My 2011 review would have been four stars, because while I wasn't a skater, the winter festival…read moregave us something to get excited about and transformed the bleak expanse of King George Square into a wintry dreamland. I spent multiple evenings in the Alpine Ski Hut, sipping on (slightly chemical-tasting) gluhwein from my festival-branded take-home mug and watching the skaters, hoping and praying for a bit of schadenfreude. It wasn't exactly what I'd pictured of winterfest when I'd first read about it, but it was fun. 2012 Winter Festival is less welcoming. In essence, everything is the same (the humblebrag of "more food stalls!" definitely feels exaggerated) and yet the physical layout has been altered a little. In some ways, for the better - no longer do skaters have to do the walk of shame from one side of KGS (where they booted up) to the other (where the rink was), but as far as MY interests lie, for the worse - walking through, it feels like it's harder to view the skaters this year? The Alpine Ski Hut is tucked in behind everything, where last year it stretched out over some of the steps. It doesn't make me want to run inside, find a cosy chair and drink a gluhwein. I've been to the 2012 winterfest twice so far and both times I've not deigned to walk in to last year's stomping ground. The time's gonna have to come, though, and it's gonna have to come before July 1, when the festival packs up for another year. In any case, take advantage of the free Lipton chai during these chilly evenings.

During winter this year, there was a flurry of excitement around King George Square. Over a few…read moredays, there was a team putting together an ice rink and toboggan area on the square itself and everyone I knew who worked or passed through the city was eager to give it a try. Initially, I wasn't keen to go ice skating - it was over priced and the ice had melted partially, but soon enough I was getting into the winter festival spirit. On my way home, I'd stop by some of the stalls for some fresh orange juice, freshly fried cinnamon donuts, and mini pancakes. My friend was visiting from overseas and he joined us on a family expedition out on the ice. We picked up our skates and hobbled over to the rink, which was bustling with people. A few skaters stacked it trying to pull off tricky moves on the small rink, and beginners had plastic stabilisers they could grasp onto as they found their feet. It was a sunny, beautiful day out, and one of the best Sundays I had this year. It was more expensive than ice skating out in Acacia Ridge or Boondall, but the atmosphere - with the stalls from local businesses, the kids excited for their first skate, the couples on their first dates - was charming and I'll definitely be going back next year.

Great place in Brisbane to stay. A beach inside the city, having a great view on the city skyline…read morewhile swimming. which other city has a place like that? and a lot of restaurants and bars around, great parklands surrounding it.

The South Bank Regional Flavours Festival is an annual event that showcases gourmet regional…read moreproduce and supports and encourages sustainable practices. For a weekend in July, the South Bank Parklands transforms into the most mouth watering produce market I have ever been to. There was everything from fresh lime juice, to Haloumi Cheese and wines. With more than 100 market stalls, I really did not know what to look at and just let the aromas, tastes, and sights lead me through. I think my favourite was Jim's Jerky where I taste tested a few and ended up with the Peri Peri Jerky that was so addictive I polished off the whole packet before I even left the festival. You could taste test yourself through the entire festival and probably end up with a completely full belly but I do love buying a little bit of all the things that I enjoy. Whether you are a foodie or just want something different to do on a lazy weekend, I urge you to check out the South Bank Regional Flavours Festival. You will not regret it.

First time I have been to such a event, it rained early in the morning ,but once the rain cleared,…read moreeveryone came down . It was a great festival / experience . The food was absolutely excellent , it is also a very family friendly experience , with plenty of security and Police. So if you missed this year ,mark it down for next year. BTW the fireworks at the end where spectacular .

The most magical time of the year is not DECEMBER it is in…read morefact JANUARY (the month of glorious, smelly old books!) Lifeline book fest is akin to Christmas, Hanukkah and my Birthday, In fact every year I come in armed with a trolley bag and steely determination to nab every good book I find. But you ain't got to be no square to enjoy books, from Tolstoy, Dancing Cat's and Bird Watching almanacs to Snoop Doggy Doggs ABC, Bookfest has got you covered. I like to start off in the RARE EXPENSIVE section and gradually wheeze my way to the children's books. (Don't tell me you don't want Roald Dahls BFG on your bookcase.) Bookfest is likely to steal away your whole day so really do try and come prepared. It's best to come on the first couple of days before the best books are nabbed, also PLEASE do account for food stuffs otherwise you'll wind up shaking, confused and clutching the sport biography of Michael Clark (Asiya circa 2010)

It's the night before Lifeline Bookfest and I'm acting like a five year old does on Christmas Eve…read more I'm making wishlists, setting my alarm, and trying to drink as much warm milk as I can manage because I JUST CAN'T SLEEP. I'm too excited. Lifeline Bookfest is held at the Brisbane Convention Centre bi-annually. It's a Save The Date kind of affair. Basically, an entire libraries worth of books is dumped and strewn throughout an exhibition hall and put on sale for dirt cheap prices. There are literally MOUNTAINS of books to sift through. It's not all chaos though, the books are categorised by genre. You'll be able to navigate through the aisles easily enough if you can manage to move amid the crowd. Favourites among the crowd are the HQ (High Quality) section, and the games section. Looking for a backgammon board or a game of Cluedo? You'll find it here. Several of them. You'd do well to get in early. There are hoardes of people that travel all across Brisbane for this event. People use trollies instead of book bags. It is an all out frenzy. You'll only be able to move an inch at a time through the aisles because you'll be immersed in a thick soup of crazed book worms getting high on stale book smell. The best part is listening to the public announcements while you're browsing. There's always calls for missing people and lost children. The guy who does the call outs is sardonic and funny as hell. He alone is worth coming down for.

Dear Oktoberfest Brisbane…read more You do alright, hey? You've got the combination of festival, family and fun down pat. Free rides, good booze and wicked organization all in one. From all the beers to good wines, you're just killing it. And then you add in the food and the rides. You made a fun persons fancy dress dream!

Oktoberfest at the RNA show grounds could be really awesome, if only it didn't cost a mint to go…read morethere. The food is great, the huge beer hall is set up nicely and what a great idea, having a little slice of Germany in Brisbane for two weekends. Entry to the grounds will set you back $16 on Friday and Sunday, and $22 on Saturday. A beer will cost around $10 and once that's sloshing around in your tum, you'll be wanting a German sausage in bread to soak it up. Expect to pay another $7 or $8. Some maple-coated almonds might catch your eye ($4) or maybe a giant gingerbread love heart cookie ($6-10), which, by the way, look much better than they taste. You'll HAVE to try a freshly baked warm pretzel (around $6) (highly recommend) and by this point you should probably head to the dance floor and have a jig to some good old German tunes (yes, you can expect to hear the chicken dance) to work off some of that food. You'll be pretty tuckered out by this point (unless committed to a long night of drinking) and will probably want to collapse into a cab and head home to bed (insert cab fare here). This was pretty much my experience of Octoberfest. I went mostly for the food and to see what all the hype was about, but left feeling a little bit sorry for my finances. Once you've paid the entry fee, you feel you need to have the full experience, so expect to spend at least $50. If going to get drunk, obviously expect to spend more, but at least by staying longer you get more value out of your ticket. As with the Ekka and lots of other events, I wish they'd waive the entry fee or reduce it significantly, as it's expensive enough once you get in there. If happy to part with some cash, go with a big group of friends and occupy a table there for a decent stint of time, it's a pretty enjoyable evening and a festival worth checking out at least once.

The line up at Sunset Sounds is usually pretty impressive; the year I went, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs,…read moreMoby, and Grizzly Bear were headlining, while local acts like Little Red, Sarah Blasko and Bertie Blackman stole the show during their sets. Staged in the city botanical gardens, Sunset Sounds is a chilled out festival for those who are after a festival experience that is youth oriented without being obnoxious. The main demographic is probably 18-24 year olds who shop at General Pants and wear floppy hats. Most of the attendees are quite friendly and chilled out; no one pushes in an attempt to get to the front of the stage, and when a great song is playing people are generally content having a boogie on their own. What could have been better handled was the lack of good food stalls; besides the usual satay stands and pizza stalls, there wasn't much of a range when it came to dinner, and my festival companions and I were left chewing somberly on cobs of corn. I'd have to say the best thing about Sunset Sounds is the line up, while the worst is probably the amount of young girls wearing shorts so short and so tight they may as well be naked.

Gung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Year of the Dragon everyone…read more Chinatown in the Valley is the traditional venue for Chinese New Year celebrations organised by the Brisbane City Council. The festivities usually run over three days and will consist of lion dances (usually several times a day), dragon dances (rarer), fire crackers, market stalls selling Asian paraphernalia and performances from various cultural and musical groups. For a little bit of trivia, the most obvious difference between a lion and a dragon dance is the size of the animal. The lion is operated by two people while a dragon needs many people to form the body. I'm not expert but I'm sure there are other differences as well such as dance steps and probably costuming. The best part about seeing in Chinese New year in Chinatown is the choice of restaurants nearby. King of Kings, Golden Palace and China House are three of the bigger Chinese restaurants on the mall. If you're not fussy about eating Chinese food on the night, then try Singapore Lah or Green Tea for some delicious Vietnamese fare. Make sure you get in early and reserve a table to avoid disappointment. For those who missed out this year, don't worry. The lions will crash through the Chinese gates to welcome Year of the Snake around February 10th 2013.

Starlight, Star bright, let there be a bean bag free at Open Air tonight! Ready your picnic…read moreblanket, gather friends, pack a few treats and make use of the green grassy knoll or be one of the lucky few to nab a bean bag or deck chair for your Openair Cinema experience. The Sundae Session had the perfect vibe of a cruisy Sunday afternoon with live music (Note to self: check out Avalanche City) and enough Ben & Jerry's ice cream to keep you on a sugar high. Plus B&J's have a mad activity circuit - put put golf, turn over the giant cow patty and a sack race. Of course, when else can you get to watch a movie, under the stars, by the river?!? A great night out.

We dont Date Night very often but when we do its usually something special…read more The Openair Cinema was just the thing to make this a special night. We picked a movie we hadn't heard of, booked some chairs (Mr J cant sit on the ground ) and ordered our selves some pizza drinks and of course some Ben and Jerry's. The awesome thing is that you can order and pay for everything online making the only decision you need to make on the night what flavour ice cream to get. Although it is slightly more expensive than your averge movie trip (expext to spend easily $100 on everything) the quality and experience is awesome and we would easily spend similar money on dinner and drinks on a date night with no movie! Looking forward to them coming back to brisbane!

If your into over cooked Greek food over priced drinks ($13 for 100ml of wine ) this is the…read morefestival for you. What a wast of time and money.

Annual festival to celebrate greek culture, but let's face it, everyone goes for the food…read more $10 entry isn't too steep, and seeing the vast number of stalls makes me wonder where all these greek folk are hiding in Brisbane! There's a stage and dance area where you'll get your entertainment. Behind that is the food. Row are row of food. Each place sells mostly the same thing. Souvlakis, yiros, honey puffs and the like. It's all mostly the same price too, so go wherever tickles your fancy or the queue is shortest. Is that all there is to greek food? Heavens no. But they know what's popular and easy to cook/serve on the day. There's also a fun park area with rides and such. I must admit I don't bother with these, and up the back on the road behind the stage is an area of stalls, many of which don't really fit the greek theme, but you can still find some interesting things up there. We ended up sitting under a tree back behind all the action, and walking past dozens of rotisseries cooking fragrant smelling lamb... well that's where we went. Lamb yiros, one of my favourites and rather than the honey puffs, I went the galaktaboureko (spelling is rather fluid stall to stall), which I think is the BEST greek dessert, just under appreciated because it's hard to say. They'll probably settle for 'custard pie'. Look. Have I had a better yiros? More times in my life than I can count, including some pretty good ones in Brisbane. Have I had better galaktaboureko? Well, mine is better, if I do say so myself. But on a sunny autumn day it's a great excuse to get out of the house, eat some nice food and just have a bit of fun.