What are some of the hottest must-do, must-buy and can’t-miss things this month? Here are our very favourite.
What are some of the hottest must-do, must-buy and can’t-miss things this month? Here are our very favourite.
BUY: Louis Vuitton Travel Books 2016
The Louis Vuitton Travel Books Collection has always been a lovely homage to the luxury brand’s early days as an artisanal luggage maker, and this year’s editions, featuring artistic interpretations of South Africa and Paris by two popular artists, are no different. More than just picture books, these compile works of art – drawings, paintings, cartoons and more – that illustrate the vision of the city or country through the eyes of the artist. Belgian cartoonist Brecht Evens offers his take on Paris, while famous contemporary Chinese painter Liu Xiaodong reimagines South Africa like you’ve never seen before.
DETOX: Digital Detox Weekend at Alila Villas Soori, Bali
If the thought of being away from your smartphone or Wi-Fi connection for more than five minutes makes you break out in a cold sweat, consider this getaway. Rather than forcing you to go cold turkey, the Digital Detox Weekend (June 17-19) features masterclasses designed to help you reduce your reliance on technology, interspersed with meditation and yoga classes as well as spa treatments. Who knows? At this retreat, you might actually not be tempted to post that #beachselfie.
A three-day, two-night Digital Detox Retreat is priced from $1,877 a person, and includes accommodation, meals, treatments and more. For further details, visit www.alilahotels.com/soori/events.
ATTEND: Singapore Coffee Festival
Why cafe-hop when you can be inundated with coffee options, educational sessions and food sampling booths all at one location? The inaugural Singapore Coffee Festival (June 9-12) will host more than 100 exhibitors, from hipster stalwarts like Common Man Coffee Roasters and Chye Seng Huat Hardware to mass-market big brands like Killiney. Besides the opportunity to give yourself a caff eine overdose, you can learn more about what goes into the brew, try your hand at making your own drink, and chill to live music performances by local bands.
Tickets are priced from $13 for a one-day pass. For more information, visit http://sgcoffeefestival.com.sg.
TRAVEL: Truffle Kerfuffle in Manjimup, Western Australia
Taste real truffle (repeat after us: Truffle oil is not made from truffles) in Manjimup, the heart of truffle-growing in Australia. The annual food and wine event (June 24-26 this year) celebrates the region’s produce, with a focus on the prized black fungi. Join hunters as they search for truffle, learn from local chefs at cooking sessions, and taste the real McCoy. It’s worth the 3½-hour drive from Perth to this Western Australian town.
For more information, visit www.trufflekerfuffle.com.au.
CATCH: The O.P.E.N.
The pre-Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) initiative, which stands for Open, Participate, Engage and Negotiate, will take place from June 22 to July 9, right before SIFA. The fascinating line-up of exhibitions, concerts and forums will give audiences a greater sense of interaction with artistic individuals from the worlds of fashion, design, architecture, photojournalism and more. Highlights include Models Never Talk, a performance piece by Olivier Saillard that features a panel of ex-supermodels recounting their days in the fashion industry through movement and memory; and award-winning Iranian photographer Newsha Tavakolian’s solo exhibition I Know Why The Rebel Sings, a showcase of war reportage and an expose of humanitarian tragedies, as well as artistic portraits of life in Tehran.
Tickets are priced from $10. For more information, visit www.sifa.sg/theopen.
WATCH: Summer blockbuster sequels
Congratulations if you’re a fan of horror flick The Conjuring, heist thriller Now You See Me, or kids’ faves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesand Finding Nemo: Hollywood has granted each of them sequels this June, and we can’t wait to see how they pan out. If they’re not your cup of tea, surely the much-awaited sequel to Independence Day(Independence Day: Resurgence, opening June 23) will be. We still get chills from President Whitmore’s (Bill Pullman) stirring Fourth of July pre-battle speech in the first film, and we’re expecting even more epic, CGI-ed battle scenes this time round.
