Dark Mofo to return in 2025

Tasmania’s leading cultural and culinary festival, Dark Mofo, will be back in 2025 - bigger than ever.

Many Dark Mofo events were on hiatus in 2024, but organisers of the midwinter solstice festival today announced a full return in 2025 with an ambitious art and music program including Dark Mofo rituals Winter Feast, the Ogoh-Ogoh, Night Mass and the Nude Solstice Swim.

Dark Mofo 2025 will take place in Hobart from Thursday June 5 to Sunday June 15 with the swim making a splash on Saturday June 21.

While the full festival program will be announced next year, organisers have revealed that a limited pre-release of tickets to Night Mass - Dark Mofo’s expansive art and music CBD takeover - will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday November 5 to those who have pre-registered via the Dark Mofo website.

Dark Mofo artistic director Chris Twite said: "Dark Mofo is back. For our eleventh chapter once more we’ll bathe the city in red and deliver two weeks of inspiring art, music and ritual. Today we’re giving Dark Mofo devotees a chance to access a limited pre-release of tickets to the sprawling behemoth, Night Mass."

Twite added: “Night Mass is a beast, and this year it will evolve once more; worming its way through the city with new spaces, performances and experiences to dance, explore or crawl your way through.”

The full Dark Mofo 2025 program details will be announced early next year. Sign up to the mailing list for updates www.darkmofo.net.au.

* Dark Mofo is a project of the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania.

Hospitality heavy hitters head The International line-up

Some serious players in the hospitality industry will help The Point Group launch the three venues that make up Sydney's new food and beverage hotspot The International: The Grill, The Wine Bar, and The Panorama Bar.

The International will open in stages this month with a team of industry leaders and hospitality talent under the leadership of culinary director Joel Bickford and food and beverage director Alex Kirkwood.

The International - located at the former Botswana Butchery site on Martin Place - comes from the team responsible for some of Sydney’s favourite establishments, including Shell House and the Dolphin Hotel.

The Wine Bar and The Panorama Bar will open the doors for the first time from 4pm on Thursday, November 7.

One week later, on Thursday, November 14, The International’s premium dining experience, The Grill, will welcome its first guests.

Reservations for all three levels of The International are now open.

“We have assembled a remarkably diverse and deeply talented team for The International," says owner and restaurateur Brett Robinson.

"We want to represent the very best Australian produce, wine and hospitality to a global standard by backing the talent of our people.

"Our accomplished team will work with creative freedom to define a style of service that reflects their love of drinking, dining and table side experience to build a unique perspective on the world of hospitality. We are focused on adding a fresh and new addition to Sydney’s progressive restaurant and bar scene, big enough to host the tastes and expectations of the city audience we already know and love through our journey at Shell House.”

The opening menu at The Wine Bar has been created by executive chef Danny Corbett and new head chef Courtney Blyde, who was most recently head chef at Baba’s Place in Marrickville, following stints in kitchens at Cho Cho San and The Apollo.

The hero dish of The Wine Bar will be a fluffy pizzette designed by head pizzaiolo Sasa Smiljanic (Dolphin Hotel, Bella Brutta) made from 72-hour, super hydrated sourdough, baked in an Italian Marana Forni pizza oven, topped with constantly-changing ingredients..

On the wine front, head sommelier Jacqueline Turner (Gertude St Enoteca in Melbourne, The Prince Wine Store, Chin Chin Sydney, and Margaret) will put together the list.

The Grill will celebrate classic traditions and ingredients with Charles Woodward as head chef. He has worked with English Michelin-starred chefs Marcus Wearing and Gary Rhodes OBE, as well as at Cottage Point on the Hawkesbury River, Pilu at Freshwater and the Lake House in Daylesford.

Restaurant manager Franck Garro will be joined by head sommelier Thomas Groeneveld, direct from his role in the opening team at Oncore. He has worked at Rick Stein’s Bannisters, Icebergs in Bondi and Sepia.

The Panorama Bar, meanwhile, offers a chance for culinary director Bickford and Corbett to play with light, fun snacks from the cold bar and hot snacks from a bank of Hibachi grills. They will work with chef Kazu Matsumoto.