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.

You don't really notice Brisbane's Italian community until you go to an event like this, then you…read morefeel like you've been transported to Italy! The Three Saints Festival happens around the first Sunday of every May at the Holy Cross Parish in Lutwyche. It begins with the traditional church service (all in Italian!) and is followed by a parade around the block and a fete, complete with delicious Italian food, a jumping castle and some greasy-haired Italian heartthrob singing all the classics. If you're not a genuine church-goer and just going for the spectacle and perhaps the food, I recommend arriving around 1.30 or 2pm in time for the start of the parade as it really is something to see. The men of the parish carry out a huge statue of the three saints and place it on a throne-like vehicle. Before commencing the short trip around the block, monetary donations are collected and placed in little velvet bags pinned to each corner of the throne, the congregation yelling "Viva Saint Alfio!" each time a donation is made. The procession has to go slowly to accommodate the pace of the little old Italian grandmas and grandpas--also because everyone is singing along to repetitive processional tunes being played by a brass band in tow. Sound bizarre? Definitely! Go along, experience the Italian community and eat your weight in arancini, gelati and other Italian delights. Entry is free, but take cash for food.

Soundwave is a good music festival for people who don't usually like music festivals. It's easy to…read morebe put off the whole festival concept if you have an aversion to fluorescent colours or if you've just watched too many hordes of drug-effected wankers bounce around the festival grounds like sweaty little pogo sticks. The difference is that with Soundwave, it's all about the music. Of course there are still wankers here and there, but the crowd is predominantly made up of loyal rock and metal fans who genuinely want to enjoy the shows and perhaps do a little headbanging. As somebody who isn't into metal music, I was a little nervous going to my first Soundwave a couple of years ago. I shouldn't have worried though; I found plenty of acts I enjoyed and had a really good time. I'm going again this year and looking forward to it. The festival is held at the RNA Showgrounds, so it's walking distance to the Valley for those who want to debrief over a cold beer. Food prices are still exorbitant and visiting the toilet at a festival is never a positive experience, but all in all Soundwave makes for a fun (if heatstroke filled) day.

Soundwave is an annual celebration of rock, pretty heavy metal and punk music. It originated in…read morePerth and started touring capital cities in 2007. It was first staged in Brisbane's Botanical Gardens but for the last three years has been at the 'Ekka' showgrounds in the Vally in February each year. If you're into some heart pumping screamo and hanging with a heap of hardcore music lovers, this festival is a must. I ran a stall at the last Soundwave and absolutely loved the vibe. There are lots of stages, spread across the huge showgrounds; necessary, because it's LOUD and there are more than 90 acts - yes 90! Expect circle pits, walls and surfing, but I think the crowd's generally really well behaved and mostly they're really there for the music, not the scene, which can be quite the exception to the rule at festivals these days. It's a long day and you need to move fast between the spread out stages to catch your favourite acts but it's a great buzz. The only downside is the mobile connectivity, which is notoriously bad at the Ekka grounds, so unless it's improved lately, try not to lose your friends.

Ekka is like a massive more awesome version of a state fair. The food expo building had lots of…read morefree samples. We ate so much for free! We did end up buying some goodies to take home too. They have a petting zoo area, rides, junk food vendors, multiple stages with live music, & booze for sale! Then they have Ekka nights at the main arena it starts off with a great fireworks show & follows with various entertainment. We had lots of fun. It cost $25US per person to get in.

The Ekka is Brisbane's annual agricultural show, formally known as the Royal Queensland Show. In…read morereality it's the biggest carnival in Queensland, lasting for ten days and giving us a public holiday on the seventh day, aka People's Day. And aka Plague Day. It's a tradition and widely-held belief in Brisbane that when one goes to the Ekka, one catches the 'flu. This is allegedly highly true of People's Day, traditionally the Ekka's busiest day as parents are dragged to the event by excited kiddies. It's always held in August and it seems like the rain waits all year for the Ekka to come around and dumps it all on you in one go. As much of the Ekka is outdoors (most people come for the carnival rides) you're probably going to get rained on, unless you want to trudge around in an umbrella or wear a raincoat (I love how the latter are now being called "emergency ponchos" in supermarkets). Though it's not all about the agricultural show as it was in the good old days, there is still a substantial portion devoted to such activities - dog shows, brightly coloured baby chicks and a room where you can roam freely amongst farm animals are memorable events. Unfortunately animals mean dirt ground and rain means mud. Don't wear your favourite sneakers here. The major indoors section includes the Ekka fashion show and the showbag pavilion. Even as an adult - recognizing what a rip-off these things are - I love getting a few showbags. Carrying home bags filled with treats just doesn't feel like a bad thing. There's also more "adult" stuff at the back, such as a lot of cleaning goods stands and demonstrations (yawn), a discount book store (not bad) and posters of obscure stuff you like, such as Doctor Who (awesome). I've thrown up at the Ekka from a violent ride (the Zipper - not ON the ride, fortunately, but this ride's cages have seen some serious stomach acid carnage in their time), I've been rained on, but I've never caught the infamous bug that is supposed to go around during Ekka time. In spite of knowing how overpriced the whole event is (entry is somewhere over $20 for an adult, and then you pay for each ride you go on*) I still like the Ekka. It's not only associated with happy childhood memories, I still enjoy it. Two years ago I spent a night on the dodgems, picking teen boys in showdowns. I was unstoppable. The guys didn't even charge me in the end, they just let me keep going as everyone else lined up. Best Ekka ever. Oh, and there's bars and pubs there for fathers who've had enough of walking around to look at everything. *Some rides are as cheap as $5 but they're usually more around the $10 mark. The bungee bullet ride is around $40, with ride prices generally increasing marginally each year.

Markets that aren't so full of people that your long dormant homicidal tendencies begin to rear…read moretheir ugly head? YES PLEASE! We don't go to Northey Street Markets all that often, but every single time we've been, it's been a delight. Though there are a couple of tight alleys, the markets are small enough that most walkways are at least 2m wide, so you rarely get shoved about (hurrah!). There are often a smaller number of people, probably because of the smaller number of stalls, so you can easily see what's there and get served pretty quickly. The obvious exception are all the grocery stalls, which are usually packed, though they get through everyone pretty quickly. Worth going to just for Raw & Peace; amazing raw burgers, pizza, cake... ah! It's all good. But there are also a number of other interesting stalls there, all of which are worth a look (there was even a Bahn Mi stall one time we went). And, of course, it's in the Northey Street park, so you're under a gorgeous canopy, surrounded by trees, and just a 30 second walk from the creek (and all manner of walking tracks!) Really worth a look, even if only so there's that ONE MARKET that you don't hate!

Northey St City Farm is one of those council initiatives that actually WORKS! In the 1974 Brisbane…read morefloods the Windsor area was severely flooded, leading to council requistioning the land next to the creek back from home owners. Instead of just keeping the land mowed, in 1994 Brisbane City Council opened the area as a community farm. It has now grown to become an outstanding resource for the local community, with lessons in permaculture, markets, a cafe and nursery and allotment gardening available. Lots of school groups visit and the kids get the opportunity to harvest produce and cook it on site, allowing city kids an opportunity to see how food production works first hand. You can rent an allotment for a nominal fee to grow your own produce, join a community group or just walk around the different gardens to learn new ideas about cultivation and gardening best practice. As you can imagine it is a wonderland for kids of all ages, and sitting down over a chai at the cafe feels like you've stepped back into a simpler, easier time where kids wore felt and played with pipe cleaners and were allowed to stay in the park with their friends until the street lights came on. Locals should also take advantage of the organic markets on Sunday from 6.30am - 10.30am.

I watched a documentary recently on the San Diego Comic Con and remember Joss Whedon describing the…read moreconvention as the place where nerdy/geeky people (those alienated by their strange pursuits) go and feel as if they have found their tribe. That is exactly how I felt when I first walked into Supanova Pop Culture Expo here in Brisbane. Supanova is essentially Brisbane's version of Comic Con. It is a pop culture convention which houses everything from panels and signings with super star guests from famous science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows to Cosplay competitions. At first I was stuck waiting in an extremely long line to get in to this crazily busy convention. But everyone is so nice and friendly and the volunteers helping out were happy to help. I was in awe looking at all the different people in Cosplay, costumed from head to two despite the November heat. Fortunately enough the exhibition hall was air-conditioned but by the end of the day still smelled a little like hairspray and BO. The exhibition hall was filled with stalls selling everything from comic books to LARPing (live action role playing) weapons stalls, science fiction and fantasy books, DVDs, computer gaming, table top gaming, clothing, toys, collectors items, and more. There was a separate hall for signings and photos with the Super Star Guests and the convention gets different ones in each year. I bought my 26 year old brother a photograph with Luna Loovegood from the Harry Potter films for his birthday. The dorky photo of them together is just too cute and well worth the $40. They get whole range of guests in and if you don't want to pay for a photo or signing you can still see them at their panels. I had a great listen to Val Kilmer talk about Batman and Willow and his next project as Mark Twain. From now on Supanova Brisbane will be held in the first week on November each year. There are day passes for around $20 or weekend passes available as well for three days entry. If you are at all inclined to geeky pursuits like comics, superheros, anime, manga, sci fi, fantasy and gaming, or you just want something different to do then I highly recommend you go to Supanova.

After only 5 years of touring, Stereosonic has become one of Australia's biggest dance music…read morefestivals and the Brisbane leg is no exception. Hitting the RNA Showgrounds for 11 hours of pumping basslines and shuffling feet in early December every year, Stereosonic caters a little more to mainline tastes than some of Brisbane's other music festivals, with last years line-up including gold speedo wearing LMFAO. It does also usually provide big name local and international DJ's and acts, some of them pretty unknown but fantastic all the same. Being at the showgrounds makes it easy to get to there and back but it does get pretty crowded in such a small space and waiting half an hour for a toilet is not cool. I still love it though, there's a genre for everyone and the drink queues are amazingly empty (though this doesn't help with the toilet problem). They could make better use of the space-the stages are so close together that the sounds kind of meld together if you're in between two. Nevertheless, Stereosonic is an amazing way to start the Summer if you're a lover of dance music, drinking, hot weather and port-a-loos.

Love this theatre! Super classy and is very similar to its sister theatre at The Barracks but…read moresmaller. I came here for the Great Gatsby Premiere and had a great experience. Everyone came dressed up and we were treated to a nice glass of prosecco as if we were back in the 1920s at a party hosted by Gatsby himself. They went all out for this premiere with a bess dressed contest, fashion show, Yelp photo booth, and rafffled away some great prizes. When it was time for the movie, we all shuffled into the theatre and were welcome to an intimate theatre with super comfy seats. We were greeted by the friendly staff who informed us of the next premiere. I liked how they informed us that there would only be one preview before the feature started. I felt so comfortable and enjoyed the screening very much. Most reviews note how uncrowded the theatre usually is. The premiere was sold out on this particular evening but I really enjoyed seeing all the enthusiasm for a Thursday evening premiere. You can order popcorn and soft drinks but they also have wine, choc tops, and cheese platters on the menu!! Can't wait to go back here again.

I'm a Palace Cinema fan girl from way back and will talk about them to anyone who'll listen. Their…read moremovie club is stellar value for a year. They're a cut above the rest with their comfy, high-back chairs and Centro in the trendy James Street precinct is no exception. Watch your favourite Hollywood blockbusters or take a dose of culture with an array of their film festivals including Italian, German and French festivals. As well as your standard popcorn fare you can indulge in decadent choc tops (I suggest the cafe grande), cheese platters, cakes and sweets. Wash it down with your favourite ale or wine.