This weekend, celebrate 25 years of the Santos Tour Down Under or pick your own sunflowers at Atkins Farm.
25 years of Tour Down Under
The world’s best cyclists will hit the streets as the Santos Tour Down Under returns for its 25th anniversary from January 17 to 26. Across an exciting 10 days, competitors from around the world will travel a total of 1198 kilometres around South Australia’s picturesque landscapes to claim the coveted Santos Ochre Jersey. This year’s Tour Down Under kicks off with the women’s Ziptrak Stage 1 from Brighton to Aldinga on Friday, January 17, followed by two more stages on the Saturday and Sunday. Men’s racing starts on Saturday, January 18 with the Down Under Classic, recreating the original East End route. In between the action, party like it’s 1999 at the East End Street Party or wind down at the City of Adelaide Tour Village festival hub in Victoria Square, with its big screens, panel discussions and the largest bike expo in the Southern Hemisphere.
Here comes the sun
Stumble into a Van Gogh painting this summer as Atkins Farm opens its doors for a limited season of sunflower picking. Located in the picturesque Adelaide Hills town of Meadows, Atkins Farm was established by Hastings Bill Atkins in the 1920s and is now run by the latest generation of the family, the MacArthurs. Every summer since 2022, the MacArthur family has been offering the only pick-your-own sunflower experience in the Adelaide Hills, giving you a chance to take home this gorgeous flower. With your ticket, you will have an hour to pick sunflowers, explore the fields, or just admire the towering Helianthus annus. The best time to pick sunflowers is early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
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Sewing the seeds of change
William Morris once said that “every artist has the power to change the world, one brushstroke at a time”. The 19th century designer was one of the first in a long list of artists who have used textiles to spread a radical message, a theme explored in the Art Gallery of South Australia’s latest exhibition, Radical Textiles. Featuring works from 100 artists across the past 150 years, this exhibition showcases everything from suffragette banners to extravagant drag costumes and a quilt made as a memorial during the AIDS crisis. The world-exclusive exhibition draws upon AGSA’s international, Australian and First Nations collections of textiles and fashion, accompanied by soft sculpture, photography and moving image. Radical Textiles runs at the Art Gallery of South Australia until March 30.
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Feelin’ groovy
Travel back to the time of hippies, long hair and Woodstock this summer for Jack and the Absolutes, presented as part of an annual collaboration between Blue Sky Theatre and Open Gardens SA. This production is a groovy reimagining of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 comedy The Rivals, now set in 1969, and following successful pop singer Jack Absolute as he attempts to win the heart of wealthy fashion designer Lydia Languish. This play covers themes such as love, deception and rivalry. This must-see production is a fabulous way to spend a balmy summer’s evening in a picturesque garden setting, with funds raised supporting various charities. This weekend, Jack and the Absolutes will be showing at The Cedars in Hahndorf, followed by performances in Blackwood’s Wittunga Botanic Garden from January 24 to 26.
Pink Floyd classics
Coming off sold-out performances across the country, music legend Jack Jones joins the Southern Cross Symphony, a rock band, three powerhouse vocalists, and a 20-person-strong youth choir to recreate the awe-inspiring sound of Pink Floyd. On January 18, the Festival Theatre stage will be filled with 60 musicians and singers for Eclispse – Pink Floyd Orchestrated (eclipse honouring the name of the closing track on Pink Floyd’s seminal album The Dark Side of the Moon). The performance will feature classic songs, including Money, Wish You Were Here, Another Brick in the Wall, Us and Them, Mother, Have a Cigar and Comfortably Numb.
We scream for ice cream
Cool down at the Glenelg Ice Cream Festival, which last year brought some 30,000 people to the Bay. Held from 4pm to 10.30pm on Thursday, January 23, the festival will see Glenelg transformed into an Ice Cream Village, showcasing ice cream, gelato and frozen yoghurt from 10 ice creameries, including the Barossa Valley Ice Cream Company and St Louis. Grab a bite at one of the various food trucks or enjoy a drink at one of the pop-up bars. Kids can enjoy free activities throughout the precinct, including ice cream crafts, a silent disco, an ice cream scavenger hunt, face painting and hair braiding. A sprinkle on top will be the fashion parade featuring Jetty Road boutiques.
