Latest news with #Spiegeltent
The Age
17 hours ago
- The Age
How a miraculous outback find changed the fortunes of the Wynnum Fringe
In July 2023, Tom Oliver was looking at the cost of renting a Spiegeltent from Europe and wishing that his Wynnum Fringe festival could own one permanently. At roughly the same time, 750 kilometres west of Brisbane, Oliver's newly retired parents rolled into the town of Augathella, population 328, on an outback road trip. They saw an abandoned Spiegeltent in a field, and sent the disbelieving Oliver a photo. 'So we now, as a festival, own a 400-seat Spiegeltent that was found by my parents in western Queensland,' Oliver says with a laugh. Prized as portable venues for festival shows, Spiegeltents are like small, glammed-up circus tents, often made with wood and stained-glass detailing. The structure in Augathella was designed and built in 2008 by Belgium's Klessens family, fifth generation makers, for Queensland's 150th anniversary celebrations. Called the Q150 Shed, it hybridised a classic European Speigeltent with the Isis Downs Woolshed, a famous outback Queensland shearing shed, and hosted commemorations all over the state in 2009. 'And at the end of the tour, the state government gifted it to the town of Augathella,' Oliver says.
Sydney Morning Herald
17 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How a miraculous outback find changed the fortunes of the Wynnum Fringe
In July 2023, Tom Oliver was looking at the cost of renting a Spiegeltent from Europe and wishing that his Wynnum Fringe festival could own one permanently. At roughly the same time, 750 kilometres west of Brisbane, Oliver's newly retired parents rolled into the town of Augathella, population 328, on an outback road trip. They saw an abandoned Spiegeltent in a field, and sent the disbelieving Oliver a photo. 'So we now, as a festival, own a 400-seat Spiegeltent that was found by my parents in western Queensland,' Oliver says with a laugh. Prized as portable venues for festival shows, Spiegeltents are like small, glammed-up circus tents, often made with wood and stained-glass detailing. The structure in Augathella was designed and built in 2008 by Belgium's Klessens family, fifth generation makers, for Queensland's 150th anniversary celebrations. Called the Q150 Shed, it hybridised a classic European Speigeltent with the Isis Downs Woolshed, a famous outback Queensland shearing shed, and hosted commemorations all over the state in 2009. 'And at the end of the tour, the state government gifted it to the town of Augathella,' Oliver says.
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Highlights for Children & Young Adults
As well as the usual line-up of children's writers, this year's EIBF will also have a dedicated Young Adult strand, writes Susan Mansfield Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... This year, the Book Festival has a dedicated programme of events for Young Adults for the first time, including a YA takeover of the Spiegeltent on 11 August promising a day of events, discussions and workshops aimed at teenagers hosted by writer Cynthia Murphy. Some of the most exciting YA writers in the world will be guests at the festival, including Alice Oseman, creator of the smash-hit graphic novel series Heartstoppers. On the series' tenth anniversary, she will talk about where it all began for Charlie and Nick (17 August). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Molly X Chang will talk about her epic romantasy The Nightblood Prince, inspired by Chinese myth, about a reckless princess who forms a bond with a runaway prince who commands an army of vampires (15 August). Rebecca F Kuang Japanese novelist Asako Yuzuki is in both the adult and the YA programmes with her word-of-mouth sensation Butter, about a chef turned serial killer who poisons her lovers (23 August), as is bestselling American novelist RF Kuang, author of Yellowface, whose new novel Katabasis is a story of two magical PhD students who band together to rescue the soul of their academic adviser from hell (24 August). Another author taking part in both sections is Scottish writer Kirsty Logan, with a new collection of short stories, No & Other Love Stories, about female desire down the centuries from a medieval monastery to a 1990s high school (22 August). Writer, activist and model Monroe Bergdorf is to speak to young people about the thorny question of truth as it relates to a range of topics from beauty standards to cancel culture (21 August). The festival promises additional facilities for children and families this year, and a wide-ranging programme for readers of all ages, from the tenth birthday celebrations for Ross Collins' There's A Bear on my Chair (10 August), to Michael Rosen's introduction to Shakespeare for older children (23 August). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jacqueline Wilson is such an enduring and well-loved figure in children's literature that some of her fans now have children of their own. She will be at the Book Festival for a special event looking at her life as a writer with a back catalogue of more than 100 books (24 August). Cressida Cowell Cressida Cowell will read from How to Train Your Dragon School, the latest book in her enormously popular series (22 August). AF Steadman promises a new story in the blockbuster Skandar series, with curses, bloodthirsty unicorns, epic adventures and unlikely heroes (11 August). Dr Lucia Perez-Dias will explore how the world repairs itself, and how we can help, taking young readers on an epic journey through time and space to witness what the planet was like, why it changed, and what the future holds (9 August). Polly Faber openes up the surprisingly fascinating subject of recycling, looking at what happens to the things we throw away (10 August).
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Food Highlights
From sunny Spain to Eastern Europe, this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival brings together a dream team of culinary experts, writes Gaby Soutar Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Edinburgh International Book Festival is spoiling us with an overflowing pantry's worth of food-related events this year. The majority are Table Talks that will be taking place at Elliott's Studio – a charming green-fronted ground floor tenement on Sciennes Road that's run by local chef and author, Jessica Elliott Dennison. These hot-cake tickets include Modern Middle Eastern Cooking with Sabrina Ghayour (August 14), who is often dubbed The Golden Girl of Persian Cooking. Poet Marjorie Lofti will be chatting to Ghayour about her latest cookbook, Persiana Easy, which features dishes including smoked aubergine salad with pickled chillies and feta. The ticket price of £30 includes a welcome drink and a taste of something delicious. For another spicy amuse bouche at Elliot's Studio, there's Delicious Magic: A Table Talk with Ixta Belfrage (August 20). Her cookbook, Fusao, celebrates the fun side of Brazilian cuisine. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Diana Henry PIC: Chris Terry Another guest at this venue is Diana Henry, the familiar author of a smorgasbord of cookbooks, including How to Eat a Peach. She'll be appearing at From There to Here: A Table Talk with Diana Henry (August 12), where she'll be discussing the new edition of her 2019 book, Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons, and the stories from the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa that inspired it. Again, expect a welcome drink and a taster. If you miss that appearance, Henry will be popping up again later that day at the Spiegeltent, for Diana Henry: A Life in Food, where she'll be sharing further tales from two decades of eating, writing and travelling. The EIBF's food programme will also feature two appearances from restaurateur and writer Jose Pizarro, who was head chef at the Michelin-starred El Mesón de Doña Filo in Madrid and now looks after six restaurants in the UK. Have Lunch with Jose Pizarro (August 23) offers exactly that – a 'flavour-punch of a meal', inspired by his latest cookbook, The Spanish Pantry. They say that the key ingredients at this event will be tomatoes, lemons, saffron and Manchego. We hope they'll allow more than one helping. Perhaps not, though Pizarro will be back for seconds at a Redefining Spanish Cooking talk at the Spiegeltent (August 24). Alissa Timoshkina From sunny Spain to Eastern Europe, and in Olia Hercules: A Taste of Ukrainian History (August 10), the author will be at the Spiegeltent discussing her book Strong Roots, part memoir, part recipe guide, and an ode to her beleaguered homeland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Follow this event up with Best Root Forward: A Table Talk with Alissa Timoshkina (August 14), whose book, Kapusta, features vegetable-based and vibrant Eastern European dishes. At the Spiegeltent, she'll be chatting with fellow author Caroline Eden, including discussing her work for global fundraising campaign #CookForUkraine, and bigging up her favourite herb, dill. Benjamina Ebuehi PIC: Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Norfolk and Norwich Festival venue to open later despite objections
A festival has been given permission to keep one of its venues open later despite objections. Norfolk and Norwich Festival organisers applied for a license to allow outdoor entertainment up until 23:00 GMT in its 'Spiegeltent' in Chapelfield Gardens. The venue had received noise complaints in the past from neighbours. At a Norwich City Council licensing committee meeting on Tuesday, the authority agreed to the later hours but asked organisers to monitor noise levels and share any complaints it received. The festival, which dates back hundreds of years, featured an array of shows and performances at venues across the city during a two-week run. Some of the festival's most popular shows were hosted at the huge Spiegeltent in Chapelfield Gardens. Not all locals welcomed the later hours and some said "considerable" noise was already generated at the event. William Oxley, who lives in St Giles Street, said: "This is unnerving for residents and makes life unpleasant in the evenings."I have complained on several occasions in the past to local councillors about noise on one-off events - which is bad enough. But this is too much." Council officers recommended that new noise enforcement measures should be brought in to ensure sound levels do not impact organisers believed their current methods worked well and said the proposed changes would be too expensive. Daniel Brine, director of the festival, said: "Like all charities, we count every penny."Far from being a threat and a nuisance, we see ourselves as an asset to the city."Organisers told the council they would continue to monitor noise levels and share any complaints received. This year's Norfolk and Norwich festival will run from the 9 May to 25 May. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
