Puffio

Everyone loves a good music and book sale, right? After all, one person's discards are another's treasures, possibly even when it comes to Val Doonican and Tony Orlando records. Or not. In any event, and with no promise that either of those fine and evergreen artists will be making an appearance, Radio Adelaide is proud to announce and host their Book and CD sale, in the Radio Adelaide offices at 228 North Terrace in the city. Featured items will include new and second hand CDs and books and collectable LPs and computer equipment. The sale is one day only, Fri 14 Dec from 10am to 4pm.

It has just been announced that Adelaide has won the rights to host The Australian International Documentary Conference from 2009 - 2012. Next year's event will be held in Fremantle, WA in February, and the full programme for that event is expected to be announced shortly.

One of the early shows coming up in 2008 at the Festival Centre is the political drama 'A Local Man'. Astute and interested readers may have heard something of this already - it being a one man show which looks at the life of Labor leader and Prime Minister Ben Chifley. At the moment, for some reason, theatre and cabaret shows on political, leaders seem very popular, will David Williamson come out of retirement anytime soon to pen an acerbic 'appreciation' of John Howard, Puffio wonders? Anyone? Anyway, Tony Barry stars in 'A Local Man', which runs as part of the Festival Centre's 'Australian Stories' from Wed 6 Feb. 'A Local Man' is co-penned by the shambling Labor Party icon (they have a few) Bob Ellis.

You can imagine what form this might take, what with television comedians dressing up as terrorists and trying to gain entry to important events such as governmental summits. Announcing 'The Chaser's Age Of Terror Variety Hour', which tours around Australia in the first half of 2008. Details are few, but tickets are expected on sale soon for Adelaide dates. As the initial press release says: "After heeding Today Tonight's complaints about the outrageous waste of taxpayers money on their show 'The War On Everything', the Chaser team has decided to take some time off from TV in the first half of 2008. The Chaser will adopt a purely user-pays approach next year, mounting a national tour of a new live production, 'The Chaser's Age Of Terror Variety Hour', from March to June 2008."

Jeanette Wormald is a songwriter, farmer, performer, and she lives in this state's Mallee Land region. Passionate about life, people and the world around her, Wormald works hard to tell her story in a way which is both relevant and at the same time, enticingly remote from the everyday lives of many of us. As her biographical information notes, she can reflect on what it's like to be Australian without having to draw upon tired stereotypes. Jeanette Wormald will perform in Adelaide on one night only, on Sun 23 Dec, when she plays in the Festival Centre's Artspace in support of the visual art exhibition 'Tjulpun Tjulpunpa Art'.

'The Frogs of North-East Arnhem Land' is an exhibition of more than forty stunning bark paintings and cultural artefacts featuring Garkman, the Frog of North-East Arnhem Land. This cultural icon of the Dhalwangu clan guides you through an exhibition that bridges the natural and social sciences. The exhibition can be found in the Art Gallery Of SA from Fri 14 Dec until Feb next year.

Uh-oh! The season of Moonlight Cinema is upon us once again, and that means summer, balmy nights in the Botanic Gardens watching a wonderful collection of the best movies to see with friends. It all kicks off this week with the famous Simpson family on Tues 18 Dec with 'The Simpson's Movie', where the loveable family find themselves fugitives after Homer pollutes the town's water supply. Who among us cannot visualise the problems that might occur in a small and isolated town situated near a mighty nuclear industry, and yet whose water supply is inadequate and is not backed up by a system of desalination plants? Only in America, huh?

Violet Cooper's 'Stuff 'N' That' runs until Sat 22 Dec in the cities Urban Cow Studio. Asked to fill a vacant spot in the Urban Cow gallery at the very last minute, Cooper had but two weeks to stage an entire solo exhibition from scratch, but using her special powers for good, she delved into her cherished collection of old wallpapers, embroidered fabrics & all sorts of bits and bobs, to create unique and fantastical collages.

First time film-maker Lara Damiani spoke to the Dalai Lama for almost an hour on what has been called the interview of a lifetime. Adelaide based Damiani was so inspired by the plight of Tibet and the Tibetans and had such a burning desire to spread the message of Tibet in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics that she decided to make a feature length documentary about the issues. Her documentary (her first feature length production) highlights the last remaining non-violent freedom struggle in the world today and has been self-funded to date. She's back in Adelaide and is currently seeking funds to help her complete the project, which she hopes will be screened sometime next year.

On Sat 15 Dec the Art Gallery's Radford Auditorium will resound with silent films in free screenings at 11.30am and 2pm. Can something that is silent be said to 'resound'. Perhaps they 'thud', or 'bounce'? In any case, 'Oakbank Races' was filmed by the energetic Harry Krischock in 1913, and is but one of the silent films to be screened. Thrill to this state's early history, laugh at the silly old fashions, mock your own ancestry and thrill to a time when life was so much simpler and Global Warming was something you could organise with a cuppa hot tea. See also the Centennial Floral Procession of 1936, a shipwreck at Tunkililla in 1939, and Royal Show 1949 by Edmee Campbell-Dobbie (this one with rousing commentary from then-5DN's Jack Hume). It's all to show the moving image side of 'A Century In Focus', the current AGSA exhibition of SA photography.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 State Theatre Company Assistant Director Scheme, who were announced recently. They are Kerri Foulstone ('The Female Of The Species'), Craig Behenna ('Blue/Orange'), Alison Howard ('Attempts On Her Life'), Naomi Steel ('Architektin'), Corey McMahon ('Ghosts') and Hannah McCarthy ('The Cripple Of Inishmaan'). So that's six fellowships in 2008 for State Theatre Company's partnership schemes. Onya, one and all.

The mission of 'Art West 07/08' is, curiously enough, to bring art to the West End of Adelaide, from Tues 11 Dec until Thurs 31 Jan 2008, in fact. The West End precinct of the city celebrates the artists emerging from its very own doorstep, with a range of innovative artwork, up and coming artists, architects and designers who will exhibit their original works as part of 'Art West 07/08'. An initiative of the Adelaide West End Association and curated by Karen Paris, the exhibition utilises shop windows, vacant spaces and businesses in the West End precinct to promote an artistic and creative community while building a network for artists and businesses of the West End precinct. Venues include: Tempo, Flightpath Architects, Phat Cafe, Mercury Cinema, Grand Chancellor Hotel, Bean Bar and the Dog & Duck.

A little something known as the 'Christmas Proms' is performing at the Festival Theatre in the evenings on Sat 15 and Sun 16 Dec, and the performance involves a lot of carols, the 34 piece Adelaide Art Orchestra, the Adelaide Vocal Project, and singers Andy Seymour and Rachael Beck, who might well lead the assembled throng in a rousing rendition of Hark The Herald Angels.

You may need to mosey on fairly swiftly in order to view the excellent 'From Time To Time One Talks To The Moon', and exhibition by Aldo Iacobelli, as it closes this Fri 15 Dec at the Experimental Art Foundation. Whilst you mosey on there (behind the Mercury Cinema) why not drop in to the Jam Factory and pick up several thousand dollars worth of art as presents for those you love? Just the ticket!