After being postponed due to severe weather events earlier in the year, the much-loved Paniyiri Greek Festival is finally happening, just in time for some serious spring-summer fun in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane!
And just like how it’s done every year, ‘Paniyiri,’ which means ‘coming together’ in Greek, will see friends and family taking over Musgrave Park for a weekend of music, dancing, and loads of food.
The Paniyiri Festival started in 1976 when a group of Greek-Australians decided to share their culture and cooking with the wider community.
Pretty soon, other Greek-Australian groups joined the annual celebrations, bringing not just food, but also a healthy dose of music, entertainment, and Greek culture into the mix.
Brisbane’s first Hellenic dance club was formed in 1978 and has participated at every Paniyiri Festival since. The dance club showcases traditional dance in costumes from the various regions of Greece.
Live performances
Photo credit: Paniyiri Greek Festival/Facebook
The main stage will be filled with live performances and competitions throughout the two-day party, courtesy of The Coffee Club, which is one of the sponsors of the festival.
Food and Cooking Demos
Photo credit: Paniyiri Greek Festival/Facebook
There will be multiple food stalls that will represent the different regions of Greece. One of the dishes you’re sure to find here is Souvlaki, which is grilled meat served on a skewer, best served with soft pita bread and zesty tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber dip).
A Greek foodie experience is not complete without seafood, so grab the chance to taste some grilled octopus! There’s also something to satisfy all dessert lovers, such as the festival’s iconic sweet and fluffy honey puffs.
Food lovers surely wouldn’t want to miss the cooking demonstrations, to be presented by The Greek Club.
Ticket-holders will also have a chance to win a private dining experience with up to nine of their friends at Greek restaurant Nostimo restaurant. Prizes includes food and drinks with a maximum spend of $1500.
Mark Your Calendars!
What
Paniyiri Festival 2022
Where
Musgrave Park, South Brisbane
When
Saturday, Oct 15 2022 (12pm – 10pm) – Sunday, Oct 16 (10:00 am – 7pm)
Stage 2 of the West End State School expansion is now complete. The $34-million expansion added more than 2,000 students to the school’s enrollment capacity and provided 95 jobs to the community during its construction.
The project was unveiled last 16 September at a ceremony attended by Education Minister Grace Grace who confirmed that the state government has invested $55 million between Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the redevelopment.
Ms Grace said that she was pleased that the project for West End State School delivered exactly what the department would like to ensure: Queensland students get a world-class education in state-of-the-art facilities.
Photo Credit: West End State School Photo Credit: West End State School
Stage 2 of the expansion delivered a new 18-classroom learning facility with an undercroft and a resource centre building with staff and administration rooms. Furthermore, the project included the construction of a Performing Arts Centre with two music rooms, a 500-seater auditorium, a car park and a commercial grade canteen for events and a tuckshop.
The project delivered a new 18-classroom learning facility with an undercroft | Photo Credit: Queensland Government / statements.qld.gov.au The project included the construction of a Performing Arts Centre with two music rooms and a 500-seater auditorium | Photo Credit: Queensland Government / statements.qld.gov.au
“I also thank the P&C for their efforts in contributing around $290,000 to upgrade the canteen to a commercial grade kitchen, and to create a P&C office and uniform shop,” Ms Grace added.
West End State School expansion | Photo Credit: Queensland Government / statements.qld.gov.au
“This expansion also includes new greenspace including a playground area with tiered seating and shady trees and a second grassed oval for the school on Vulture Street.
“The Palaszczuk Government is all about creating good jobs and providing better services to enhance our great Queensland lifestyle, and this project has ticked all three boxes.”
Cox Architecture and Hutchinson Builders were awarded the contracts to deliver the project.
“I’m really grateful to the architects and builders who were very responsive throughout the process to the needs of our school community, which highly values creativity, flexibility and maximising the use of space to keep children active,” West End State School Principal Kim McNamara said.
Every Friday, from 7 October 2022, visitors will receive a grand ‘EATS meets West’ spectacle where visitors can escape the city and enter ‘a peculiar place where everything and nothing makes sense.’
Photo supplied
Designed to be a world away from the usual Friday night, Westoria plans to deliver ‘bewildering moments and eccentric entertainers’ spread across two uniquely themed, immersive spaces.
Photo supplied
Tuck into tempting treats from aromatic street-food stalls, including Wagyu Blacks, Roll It Ice Cream Co, Cairo Eateryand more, while indulging in devilishly good beers, wines, and Westoria’s first mystical signature cocktail ‘Stardust’…if you dare.
Photo supplied
This new weekly night market promises to be a place where the ‘weird, wild, and whimsical’ comes to life.
There will be live music, enchanting fire dancers and stilt walkers, plus a bizarre, fun-filled performance from Rebel Lyons. Mae the Medium will also be on hand to help the curious see their future unfold before their very eyes!
Photo supplied
Westoria opens at 120 Jane St, West End, on Fridays, 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. beginning the 7th of October. You can find them right next to the home of the West End Markets.
Photo supplied
The market is organised by Goodwill Projects, the same folks who brought Brisbane some of the widely popular farmers ‘markets in Milton, The City, Redcliffe, and Carseldine, as well as the iconic Teneriffe Festival.
For more information, visit Westoria’s website or follow them on Facebook @Westoria.bne to stay updated about the opening.
Please note that due to the extremely limited street parking in the area, visitors are strongly advised to take advantage of public transport, ride-share, taxis, bike or scooter.
Henroth Investments Pty Ltd’s proposed development will sit on a block of land located at 281-297 Montague Road. The amended design will also connect Montague Road to the centre of Davies Park, Souths Leagues Club and beyond to the Brisbane River.
The new application refers to the revised design concept of a previously approved proposal for 434 apartments across five buildings of up to 12 storeys in height plus 88sqm of retail space and 602 car parking spaces in four basements.
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
According to the submitted document, the revised design incorporates a “rethink” of the originally proposed plans, particularly the open space and ground opportunities that the development could bring to the community.
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Under the revised plan, there will be two new 5-star Green Star-rated residential towers with the building height from 26 (northern towers) and 25 storeys (southern towers) to 18 (north tower) and 16 (south tower) residential levels above the activated ground plane. There will be basement parking, rooftop plant and recreation space to be situated above the towers.
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
The twin towers will contain a total of 349 apartment units or a reduction of 85 apartments whilst the number of car parking spaces will be reduced by 120 to 482 across two basements. Both towers will be provided with communal green space, edible landscape, beehives, swimming pools, BBQ, a gym, a dining area and a wine cellar.
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Moreover, the buildings’ facade will feature a unique curved landscaped exoskeletal sunshade around them whilst the orientation maximizes the park, river and city views.
Queensland Ballet has returned home to the heritage-listed Thomas Dixon Centre in West End. The building has just completed a multi-million-dollar renovation which commenced in August 2019.
Queensland Ballet returned to its home for the past three decades in July 2022, celebrating the opening of the brand-new Talbot Theatre with its season opener, “Bespoke.”
Talbot Theatre | Photo Credit: Thomas Dixon Centre / thomasdixoncentre.com.au
The new theatre is part of the $100-million redevelopment of the Thomas Dixon Centre.
Aside from the new, 350-seat Talbot Theatre, the 110-year-old building now boasts six dance studios, a costume workroom, a wellness centre, a gym, and stunning public art.
It also features Kite Terrace, a rooftop bar that offers amazing city views and a central promenade.
“The redevelopment of this historic building is a truly transformational moment for the arts in Brisbane. More than an incredible home for Queensland Ballet, the new Thomas Dixon Centre – as a centre for culture and community – will impact the Brisbane artistic landscape for years to come.” – Queensland Ballet’s fifth Artistic Director, Li Cunxin AO
About Thomas Dixon
Thomas Coar Dixon| Photo Credit: Thomas_Dixon_Centre / thomasdixoncentre.com.au
Thomas Coar Dixon was a leather tanner who arrived in Australia in 1866 from Yorkshire, England. He then moved to Queensland in 1869 from New South Wales and established a small tannery in Hill End (now known as West End) in 1873. He also went on to purchase the land on which his tannery sits.
Thomas Dixon Centre with plaque that reads “Established 1873” | Photo Credit: Thomas_Dixon_Centre / thomasdixoncentre.com.au
In 1906, Dixon purchased the land bounded by Montague Road, Raven Street and Drake Street to establish a new factory. He commissioned architect Richard Gailey to design the two-storey red brick building.
The factory is now known as the Thomas Dixon Centre. It opened on 11 April 1908. Dixon died a year later.
Upon Dixon’s death, his sons took over and continued the business which was later registered as Thomas C. Dixon & Sons Limited. In 1973, the business moved to Wacol where it faced tough competition from cheaper vinyl imports and then closed down after seven years.
The Queensland Government acquired the centre in 1975 and converted it into a storage facility. The building then underwent refurbishing in 1991 to serve as the home of Queensland Ballet, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Queensland Dance School of Excellence.
The Thomas Dixon Centre entered the Heritage Register in 1998.
Following a cold and wet QLD winter, Harris Farm Markets West End is celebrating the advent of spring with five of its best produce, highlighting locally grown products and helping to ease those winter lurgies.
Strawberries from Stothart Family Farm in Moreton Bay. Broccoli from Windolf Farms at Upper Tenthill in the Lockyer Valley. Carrots from Kalfresh in the Scenic Rim. Corn from Mulgowie in the Lockyer Valley. Avocados from Balmoral Orchards in Toowoomba.
These are the Top Guns of Spring 2022 – locally grown stars at Harris Farm Markets.
1. Stothart Family Farm in Moreton Bay: Strawberries
Bryan and Jane Stothart started growing strawberries five decades ago on the family’s 20-acre farmland in Bellmere. David Fairweather, a son-in-law, now runs the farm and has introduced new ideas to improve what his parents-in-law started. He developed The Hanging Gardens of Bellmere, an innovative system of growing strawberries without any soil. Instead, the plant is cultivated in a hydroponic system using coil, a coconut fibre mix.
Stothart Family Farm’s quality strawberries are tabletop grown, easily picked from the hydroponic system with its nutrients and deliciousness well-contained. The strawberries are protected from pests and diseases.
2. Windolf Farms at Upper Tenthill, Lockyer Valley: Broccoli
Henry Windolf founded Windolf Farms in the 1930s in Lockyer Valley and is now managed by third-generation family members Paul and his wife Sharron, alongside Paul’s cousins Jayson and Jillian. The farmland primarily produces broccoli, lettuce, parsnips, washed potatoes, watermelon and pumpkin.
Photo Credit: WindolfFarms.com.au
Photo Credit: WindolfFarms.com.au
Their broccoli production is for export quality. The family has been exporting to Singapore for more than a decade, aside from supplying local supermarkets.
3. Kalfresh in the Scenic Rim: Carrots
Kalfresh Vegetables, based in Kalbar in the Scenic Rim, has operated for three decades. The farm was established by father and son Barry and Robert Hinrichsen.
The company has built a solid reputation as one of the leading producers of juicy and nutritious carrots in Australia, picking, washing, packing and shipping the produce in minimal time so its quality is maintained. Kalfresh also provides premium prepared vegetables to the food service industry as well as ready-to-eat products for retail.
4. Mulgowie in the Lockyer Valley: Corn
The farming company developed by the husband and wife team of John and Dell Emerick started more than 70 years ago. Today, Mulgowie Farming Company spans five locations across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as it has become the largest sweet corn grower in the country.
Mulgowie started growing super sweet corn varieties in the 1980s and then launched baby corn varieties around 2004. The farming company has received awards for its streamlined operations, allowing the supply of sweet corn for 12 months a year.
5. Balmoral Orchards in Toowoomba: Avocado
Established in 1988, Balmoral Orchards in Toowoomba South grow avocado trees, with fruits that have a distinct buttery-nutty flavour, in free-draining, volcanic red soil so the environment remains disease-free. The harvest is done by hand with the help of a Nifty Lifty and the fruits are then decanted into bins and moved to cold storage before it’s carefully inspected, graded, and classified for distribution.
Photo Credit: Balmoral Orchards/Google Maps
Photo Credit: Balmoral Orchards/Google Maps
Balmoral avocados are packed with vitamins and minerals. Their products are highly sought after for their excellent value and supply.
In addition to the spectacular, Harris Farm Markets is shining the light on Imperfect Picks, Harris Farm Markets’ seasonal range of fruit and vegetables that might not look perfect from the outside but are as perfect and full of flavour as ever on the inside.
“Our Imperfect Picks program helps reduce the astonishing statistics that *25 per cent of Australian crops currently never leave the farm gate because they are a bit, well, unattractive, and do not meet the visual specifications of some supermarkets and consumers,” said co-CEO Tristan Harris.
“It means that every time you buy an Imperfect Pick, you are helping us take more from our farmers, you are helping reduce food wastage, and importantly, you are saving up to 50 per cent!”
So, if you see Pudgy Imperfect Pears, Lumpy Pink Lady Apples, Warped Eggplant, Twisted Sweet Potatoes, Unruly Imperfect Zucchini and Scruffy Mangoes in the aisles, remember they taste just as good as their “perfect” looking cousins!
Harris Farm Markets along Boundary St, West End is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The Indian restaurant was forced to close in February 2022 due to flood-and-rainwater damage to its electrical infrastructure, causing an outage, among other things.
“We understand that our restaurant was a hub for many wonderful family gatherings, events and just a place to escape to wonderful modern Indian cuisine. In this spirit we serve with love to you all, and we are extremely sorry for inconvenience caused by our outages,” Dalchini West End stated.
Photo credit: Dalchni West End/Facebook
Announcing their reopening on social media, the owners of Dalchini West End said they can’t wait to welcome customers once again and thanked everyone for their ongoing support, prayers, and understanding.
Dalchini first opened its doors to the public in early 2020, the same month when the first cases of Covid-19 were identified in Australia.
“It has been a trying time for us opening in January 2020, directly before Covid. Now the flood detestation to this beautiful city and our restaurant. However, we are committed to our love for fine food and amazing service. We are just about back on our feet,” they wrote on a Facebook post.
Located at Melbourne St, the restaurant calls themselves a ‘Progressive Indian’ restaurant, which means the distinctive taste of Indian cuisines are retained, but they use modernist or avant-garde cooking techniques to transform flavours and presentations.
Highlights on Dalchini’s menu include Paneer Tikka Masala (paneer tikka tossed with onion and capsicum in gravy), chicken curry, Cheese Chilli Garlic Naan (Indian bread baked in tandoor and glazed with butter and garlic) and Pani Puri Shots (crispy hollow balls filled with mint-water and potato masala).
Photo credit: Dalchini West End/Facebook
Aside from tap beer, the restaurant also stocked up on wines, with new offerings that include the Pinot Noir from Tasmania’s Dalrymple Vineyards.
Dalchini West End will operate from Wednesday to Monday, 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. For more information about their reopening, don’t forget to check out their Facebook page.
After nine years of serving locals with locally grown and healthy food, West End’s Plenty has closed for good as of the end of July 2022. The owner admits that the decision-making process “was tough.”
On 31 July 2022, Plenty served its final batch of meals. The business folded up after months of struggling with the impact of the pandemic coupled with staff shortage and the devastation of the recent severe weather event. Unable to bring the business back into the black, owner Karyn Hodges decided that it was time to close the cafe for good.
Photo Credit: Plenty / Facebook
“Running a small business takes courage,” her heartfelt farewell message on their social media read. She stated that “choosing to close took emotional fortitude.” She had to set aside sentimentality, acknowledge that an energy has run its course, and convince herself that “perseverance wasn’t the only honourable option.”
“We are not walking away from Plenty, so much as wrapping her in a loving embrace and telling her to rest in peace. We’re proud of what we achieved. We ran a gentle business. We nourished meaningful relationships with small scale farmers and producers.
“But most of all, we built a family of loyal hard working hospo workers who believed in our ethos and showed up for it every day. And we had fun doing it. So much fun.”
Plenty used to occupy a refurbished warehouse at 284 Montague Road in West End. The cafe’s kitchen served a small menu of brunch fare whilst its retail shelves were stacked with fresh produce, artisan bread, sauces, condiments, jams, marmalades, and organic pressed olive oil.
Plans to turn a glass manufacturing site on Montague Road in West End into “South Bank 2.0” have inched a step closer to fruition after the acquisition of the property for $165 million.
The precinct has been envisioned as an inner city multi-use parkland that will also house the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in time for the 2023 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the West End site “will be the global nerve centre of the 2032 Games.” The 9-hectare property will then be added as a permanent asset for Brisbane, thus creating the future for a world-class parkland similar to South Bank.
Initially, a temporary venue will be constructed for IBC. After the games, the building will then be removed and then converted into parklands. The state government will be closely working with Council in the site’s transformation.
Ms. Palaszczuk said South Bank 2.0 would be a mixed-use facility with heaps of green spaces and restaurants. The governments have more than a decade to develop the revitalisation and a masterplan is yet to be prepared.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
“The mayors of South East Queensland began the journey to pursue these Games because they realised the incredible legacy this would create for Brisbane and the rest of the region,” Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said.
“This new area on the banks of the Brisbane River is precisely the type of legacy they envisaged, great new assets that would benefit all residents and make our wonderful city even better.
“For a decade and more, people have talked about South Bank being extended along this part of our river and I am so pleased we’re now moving forward to make those dreams become a reality.”
Meanwhile, Visy, the current occupant, will move its operations to a new site in Stapylton. The company will also build its cardboard box factory in Hemmant. Both businesses will bring in 600 new jobs for Queenslanders.
Gold Coast’s beloved day spa Soak Bathhouse is all set to launch in West End in August 2022, making it the first-ever rooftop bathhouse to open in Brisbane.
The day spa will open at The Eaves in West Village, an event highly anticipated by eager spa enthusiasts.
Just like its location at the Mermaid Beach, Brisbane’s Soak Bathhouse will offer infrared saunas, relaxing spas, and indoor/outdoor warm mineral pools.
For a 90-minute session, guests can move between the lounge areas, the sundeck, and lush beautiful gardens, all whilst having a view of the city.
Photo credit: Soak Bathhouse/Facebook
What sets it apart from other day spas throughout the city is that it will focus on providing a social experience, allowing guests to hangout in a group whilst enjoying their wellness sessions.
This comes after the owners noticed that most day spas in Brisbane only cater to pairs through couple treatments and massages.
Owners Alexis Dyson and Niki Dean wanted the spa to become a venue where groups can connect whilst re-energising and zoning out.
Photo credit: Soak Bathhouse/Facebook
Whilst social connection and community is part of their ethos, they will also offer private experiences such as LED facials and massages, for those looking for extra special ‘me time.’
A month prior to the grand opening, Soak Bathhouse West End already celebrated the Winter Wellness Day at the West Village. In July 2022, customers got a chance to meet the team and join in a day of wellness activities.
Soak Bathhouse West Village will launch August 2022. You can follow their Facebook page to stay updated about the spa’s anticipated grand opening.
