Monthly Archive for January, 2008

Another summer treat in Hobart, the performance of Pinocchio in the Royal Botanical Gardens. The audience moves among three stages around the Gardens, each suited to part of the Pinocchio story, such as rescuing dad from the whale.

This production was organized by Big Monkey, the same talented crew that performed the wonderful 2006 and 2007 Shakespeare in the Gardens. And Pinocchio was definitely some of the most fun theater we have enjoyed!

PS: Wikipedia has a bit of Pinocchio background, including this great illustration showing the cat & fox, whale, and the blue fairy:

On Friday we picked up a rental car and drove to Bonnet Hill to look at our little piece of land at the top of the Alum Cliffs. A few years ago, we bought one of five blocks of land, 15 minutes drive south of Hobart, with water views of the river. We have the most northerly block, which is bordered on three sides by parkland. It was quite windy from the west, and we were happy to see that our property is sheltered from the westerly winds.A young family has built a house next door. We met Craig and his two young daughters last year. This year we met his father-in-law, Bob, who lives in Brisbane. Bob is thinking of buying one of the two nearby blocks of land that are now back on the market. It was interesting to see that next to Craig’s house was a 5000 gallon water tank and rain water collection capability from his roof. The property is on town water, but in the case of a bush fire, each house should have an independent water supply to protect the house. This time of year Tasmania becomes very dry and strong, hot winds whip up bush fires to dangerous sizes. There are black burn marks on many of the trees in our neighborhood, and the government is asking residents to clear understory plants from their properties. The developer bulldozed all of the soil from the areas from which he removed the trees from our property, so there is little chance of even any weeds growing on the dry, hard rock which was left. Several days this weekend, smoke from several fires filled the skies around and south of Hobart. The newspaper reported 14 fires being battled in the state by fire fighters.

On Saturday morning, we drove to the Cygnet Folk (music) Festival. Cygnet is a small historic town on a bay near the confluence of the Huon River with Storm Bay, south of Hobart. The Huon River is adorned on both shores with miles of fruit orchards. Bright red apples decorate thousands of trees near the road, fruit stands sell apricots, raspberries and most importantly — cherries. We had been enjoying cherries that we bought from farmers at the Saturday Salamanca Market in Hobart, and wanted to see how fresh we could buy them, direct from the orchard. For $20.00 we bought a 2 kilogram box of Grade A cherries. What a delight. Each cherry perfect, large and sweet. We wish we could send you some.

We used our “Seniors” cards to buy tickets to the festival at a cut rate. We usually don’t admit to being seniors, but when we can save $30, we’re not shy. The program contained descriptions of the performers. There were simultaneous performances at eight different locations in town, preventing us from seeing every single event, so we found a coffee shop where we could study the program and quickly tried to prioritize the entertainers we wanted to see.

Similar to last’s year’s experience, we seemed to enjoy the fiddlers and the Eastern European performers the most. But, also, there was The Spooky Men’s Chorale. An a cappella group, they sing with “pointless grandeur, buffoonery and a preoccupation for power tools.” The New Zealand born poet and singer Kath Tait was another of our favorites. A fun comedian and fine singer, her clever observations of human nature kept us in stitches.

Babaganoush was our favorite gypsy music group. Four professional musicians: a lovely, dark haired violinist , a tall, smiling clarinetist, a sensational accordionist and an energetic double bass player. They knocked our socks off, and even brought a smoothly moving belly dancer.

Other favorite performers were groups dominated by outstanding fiddle players. The sidewalks and parks were dotted with small groups of musicians surrounded by happy audiences. The cafes and pubs showcased some of the music groups, too. The outdoor performances were good for families who could spread out on the lawn and let the kids have some freedom.

I, unfortunately, let our little digital camera slip from my wrist while we were walking from one performance location to another — from a church hall, down a grassy hill, through the open air craft market, and across the street to the Town Hall. I retraced my steps several times, inquiring at the craft stalls if anyone had turned in a camera. I registered my loss at the ticket office, and never expected to see the camera again. Steve remarked that some happy person had found a gem.

The next morning, as I walked down the hill in Hobart to join Steve at Cafe Zum, I noticed that I was sighing, sadly grieving, and kicking myself. To help myself get over the sadness, and get on with the day, I made myself sigh over and over again. It was very much like the Yoga mantra “Ham-sa”, with the accent on the exhaled “sa”. My fairy god person must have once again intervened, because as I was sighing in Hobart, someone was returning my camera to the ticket office in Cygnet. As Steve and I were eating breakfast at the internet cafe, a man from the Folk Festival ticket office phoned me to say that my camera had been turned in. A miracle. How ecstatic I was. I cannot offer a reward because the person who turned in the camera did not leave a name. I will write a letter to the Hobart newspaper, thanking the kind person, and brightening other people’s days with a story of kindness and honesty.

Scattered showers rained out some of the outdoor performances on Sunday, but also helped lessen the fire danger, and helped the fire fighters who continued to battle bush fires all over the state.

Hobart’s al fresco concerts are a treat — like Saturday night’s three jazz songbirds, singing in St. David’s Park a couple of blocks from #10 Kelly Street. Jazz in the Park is a favorite at every Hobart Summer Festival.Our favorite vocalist of this event was Julie O’Hara who combined a fine voice, great presence and her own vocals composed to fit some of the great jazz instrumentals, such as horn player Canonball Adderly. O’Hara appreciated the challenge a young performer faces when attempting to compose completely new music. If it isn’t musical, who cares how well it is sung? Basing her work on out of copyright super-music is a winner.We’ll also look for the local warm-up band calling themselves “Lounge”. Yuck name, but fine musicians and male vocals swinging some of the bosa nova and samba classics. Hobart is full of fine musicians, in part due to the Conservatorium of Music.

Technorati Tags: Hobart Summer Festival

Technorati Tags: Hobart Summer Festival