No Money Weekend

Just cause your bank account’s in the negative doesn’t mean your weekend’s gotta be a drag. Here's our guide on how to extract the mostest fun on the leastest money.  

Header Image: Lukasz Wierzbowski

LET MEI MOVE YOU

Hands down the best thing you’ll spend a fiver on all weekend. Yep, it’s not free, but it’s cheap-as, and it’s worth every cent. One of Perth’s most captivating and soulful female singers, Mei Saraswati (whom you might have seen totally destroy the Boiler Room in her other act, Savoir - check out new music from those guys here), has assembled a super group of talented Perth musicians to back her (already brilliant) solo compositions. You’ll also get to check out the loose, spaced-out experi-funk/disco of Cosmo Gets, who have a new live show, replete with trippy visuals and alien vocoders, that absolutely rules.

Sat Nov 22, 8pm – 12am, The Bird, 181 William Street, Northbridge. $5. “Dress breezy”. Event HERE.

Above: Mei Saraswati (photo by Amber Bateup)

BRIGHTENING UP THE BRICKS

Head down to the warehouse-like space on Hay St that goes by the name Little Wing, to see what a bunch of local artists can do in a short period of time, when each given a piece of blank wall and a bunch of paint, spray paint and pens - Wall To Wall. This edition, the 22^nd in the series, features the delicate whimsy of Daisy Pattinson, the outlandish style of ex-Last Chance Studio turned NY big shot Daek William, Shannon Lively, Kuan Jia, and James Giddy. At the end of the action, you get to choose whose wall rules out of all of them – just drop your bottle cap into the jam jar behind the artist you’re vibing the hardest. Soundtracking the creativity will be Aborted Tortoise, Old Blood and Big Mother Love, with plenty of beers and rum to go ‘round.

Sat Nov 22, 7pm – midnight, Little Wing Gallery, 263 Hay St, Subiaco, event HERE.

SWIM THROUGH THE SUNSET

Everyone loves markets, everyone loves the beach, put those two things together and add booze, and he-llo, Saturday sundowner choice option or what. This summer markets staple kicks off this weekend – once the sun goes down, they light up the cliff with fluoros at 7pm, and it looks pretty awesome. Epic outdoor food market with 30 + stalls of nosh from around the world, a pop-up bar, live music, and an ocean that’s free for paddling in.

Bathers Beach, between The Fishing Boat Harbour and the Round House (off Mews Road), Fremantle, Saturdays, 5pm - 9pm, more details HERE.

Above: the cliffs lit up at Bathers Beach Sunset Markets

NIGHT GARDEN CHEEKINESS

The Urban Orchard turns into a late night paradise of delights, with performance artists scattered throughout the gardens, including burle Blue Burlesque and The Sirens, and Pimps of Sound making the party on stage. Pop in for a drink after whatever Pride Parade looseness you have planned – you fiver goes to making next year’s Pride WA a reality.

The Urban Orchard, Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge, 8.30pm – late, $5. 

GO DEEPER INTO THE COAST YOU LOVE TO CRUISE

This art exhibition / experience Horizon: Exploring the West Coast with The Clipperton Project rolls 17 artists deep – each artist has responded to a brief to create a work changing the way we think about WA coastline, and horizons and ideas of exploration and adventure in general. The works include majestic photos of frozen spheres of marine rubbish frozen into balls and placed in-situ on WA’s beaches, to a performance art voyage in two tiny ancient boats, a large pasted map, to an installation exploring caravanning grey nomads. The exhibition’s open all weekend, for free, in the main gallery, and there’san extensive public program of talks, walks and activities that reflect on the exhibition. The Guided Walks look cool – 9.30am Saturday and Sunday, re-trace the steps of Austrian Botanist Baron Karl von Hügel who toured the Swan River Colony in 1834 as Rebecca Mayo (who takes you on the walk) reads excerpts from his journal.

Fremantle Arts Centre, 1 Finnerty Road, Fremantle. Open daily 10am-5pm. More information about the activities and talks HERE.

Above: Local artists Renae Coles & Anna Dunnil in their performance project for Horizon