Across the Border: Art and Culture: Kings Cross Festival 2012

Make sure you zip into Kings Cross today or tomorrow for the Kings Cross Festival 2012, run by the Potts Point Partnership with creative director Ignatius Jones.

The program features loads of free entertainment, including music, poetry, history, as well as quite a few interesting retail things.

One of these is the window displays by fashion designer Alex Zabotto-Bentley and the curated Festival Pop-Up Shop, at 28 Macleay Street, which features the best of the area's clothing, art and design items in one neat shop. I will be investing my pay there today.

There's also a free concert today from 11am in Fitzroy Gardens, alongside the markets, with a line-up put together by local fellow history geek, Warren Fahey. It closes with a performance by local muso Renee Geyer, from 6-7pm.

There will also be roving street artists, 'Razorhurst' tours, and a free talk at the heritage-listed Australian Institute of Architects building, at 3 Manning Street, on urban density. That's from 2-3.30pm. Bookings are required on 02 9246 4055.

If you have junior burghers, take them to the big family picnic day at Beare Park tomorrow, where there will be old fashioned tug-of-war and circus acts.

Also tomorrow, for civic-minded locals, there's a neighbourhood expo in the Rex Centre where a bunch of community groups will be hosting tables to show off what they are all about. Groups include Kings Cross Rotary, Kings Cross Knit Wits and the 2011 Residents' Association. That's from 11am-3pm. The Rotary markets, where I once found a pristine Gucci coat for $250, will also be on as usual, in Fitzroy Gardens.

If that all sounds a bit straight-laced, head off on Sunday early evening to the Writers and Whisky storytelling night at the Dandelion Bar at the Mercure Hotel, from 4-6pm. It's free. 

The Dandelion Bar is the official festival bar and is a great place to drink, because it's not normally open, yet it has a fantastic outdoor section where you can look over the streets and feel the energy of the neighbourhood.

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For more information, look out for the impressive newspaper-styled program, or visit www.kingscrossfestival.com

Festival artwork by Jeremyville

Across the Border: Potts Point: Retailers: Shop Local!

Stop. Don't spend any more money (if you have any) and save it for this weekend when Potts Point celebrates the City of Sydney's and the Potts Point Partnership's new campaign, Shop Local! This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 50 of the best Potts Point retailers and small businesses will be swinging open their doors to offer special discounts for local residents as well as the occasional glass of complimentary bubbly. 

I found the Shop Local! campaign's chic little flier (above) in my mailbox this week and I have to say that despite the fact that I already purchase most of my clothes, books, gifts and food from the local area, this weekend sounds like a lot of fun. And they have dubbed the area, ''The Point'', which is kind of funny. So on Friday night you can tell your friends you're going down to The Point and they will think it's some new small bar or something.

The celebrations begin on Friday night at 6pm when ''Champagne corks start to pop'' in a number of retailers who will be offering late night trading, special discounts and ''Taste a Plate'' specials. Top of my list is clothing store Becker Minty (above), on Manning Street who promise ''refreshments and special offers for locals''. Special offers sounds good, because the last time I went to their store in the old Post Office building (since relocated) I dropped about $700 on a frock. And no, I didn't regret it; I just didn't eat for a few weeks.

Other shops staying open late include the excellent Potts Point Bookshop (above), local institution Macleay Bookshop (until 9pm), excellent gift and homewares shops, Macleay on Manning and pocket-sized Plum Interiors, as well as women's shoe shop, Booty, clothing store, Mon Petit Chou, and new kid on the block, Pour Tous by Davidson and Beaumont down on Elizabeth Bay Road. There are others listed on the flier, which you can download from the Potts Point Partnership website.

After all that shopping, pop into Llankelly Place's KL Kitchen (above) or Tomatillo Mexican Grill on the strip for a Taste a Plate special. The cute little flier doesn't quite explain what exactly that Taste a Plate is, and neither does the website but I imagine it means a discount or special of some sort. 

Saturday is Meet the Owner day at dozens of shops in the area including my big fat favourite Greek cafe, Ithaka Kafenion (above). Black Bull Butchery is running an all day Know Your Meat class, which is always a good thing, while new Llankelly Place gallery space, The Cross Art Projects, is hosting a talk by environmental activist Jack Mundey, who is the present chairman of the Historic Houses Trust, from 2pm. Sounds interesting. 

Bounce Walking Tours are also offering a special Art Walk of Potts Point, which promises to take in the area's ''past, present and future''. It runs from 11am to 1pm, costs $20 and includes admission to the historic Elizabeth Bay House (below). 

If you can't make the Bounce tour on Saturday, don't fret, Elizabeth Bay House is also open on Sunday from 10am to 4pm and costs just $4 to have a snoop around inside. 

Before visiting the house you could pop into the James Dorahy Project Space, hidden in the Minerva building on Macleay Street, for a glass of bubbly and an exhibition viewing from 11am to 1pm. 

There's also a guided tour happening in Woollomooloo, the Green Bans Art Walk, which begins at 2.30pm. But when I went to the Performance Space website it appears that it has already been booked out. 

Oh, well, there's always the Cafe Dov garden party from 3pm to 4pm, a $15 Brunch at the Librarie from 10am to 2pm or jazz at the Becker Minty owned Velluto Champagne and Wine Bar from 7pm.

I'm sure I recognise that deer (above), which was featured in the Shop Local! flier as coming from artist Gary McEwan's excellent gift shop, Bang! And yet there is no mention of him in the campaign. So I will mention him here. McEwan and his shop (below) on the corner of Macleay and Orwell streets are definitely worth visiting. 

There are also dozens more shops involved in the campaign that I couldn't mention here. Visit the Potts Point Partnership website for more details.

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Shop Local!

Appreciate The Point

August 26-28, 2011

www.kingscrossonline.com.au

www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au