Oh, Adelaide, Adelaide, I want you tonight
The first we heard of The Adelaide when it popped up on Adelaide Rd in 2006 was when Tom gave it the Mystery Bar treatment on WellUrban.
This week’s mystery bar used to be notorious for many reasons, and there would have been times when only the staunchest and/or dodgiest punters would have ventured inside. These days it seems a bit tamer, though it’s still not the sort of place that you’d take someone you were trying to impress. Unless they really, really liked cheap beer. Having said that, it was comfortable enough on a quiet Saturday afternoon, and there were no scary patrons in sight. Actually, there were almost no patrons at all, though the general is that it would get very busy at times, and I imagine it gets hard to move when there’s a rugby match on or a band playing.
… and he couldn’t have been more right! Many a wasted night has been spent in its confines, and the subsequent wasted day was always well worth it.
Unfortunately The Adelaide shuts it’s doors this Saturday after more than three years of gigs and good times. So you’ve got one last week to come down and enjoy a band, bingo and beer. We’ll be capping it all off with a massive day of music for Halloween
Weds – The Final Spin for the original BINGO event in town
Thurs – Bad Statistics, Detrytus & guests
Fri – Sniper Alley ACDC tribute
Sat – Matinee show; Streetlight Requiem, The Proxies
Sat Evening; Fosset & Badger, Cougar Cougar Cougar, The Cold Shivers
Apparently there is nothing planned for the site at this stage, but apparently alsa "the vultures are circling" and we’re sure it won’t take long for someone to move in.
What’s the story, old sport?
While buzzing around Courtenay Place recently, I noticed that the Sports Café was closed for renovations. A sign said something like "Don’t worry" (and I didn’t) "we’ll be back with a new bar soon". My antennae perked up at that: could this prominent corner soon be home to something new, something shiny, something (not to put too fine a point on it) that’s not the Sports Café?
Then I spotted an email address on the sign, one that ended in "saints.co.nz". That’s the website for the local Saints basketball team, so some sort of sports-related bar seemed likely. What’s more, the Saints are officially "The Century City Saints", since they are sponsored by Century City Developments. That company is owned by a certain Mr Serepisos, who also happens to have owned the first bar on this site: and what a many-splendoured thing Ecstasy Plus was, back when I was just a larva.
So, gentle readers, what do you know about this place? Will it be a basketball-themed bar? A return to the glitzarama of the early 90s? Or some unholy combination of the two?
Climate of Fair
I know, I know, super-bad pun but the folks here at Wellingtonista seem to have really really high pun thresholds….
Anyway, this Saturday being part of a long weekend there are a lot of events competing for your attention out there in Wellington. We have Craft 2.0 Fair at the Dowse as Sue has already posted, I will be working the kids table and it would definitely be my pick for tomorrow. However maybe some of you can’t make it to the Hutt or want a few more options in central Welly.
A reminder about Beans
A quick reminder about Beans, appearing on Sunday night at SFBH in Cuba St. (previous post here.) Support is from fmr-Trinity Roots-man Riki Gooch’s Eru Dangerspiel outfit, and DJ Alphabethead!
Tickets are $25 and available from Slow Boat Records or Under The Radar… updates and more info from Galesburg.
Maranui meeting report from Eye of the Fish
Over at Eye of the Fish, Maximus has a good report of last night’s public meeting about what should be done about the Maranui surf club.
Money quote:
… all 4 scenarios went down like a cup of cold sick in a burnt out shed on a cold wind-swept beachfront. A member of the crowd put the feeling into words and started the ball that we should vote for a Fifth Scenario. An immediate show of hands confirmed overwhelming support for this proposal, which was, as another crowd member succinctly put it into words: “The 5th Scenario is that we just want Maranui rebuilt, so why are we debating all this other shit?”
The Smartest Snapper
Voted by you the public as winner in the Smarten Your Snapper competition is Wave by Yana from Chromatophobic.
Yana wins a Snapper loaded with $100 and a free table at Craft2.0 this Saturday.
One of the great things about this cover is its see-through nature, especially useful with both red and green Snapper cards out in the wild.
Yana designed the cover and then using the Laser cutter at ponoko she whipped this nifty cover up using 0.3mm polypropylene – and you thought polypropylene was just for warm clothes!
Voting was extremly close so we awarded a prize to the runner-up Amy from Bad Animals and her Pirate Patch. Amy will receive a free table at Craft2.0 this saturday.
Cinephilia: Opening This Week
It’s Labour Weekend and, as such, you can pretty much guarantee that the weather will be filthy and the movies will be the place to be. So, what is there to choose from?
Nora Ephron made Sleepless in Seattle back in the day (and wrote When Harry Met Sally) and now she has cunningly merged two best-selling books into one film – Julie & Julia. On one hand Julie Powell (Amy Adams) attempts to cook every recipe in Julia Childs’ famous cookbook for a blog project and on the other hand Meryl Streep portrays the real Julia Childs and her transformation from American intelligence agent to one of the great cooks of Europe. Readings, Empire, Penthouse, Embassy (sharing with the Italian Film Festival), Lighthouse, Sky City Queensgate.
1 sleep till Craft2.0
Think shopping, handmade, free treats, free making and outdoor knitting, plus cupcakes and craft – loads and loads and loads of craft – and you have Craft2.0.
It’s being held at theNewDowse this Saturday October 24th from 11am till 3pm.
It costs nothing to turn up and if you are one of the first 100 people through the door at 11am you score a FREE goodie bag from Craftrunner chock full of treats, including goodies from felt.co.nz, Cafe Reka, Teza iced tea, Supervery, Emma Makes and more. Plus there is tons of to-die-for swag from the Craft2.0 raffle and so much more.
Typically over 60 booths are present selling everything from glittering unicorn pins to hand printed t-shirts. If you are a fan of indie fashion, then you’ve found your DIY paradise. The best part is meeting the crafters behind the styles and seeing how some of their creations came to life.
What kinds of crafts will you find? Well, you won’t find any of that mass produced or imported stuff here, no siree! There’ll be surprises galore including reconstructed clothing, punk rock baby clothes for that little Sid or Nancy, handcrafted jewellery, whimsical and demented plush toys, hand-spun yarn, screen-printing, avant-garde art and much more.
Best of all, Craft2.0 is more than just shopping. Kids of all ages can design and create their own magical masks. Whether you’re a bird lover or are just looking for something exotic, feather masks are a great craft project. These beautiful creations work well as costume pieces or decorations. and it’s free.
Reminder: get your suggestions in for 4TAWA
You have one more week in which to make suggestions about who should be nominated in the TAWAs this year, so hop to it!
Bring your speedos
Tomorrow night at the St Catherine’s College Hall in Kilbirnie, the WCC is holding a public meeting to gauge community opinion on the fate of the Maranui Surf Lifesaving Club and the adjacent three waterfront buildings, and to discuss the options.
The Maranui club house is a listed heritage building, damaged by fire on 1 August.
A call has been put out (see today’s Capital Times article) for Wellington’s creative types to come and show their support and with people being encouraged to come along in their speedos it’s going to be an entertaining night!
Who says public meetings can’t be fun!?
If you’re out of town, you can sign the online petition here to restore the building to its former glory.