How do we lose the 'boring & dull' stereotype?

[ghs]

I think we've already lost the boring & dull stereotype... There's heaps of good things
happening in adelaide at the moment.

[Will]

Maybe we could hold an annual Adelaide Festival in November or something at the Showgrounds with more rides and all that jazz.

a few ideas for the showgrounds:
* Jazz Fest - new orleans style, but without the sea breaks...
International Fireworks Symposium - companies come and demonstrate their new fireworks each year. would aso bring lots of business people...
* World Chili Festival - blow your rear-end off with some kickin' chili food from around hte globe...
* Massive sand sculpture competition in the new Goyder Pavilion. Offer decent prize money ($100k enough for 1st prize?) They will last a long time out of the weather...

That's a really good idea Wayno.

If the show was held over 2 weeks, the first week could remain as it currently is with the agricultural focus, but the new second week could have a different theme. From your suggestions the second week of the show could be dedicated to 'lifestyle' things with whole pavillions dedicated to chese, chilli, wine, etc.

The good thing about such an initiative is that due to each week of the show having a different theme, many people would be obliged to visit twice!

In addition, if such an initiative does not eventuate, I think the idea of a world chilli festival should be seriously considered by our authorities! It would be amazing!

[Cruise]

The Royal show used to be in the school holidays i'm told, but because the school year changed from 3 terms to 4 it changed when school holidays are, but the show stayed the same

[ricecrackers]

Let’s put it another more primitive way, you are out at a club looking for a girl, there are 5 standing at the bar looking at you. 4 of them are tall and sexy, the 5th is short, kind of awkward looking and is wearing an old cardigan and long skirt. You don’t know that the awkward looking girl has a PhD, is trilingual and is a beast in the bedroom, to you she looks dull and boring. Of course you will pay attention to the 4 tall and sexy girls and forget about the other one. It is human nature, first impressions count. People are superficial, and are drawn to things of beauty.

When people look at the Adelaide skyline, they immediately compare it with where they live, and if you live in the 4 larger cities, it looks dull and boring. There a no iconic or even glass towers, just old, dull, boring boxes.

you dont need to be tall to be sexy. i'd just be looking for the prettiest girl.

the problem with Adelaide's skyline is not lack of height, its lack of quality buildings. They're mostly cheap ugly brown boxes.
A lot of European cities dont have tall skylines, but they have quality buildings. Albeit 500 years old, but quality none the less.

we've had this argument for years about pros and cons of height restrictions, Adelaide City council restrictions and we've ended up neither here nor there as a result. its either all or nothing. a plan is put forward, ACC says no, but doesnt outline what is allowed. we end up with a lot of compromise, and when i look at the Adelaide skyline one of the overarching themes that comes to my mind is that of compromise. And compromise to me is a feeling of constriction, and that is not nice.

perhaps some uniformity is needed. somebody needs to have a vision, a picture of what the city should look like. it needs to be clear and it needs to be made public and it probably needs to be designed by a great artist.

then any planning decisions that are made are done in reference to that picture of where we want to be. that way nobody gets disappointed and everything gets approved. it might be a little bit Roman in thinking, but look at the legacy of many of those European cities.

[Düsseldorfer]

I think we've already lost the boring & dull stereotype... There's heaps of good things
happening in adelaide at the moment.

agreed, imo this thread should be closed

or change the title to "how to make Adelaide more sensational"

[Will]

I think we've already lost the boring & dull stereotype... There's heaps of good things
happening in adelaide at the moment.

agreed, imo this thread should be closed

or change the title to "how to make Adelaide more sensational"

Although we have come a long way in the last few years, I do not share your optimism in this matter. The 'boring and dull' stereotype unfortunately remains.

However I do admit that the title of this thread projects a negative vibe, and would not object to it being changed to "How to Make Adelaide More Sensational"

[ricecrackers]

just to finish off my point about the skyline of Adelaide, there are some areas that i do like

eg, the University precinct at the Eastern end of North Terrace, looks great a ground level and also from aerial views

the new residential precinct in Gilles/Halifax street, more of this sort of thing is needed

[cruel_world00]

In addition, if such an initiative does not eventuate, I think the idea of a world chilli festival should be seriously considered by our authorities! It would be amazing!

Maybs not?


http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 01,00.html

'Man dies after chilli-eating contest'

A FORKLIFT driver who dared his friend to a chilli-eating contest died hours later.
Englishman Andrew Lee, 33, used a bag of home-grown red chillis to make the roaring-hot sauce and dared his girlfriend's brother, Michael Chadbourne, to eat a spoonful.

Mr Lee then ate a plateful, and had a heart attack shortly after, The Daily Mail reported.

"They had a contest over who could make the hottest chilli sauce," Mr Chadbourne's sister, Claire, said.

"Andrew had used chillies to make Thai dishes before but had never made anything this hot .

"My dad grew the chillies especially for Andrew. The contest was planned and he gave them to him."

Mr Lee, of Edlington, Doncaster, complained of itchy skin as he went to bed.

The next morning, his girlfriend Samantha Bailey, a mother of four, found him unconscious.

Paramedics later pronounced Mr Lee dead at the scene.

"He apparently got into bed at 2.30am and started scratching all over," Mrs Chadboure said.

"His girlfriend scratched his back until he fell asleep. She woke up and he was dead.

"'He was perfectly healthy and the post-mortem showed no heart problems."

Toxicology tests are under way to see whether Mr Lee had a fatal reaction to the sauce.

[Will]

From the Advertiser:

Time to party as festivals hit town

October 04, 2008 12:01am

WE MAY be phasing out the Festival State slogan on our number plates but South Australia's events calendar is unabated.

Spring is shaping up to rival "Mad March".

The arrival of warmer weather has also seen a flood of new arts, cultural and sporting events.

The OzAsia Festival in September/October and Adelaide International Guitar Festival in late November were introduced as part of a strategy by the State Government and Adelaide Festival Centre to generate activity in the second half of the year.

Joining these will be a planned offshoot of Canada's Montreal Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs, which is expected to be announced to take place from October next year.

Also coming up this October/November are Australia's richest landscape art competition the Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, the Sempaphore Music Festival, Feast gay and lesbian cultural festival and the Italian Film Festival.

Late February and March have traditionally dominated the South Australian cultural calendar with the Adelaide Festival, Fringe, Adelaide Film Festival, Womadelaide and Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race recently joined by the Adelaide Cup racing carnival, which was shifted from May in 2006.

Now the spring calendar is filling up as event co-ordinators seek to take advantage of the warmer weather before consumers' minds – and wallets – turn to Christmas shopping and summer holidays.

South Australian Tourism Commission executive general manager, communications, Steve Kernaghan, said a huge range of events and festivals was happening across the state over the next two months.

"While our state has a great climate all year round, in spring the weather really is perfect for a visit to regional South Australia," Mr Kernaghan said.

"There are big events coming up in Adelaide this spring.

"This is all good news for tourism in South Australia."

September's OzAsia Festival attracted more than 20,000 people over 15 days, up 33 per cent on last year's inaugural program. Dance music festival Parklife also attracted throngs of young people to Botanic Park last weekend.

CheeseFest, Australia's only dedicated cheese festival, was a huge success after this year's event was moved from McLaren Vale to the city.

More than 4500 people flocked to Rymill Park for the September 21 cheese and wine event and organisers, who were forced to close the gates at 2pm, expect numbers to grow in future years.

"We are very happy about the move, it all went well," organiser Kris Lloyd, from Woodside Cheese Wrights, said.

Spring is festival time for the food and wine industry with two major regional events, the Fleurieu's month-long Fiesta! and the Riverland's three-week Renaissance. Fiesta! began four years ago to mark release of the new season's olive oils and has grown into an all-encompassing spring harvest of food and wine-related activities.

Renaissance started in 2002 as a one-day Riverland Food and Wine Festival and has grown to a three-week event.

Sam Fielke, from the Riverland Development Corporation, says:

"Already this year, we've had many events sell out."

In the Clare Valley, 17 wineries will this weekend take part in the inaugural Vintners' Picnic, which organisers believe will blossom into an annual harvest celebration.

[SRW]

I'm excited to hear about this Just for Laughs event; I think Adelaide's been needing a stand-alone comedy fest.

Good to hear overall about the spread of events, though it's not really news to those of us who pay attention. With regard to the Cheesefest, I really hope they learn from this year's event -- the queues for the produce stands were ridiculous. That said, it's a great concept and Rymill Park is a very pleasant setting.

Now they just need to promote, promote, promote interstate and overseas!

Actually, an idea I had for a festival around this time of year is an Adelaide version of the Chelsea Flower Show or Canberra's Floriade. We've ample parklands to host something of the kind.

[Wayno]

I'm excited to hear about this Just for Laughs event; I think Adelaide's been needing a stand-alone comedy fest.

Good to hear overall about the spread of events, though it's not really news to those of us who pay attention. With regard to the Cheesefest, I really hope they learn from this year's event -- the queues for the produce stands were ridiculous. That said, it's a great concept and Rymill Park is a very pleasant setting.

Now they just need to promote, promote, promote interstate and overseas!

Actually, an idea I had for a festival around this time of year is an Adelaide version of the Chelsea Flower Show or Canberra's Floriade. We've ample parklands to host something of the kind.

cheese and flowers would go well together - call it the Aroma Frestival

[skyliner]

very late arrival on this thread. Like many, I am sick of hearing the junk about our city. After reading all the thread my findings are
A. There is definitely a negative perception out there. Like will said, say it often enough and people believe it and respond accordingly.
B. Promotion - drive at the 20 - 30 age group and their interest much more fully. Cater for the jazz festivals etc etc
C. That tourism dept!! - letting the city down - crummy pics of a town - where is the promotion of an active city. The only good shots I see are on this site. If we can do it, what is going on with them. Portray an image and you get the response. We need upmarket presentation of live in a CITY. Like someone said - end it with a clincher like 'Yes, this is Adelaide!' May be we could address the tourism minister - or maybe there is'nt one!
D. Ditch the height restrictions or at least lift them - I know this is meaning much hard work with airport etc.The low skyline is thought to be caused by caused by everything else - particularly being backward. To focus this more - I heard on an interstate bus coming up KWS into the CBD, 'Welcome to the little city of Adelaide' Grr!. Perception counts.

[rhino]

From today's Adelaide Now:

What 'sort of okay' Adelaide needs
MATT WILLIAMS
August 10, 2009 12:30am

A DINING and entertainment precinct on the Torrens, golf in the south Parklands and a wave of modern buildings are needed to improve Adelaide, experts say.
The Advertiser has questioned developers, urban planners, interest groups and decision makers about the city's pros and cons, and its future.
Dr Paul Downton – whose book Ecopolis: Architecture and Cities for a Changing Climate is published internationally – says Adelaide has "all the ingredients" to be great, but instead is "sort of okay".
"It's a `two cheers' sort of place – it's hard to work up the enthusiasm for the third cheer because whatever happens and whatever gets done always seems to fall short, not quite make it, turn out not-quite-finished and slightly under-done," he said.

The experts' wishlist includes:

A BALANCED mix of buildings with clever design and strong aesthetic appeal.
PUBLIC thoroughfares in large developments to increase the permeability of the city.
GREATER promotion of Adelaide's access to "magnificent" beaches and "wondrous" vineyards.
GETTING rid of factions "intent on keeping Adelaide exac- tly where it sits today".
THE Adelaide railway station to no longer be a "neglected asset".
HOTELS to improve their character, style and attention to service.
INTERNATIONAL students to add more to the emerging culture of the city.
BETTER utilising our squares and parklands.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison said Adelaide was "potentially one of the great cities of the modern world".
Others surveyed were Maras Group managing director Steve Maras; Urban Development Institute of SA executive director Terry Walsh; Property Council of Australia (SA) executive director Nathan Paine and Taylor Cullity Lethlean director Kevin Taylor.
Mr Maras said not developing a River Torrens precinct was "one of Adelaide's great mysteries".
"We need to take advantage of this natural resource and build a boulevard of shops, cafes, restaurants and the like to give people a real reason to go down there and enjoy, like they do everywhere else there is water," he said.
Mr Taylor called on Adelaide City Council and the State Government to stop their bickering and create a joint masterplan for the city.
Mr Walsh said Adelaide's parklands were a "potential asset but fail dismally on a global scale".
Asked how Adelaide compared to some of the world's great cities in terms of culture and vibe, Mr Harbison said the city "has character, but mostly of the past".
Sharon Fazzino, who travelled from Melbourne with her two children, Laura, 6, and Emma, 13, to see Collingwood play Adelaide on Saturday night, said cafes along the River Torrens would make the city more tourist-friendly.
Port Noarlunga South mother-of-two Pam Schmeiss, spent yesterday afternoon strolling along the River Torrens with children Heath, 10, and Liam, 3, and partner Doug Paul. "The big thing is making it safer for children and families. At the moment we don't come a lot because it's so hard to keep an eye on the kids so close to the water," she said.
Casual cyclist Rachael Leverton, 34, said she did not feel safe around the river after dark.
"We try to ride our bikes or walk after work, but the lighting isn't the best even though you're right in the middle of the city, it doesn't feel safe," she said.

[Will]

I was so embarrassed reading that article. These talkfests that we have every 3 months and which don't amount to anything contribute to us having a negative reputation. A lot of good ideas have been generated in the past. Even just looking back through this thread reveal plenty of good ideas. We have had enough talkfests, and it is time that those in charge did something to inspire people.

[Wayno]

Maybe i'm just an optimist, but i believe we'll see several civic improvements around Adelaide after the next election. Or put another way, it's way too close to March 2010 for the govt to take any action - they might lose votes by doing the right thing