If you are in Fed Square this week and want a bit more enlightenment than Carlton vs. Collingwood, stop by at Buddha’s Day and Multicultural Festival. I pose the question again to festival namers, why so long of a name? Was it necessary to put multicultural festival in there? I suppose they could have made it the Melbourne International Buddha’s Day and Multicultural Festival but I digress.

I accidentally attended this last year and it was quite a humbling festival.  I was given leaflets with information on the Buddha and the crisis with the Chinese earthquake as well as  a candle to participate in the light offering ceremony. According to their website:

“The offering of light extinguishes darkness, it symbolically represents the way in which wisdom dispels ignorance. “

But of course, what would a Melbourne festival be without it’s food.  Throughout the weekend, chefs will be preparing their best vegetarian dishes to demonstrate that vegetarian food can be tasty. Happy Birthday buddy!

Buddha’s Day and Multicultural Festival

May 16 & 17, Federation Square

link

Carlton's Brendan Fevola and Bryce Gibbs "hanging out" Picture: Rob Baird/Herald Sun

No fights, no urinating on cop shops, no claims of sexual misconduct…yet.  A mild mad Monday for footy players but what’s up with my team crossdressing? Not man enough to kick 100 goals perhaps? Still better than the wooden spoon.

Links:

Herald Sun: Fevola Frock Shock

Bicycle culture fans will enjoy this free exhibition being held this month…

From the Australian Danish Embassy website:

The Dreams on Wheels exhibition will in the Atrium at Federation Square in Melbourne from 12 to 19 August. The exhibition is a showcase of Danish culture of cycling and innovative Danish bicycle design. This exhibition has been brought to Australia as part of celebrations marking the re-opening of the Royal Danish Embassy in Canberra.

Dreams on Wheels is curated by Thomas Ermacora, founder of Etikstudio, and has previously been shown at the Danish House in Paris, Danish Design Center in Copenhagen and Harbourfront Centre of Toronto.

Motivated by how a ‘cyclocentric’ approach to urban development can stimulate sustainable civic behaviour, the exhibition promotes cycling in a broader cultural context, displaying Danish urban cityscapes alongside urban visions for Australia by Danish architect Jan Gehl.

Ranging from family friendly to high tech, the bicycles exhibited include the Christiania bike, the LeitraVelomobile, Biomega designer bikes, the unique Mountain Goat, and ultimate classics from Velorbis.

Also on display are Copenhagen City Bikes, bicycles that are identical to those used in the Danish free bicycle program currently being adopted in Paris and considered for introduction in Australia.

Filmmaker and photographer Mikael Colville-Andersen contributes to the exhibition with a number of photographs documenting Copenhagen’s bicycle culture from his ongoing series.

Exhibition opening hours:
12 to 19 August 2008
Open all hours
Admission is free

The Atrium, Federation Square
Melbourne

More on Danish cycle culture can be found at:

• Copenhagenize [the planet]
• Copenhagen Cycle Chic

Our men and women in blue doing jazz and swing.

The audience was spectacularly few, considering the band was actually pretty good. Either the cold weather, the plain fact that the performance was set in the peculiar-est hours of the late afternoon (I was there at 4.30pm), or the lack of promotion must explain for the twenty-odd present.

The first Wednesday and Thursday of each month is a good time to get yourself down to Fed Square for wine tasting.

A different Victorian region is featured each month for the rest of the year. It’s $18 (plus a $2) deposit, but – at least this month, – there’s a link to a voucher that gets you in for $13. Pretty good deal.

This month they’re featuring wines from the Yarra Valley, and it is going to be rainy and yucky both days. What better way to warm up?

April2-3 (Wenesday and Thursday) from 4:30-8:30.

Link:
Victorian Wine Regions Showcase Series

Starting today, the ACMI is running an exhibition called Game On. The exhibition highlights the history of video games from the first video game (Pong) to modern games (Wii Sports). It features…wait for it gamers..120 video consoles to play with. I can’t wait to get down there and relive my misspent youth playing some of the best games in history. Sure, the graphics on today’s games are amazing but they can’t beat the fun of Mario Bros., Super Mario Kart, Pac-Man, or Space Invaders.

Game On

ACMI, Federation Square

Until July 13, $15

link [via Zgeek]

Kotaku are giving away tickets, just write in 50 words or less, your most memorable retro video game experience.