The end of July marks the end of another month of winter, and for much of the NSW coastline it also signals the beginning of ‘Art Month’.
During the next four weeks, there’ll be a cornucopia of exhibitions, sales and displays dedicated to the imagination and talent present in the towns of the NSW Sapphire Coast.
Further inland, the Travelling Film Festival calls in at Young. There’ll be an elderly widower spying on residents in a nursing home, a group of friends who try out the theory that being drunk improves workday productivity, and seven other films from producers across Australia and the world.
The Young and Region Farmers’ Market will also be back on Saturday morning.
And if you missed out on the Christmas in July dinner at Murrumbateman Winery, don’t despair – there’s another one this Saturday night.
Or for something a little stronger, try whiskey tasting in Yass.
And due to the ever-changing COVID situation, make sure you check with organisers for updates to avoid disappointment in the event of last-minute changes.
All week
Art Month Sapphire Coast
When: Friday, 30 July, to Tuesday, 31 August – various times
Where: Bermagui, Eden, Cobargo, Candelo and Wyndham
Cost: Varies – more information on individual events is available here.
Make a trip down the spectacular NSW coastline exploring extraordinary creative culture as local artists, creatives, performers and musicians tempt you to events and happenings that will have your spirit dancing as they spread winter sunshine for all of August.
Enjoy the rich creativity of Bega Valley as the region showcases its talents, from the sea to the hills, the bush to the beach.
Strange Weather: Spiral Gallery
When: Friday, 23 July, to Wednesday, 11 August, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: Spiral Gallery, 47 Church Street, Bega
Cost: Free – no registration required
Spiral Gallery in Bega presents an exhibition of recent paintings, drawings and ceramics by Anneke Paijmans and Bill Insch. Both artists feel strongly about the human response to our native environment, the changes that are wreaked upon it by our actions, and our sensitivities and insensitivities to our great, beautiful natural resources.
All weekend
Travelling Film Festival
When: Friday, 30 July, to Sunday, 1 August – various times
Where: Southern Cross Cinema, 96 Main Street, Young
Cost: $14.50 adults, $12.50 for concession, and $10 for students and children (ticket price per film) – browse the program and book tickets here.
The Travelling Film Festival’s program stop in at Young this weekend. Headlining it is heartfelt Australian comedy June Again, which follows family matriarch – Aussie icon Noni Hazlehurst – who after having spent the past five years in an aged care home on account of her dementia, suddenly starts to remember her life again.
Other stories from around the globe include Chile’s The Mole Agent, hailed as one of the most heartwarming spy movies of all time; Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, Another Round, featuring festival favourite Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt, Hannibal) in a tragicomedy that combines science, alcohol and midlife defiance; Waru, by filmmakers Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace Smith; and Cousins, a beautiful story set in New Zealand across six decades.
Friday
Motel Art Fair
When: Saturday, 31 July, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: Norfolk Pine Motel, 58 Merimbula Drive, Merimbula
Cost: Free – register here.
Motel Art Fair kicks off Art Month Sapphire Coast, an initiative of Bega Valley Regional Gallery. Motel Art Fair will be held at Norfolk Pine Motel, where participants take over a motel room to display their art. The Pambula Collective has a room where their art and wares will be on display and also offered for sale.
Whiskey tasting
When: Friday, 30 July, from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Where: Yazzbar, 81 Comur Street, Yass
Cost: $80.00 – call Deb on 0434 105 119 to book your spot, or for more information click here.
The next whiskey tasting at Yazzbar has been prepared by Dennis Hart, who says: “It is commonly assumed that older is better when it comes to whiskey, but does that mean one should prefer a whiskey with an age specified on it to one that does not? This tasting explores that proposition by presenting four pairs of similarly priced whiskies, each pair from a different distiller, with one member having an age specification on it and the other not.”
Explore this proposition with Dennis and you will get an evening of whiskey education, drinking and matching canapes.
Saturday
Young and Region Farmers’ Markets
When: Saturday, 31 July, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Anderson Park, Lovell Street, Young
Cost: Free – for more information click here.
Young and Region Farmers’ Market is held every first, third and fifth Saturday each month at Anderson Park in Young, selling fresh produce and crafty items from around the Riverina region. The Lions Club operates a barbecue every market offering tea, coffee, sausage sandwiches, and bacon and egg rolls.
Christmas in July Dinner 2
When: Saturday, 31 July, 6:30 pm
Where: Murrumbateman Winery, 131 McIntosh Circuit, Murrumbateman
Cost: $95 per head – call 0432 826 454 to book, and for more information, click here.
Murrumbateman Winery will hold its second Christmas in July Dinner for 2021, where the fire will be crackling, the Christmas carols playing, and you will be treated to a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, white-starboard Christmas pudding, and a glass of delicious Murrumbateman Winery fine wine.
There will also be a Kris Kringle and if you want to join in, bring a lighthearted gift up up to the value of $20.
Sunday
Heather Burness: Online Studio Sale
When: Sunday, 1 August, from 7:00 am until Tuesday, 31 August, at 11:00 pm
Where: Instagram online
Cost: Varies.
As part of Art Month Sapphire Coast, this is a rare opportunity to purchase print works by Bega artist Heather Burness at discounted prices via Instagram @heatherburness.
Tuesday
Artessence Gallery
When: Every Tuesday to Friday, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm; every Saturday from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Artessence Gallery, 47 Toallo Street, Pambula
Cost: Free – registration not required.
Artessence Gallery showcases a range of local art, from earrings and ceramic pots to large canvases. It also provides a photographic and fine art printing service at Artessence Studio.