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I'd never heard of SummerSalt Festival or Exxopolis until a friend suggested we go. I'm a sucker for anything to do with light and colour, so of course I said yes. Turns out SummerSalt is an outdoor arts festival, held between 23 January and 21 February this year, comprising music, art, theatre, dance and art events, in and around the Arts Precinct . It is a collaboration between a number of arts bodies, including the ABC , Arts Centre , ACCA , Chunky Move , Malthouse Theatre , Recital Centre , MSO , MTC , NGV , Australian Ballet and Victorian College of the Arts . (Phew!) Exxopolis is a luminarium (another thing I'd never heard of, but I sure as hell am going to research more on these things now) created by Architects of Air in Nottingham, UK. AoA is headed up by Alan Parkinson , who has been experimenting with ' luminaria ' since the 1980s. Essentially, they are carefully designed, inflatable, tent-like structures, creating internal burro...

I realise it's a little generic to title this post so vaguely, but my visit to Ballarat a few weekends ago has been my only experience of the place. It's just a 1.5 hour drive from Melbourne and it had been a toss-up whether to go there, or to Bendigo. (They're very near each other and both start with 'B'... it seemed like much of a muchness to the uninitiated.) It was a good decision. I was surprised at how genteel - and hilly - Ballarat is. There is some gorgeous historic architecture, which makes sense, when you consider the town's role in Australia's Gold Rush, and, with its wide streets and the central Lake Wendouree, it's quite pretty. Here are a few snaps from the weekend. I loved how some buildings were clearly built in the Art Deco period. There were several rotundas down the main street. There were also lots of statues... of whom, I couldn't necessarily say. But this dude is pretty self-explanatory: Gorgeous old ...