1. OUTDOOR BALL
The good people of Wangaratta have been practising for months, rehearsing their salsas and polishing up their cha-chas for next weekend’s annual Outdoor Ball. This is a free community event held around sunset under the old magnolia trees in King George V Park. Melbourne-based Latin American outfit Vatos Locos will be performing and local wineries Silent Range Estate and Amulet Vineyard will be pouring wines, Yowie Lager pouring beer, while paella and Thai food is dished up. For some it’s a serious chance to strut their stuff and hit the dance floor in hard-heeled shoes. For others it’s enough to don thongs and a Mambo T-shirt and look on from the sidelines. This is a free, family-friendly event where all are welcome.
Outdoor Ball, Jan 31, 7pm-11pm, King George V Gardens, corner Ovens and Rowan streets, no BYO alcohol, wangaratta.vic.gov.au
2. NAMATJIRA
If you’re heading up the Hume or going anywhere near Wangaratta, drop by the city’s gallery to spend time with a wonderful exhibition of works by Albert Namatjira, his sons and other family members in central Australia. This is a rare chance to see original works that have been lent by private collectors, as well as large-scale responses in oil by contemporary Sydney artist Richard Dunn to some of Namatjira’s iconic works. Dunn is appearing at the Wangaratta Art Gallery on Friday, January 30, for an informal discussion about his life and work. Cheese and wine will be served.
Namatjira and Beyond, until February 2, Wangaratta Art Gallery, 56 Ovens Street, free entry, open daily, 5722 0865, wangaratta.vic.gov.au
3. NED KELLY SINGS
North-east Victoria is Ned Kelly country, where his legacy as freedom fighter or colonial terrorist is still a topic of heated debate. Folk musician and composer Felix Meagher has written a dramatic play with music, Barry Versus Kelly, that depicts the courtroom confrontation between Kelly and his nemesis, Judge Redmond Barry. There was bad blood between the two as Barry’s sentencing of Kelly’s mother to three years prison prompted Kelly’s violent outrage. The play explores Barry’s conflict with his own Irish upbringing and concerns that he will create a martyr out of Kelly. The show is produced by Meagher’s band Bushwahzee with Meagher playing Barry and Ballarat singer Anthony Penhall playing Kelly.
Barry Versus Kelly, Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, 33 Ford Street, February 8, 2pm call 5722 8105, wangarattapac.com.au
4. THE RIVER
In recent years this busy rural city has embraced its riverside district, building an esplanade along the banks of the Ovens River that is softly lit at night and lined with cafes and restaurants. Try Watermarc Restaurant (56 Faithfull Street, 5722 4000) for reasonably priced casual meals served al fresco on a covered deck looking out onto the old river red gums. Further downstream is Sydney Beach, a small strip of sandy gravel on a bend in the river where locals come to cool in the waterhole on hot days.
5. BLACK DOG BREWERY
Young winemaker James Booth grew up surrounded by fermenting barrels of wine but his thoughts turned to beer when he was 18. He trained as a winemaker at his family’s Taminick Cellars but continued his hobby in brewing until he turned pro, opening Black Dog Brewery onsite. Recently he invested in some beautiful Italian-made equipment and is creating some really interesting brews using hops from the Rostrevor Hop Gardens up the Ovens Valley at Eurobin. Try them at the cellar door or meet Booth at the upcoming High Country Hops Festival, at Bridge Road Brewers, Beechworth, on the weekend of March 28-29.
Black Dog Brewery, 339 Booth Road, Taminick, open noon-5pm Thursday-Monday, 5766 2282, blackdogbrewery.com.au
6. THE PLOUGH INN
A gas lamp sits outside this great old pub on the road between Wangaratta and Beechworth, a drinking hole that serviced the miners as they made their way back from the diggings in the hard granite hills. Today that country is producing some of the best wines in the country and not only is this pub serving great food, it is making a name for itself selling local wine at its Hidden Gem Cellar Door, offering wines from Giaconda, A. Rodda, Fighting Gully Road and Willem Kurt amongst others.
The Plough Inn, 2322 Wangaratta Beechworth Road, Tarrawingee, open six days (closed Tuesday), 5725 1609, theploughinn.com.au