The 7 Best Things To Do In Adelaide This July

Tim lives life between the coffee-shop and the cinema. He's…

With winter really setting in, July is a great time to rediscover the cosier side of Adelaide nightlife. The city offers roaring fires and fine wines to warm the body, art and culture stoke the embers of the mind… and even an ice rink because, well, why not?

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Get your skates on

Pull on the mittens and lace up the skates because the folks behind the Royal Croquet Club are transforming the city’s riverbank precinct into their Alpine Winter Village – complete with ice skating rink.

The Torrens River precinct will house a winter market, hot chocolate and food vendors, a “ski lodge” and day and night skating. Free for families during the day and open after hours for mulled wine, live entertainment and lots of falling down (probably) this looks like a rollicking good time.

Frock up or hunker down at our favourite SA pub

Any Adelaidean knows there’s something in the combination of live music, great whiskies, homebrewed craft beers and effortlessly gracious hospitality that makes Thebarton’s The Wheatsheaf Hotel the perfect winter pub. More than the sum of these cosy parts, it represents the quintessential suburban local. As the beer garden empties and punters crowd the open fireplace, so the taps shift from bright summer ales to dark, rich porters and creamy stouts.

July also sees the return of the famous Wheaty Midwinter Ball – a merry (and most often boozy) shindig. Featuring live bands Various Nefarious and Lucifer’s Lounge, roller-skating waitresses and prizes for the “best dressed”, the event kicks off at 8pm on July 16.

Crate dig for vinyl gold

Music Palooza 2016 is coming. Bowden’s Plant One will be filled with 100,000+ titles from interstate and local sellers. Whether you’re looking to fill out your collection or hunting that elusive favourite album, you’re sure to uncover something exceptional.

Apart from crates upon crates of preloved vinyl, traders will also offer CDs, DVDs, band merch and much more. Everything you need to know can be found here.

Photo: Music Palooza

Talk Shmidt at The Bakehouse

Schmidt, by local Adelaide playwright Lochy Maybury, is the debut production from Back Porch Theatre. Premiering at the beautifully bohemian Bakehouse Theatre, the one-act satire cracks wise at the insidious and predatory ‘thinspiration’ culture plaguing social media. Kale, demons and Gwyneth Paltrow are sandwiched together in a saucy hot mess. Get tickets here.

Curl up with a bedtime story (and a whiskey) at Bibliotheca

Adelaide’s small bar scene is one of the fastest growing in the country, with quaint and quirky venues popping up in the oddest of places. Bibliotheca Bar and Book Exchange – hidden down a side alley off bustling Hindley Street – are putting the “speak” in speakeasy with an evening of poetry and play-reading, entitled Winter Shorts.

Hear some of SA’s best professional actors narrate new Australian short stories and poems in a comfy space that feels somewhere between a lounge bar and a library. July 5 at 7:00pm.

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Beer and BBQ: the best combo

Four days of brews, bands, BBQ and dads in sneans (three out of four ain’t bad). Housed in the brick cattle pavilion and lawns of the Adelaide Showground, the Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival brings together more than fifty Australian and international craft brewers and exhibitors.

Kick-off your sesh on Friday July 8 July with ‘Knockoff” from 5pm – midnight (18+ ONLY). Saturday is dedicated to beer geeks and food fanatics with info and Q&A sessions throughout the day, before live bands take over the stage for the evening Rock’n’Roll session. Snean Sunday offers a chance to chat with brewers – and score your first beer is free for those bold enough to rock their sneans in public. Check out their Facebook event page for a full list of breweries and events.

A pop-up cellar door party in the heart of the city

Join McLaren Vale winemakers Down The Rabbit Hole for Gypsy Land – a pop-up cellar door party featuring wine, live music, local craft beers, cocktails and hearty winter bites. Hosted at a secret location (don’t worry, they promise it’s both “indoors” and “toasty warm”) the event doubles as the release party for the company’s newest wine.

It’s all going down over one big weekend, Friday July 29 and Saturday July 30. Tickets on sale from July 12, with the location revealed when you book and all sales support Homelessness SA.