culture vultures

Now that Melbourne has been made UNESCO’s second ‘City of Literature’, Melburnians can feel justified in their smugness over Sydney’s lack of culture (oh sorry, I wasn’t going to go there, was I??).

But we always knew we were a very cultured city – there’s always some new exhibition to go to, show to see or festival to attend.

One recent weekend pulled out all the stops. I attended the Taste of Melbourne festival on the Friday night and the Melbourne Writers Festival on Saturday to see my very talent friend, slam poet Maxine Clarke.

Taste of Melbourne totally exceeded my expectations. Rather than the chaotic free-for-all that the Good Food & Wine Show has become, Taste was an elegant representation of some of the fabulous fine-dining establishments and premium food producers located in Victoria. I was also honoured to be present at a small round table discussion with Andrew McConnell of Three, One, Two and Cumulus Inc. fame, which was an unexpected surprise.

The Crime & Justice Festival held at Abbotsford convent back in July was an absolute joy, especially as I got the chance to chat with one of my all-time favourite authors Kerry Greenwood (I’m coming back as Phryne Fisher in my next life). This event was a real treat for would-be crime writers and anyone who simply enjoys a good who-dunnit.

There’s really no excuse for being bored in Melbourne, you just need to know where to look.