Her Majesty's Theatre has a long history here in Adelaide. Built in 1913 (yes, I looked it up, I am…read morean architecture & history nerd) and has been a popular destination for performers for years in Adelaide. It's what you describe as a charming building. Beautiful big old chandeliers, red carpet and old bars. I prefer theatres to keep their charm. Although the Adelaide Festival Centre is great, there is an added dimension when you see a show in a older building. There is something comforting and exciting about it. The stalls and seating here are ok. Not the most comfortable seats, but I guess you don't want it so comfortable that you fall asleep. The eye line to the stage is great! No matter where you sit you will have an awesome view. My only problem with this venue is that the bigger acts tend to avoid it. I am not sure why? Maybe it has something to do with the capacity, which is limited to 970. But, I really do feel that all of my show experiences here have been special. My thoughts is that the building adds to that feeling.

When I think of Her Majesty's Theatre, I am reminded of all the great shows which I got to watch…read morehere. Being from overseas, I never really got into the theatre culture until I arrived in Adelaide, started working and could actually afford to buy tickets to shows! This was the place where I watched Russell Peter's, the famous Indian Canadian comedian for the first time and got to meet him and get his autograph. This is where I watched Avenue Q, an adults version of sesame street where they tackle issues such as being gay and "what is my purpose in life?". Alot of fond memories, and as far as theatres go, one advantage I feel this place has over the Adelaide Festival Theatre is that no matter where you sit, even if it's right at the back, you can get a pretty good view of the stage. Inside, it's everything you imagine a theatre to be and it really creates an atmosphere of old time luxury. Being on Grote Street, the best place to park if you don't want to travel far or worry about time is to park in the U-Park above central market. A beautiful building located down just opposite Chinatown, I look forward to more time spent there watching more great shows for many years to come.

Artroom 5 is an underrated little home-gallery out in Henley. Perhaps the location has a little to…read moredo with the lack of people talking about Artroom 5 - I admit there has been quite a few shows I've intended to go to but bailed on due to the 25 minute bike ride from my house. This gallery is a large room of curator Vivonne Thwaite's home near the beach. Once every two months the house hosts two to four artists, some of whom tailor their work to the specific nature of a domestic home. The artists are often paired in perceptive ways - making links between different artists who work in similar contexts. A few shows have used other rooms of the house - Romi Graham did one of her trademark Britney Spears re-enactments in the bathroom. The programming is quite consistent - featuring emerging to mid-career artists, most of whom reside in or have some relationship with Adelaide. Sales aren't really a focus - more creating an intimate setting in which to interact with the work.

Summer Friday's in the East End is a very cute experience. As well as Union Street being somewhat…read moreblocked off with street vendors, including the amazing Burger Theory crew, the Adelaide City Council has set up a free outdoor movie theatre. In front of the Everfresh artwork on Union Street there's both scaffolded spectator seating and AstroTurf for you to picnic upon. With so many great eateries in the area, many people had purchased something in Rundle Street and squirreled it on over to the AstroTurf. My friend and I had ourselves gone and got gelati from nearby Gelatissimo to look up at the projected mug of Tom Hanks in "Big" with. It wasn't a choc top but it was just as good. Across the road on the corner of Vaughan Place was a street performer on the piano, entertaining the outdoor patrons of The Exeter. Things seemed to wrap up just after Tom Hanks turned back into a 13 year old at about 10pm. I'll definitely head down to check out what the council has in store another Friday until this wraps up in February.

As of last Friday, the East End Coordination Group will be organising Summer Fridays In the East…read moreEnd. The title sounds like a statement of current fact - what do you mean? Friday is already happening in Summer on Rundle St. No wait. It isn't. We're all getting pissed at the Exeter, but no-one is hanging out in the street, playing table tennis and eating Burger Theory. That'd be nice on a Friday afternoon in the sun, right? So anyway, Summer Fridays in the East End is a weekly event during December and January, involving shutting down the street, watching outdoor cinema, picking between the best mobile food stalls, being entertained by buskers and indulging in a little woozy sun-stroke influenced table-tennis. I went along last Friday night to check out the action, but it was relatively quiet. I also arrived a little late - Burger Theory had already sold out and perhaps everyone was moving on. There was plenty of people at the Exeter though...Being allowed to drink on the street would be a real boon, but I imagine this would be pretty damn hard to wrangle. There was an outdoor cinema setup too, which was pretty cool, except that the volume was way too low, so no one was watching. These kind of things take a little while to gain momentum - and I hope Summer Fridays in the East End lives through it's pimply stage.

I first visited Tandanya when I was studying Indigenous art and design at uni. The reason I'm so…read moreinterested in art isn't all that pretentious really - I just think it's a fun way to learn about other people. For me, visiting Tandanya is a great example of that. As an outsider to Indigenous culture, I don't immediately understand a lot of art made by Indigenous people. And even after I've done my research, there will always be subtexts and underlying complexities that I won't understand. I'm ok with not always 'getting it' though. The exhibitions here are as wide and varied as Indigenous culture and experience - there is no one way to sum it all up. The programming is varied - featuring local artists, artists from urban areas and rural areas all around Australia, young artists and old artists, well-known artists and little-known artists, artists using traditional techniques and artists using more experimental approaches. The galleries themselves are large and well-resourced - big beautiful rooms with wooden floors. As well as the gallery spaces, Tandanya is a general place for meeting and learning. They offer educational tours, for adult groups and student groups, a retail store that sells artworks, a professional performance space and they host community events. If you want to keep up to date on the exhibition program here, subscribe to their mailing list on the right hand side of this page: http://www.tandanya.com.au/news-0/page-1/

If you're talking big SA art galleries that every local and tourist should visit at least once,…read moreTandanya is most definitely on the list. Set in a lovely leafy spot outside of the CBD (across from Rymill Park and on the corner of East Terrace/ Grenfell), it's a huge old building enclosing lovely spaces for exhibitions. Big and painted white with original fittings and wooden floors, the space itself is great for the varied exhibitions that come through its doors, all highlighting indigenous art and culture. Like Chloe said the shows are pretty varied - on my most recent visit I saw some exceptional photography by Ricky Maynard as well as cross stitched pieces on colonial Australia and some traditional paintings. Tandanya also runs programs and cross-cultural educational courses which I think most of growing up in SA have been a part of in high school. There's also a smallish gift shop up front (it's kind of easy to get lost and walk in there rather than the galleries first) which sells works of art and indigenous artifacts.

Thebarton Oval is the former home of the football team West Torrens Eagles. They merged with the…read moreWoodville team and now play at Woodville Oval. The ground is pretty rundown with two grandstands that have some historical value on the main wing and concrete terraces that are modern and quite ugly. There is a little activity these days by way of Saint John Ambulance car crash demonstrations on a regular basis, quite amusing to watch unless of course you are involved in the training then it is deadly serious. The oval facility is beside the Kings Reserve which has everything you would need for a game of soccer or cricket anyway. The City Council of West Torrens own the facility and seem to have let it go to waste on the whole, it is regularly watered and the grass is kept mowed, the SA Amateur Football League Inc are housed in the facility and tend to use the space for their own functions and activities. At least is is not going completely to waste.

i find that this bowling centre is really clean. The lightings are dim, but the overall ambience is…read morecool. I like it. The lanes are divided into two sections, where in between it is the restrooms. There are various arcade games available to keep you occupied if you are waiting for your games/lanes. There's also a pool table and an air hockey table around. I'm pretty sure the place will be packed during weekends. From the first few throws, it did felt like the lane isn't as oily anymore. However, since we went there in the evening, it's common for lanes to run dry. It makes no difference to me though. I'm no curler nor spinner. I'm just your average straight ball down the middle guy. So long as i hit the sweet spot, the pins will go down.;) I also find the staff in the Centre are all very polite and genuinely interested in providing you a service. A smile always make my day and they have more than provided that.

One of the fanciest tenpin bowling places I've been too. There's a lot to do at Kingpin, pool,…read morebowling, laser skirmish and arcade games. It's a great mixture of cool and sophisticated, whilst still being fun. One of my favourites, will definitely come again.

This is still one of Adelaide's wonders that I always take out of town/country visitors to. I think…read moreit's one of the most sublime things ever thought up and suddenly I'm even prouder to discover a friend helped the artist with installation. I think it's worthy of a restoration/maintenance. Pure love.

A quirky sight to be had down a Hindley side street: a butt-load (15,000 and dropping) toy cars…read moreglued to a brick wall. The story goes that the artist, Matej Andraz Vogrinic, was moved to create this piece after being overcome by Adelaide's superb selection of car parks in the CBD! Although from the title it sounds as if he's not a fan... Difficult to get pictures because they're up high and there's so many of them! Commissioned for the 2000 Adelaide Arts Festival.

This quaint local theatre was thankfully saved by Chelsea (its previous name) supporters and still…read morecontinues to engage the community by bringing in movies for all ages in blockbuster and quiet achiever genres. It still has a "crying" room for babies with carers, a gallery upstairs and a downstairs easily accessed for those who have trouble with stairs, or heights. The staff are friendly and there are the usual choc tops and lollies available, as well as brewed coffee. They also hire out the venue for fundraisers, and the Royal Flying Doctors et al fit beatifully into the atmosphere with their crusts-cut-off curried egg sandwiches and sparkling wine. The best place to sit? Front and centre upstairs. You get a little shelf to put your sustinance and no one to block your view. But don't take my seat!

I love this theatre. While the price for food can be a little steep, the tickets for films are…read morereasonably priced and the service is great. Always clean when I've been there (yay for not sitting down on melted ice cream and popcorn). The crowds are fairly small here, giving the viewings a cosy and homely feeling. Also bonus points for all the fundraising events they hold here for local groups!