclusive ticket. From the organisers: The lineup includes leading international artists Mark Whitwell, Katy Appleton, Gwyn Williams, Daphne Tse; renowned Australia-based yoga teachers Simon Borg-Olivier, John Ogilvie, Kriyavidya Saraswati and Anna Phillips; inspirational speaker Heather Swan; and finally the The Future Sound of Yoga, who will up the tempo on Saturday night with an evening of yoga, dance and cutting edge electronica, where fans of festival dress up will be able to let loose with an anything-goes fancy dress theme. WHAT: The Phoenix Weekend WHERE: Mangrove Mountain (1.5 hours out of Sydney) WHEN: Friday 3rd Feb - Sunday 5th Feb 2012 HOW MUCH: Final release from $365 

Set to launch in late February 2012, The Dollar Shop is a designer retail experience with a slight twist - everything on sale is under $20. The Dollar Shop is a pop up space with a six month rolling lease agreement, one of many creative enterprises selected by the City of Sydney to breath a new life into the vom-stained pavings of lower Oxford St. The store curators are seeking designers, artists and other creatives to submit a wide variety of work to be sold in-store, including but not limited to clothing, jewelry, bags, stationery, self-publishing, photography, posters, instruments, kitchenware and craft. There's talk of workshops to be held at the space too - so if you don't have anything to sell now, pop in and work it out ya dummy. No more shall you be buying stained summer dresses for $80 from a bearded twenty-something musician at the Surry Hills Markets, or regretting that $10.50 you paid for plastic-fantastic piece of kitchenwares from Paddy's. WHAT: The Dollar Shop WHERE: 58 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, Sydney WHEN: Opening late Feb 2012 - submit your goods for sale now! Email: submit@dollarshopsydney.com.au http://www.dollarshopsydney.com.au/    

Australia’s premiere one-day festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures is back at Victoria Park on the 26th of January and celebrating its 10th birthday Yabun showcases the breadth of indigenous creative talent in our own backyard, with performances, exhibits, food, workshops, traditional displays and forums This year Jessica Mauboy, Dan Sultan and Christine Anu take to the stage alongside the best of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait performers More info on Yabun's Facebook page. WHAT: Yabun WHEN: 10am - 6pm, Sat 26th January WHERE: Victoria Park, Broadway HOW MUCH: Free and open to all Here's a short teaser trailer:

So Matt, you've been putting this together since 2004 and the festival itself has seen an incredible evolution... What are the changes and transformations you're most excited about this year?  There's lots of great new stuff this year, we’re launching a new outdoor fully decorated electronic stage at the Festival which will feature cutting edge sets from some wicked producers and DJs, we’re organising it in conjunction with the crew from Noisy Chicken. We’re also launching a new mobile Eco hub at the heart of the Ecoliving Village. It’s an amazing structure that we’ve designed with a team of architects and which is manufactured out of recycled Aluminium agricultural pipe. We’ll be taking it around to other events to educate people about sustainability. Our arts programme is always a highlight, rich and diverse and kooky, this year we’ve partnered with Alchemical Cabaret and will be bringing a full black-out Theatre dome, with full theatrical performances during the day and which we’ll be turning it into a fully themed nightclub at night. The Children’s Festival has a great headliner this year, the Drumming Monkeys and we will be improving ‘The Swamp’, which is our area dedicated to teens, with lots of workshops and live performance. And of course over 140 musical acts, with an outstanding line up of Australian and international acts. Gotye will be playing the midnight set, that’s a real coup, and we have an amazing selection of up and coming Australian talent to give everyone a chance to discover a new favourite act. It’s going to be wicked this year! Tell me where the inspiration for you to create a sustainable music festival sprung from. I had wanted to organise a Festival since 1994 but it wasn’t until I took a Permaculture design course in 2000 that the concept of marrying sustainability and a Festival together emerged. I had felt an obligation up until this point to work within the field of sustainability as I could see from a logical point of view that we were heading towards issues with resources on the planet, but I wasn’t sure how to implement this obligation. I had competing pulls between the urge to work in sustainability and the passion to create a Festival. Once the idea of combining both came to me everything just seemed to flow naturally, although I have to say at the time everybody thought I was mad.   When we made the choice in 2005 to run the event entirely on renewable energy (100% biodiesel fuelled generators) nobody had done this before and a lot of people said to me you’re crazy to take the risk, but from my information there wasn’t such a risk and it was something I really wanted to do. We’ve run the Festival on renewable energy ever since and to be honest we’ve never had any problems. We’re still the only Festival that’s 100% run on renewable energy and we’re constantly looking for new technologies to decrease our impact on the planet. We report on everything we discover through our Model Event program which is all the information we discover about running a sustainable event that we give away via our website. Why Glenworth Valley and why the illustrious dates over New Years Eve? Well, it’s stunning there. Driving down into the valley is an experience in itself with the Festival appearing below you. Also it’s really close to Sydney, which is a definite plus. New Year’s Eve – because it’s the only time of the year where pretty much everybody takes at least a week off and you can get everybody into the most relaxed frame of mind. Who are you most excited about hearing play in this year's line up (I'm personally going numb with excitement over Gotye)... LTJ Bukem, is my personal hero there is no better DJ for stepping out big time on the dance floor, also Oliver Tank will be wicked. Stanton Warriors and Dum Dum Girls will also be well worth checking out. I see you very much as a pioneer in this field, particularly leading the way in terms of generating sustainable and viable ways to create events and festivals globally, I have to ask though, (it must get hard at times) what keeps you motivated to bring about sustainable changes in attitude in other people?  Good question, probably at the end of the day I’m a stubborn bastard and I rise to challenges. There’s no doubt at all that organising Peats Ridge has been a huge challenge - emotionally. physically, mentally and financially but what I do makes people smile and creates positive change in the world. The Festival is an inspiration to many and it teaches people great things and even in the hardest moments I have never lost my enormous faith in what the Festival stands for in this world. PEATS RIDGE FESTIVAL WHEN: 29th December- 1st January WHERE: Glenworth Valley (1hr north of Sydney) HOW MUCH: For 3 days of music with camping included, it's a steal at $350 per person Emily Eskell emilyeskell@gmail.com

The faces of young, poverty-stricken children are often used as subjects in photography. Kabul Kids, opening next Friday 18th November at China Heights Gallery, shows the images that emerge when these children take hold of the camera.This collection of photographs were taken by six young Afghani orphans who show the Kabul through their eyes; an alternate perspective to the war-torn images shown on the news.It's the result of the hard work of ShutterSeed, an project initiated by Palwesha Yusaf who travelled to Afghanistan in 2009 to teach these six children the art of photography through a series of workshops covering all the basics. The kids were then handed a camera to go out and express their own experiences creatively both within the orphanage and out on the streets of Kabul.The aim of ShutterSeed is to show the 'positive effects of "photographed" communities representing themselves through their own photography.'The collection ranges from intimate scenes of friendship to raw photos of the street outside, all are from an innocent and honest perspective.On the 25th November the exhibition will move to Parramatta for a week-long installment at the Information Cultural Exchange. The opening night will play host to a panel discussion with Palwesha Yusef on topics ranging from the universal experience of the child to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which the event falls upon.Throughout the entire exhibition artworks may be purchased, with all proceeds going towards the Hope House Orphanage in Kabul.Be sure not to miss this incredible chance to see Afghanistan through the eyes of the children that live there, sure to be an insightful and eye-opening experience.Opening Night - Kabul KidsWhen: 6-9pm, Friday 18th NovemberWhere: China Heights Gallery, 3/16-28 Foster Street, Surry Hillswww.chinaheights.comPanel Discussion @ International Cultural ExchangeWhen: 6:30pm, Friday 25th November (Exhibition runs here until 1st December)Where: 8 Victoria Road (Switch Digital Arts Centre), ParramattaLiz de Fegely: liz_defegely@hotmail.com

The first time I saw Amazing Face by Zoe Foster I was in a Bondi bookshop-café. I basically army crawled through the macchiato-sipping, skins-wearing yummy mummies to grab this book before they realised my ploy. I then scrambled to check out every page on pimples and blackheads (business first, people) before my boyfriend finished his coffee. Final verdict (on the book and my stealth mission): Amazing.* If you’re a chick with a penchant for primping (and you have a massive girl-crush on Cosmo dating expert Zoe Foster) you can pick up a copy of the book and meet the author at the Pitt Street Mall Sportsgirl, tomorrow night. Zoe will be sharing her tips on the best beauty trends this summer. During the Q&A, you could even ‘get your colours done’ a la Bridget Jones’ Mum, and ask Zoe to pick out a shade of lippy for you. If everyone asks for that, we’ll soon have a rainbow of pretty-coloured pouts across Sydney. It’ll be a beautiful summer, indeed. Zoe Foster Beauty Workshop WHERE Sportsgirl, Pitt St Mall, Sydney WHEN Thursday, 10th of November, 5pm - 6.30pm. HOW MUCH FREE! * Disclaimer: I will willingly follow the advice of anyone who refers to her readers as ‘Gorgeous Rascals’.Leesa Hamiltontwitter.com/LeesaHamilton

emerald + ella is a gorgeous prop-hire shop, stocking those awesome candy stripe straws we love so much and a swag of other treasures. e+e are the ones responsible for filling all those beautiful food and home magazines with the cute trinkets we want in our house when we're All Grown Up but can't be bothered trawling through flea markets to source.They are having a WAREHOUSE SALE for the first time ever, where they are going to sell off all their surplus stock of vintage and new props and homewares to all you lovely nest-makers for cheap cheap! Our tip is to get down there early so some bitch doesn't steal the vintage duck-egg blue tea pot you've been dreaming about.emerald + ella warehouse saleNovember 17th, 18th & 19th10am-4pmWoollahra Colleagues Rugby Club, Rose Bay (Woollahra Oval, Manion Av, Rose Bay)Sophie McComaswww.twitter.com/sophmccomas

Jeremy Shipley and Dan Knight, after keeping a joint watch over the cocktail list at Longrain, have opened a window to the booze-laden 1950's in the guise of their new bar; Hinky Dinks on Darlinghurst Road. These two have formed their careers out of their love for the perfectly formed cocktail, and the drinks list at Hinky Dinks shows off their strengths. The Gypsy Blood, a tall mix of Amaro, fresh lime, in-house pineapple syrup, peach bitters and grapefruit soda is a zesty fruit-bomb, and we loved the Hinky Fizz with in-house strawberry & prosecco sorbet, Bombay Sapphire, elderflower liqueur, peach bitters & grapefruit fizz.It's a li'll bit milk bar, a li'll bit soda shop, a li'll bit New York late-night lounge. Half the walls are stripped back to expose the raw bricks, hung with those brightly coloured posters of men in suits grinning madly and holding a neat whisky. The bar area is dipped in a pastel green with red cusioned bar stools, perfect for sitting on while sipping something well-muddled. We seriously dug the eats. Why toast a sandwich when you can fry it, right? The pan-fried parmesan and olive sandwich ($9) was salty as all hell and the perfect foil to the sweeter end of the cocktails. There's a range of crostini topped with white anchovy, parsley & Spanish onion ($7), heirloom tomatoes, basil & goat's cheese ($8), or jamón serano, pear & roquette ($9) next to a couple of light salads and snacky things. If you're a little more hungry and you need to soak up the Zombie cocktail you've just downed (Silver, aged & OP rums, Luxardo, cinnamon syrup, fresh lime, passionfruit, grapefruit juice & an absinthe flame) before you embark on the next one (only two allowed per person!) you'd be well advised to try the crisp polenta with roast tomato & salsa verde ($20), or the chicken braised with white wine, tomatoes, olives & calvolo nero ($22) before you stumble out the door, drunk yet extremely happy.Hinky Dinks185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurstwww.hinkydinks.com.au(02) 8084 6379Open: Wednesday-Sunday from 5pm Sophie McComaswww.twitter.com/sophmccomas

Are there some days when you would love to re-arrange your world a little? Instead of waking up every day to see the same, shabby film poster plastered on your wall, wouldn’t it be awesome if you could see your favourite Gauguin or Miro hanging there, even for a week? Or on your walk to work, you could choose to walk past the Guggenheim or a beautiful Italian church you saw once passing through a tiny village on a holiday.Chris Browne, the lucky guy, gets to play God and arrange things just as he’d like them. This is the meaning of ‘capriccio:’ an architectural fantasy, placing together buildings and other architectural elements in fictional and often fantastical combinations. Most of the paintings are scenes inside the Art Gallery of NSW; if you look carefully at his painting ‘Pagans’ you’ll see his favourite Degas painting, which is actually in the Musée D’Orsay. I won’t give away any other ‘adjustments’ – look hard and see what you can find. Apart from the playful self-reflexivity of the paintings, the subject matter is quite ingenious. It’s both a record of a common Australian leisure activity and a study of how the human form has been depicted over time. Modern figures wander amongst paintings from the past, a visual representation of the history of art. The paintings are almost hazy, imbuing the moments he’s captured with a sense of peace and contemplation. Genevieve Branigan is also exhibiting her small sculptures addressing the human condition. So you get two artists for the effort of seeing one - what more reason do you need?! ‘Capriccio’ – an exhibition by Chris Browne ‘When I am in Feeling’ – an exhibition by Genevieve BraniganSeptember 1 - 19Frances Keevil GalleryBay Village, 28-34 Cross, Street Double BayGeorgia Boothgeorgia_booth@hotmail.com

The 2012 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide winners were announced last night; here are some highlights.Sepia wins Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year Peter Gilmore of Quay wins Citibank Chef of the Year Bilson’s, est., Marque, Quay and Sepia score 3 chef’s hats Porteno wins Plumm Wine Glasses Best New Restaurant Over 950 restaurants, small bars, cafes, pubs and other venues reviewed and rated around Sydney and NSW (100 of those being new additions this year, including an expanded bar section to accommodate Sydney's fast-growing small bar scene), the guide is a celebration of this region's dynamic food culture. A focus on sustainability, local ingredients and produce has been cited as a shift in the dining scene, and it's one we hope to see remain.Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, on sale TODAY for $29.95 at newsagents and book stores or online HERE. You can also grab the AGFG app at the iTunes store for free.Sophie McComassoph_mccomas@hotmail.com

The crafty/party folk at The Wall are holding a Springtime Market.Tomorrow night head to The World Bar in King’s Cross for clothes,prints, books, zines and all other manner of second-hand treasures. Maybe even a used condom or empty teapot left over from the weekend.Sydney design collective The Design Kids will be setting up a stall, so well worth heading down if you’d like to grab a bargain shirt, print or bag from an emergent Sydney artist.Camden will be providing some fitting tunes to accompany your thrift shopping experience.Springtime Markets @ The Wall Wednesday 7th SeptEntry is freeThe World Bar, Kings Cross(and check out The Design Kids cause they fuggin rawk)

As part of their latest exhibition On Sale! the Library of NSW is opening its doors next Tuesday night for a rare little bargain. Fashion After Hours, the first of weekly events surrounding the show, will kick off next week so that you can enjoy a glass or two as you meander through the 250 vintage treats that have been dug up from the archives for the display. First up for these Tuesday night sessions will see designers Claire Press of Mrs Press and Anna Plunkett, the mind behind romance was born, chatting away with the exhibition's curator, Margot Riley, to take you through the design journey from runway to the mass market. The exhibition harks back to the simple days of yesteryear with an array of retro advertising paraphernalia, catalogues, photos and promo goods and follows all the way through to the massive chain stores and online shopping of today. Bar opens at 5pm. Talk starts at 6. And how much, do you say? FREE. On Sale! Shops and Shopping, Exhibition Galleries, The Library of New South Wales Open now until 30 November http://bit.ly/oLDbBl And speaking of libraries... Make sure you head on down to one of these City of Sydney Libraries in the next month to express that little bit of poetic genius that you've been keeping bundled up inside. From the 1st of August, these libraries have been immersed in 40 days of Poetry as part of the Stacks project put on by the Red Room Company. The aim of this literary treasure hunt is to find the pretty little cards the red room had produced for their poems to share series that are scattered throughout the rows of shelves. Each card has a poem or excerpt from a selection of our best Australian poets while the other side prompts you to be creative and write down your own musings. All writing collected over the 40 days will be collated on the red room website and the top poems of the bunch published in the Sun-Herald. Now well into it's second week, you can see the massive responses from Sydney poets here.So quick, don that beret if you must, and unleash your creative. 40 days of poetry, 1 August - 9 September, City of Sydney Libraries listed http://bit.ly/mdx92o Liz de Fegely liz_defegely@hotmail.com