Calendar of Special Events

Da Vinci Machines Exhibition
Date: 20 February - 28 March
Venue: Da Vinci Pavillion, Wheeler Place, Hunter Street, Newcastle

On loan from the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence - Italy, this amazing exhibition brings together creations and concepts devised more than 500 years ago by the brilliant scientist, inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci. With over 60 machines on display, many of which are interactive, the collection features replicas of the major and most striking inventions of the original Renaissance Man, including the 'Bicycle', 'Spring Powered Car', 'Hang Glider' and the 'Aerial Screw', a precursor to the helicopter.

Outdoors performance, installations, concerts, open air cinema and mass public dance classes - the programme is diverse and varies from month to month with events happening constantly all around the city -sometimes in several venues at once! Events are mostly free of charge and include a variety of cultural activities and entertainment to attract a broad range of people.

Newcastle L!vesites' vision is to enliven the city making it a vibrant, exciting and safe place in which to live, work and play.

The word MATTARA, meaning hand, was inspired by the language of the Awabakal Aboriginal Dialect used by former natives of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas. Mattara was selected as the title for the festival, denoting the hand of friendship that Newcastle extends to visitors as well as the Citys hand of industry.

Thousands of people attend the Festival annually, carrying the festive spirit through out the entire duration of Mattara. Key attractions include the inaugural Outdoor Art Exhibition and the Mattara Street Parade. Look out for these and other attractions:

• Face Painting
• Defence Force Display
• Pet Parade
• Carnival Rides
• Market Stalls
• Mattara Parade
• Live Ente
  
  

The event has become so popular that it is now conducted over two days - with the New South Wales Hillclimb Championship held on Sunday 4 October, whilst Monday 5 October features the Tri-Challenge series between Newcastle, Tamworth and Kempsey Sporting Car Clubs. The outstanding success of this event, held as part of the Mattara Festival, is achieved through the efforts of many dedicated people.

A feature of the weekend is the large historic car display in the adjacent parkland, usually attracting special interest classic and sports cars from other car and motorcycle clubs in the district.

Grab a bite from the many food vendors and catch the Quick and Dirty boat building teams.
Listen to the jazz by the Newcastle Conservatorium Orchestra and the RAN Brass.

Step aboard the mighty HMAS Parramatta, see the The Navy Divers or climb the gang plank onto the magnificent tall ship; ‘James Craig’; for that matter, join the crew for an experience of a lifetime and sail back to Sydney with them!
Be amazed by the stories of the journey of Pete and Andy Goss aboard the Cornish lugger “Spirit of Mystery”.

In 2010, the National Trust will bring together a unique program of over 300 events across NSW under the theme of 'The Making of Our Nation'. 2010 will mark the 200th anniversary of Governor Lachlan Macquarie?s 12 year tenure as the 5th Governor of the colony of New South Wales, who was sworn in on 1 January 1810. Governor Lachlan Macquarie made an outstanding and extensive contribution to the growth of the State of New South Wales and his many legacies endure. He is widely recognised as being responsible for transforming the new colony from a penal settlement to a flourishing society.

This year the Newcastle Jazz Festival is celebrating its 23rd anniversary and has continued to grow each year.

The Festival features some of Australia's best Jazz & Blues performers. This year performers will be heard in 5 different rooms within the City Hall at various times over the weekend. Highlights include a Jazz breakfast, and a Jazz Gospel on Sunday morning.

Full details including registration form, program and details of the artists appearing can be obtained from the Newcastle Jazz Club website, www.newcastlejazz.com.au.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the people of the Hunter, we have continued to evolve and change every year in order to keep pace with what the public want and yet still maintain the traditions that make the Show unique. We aim to showcase our region, its people and its products and give the public an experience they won’t forget with good value for their money.

Please check our website for the latest updates www.newcastleshow.com.au

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!

The Newcastle Regional Show is organised by the Newcastle Agricultural, Horticultural & Industrial Association Inc.

Darby Street Chocolate and Coffee Festival (May)
Sample a variety of local, organic and national coffees & styles. Taste morsels of chocolate decadence. Sip teas with a difference. Three stages full of entertainment, roving musicians, street performers, rides, face painting and market stalls showcasing local designers.
Contact: Stacey Anderso

• Models featured include:
• Battleship era 1900 to 1946- ships actually manouvre and attack each other with small CO2 powered cannons and the ships can sink if they take excessive damage
• Automobiles- everything from vintage cars and trucks to exotic, expensive European, racing and rally cars.
• Watercraft- including fishing vessels, war ships, ferries, paddle steamers, and the latest nuclear class submarine
• Railway towns and all types of trains- diesel, steam, electric and even light rail
• Demonstrations of model making techniques
• Realistic model towns, houses and shops
• Pitstop mini-cars- let the children test their drivi
  
  

The Festival aims to celebrate community diversity through activities that explore and express GLBTIQ cultural and social interests.

Events include a community dance party, a youth Chill Out evening, a Community Connections Dinner, the ever popular Short and Curlies film screening, and will conclude with the infamous Picnic in the Park at Gregson Park on the Sunday with heaps of entertainment and fun things to do!

Attracting a field of over 1000 participants each year, this event has a proud history of being one of the Hunter Region's largest and most successful health and fitness days. Whether you are a seasoned triathlete, an individual wanting to get fit or a business looking to make a fun day of it, this event has something for everyone.

The Sparke Helmore/NBN Television Triathlon is a unique distance triathlon which consists of three separate race starts catering for serious, novice and team participants.

WOMEN'S professional surfing in Australia will be taken to new heights following Midori's sponsorship of New South Wales' richest ever Association of Surfing Professionals' (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) women's surfing competition. The 5 Star Midori Pro will be held in Newcastle in March 2010 and is certain to attract the world's best women surfers.

Surfest is Australia's largest surfing festival and Newcastle's only annual international sporting event. When it burst onto the world stage in 1985, it was the world's richest surfing competition. It now attracts more than 200 surfers, with many coming from around the globe, including the United States, Hawaii, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand and France. The list of winners of the event, including

An adrenalin charged weekend of creativity without time for waiting, catering and unnecessary debating.

That's The Shoot Out challenge. A 24 hour race against time to make the best 7 minute, or less, film you can. The result is a weekend long festival that The Shoot Out filmmakers and audiences alike describe as simply the best.

Well folks, the best just got WILD!

The rules have changed; with new challenges, new opportunities and even greater rewards.

If you've done The Shoot Out before, then forget everything you think you know about making a Shoot Out film.

If you've never taken The Shoot Out challenge, then this is your chance to find out just how exciting and fun making short films can be.

By compressing the journey of making a film and screening it to a live audience into a single weekend The Shoot Out offers an experience that you just can't get from traditional festivals or on-line.

For five days Newcastle comes alive with panels, workshops, artists presentations, forums, exhibitions, performances and live gigs. With over 90% of our program being free, people from across Australia come together to get their hands dirty with arts and music craziness.

Bringing you treats and delights from across the globe This Is Not Art works in conjunction with Electrofringe, Sound Summit, Critical Animals, National Young Writers Festival, and the CTF Theatre Festival to ensure that our program is as varied and diverse as possible.

This year promises no exception to the grab bag of chaos that This Is Not Art is renown for, with treats to include: multi-media performances, comics, hip-hop, comedy, storytelling, spoken word, independent media making mayhem, skillsharing with independent music label provocateurs, debate, and research and new visions by post graduate critical writing students.