Tucked inside an abandoned warehouse called The House of Usher at Robertson Street, this 36-room theatrical playground will tantalise all your senses including the sixth sense as you explore the rooms where the actors play different scenes.
Doors will lead you to surreal environments, including a bloody playground, a sound world, a film set, or a room with a pink ball pit where you can dive in. For the more adventurous, there’s also a creepy hotel in one of the rooms.
Photo credit: A Midnight Visit/Facebook
The concept is new to Brisbane, but has taken over Sydney, Melbourne and Perth prior to the pandemic and has received positive reviews from audiences and theatre critics alike. All the scenes are inspired by the work of American writer Edgar Allan Poe.
Photo credit: A Midnight Visit/Facebook
This event will only run for a month starting 27 July 2021. If you don’t want to miss this event, book now at Eventbrite or visit their Facebook page for further updates. Prices of tickets start at $49.
Photo credit: A Midnight Visit/Facebook
Just a reminder, you must be aged 15+ to attend A Midnight Visit. Audiences aged 15-17 years must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Apartments in the inner-city suburbs of Brisbane, such as Fortitude Valley, have seen a spike in demand in the first four months of 2021, according to new figures revealed by the National Australia Bank.
The financial institution said that lending activities for first home buyers in Australia’s metro markets rose to 13 percent, slowly making city-dwelling popular again.
In Fortitude Valley, the change in lending activities was at a whopping 486 percent. Median prices for an apartment unit in this inner city have landed at around $433,000 for the first quarter. It has risen to $444,225 by 25 June.
According to NAB, city apartments have always been appealing because it’s easy to get around various essentials just by walking. But NAB Executive of Home Ownership, Andy Kerr, said “record low-interest rates and government incentives” have also pushed first home buyers to invest in inner cities.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
However, it’s still spacious homes in the outer suburbs that are driving demand in the country’s overall housing market. Regional activity across Australia has risen to an outstanding 84 percent compared to demands for dwelling in the city.
Incidentally, the bank has started accepting applications for its next batches of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme as of 1 July 2021.
Meanwhile, despite the recent snap lockdown affecting Brisbane from July 1 to 3, Fortitude Valley’s market achieved a record sale of the “ugliest house” in the inner-city suburb for $1.535 million.
The home on 43 Arthur Street once belonged to a family for 25 years but the owners have moved to Coffs Harbour to retire. Four buyers were interested in the property, which stands in a great location but the owners closed the deal with the buyer offering the best price before the house was supposed to be auctioned.
In mid-2020, Green Space opened a pop-up shop on James St which quickly became a hit with both plant lovers and foodies. Now opening at a permanent location on the same street, The Green will include a Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant conceptualised by an internationally acclaimed designer, with two-time Chef Hat winner Warren Turnbull in the kitchen, plus elements such as an event space and a flower bar!
“Our new location, simply called The Green, will include an even bigger selection of pots, plants and homewares as well as a Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant, event space and flower bar,” the owners, Angela Sclavos and Christina Habchi, announced in January 2021.
The fitout for The Green, found on 27 James St, has been coming together thanks to the vision of internationally acclaimed designer Borhan Ghofrani, who wants the new space to be more than just a restaurant.
Photo Credit: Supplied
Mr Ghofrani based his designs on the owners’ Lebanese roots and envisions that when visitors step into the new store, they will feel like they are in another world.
“This space will be a surprise to the senses,” the designer said. “Imagine the stunning red hues of the emblematic Cedar wood of Lebanon intertwined with the alluring plant life that locals have come to love about Green Space, but on a much larger scale.”
The Green will feel right at home on James Street’s lifestyle precinct next to establishments like Endota Spa, Alexa Nice, Pottery Barn and Gerard’s Bistro. It will take over the shop formerly occupied by Akira, the fashion label.
Photo Credit: Supplied
“Crafting a space like The Green from the ground up involves a level of reverse engineering. It is a laborious process to deliver design elements engrossed in heritage and history, but it matters, and we are thrilled to unveil the end result to patrons very soon,” Mr Ghofrani said.
Meanwhile, two-time Chef Hat winner Warren Turnbull will serve as the Head Chef at The Green’s kitchen, who will create authentic Lebanese dishes, such as bubbly flatbreads, sweet honey-soaked cheese and crispy homemade falafels, to complement and work cohesively with the restaurant’s design. Mr Ghofrani said that he can’t wait for their guests to have an unforgettable dining experience.
Photo Credit: Supplied
“Without design unity across all components including sights, smells, sounds and tastes, a venue is soulless and lacks the fundamental pillars of a sustainable business due to a lacklustre patron experience,” he said.
XBrisbane Pty Ltd successfully lodged an application (A005619901) for the project in December 2020 and was granted approval in April 2021.
The proposed development is for a new north peak bridge climb route, viewing platform, and swing out on the Story Bridge. Planning documents also indicate that the climb will consist of 550 steps and will be approximately 60 minutes in duration. Climbs will be undertaken in groups of a maximum of 14 climbers and will be suitable for both daytime and nighttime adventure.
Whilst this is good news for adventure seekers and tourists, residents are worried about losing their privacy once it’s operating. In addition to privacy concerns, other issues raised include road safety and noise.
Ami, a resident of Petrie Point Apartments said the proximity to their building which is located at 100 Bowen Terrace, Fortitude Valley, would mean severe privacy implications especially with the hours proposed and additional noise impacts which are extremely concerning.
“The Howard Smith Wharves precinct has already create issues for our complex with additional noise, people doing inappropriate things around our building and take up all available street parks. If the north end of the bridge is available to the public, our homes will also be invaded by people being able to look at us in our homes directly,” Ami wrote in her submission.
In another submission sent to Council, one resident pointed out that application is incorrectly made and should be rejected as an “outdoor sport and recreation” of code assessment as it falls into the activity of “tourism” which requires a thorough impact assessment process.
A town planning report states that the “development is sited and designed to enable existing and future buildings to be well separated from each other to allow for light penetration, air circulation, views, vistas and privacy, particularly for residential towers.”
Once complete, The Northern Peak Climb will operate year-round in all weather conditions other than extreme winds, electrical storms or severe rainstorms. It will open from early-morning to 10:00 pm seven days a week.
If you’re looking for a place in Fortitude Valley where you can have great pasta and risotto, wood-fired pizza, and delicious, grilled trout or prawns then look no more! Bianca, the latest Italian restaurant to hit town has it all.
Bianca was opened in late March 2021 by hospitality gurus Frank Li, Bianca Marachi, Tyron Simon and Ben Williamson at the former site of the restaurant Beaux Rumble. This Italian restaurant offers its customers a warm and accommodating space outfitted with friendly and chatty staff who serve delicious meals cooked in wood-fired ovens atop furniture fashioned from timber, red bricks, and terracotta tiles.
Bianca’s designs were created by the local architects Richards and Spence, who strived to give the venue an authentic and warm Italian aesthetic.
Photo credit: Instagram/bianca.restaurant
Bianca’s menu lets customers order classic Italian dishes such as Risotto ai Funghi, a delicious Italian rice-based dish which features mushrooms, however risotto isn’t the only type of cuisine available at the restaurant. People are free to treat themselves to pasta such as Lasagna, or even grilled food from their Griglia section like Rainbow Trout with Salsa Verde, or Gamberi (prawn) with Burnt Butter, Capers and Parsley.
Customers can also indulge themselves with one of two different set menus, which consist of a series of starters, main courses, and desserts. Among the set menus included starters are Mortadella, Calamari Fritti, Pane di Casa, and Funghi Marinati. Examples of available main dishes, on the other hand, include items such as Lasagna, Spaghetti Alla Chitarra, Prawns Aglio e Olio, and Rucola, Lemon and Parmesan.
Photo credit: Instagram/bianca.restaurant
Reviewers raved over the restaurant’s delicious food, amazing service, and excellent dining atmosphere.
Had a lovely night for our anniversary. Our waitress took great care of us and we were welcomed with a glass of champagne each upon arrival. The food was amazing, traditional and so, flavoursome. Ben Williamson knows how to tease your tastebuds, say no more, he is a genius. Congratulations Bianca, Ben and the team we can’t wait to come back for more and thank you.🥂
Michael H.
Bianca can be found at 46 James St, Fortitude Valley. For more information, visit their website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on meals, deals, dates, and other special announcements concerning the restaurant.
Following the announcement of a three-day lockdown in Southeast Queensland, “Seen But Not Her” at the Judith Wrights Art Centre from 1 to 3 July will not proceed. The production is awaiting further advice and updates.
“Our aim is to present current ticketholders with the option to transfer to another date, to obtain a refund, or to support us through a donation of the fee,” the group said. “With the situation as it currently is, we are hoping to still present at least the Saturday performance, but clearly must wait for updates from Queensland Health before we can confirm.”
“Seen But Not Her” pulls together a group of talented Brisbane women for a unique theatrical performance and a celebration of female creativity, where a violinist, cellist, pianist “converse” with a dancer, acrobat and a movement artist through music.
Musicians Cara Tran (piano), Flora Wong (violin) and Francesca Masel (cello) will be playing stirring renditions of songs composed by women, such as like “Piano Trio 11 – 2 Andante” espressivo by Fanny Mendelssohn, “The Mirror with Three Faces” suite by Lera Auerbach, and “Surface II” by Queensland’s very own Nicole Murphy.
Joining them on the stage are Abbey Church (Casus,Polytoxic), Mayu Muto (Casus Circus, Polytoxic, GUSH) and Sandi Woo (Phluxus2, QL2 Dance), who will let the music flow with their graceful movements.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity to work with these young women musicians and the beautiful music of these varied women composers,” director Celia White said. “This is a perfect time to be celebrating women’s creativity, hearing their voices, and seeing them take up space.”
Photo Credit: Chloe Callistemon/Vulcana Circus
The show is an original concept developed and conceived by Muses Trio and Bianca Mackail with the support of Arts Queensland and Women of the World (WOW) Australia.
Tickets to this fantastic night of classical music and exquisite movements may be booked online. Please take note that the Judith Wrights Arts Centre will be observing safety protocols to protect the health of the guests, performers and theatre staff.
Looking for a little excitement in the coming months? Fortitude Valley is about to become a hotspot for a raft of exciting new events all lined up for 2021.
To celebrate Good Food Month, the Brisbane Night Noodle Markets are back at an all-new and exciting venue: the City Botanic Gardens. Entry will be completely free, however registration is encouraged in order to comply with COVID-19 safety and prevention measures.
Attendants will be able to indulge themselves with delicious street food from all across Asia from countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Among the many stalls present throughout the event, people can expect to bump into familiar names such as Hoy Pinoy, Bao Brothers Eatery, Flying Noodles, and Bangkok Street Food.
Read more about the event at the Good Food Month website here.
Alanna Sapwell’s Esmay – July 25
Photo credit: Instagram/alannasapwell
Alanna Sapwell, formerly the head chef at Arc Dining, is set to open up Esmay, her pop-up restaurant, at the site of the kitchen at the old Alliance Hotel in Spring Hill for one day only as part of Good Food Month. Though she’s toured and set up shop all over Australia, the opening of Esmay marks her first time bringing the pop-up restaurant to Brisbane.
Esmay is a restaurant that offers comfort-style cooking that makes use of seasonal and regional ingredients with Sapwell’s innovative twists. On the 25th of July, two sittings will be available for lunch and another two sittings will be available for dinner.
Those interested in booking tickets for lunch and dinner can do so by clicking these links.
The Circus of Light – July 31 and August 21
Photo credit: Facebook/Psycho Circus
The Fortitude Music Hall is scheduled to host a series of upcoming light shows hosted by Psycho Circus on the 31st of July 2021 and the 21st of August, dazzling the audience with a gorgeous circus performance complete with an immersive set of visual and sound dynamics.
Those interested can expect to see glitter face paint stalls, confetti cannons, daring acrobatic feats, lasers and light displays, a barrage of balloons, and plenty more — all while the beats of house, bass, and d&b music play in the background to bring the circus to life.
Entrance to the circus will be limited to attendees over the age of 18, and people are encouraged to put on their snazziest and boldest outfits for a spectacular evening to brighten up a dull and dreary winter.
Tickets can be purchased via this website, and for the latest updates and announcements concerning the circus, follow their Facebook event page.
Hey Chica! – August
Photo credit: Facebook/Hey Chica
Fortitude Valley is about to receive a taste of Cuban life with Hey Chica, an upcoming social club, bar and restaurant along Brunswick St that boasts that it’s “the closest you’ll get to Cuba without a passport”.
Hey Chica comes fresh from the minds of the team behind Retro’s, however with this bar, customers can expect to lose themselves to a venue with the vibes of a local street party, complete with Latin American street food and cool cocktails.
The bar has been scheduled to open sometime in August at 315 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. For the latest updates and announcements concerning the bar and restaurant, visit their website or follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
At the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, Clipchamp had a 160 percent growth in new users. This Brisbane startup, headquartered in Fortitude Valley, continues to impress as it welcomes 2021 with a solid 14 million registered users from around the world.
The video editing platform, which launched in 2014, has made such an impact during the pandemic as companies and individual content creators shifted to video to stay in contact and facilitate a work-from-home environment or to consolidate their presence in their industries and niches when face-to-face meet-ups became too risky.
Co-founder and chief executive Alex Dreiling believes that Clipchamp being “in the right place at the right time” during COVID-19 has sealed the company’s position as a permanent platform of choice for the users. Because of their service, many users are now learning to do video editing themselves, instead of hiring professionals or agencies to make their videos.
The start-up’s platform provides video creators with the crucial tools needed to produce content without using expensive equipment, complicated software, or a substantial production experience. Its service empowers businesses to boost their profile and capacity to disseminate fresh content across many other channels, such as YouTube or TikTok.
Photo Credit: Screen Grab
In this day and age, when video content creation has ballooned into a $135 billion industry, Clipchamp is becoming essential for marketing. Thus, in 2020, the platform also launched additional features like webcam or screen camera recording, green screen options and audio/video separation.
The company’s staff also increased from 30 to 80, with workers coming from Red Hat, Facebook, Google and Amazon. It has offices in the U.S. and the Philippines as well and has a significant presence in Europe.
However, Mr Dreiling said Brisbane will remain its homebase and it’s where they will continue to develop their product even as they are heading for expansion.
From the 1st of July all the way until the 1st of August, pop up igloos will open up in Fortitude Valley — each coming complete with their own set of furniture, fairy lights, and fleece blankets to help bookers cosy themselves in. The best part? Each booking comes with food packages that come with their choice of drinks.
Those interested in reserving an igloo for themselves as well as their friends and loved ones can do so via this link. Igloo can be booked for up to 1.5 hours at a time. Each igloo can house 2 to 6 people; however, food options must be selected. Igloos cannot be reserved without ordering food packages.
Four different food packages will be available for bookings: the Standard Package, the Premium Package, the VIP Package, and the Vegan Package. Each package come with grazing boards with an array of snacks and finger foods, a main course, and either alcoholic beverages or soda.
The Standard Package entails a grazing board which contains prosciutto, mortadella, pecorino cheese, asiago cheese, hummus, olives, focaccia bread, and pickles as well as a main course in the form of a calamari and arancini plate. Drink options include sparkling, red or white wine, or beer per person.
The Premium Package, on the other hand, offers everything the Standard Package does with the addition of dessert in the form of Tiramisu Bomboloni: Italian doughnuts filled with Tiramisu cream and chocolate sauce. Additional drink options also include espresso martinis and aperol spritz.
However, the VIP Package offers everything the Premium Package does in addition beetroot cured salmon bruschetta and an oyster platter. Margaritas will also be available in the drinks list of this exciting package.
Lastly, the Vegetarian Package offers a completely different set of food options entirely in order to accommodate people’s dietary restrictions. The grazing board contains roasted capsicum, Evoo preserved eggplant, fried artichokes, stuffed olives, hummus, focaccia bread and pickles. Instead of a main course, dessert will be offered in the form of a raspberry tortino topped with chocolate mousse and berry coulis. Drink options are the same as those offered by the Standard Package.
Those interested in booking an igloo can do so by visiting this website.
The Winter Pop Up Igloo Dining event will be held at Cielo Rooftop, 209 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable but may be resold. Those unable to make it to their booked times and dates will lose their space unless they resell their tickets.
Good news for Brisbane shopaholics and fashionistas! Did you know that high-end fashion brand Louis Vuitton will soon open a new flagship store at the former National Australia Bank building on Queen Street?
According to the development application (DA A005719018), Place Design Group will do minor changes to the heritage-listed building but much of its facade and appearance will not be altered. There will be some markings on the front side in the form of branding or advertising the new tenancy.
Some walls on the basement level will be taken down to expand the floor area and create a spacious open plan. The mezzanine level, on the other hand, will be fitted with a glass balustrade to deliver a sophisticated shopping experience that many Louis Vuitton fans are so used to. Larry Weston Architect will help Place Design Group in the transformation.
Photo Credit: Developmenti/Brisbane City Council
“The proposal represents a great outcome for the City of Brisbane and the Queen Street Mall with a highly regarded global fashion house showing confidence in Brisbane’s retail sector which was has been significantly impacted by the COVID 19 virus,” the developers said.
Country Road was the tenant of the said building for many years. Constructed in the late 1920s, this structure has a neo-classical design which was common to bank buildings during this period.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
With this new occupancy, Louis Vuitton will give up its prominent site on the corner of Edward and Queen Streets but there’s no news on what establishment will take over the soon-to-be-vacant property.
