Puffio

'The Pirates Of Penzance', starring David Campbell as the Pirate King, opens in the Festival Theatre on Wed 10 Jan. Featuring a newly stylised pirate design, this should be a high energy and very appealing family show.

'Art West' is a series of two curated student exhibitions over a four-month period which utilises empty shopfront windows in the West End of Adelaide and fills them with new and innovative artwork. It's a good idea to show off the wares and keep some colour in what are otherwise dull and lifeless shop windows, and it's brought to the West End by the Adelaide West End Association (AWEA) in association with the South Australian School of Art, Uni SA and AIT Arts, funded by the Adelaide City Council and Helpmann Academy. Nice work. There are two such exhibitions, one currently on display up until Sun 28 Jan; and phase 2, which is launched on Thur 1 Feb and stays on display until Sun 18 March. Even better is the fact that 'Art West' also has artworks on display in thriving businesses, such as Worlds End Hotel, Phat Coffee, The Apothecary and Flightpath Architects.

Get down and get sad... if you have tickets to see Burt Bacharach perform with the ASO, hold onto them. The ASO are saying there'll be a rescheduled date for this performance, as Burt's tour has had to be postponed due to Mr B suffering an arm injury in New York last week. All parties are hopeful that new dates can be finalized in the forthcoming weeks. Burt's sold out show was to have been on Sun 4 Feb.

Something's going on down in Beachport, down in our fair and wondrous state's Southeast. Oh joy! Take your mind off the menace of bushfires and inappropriately applied water restrictions for just the one day and get a dose of culture at 'Soundwaves At Bompas'. 'Bompas', which is Argentinian for 'lumpy ground' or something, is also an all ages outdoor music and art festival which will be bringing a party atmosphere to the gorgeous seaside town. And it ain't just contemporary music for young people: artists performing include Leah Briggs, Casey & The Missives, The Midnight Parasites, Bliss & Ignorance and Silent Friction, all hailing from the Limestone Coast region. Local painter Hamish McDonald will be painting live throughout the day; there'll be limestone sculptures by Bruce Linnell and other intriguing works on display. There'll also be food stalls and other cool stuff - and it all happens on Sat 20 Jan from 1pm to midnight, at Railway Terrace, Beachport.

Should you feel the need for culture of a different kind... a press release arrived last week, which claimed "Professional Wrestling is the new black in Adelaide", which makes no sense whatsoever. Next, they'll be claiming it's not staged and all pratfalls are real!!! Anyway, the venue is cool - Riot City Wrestling will take place in the old Adelaide Gaol, the first time the gaol has been used for wrestling. The date is Sat 20 Jan from 7pm.

The 'Canadian Film Festival is currently on at the Mercury Cinema. It runs with Fri and Sat performances and concludes on Sat 20 Jan. In other news from the Mercury, the best new Asian cinema can be found in 'Cineasia' (on Wed evenings from 17 Jan), the 'Big Chill Summer Sessions' (Tues from 23 Jan) and 'Cyba-Cinema', which runs from Fri 26 Jan.

If you're keen on dressing up, making some noise and getting involved in the opening night of the 2007 Fringe Festival, you can! The Fringe office is calling for people to be part of the Fringe Opening Night party and to help them kick off the first-ever annual Adelaide Fringe. They're throwing a huge Opening Night Party - and want people to take over a house on Opening Night, dress it up, and strut their stuff during the street party! The Fringe folk are encouraging community groups to get involved via our street stalls called HOUSEevents@adelaidefringe.com.au and make sure you mail them on events@adelaidefringe.com.au You'll need to complete registration procedures and this closes on Fri 19 Jan, and you'll also need to understand exactly what it is they're wanting you to do.

Coming up soon in a little comedy jump-start before the Fringe is 'Show Us Your Roots', one of the names which does little but (perhaps) set the tone for the evening's performances. 'SUYR happens at the Playhouse in the Festival Centre from Tue 23 to Sat 27 Jan, and features performances from Tahir (Turkey), Bob Franklin (UK) and Dave Callan (Ireland), as they take aim on what it's like to live in Oz. The host for all of these evenings is The Sandman.

Duo Brenton and Jacqui Edgecombe present a unique, high energy, 'feel good' double act, in concert on Sun 21 Jan at the Royalty Theatre from 2pm, and sponsored by the Adelaide Harmony Choir.

They've been here before, they've thrilled the kiddies and dazzled the folk. They are the Shaolin Monks, and they'll be spinning like tops (in a metaphysical and quite deeply contemplative sense) at the Thebarton Theatre early in Feb. "Direct from China's legendary Shaolin Temple" screams the Press Release, holding nothing back about these highly trained human killing machines who are sworn to a life of spiritual contemplation. 'Legends Of Kung Fu' brings the remarkable skill, stunning movement, and spectacular imagery of kung fu to our quiet and sleepy town. Here, the monks demonstrate how to get out of the way when the floor needs a mopping.

Should you be in the Mannum area on Thur 18 Jan watch out for cyclists. Not just the Tour Downunder boys - for Mannum hosts a stage start for the great race, but immediately after the professionals take off for Hahndorf you'll be able to see a couple of MPs blowing off steam for a truly worthwhile purpose in the 'Celebrity Challenge', It's part of the Tour Down Under Two Day Festival in Mannum on Wed 17 and Thur 18 Jan. The 'Celebrity Challenge takes in an 800m street circuit and starts in the main Street of Mannum at Shearer Car Park; there'll be heats and a 'hot lap' competition, featuring Members of Parliament Adrian Pederick and Ivan Venning, Network Ten's Corey Wingard and local resident and footballing legend Dean Mobbs.