What’s on

12/ WHAT’S ON lifestyle 14/ FIRE AND ICE TOUR 16/ MILE IN THE SHOES 19/ WINTER HIDEAWAYS

Winter is here

A key indicator winter is well and truly here? The Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival. Drawing on pagan traditions from the cider-producing regions of south-west England, this annual festival is centred around the wassail ceremony. It is said that through banging of pots and pans evil spirits are scared away and the apple trees are awakened with the wassail song. The trees are then blessed with cider from the previous year’s harvest. It is fitting this year’s festival is taking place at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed (15–17 July). A fiery highlight of the festival is the burning man.

P For more, seehuonvalleymidwinterfest.com.au

YOUR NEW TO-DO LIST

25 September GET READY

It’s time to start training for the Hobart Airport Marathon Festival. With a marathon, half marathon, 10km and 5km runs, and a 5km and 2km walk, there’s something for everyone. RACT members are treated to a 15% member discount on registrations.

9–18 September WINE TIME

The Great Eastern Wine Week is almost here. The 10-day festival will host over 60 events across the region giving you the chance to meet the winemakers, growers, producers and, of course, taste some award-winning drops.

8–22 JUNE THE DARK SIDE

All event details are up to date at time of print, but can change.* For updates, consult organisers directly, and support Tassie’s events industry through these challenging times.

Dark Mofo is welcoming a new era exploring ideas of rebirth, reincarnation, and new life in this year’s art festival. The line-up includes American video artist Bill Viola, visual artist Doug Aitken, a winter feast and nude solstice swim.

29–30 July ON POINT

The Australian Ballet is heading to Hobart’s Theatre Royal Main Stage on its Regional Tour. The gala program will feature a selection of pas de deux and Swan Lake Variations. This never-before-seen piece was choreographed especially for the regional tour by former artistic director David McAllister. 28–31 July JAZZ IT UP

Come late July, Devonport becomes a stage for local and international jazz artists as the Devonport Jazz festival kicks off. While COVID has affected the festival in previous years, this year it’s back into the groove. It promises an impressive line-up of musicians (check the website closer to the event date for full program).

Made in Tas

Reasons why we love Lily and Gabe Plates (@lily_and_gabe_plates): they’re upcycled art and are pretty to look at. These hand-painted vintage plates are a perfect addition to a carefully curated bookshelf. Shop them at the Tassie Makers Market, tassiemakersmarket.com.au

Want to tell us about your event or product? Reach us on journeys@ ract.com.au

Forgotten tales, remembered

Say hello to the all-new History and Interpretation Centre at the World Heritage-listed Cascades Female Factory. After a $5 million upgrade the stunning new centre offers a range of tours and interpretative experiences and remains a significant centrepiece of Tassie’s convict history, specifically, the untold story of the role of women during this convict era. You’ll want to catch The Proud and the Punished at midday, which is a stunning one-woman performance that tells the story of Sarah Mason – a petty criminal sentenced to seven years transportation for stealing a pair of boots.

Make a note

Read

From one of the most thoughtful writers of the 20th century, Joan Didion’s A Year of Magical Thinking is a personal portrait of marriage and life, in the good times and bad.

Watch

Directed by Didion’s nephew, Griffin Dune, Netflix’s Joan Didion: The Centre Will Not Hold reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles.

See

If you’ve read Didion’s work and watched the Netflix doco, then see the play The Year of Magical Thinking. Written by Joan Didion, it’s an intimate account of loss through the lens of hope and acceptance. Showing at Theatre Royal, 23–25 June.

WHAT’S BLOOMING?

with SADIE CHRESTMAN from Fat Pig Farm

Winter is time to rest. All the winter crops are in the ground, sweetened by the frost, just waiting to be harvested over the coming months. Sweet root vegetables will come out for roasting and leafy kale and chard will be picked to blanch and sauté with olive oil and lots of garlic, or a little bit of bacon. And of course the glorious brassicas: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and (our absolute favourite) Brussels sprouts. Winter means it’s time to garden inside, to light the fire and make the crop plan for next season, to order seeds and sharpen the tools. On sunny weekends we might venture out to prune and compost the apple and quince trees, spray the stone fruit with compost tea or Bordeaux mixture (copper sulphate and lime) to combat the curly leaf fungus and mildews hiding in the leaf buds. Mostly, though, we eat and rest.

Sow in the greenhouse lettuce, mustard greens, radishes