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Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Sydney is a stuffed stocking of imminent Christmas shows, concerts and events. From The Nutcracker and Elf: The Musical to Rockettes-inspired dance and magic spectaculars, immersive North Pole worlds, Christmas cabarets, yuletide movies with live orchestras and buses and streets decorated with tinsel, baubles and millions of lights. Ring in the season with these bell-jingling festivities. Grace Carroll and Marcus Morelli star in the Australian Ballet production of The Nutcracker . Credit: Simon Eeles The Nutcracker The traditional festive tale of Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Rat King and the Nutcracker Prince twirls through the Kingdom of Sweets in two shows. The Australian Ballet’s rendition of Sir Peter Wright’s classic production is led by soloist Mia Heathcote amid swirling snowflakes, toy soldiers and a Christmas tree growing to the ceiling (until December 18, Sydney Opera House). The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s production (December 13-22, Pier 2/3, Walsh Bay) features ballet and live classical music in collaboration with David McAllister, former artistic director of the Australian Ballet. A livestream of the Australian Ballet production runs December 12-26. Christmas spectaculars Big Christmas Spectacular , an all-ages, all-twinkling, old-fashioned Christmas concert with a choreographed battalion of 40 dancers, live orchestra and choir trilling carols and Christmas songs will fill the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall (December 1). The Christmas Spectacular (December 20-22, State Theatre) is a sequinned carousel of magic tricks, circus skills, high-kicking chorus dancers and Nutcracker -inspired choreography. Led by Prinnie Stevens, it also features conjurer Michael Boy. The Sydney Santa Spectacular (December 12-26, Blacktown Showgrounds) has a double-decker carousel, bumper cars, circus shows, jumping castles, toboggan snow slides, a Santa train, a petting zoo and a walk-through enchanted forest with falling “snow”. Gareth Isaac and Simon Burke star in Elf: The Musical . Credit: Christmas movies on stage The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Northey, presents Home Alone in Concert , a live performance of John Williams’ score with a screening of the 1990 Christmas film classic starring Macaulay Culkin (December 5-8, Sydney Opera House). Elf: The Musical , a stage adaptation of the beloved 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas movie about a human raised by Santa’s elves at the North Pole searching for his father in New York, features Gareth Isaac ( Grease the Musical , Mary Poppins ) as Buddy and Simon Burke ( Wicked , Moulin Rouge! The Musical ) as Walter Hobbs, the father who knows nothing of his son (December 19-29, Sydney Opera House). Hayes Theatre’s Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (until December 22), based on the 1942 film and directed by Sally Dashwood, follows crooner Jim Hardy’s new life in Connecticut, with classic tunes Cheek to Cheek , Steppin’ Out with My Baby and White Christmas . You can also revisit Nancy Meyers’ romance The Holiday , starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, with its Hans Zimmer score played live-to-film by Southern Cross Symphony (December 14, Darling Harbour Theatre, International Convention Centre), and then Richard Curtis’ 2003 Christmas film Love, Actually , with the soundtrack played live by Sydney Lyric Orchestra and conducted by Guy Noble (Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC, December 21) as well as its hits (Mariah Carey, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles and more) sung live in Christmas Actually at the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, Rooty Hill (December 21). MacGyver Models’ Simon Cavanough at work on a David Jones Christmas window installation. Credit: Louie Douvis Christmas windows Created over 12 months by artists, designers, engineers and sculptors at MacGyver Models in Marrickville, the David Jones Christmas windows feature more than 50 motorised puppets in scenes based on A Very Wombat Christmas , illustrated by Lachlan Creagh. Elizabeth Street, Sydney CBD. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect balance of scary and merry. Credit: Tim Burton Emo Christmas – Emo Night Dress as Wednesday, Beetlejuice, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington or any character from Burton’s oeuvre ( The Nightmare Before Christmas seems a ripe choice) at this gathering of festive gloom, emo music and makeovers, with prizes for best costume (December 14, Oxford Art Factory). Carols by Cabaret Raising money for the Wayside Chapel, the Hayes Theatre’s Carols by Cabaret returns for its 11th year with an evening of tunes sung by musical theatre and cabaret performers, plus Christmas cocktails (December 9, Hayes Theatre). Wundrful World of Christmas is peak Christmas. Credit: Immersive Christmas world A mix of CGI animations, festooned Christmas trees, a North Pole post office and Mrs Claus baking in her kitchen, Wundrful World of Christmas is a walk-through experience with elves, a gigantic advent calendar, a wishing well and a visit from Santa (until December 24, Wundr Store, 31 Market Street, Sydney CBD). Go fully festive at Carols in the Domain. Credit: Christmas carol concerts Have a picnic with harbour views, Christmas choir carols, dancing elves and festive disco action at Taronga Zoo’s Christmas Concert (December 14, Taronga Zoo concert lawns). Carols in the Domain (December 21) features performances from the Wiggles, Samantha Jade and Rhonda Burchmore, plus dancers, a youth orchestra and two choirs. Santa is also expected. Christmas at Sydney Town Hall (December 17) features carols, choirs, harp-playing, the NSW Police Band and music from the 134-year-old grand organ. The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra performs Noël Noël. Credit: Keith Saunders Brandenburg Orchestra – Noël Noël The Brandenburg’s annual Christmas concert, a collection of traditional chamber music, chorales and festive music performed with the Brandenburg Choir, has swelled to include extra performances in various Sydney churches. The programs, which range from O Come All Ye Faithful and Stille Nacht to excerpts from Vivaldi’s Gloria and Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo , is at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Paddington (December 10); Parish of Holy Name Church, Wahroonga (December 11); City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney CBD (December 12,14); and St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta (December 17). Bus driver Ian Rowsell behind the wheel of his best-decorated bus of the 2023 Christmas season. Credit: Steven Siewert Train Rides with Santa Catch Transport Heritage NSW Christmas railway rides via steam tram, steam train or electric train with the bearded one onboard. Routes include Blue Mountains departures (December 7-8, 14-15), Central to Rhodes (December 7-8) and Thirlmere to Buxton (December 7-8). Santa is also flying in for train rides at the Zig Zag Railway in Clarence (December 7-8). The annual Christmas bus decoration competition , with city buses decked inside and out with tinsel, baubles, twinkling coloured lights and Santa hat-wearing drivers, is also expected to return. Stock up at the Carriageworks Christmas markets. Credit: Anna Kucera Christmas Markets Festive markets festoon the city in November and December. Grab hams, fresh-cut Christmas trees, fruit puddings, mince pies, Christmas tree-shaped crumpets, farm produce and chats with Santa on a velvet throne in full sunshine. Cambridge Christmas Markets are at Centenary Square, Parramatta (November 28); Steyne Park, Double Bay (November 30); Royal Randwick Racecourse (December 6); Burwood Park (December 14); and Green Square Plaza (December 21). Swing between Martin Place Christmas Markets (running between November 28 and December 21), and the wooden chalets, wine bars and melted cheese stations of French-themed Le Jolly Market in Belmore Park, Haymarket (December 13-22) and Mosman Christmas Night Market (December 12). The Summer Seasonal Market (December 7) at Carriageworks offers fresh produce, cut and potted Christmas trees and cooking demonstrations from Nadine Ingram of Flour and Stone bakery. Gather meat, vegetables, baked goods, jams, pickles and preserves at the Carriageworks Christmas Market (December 21), also featuring handmade ceramics and a Christmas DJ. Then gird yourself for the Sydney Fish Market 36-Hour Seafood Marathon (December 23-24) at Pyrmont. The spectacular Martin Place Christmas tree. Credit: James Alcock Giant Christmas trees and lights The annual Martin Place Christmas tree , the tallest Christmas tree in NSW, lights up with Santa’s arrival on a sleigh on November 28 (until January 3) with more than 110,000 LED lights, 330 baubles, a 3.4-metre colour-changing star and 15,000 decorations comprising waratah, bottlebrush, wattle, eucalyptus gum flower, kangaroo paw, flannel flower, pink wax flower and white wax flower. Choirs sing each day at 6pm, December 1-24. There is also a Canopy of Light , with 80,000 suspended lights, across Pitt Street Mall (November 28-January 1), the Queen Victoria Building’s ceiling-high Christmas tree with artwork created with First Nations artists from Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, and the lighting of a 16-metre-high tree at Parramatta Square (November 28) with carols and live music. Darling Square’s light tunnel returns (with live DJs on December 7, 14 and 21). St Mary’s Cathedral is running its light shows and projections, along with trees, stalls and live entertainment (December 12-25). No mistaking the message at 7 South Street, Tempe. Credit: Steven Siewert Christmas house decoration streets An army of tinsel-loving residents, bravely casting aside thoughts of their electricity bills, decorate their homes with millions of flashing bulbs across hundreds of Sydney streets each year. Visit the biggest and most creative displays on Cumberland Road, Whalans Road and Vernon Street in Greystanes, Benaud Street in St Clair, O’Neill Street in Guildford and Lochview Crescent, The Rapids and Caley Way in Mount Annan. There are also South Street in Tempe, Alice Street in Rooty Hill, Avoca Street in North Bondi, Magic Grove in Mosman, Dunmore Street in Bexley North, Sydney Road in Hornsby, and First, Second, Third and Fourth avenues in Willoughby. Payten Avenue in Roselands goes all-out. Check christmaslightsearch.com.au/australia for a map of streets with Christmas displays. Contact Santa Claus Call Father Christmas at his North Pole workshop for free from any Telstra Payphone (dial #HO HO HO or #46 46 46). For written messages, visit any Australia Post Office before December 24 to hand-deliver letters, wish-lists or drawings, and you’ll receive Santa’s reply on the spot. A group dance at the Wayside Chapel Christmas lunch. Credit: Getty Images Helping others People can donate money, volunteer their time and buy products to help charity organisations across Sydney to help others at Christmas. Check out Two Good Co, which supports women escaping violence and abuse; Variety Australia, which fundraises for sick, disadvantaged and disabled children; Share the Dignity, for providing access to sanitary products; Orange Sky, which offers laundry services to homeless people; Wayside Chapel, which provides year-round assistance and a free Christmas lunch for people affected by homelessness or social isolation; and OzHarvest, which provides food and meals to people in need. Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday .
Free trade at steak: How Macron’s beef with beef is making cars in South America more expensiveAriana Grande’s net worth: A peek inside the “Wicked” star’s wealthThe house at 12 Merrigal Court, Frankston South, sits on a 2954sq m block. A Frankston South house named for both a beloved parent and the moon is a shining example of a home inspired by nature and the surrounding landscape. The recently-built abode at 12 Merrigal Court is named IAH House, with the first word representing the initials of the owner’s late father who died not long after the land that the residence stands upon was purchased. In addition, “iah” means “moon” in the Egyptian language and is also a lunar deity’s title in an ancient Egyptian religion. RELATED: Melbourne’s unlikely millionaire’s rows: Frankston, Melton, Werribee, Craigieburn Frankston South: Time capsule home adorned in Elvis posters, old gramophones up for sale Unit in Frankston’s notoriously troubled Ambassador Hotel building sells for just $99,000 “Iah” references the residence’s half-moon shape and its curved walls, constructed from sculptural curved concrete with a timber inlay. The owner says the walls were made off-site and lifted into place by a crane capable of bearing up to 160 tonnes. Observant visitors who look closely at the walls can see the timber’s pattern. And the house’s facade is crafted from a blend of the sculptural concrete and charred timber, inspired by the surrounding treetops’ natural curves and the block’s rear border on Sweetwater Creek’s banks. “I wanted to build something that flowed with the natural landscape and didn’t stick out like a big box,” the owner says. A stone island bench, ASKO appliances, dishwashers and a butler’s pantry in the kitchen. The infinity-edge pool has a view of the surrounding treetops. Enjoy a film in the home theatre. He designed the home’s concept with the DNB Design Group and the house was built by the Melbourne-based builder Style Projects. The infinity-edge pool, incorporating a spa, looks across the treetops that influenced the house’s build. “You’re often sitting in the pool and birds will come into the trees,” the owner says. “The backyard is a very secluded and private oasis.” Adding to the landscaped garden’s resort-like feel is an infra-red sauna. The owner says the upstairs living and dining space has a great connection to the outdoors. The wine cellar is near the home theatre, meaning you can pop out to grab some vino mid-movie. One of four bathrooms in the house. Inside, the more than 474sq m of living space includes a kitchen with a gently-curved stone island bench, ASKO appliances, dual dishwashers and a butler’s pantry. A home theatre boasts riser seating and an adjoining wine cellar. The home office can also serve as a fifth bedroom, while the main bedroom suite – encased in curved glass – showcases bay views, an ensuite and a dressing room. The owner says that smart technology means every rooms’ heating and cooling can be controlled from a mobile phone, as well as the electric gates out front. Keyless entry offers the option of using a fingerprint or keycard to be gain admittance through the doors. Whitefox Peninsula sales director Lloyd Hillard says buyers such as couples, families and downsizers have inspected the house, including people coming from Toorak, Brighton and the Mornington Peninsula. A wardrobe that’s perfect to hang your designer threads in. Whitefox Peninsula sales director Lloyd Hillard says “nothing compares” to IAH House, in terms of its curves, architecture and location in a quiet court, plus proximity to beaches, Mt Eliza Village and Peninsula Link. The house is also zoned for Frankston High School and Derinya Primary School. Mr Hillard says the house will suit a family, couple or downsizers, who could simply live upstairs and use the downstairs bedrooms as guest accommodation. IAH House is for sale with a $3.995m-$4.3m asking range. Expressions of interest close at 3pm on January 29. Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox. MORE: Melbourne house prices: City’s top growth suburbs of 2024 revealed Newstead: 1890s-era house transformed into country-style haven by antiques dealer and artist Former Saint Austinn ‘Aussie’ Jones and wife Kate list Bunyip house with a putting green
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Sam Kerr in the Hunter Valley as Matilda Emily van Egmond ties the knotWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks, whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government, weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in 2020 at Mount Rushmore in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect, was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration, including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club, and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
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