Riverside Opening of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in the Docklands

It's all over the papers, the internet and twitter! So unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival starts this week. The festival is actually celebrating its 20 years of existence in 2012 with "20 days of eating and drinking".

Riverside Opening Weekend, 3-4 March

Here at LooknBook, we have been raving about it to everyone as this is a chance for our beloved Docklands to be in the forefront. A wonderful program has been developed for this occasion.

Jazz Festival at Yarra's Edge
The festivities start with a Jazz Festival at Yarra's Edge this Saturday 3rd of March  featuring 8 of the best bands from Melbourne Secondary Schools to perform at Yarra’s Edge in Docklands over the 2 days. I've heard we have some good acts so make sure you don't miss it!


Travel on the Yarra in the FREE River Shuttle

Another interesting initiative - you will be able to travel up and down the Yarra River in water taxis during the Riverside Opening weekend. How much does it cost? Well, how about zero dollars? To access the FREE river shuttle, all you have to do is print this passport and make sure you have it on you on the day.

You can also read more about the river shuttle here.

For those who don't know the Docklands very well, this is your chance to try something new. There are many culinary delights to be discovered and we guarantee you will love what you will see and taste.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival coming to the Docklands this March 2012

Looknbook Accommodation would like to share the following with you. I have been involved in pulling together two first time events for the:

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 
Riverside Opening Weekend Mar 3-4

With the support of leading Melbourne Secondary schools, we have created a Jazz festival featuring 8 of the best bands from Melbourne Secondary Schools to perform at Yarra’s Edge in Docklands over the 2 days. I understand this may be a first for Melbourne school musicians as I have no evidence there has been a public performance like this in Melbourne.

The second thing we created was to put on a Free River Shuttle. I realised when putting on the Yarra’s Edge gig that getting people to it, without access via the water, was going to be hard. The nearest parking for Lorimer St, Docklands is South Wharf. This is not only expensive, it is a bit of a walk across Wurundjeri Way/Montague St to get there. There are trams down Flinders St to Docklands, but there is still a walk from World Trade Centre or ANZ building in Docklands.

So I approached all the major stakeholders participating in the MFWF Mar3-4 weekend and I managed to get enough sponsorship to pay Melbourne River Cruises to put on 3 high capacity ferries to run a 40 minute interval shuttle servicing 7 pick up and drop off points along the way. This service will only be operational Mar 3-4.

This will be a free service to the public.

Please know that you must have your River Promenading Passport that is free in today’s Age – to be assured of boarding.

At this time, this is all the information there is on the internet:

http://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/event/3179

I am promoting this message hard through social media and via press releases. If anyone has influence and can help with my messaging that would be fantastic. Please contact me for press releases and further info.

I am inviting you and your friends to come to this event and enjoy a unique experience of arriving by water. Only 2 weeks to go!

Check out the Yarra's Edge Facebook Event

A special mention to the generous sponsors of the Free River Shuttle. This was made possible by the generous support of: Melbourne Food and Wine Festival; Crown Riverside; World Trade Centre; South Wharf Promenade; Mirvac; ING Real Estate; and NewQuay Precinct.

Bill Reid

0416 153 116

Vote for your favourite Docklands restaurant for a chance to win$10,000 cash

Have you heard about the I Love Food Awards 2012?
This is your chance to vote for your favourite Docklands restaurants. Let the world know where you think the best food is found in our beautiful Docklands, and help create some awareness of local restaurants.

You can vote until March 22nd, so head to www.lifestylefood.com.au/vote and nominate your favourite place to eat in the Docklands. Each voter also has a chance to go into a draw to win $10,000 cash.

Restaurants you can vote for are located here.

FREE Salsa classes in the Docklands

Until March 25 2012, there will be FREE dance classes in the Docklands every week. Classes will take place in the open air at the Waterfront City Piazza. The event is organised by DANCE101 and is supported by the City of Melbourne. 

For more information please visit www.dance101.com.au or watch the video!