Supanova, a pop culture expo, will be making it’s way to Perth for the first time from Friday 27 (evening preview) to Sunday 29 June 2008. It will be held at Claremont Showgrounds.

Whether its Star Wars, Harry Potter, Halo, DragonBall Z, Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings, Pokemon, Transformers, Star Trek, Superman, Tomb Raider or any other number of imaginary universes, Supanova Pop Culture Expo is the place to check these all out, and to meet many of the stars who act in, or produce, the things we love. So whether you are five or fifty, the place to be for everyone is Supanova, where the imaginary meets reality for one really cool weekend.

The expo will cover podcasts, movies & tv, anime, comics, authors and games & toys.

So far, the guests announced for Perth are: Hayden Panettiere, Daniel Logan, Jeff Nimay, Morena Baccarin, Howard Chaykin, Joe Jusko, Quinton Flynn and Gary Chaloner.

But there’s more to come, keep an eye on the Supanova website!

Tickets on sale through Ticketek.

Sculptures by the Sea return to Cottesloe Beach from Thursday 6 to Tuesday 18 March, 2008. Good free fun, any time of day!

Over 50 local, interstate and international artists will transform Perth’s most popular beach into a stunning sculpture park overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Sculptures by the Sea website

Photos by Karen Castle, from last year.

ByteMe! Festival is a showcase of digital content in its many forms: computer games, animation, mobile phone content, blogs, podcasts, digital photography, web and multimedia design, VJing, electronic music, music videos etc. Digital content is everywhere and part of every industry!

This is the first time this event has been held, and there’s a great line-up of international speakers: people who are working for Dreamworks, EA Games, The Weta Workshop and more.

Some of the events….

Saturday 1 December - Live video performance outside on a big projection screen in a secret CBD location, with international VJ’s. FREE family friendly event from about 8.30, venue announced on website on Saturday, though met outside Perth Town Hall.

Daily from Sunday 2 to Sunday 9 December:

- Free Mini Expo in Perth Town Hall with WA-made computer games, free content for mobile phones and info about digital careers.

- Ghost Town - Free innovative game using your mobile phone (needs blue tooth), explore Perth while you’re at it!

- Get Reel - screenings of WA Digital Content

Sunday 2 Dec - An Animated Life - International guest speaker who’s worked on ‘Happy Feet’ and more.

Monday 3 Dec - Figwit - Lord of the Rings Documentary, Green Carpet Screening

Wednesday 5 Dec - Music, Video, Art - Perth music video clips, and discussion

Thursday 6 Dec - Animation show and tell with internation speaker from Dreamworks, etc

Saturday 8 Dec - Visual FX Revealed - International speaker from Weta Workshop who worked on King Kong and Lord of the Rings.

Sunday - 9 Dec - Animation/Games - International speaker from EA Games and Stephen Grant who works on Dogstar.

BarcampNano - unconference showcasing web2.0 community in WA, organised by the Australian Web Industry Association. Free event.

See the full program and more information about each event and the speakers on the ByteMe! Festival website!

The Perth International Arts Festival will be held from 8 February to 2 March 2008.

The program and 2008 website has now been launched!

Browse through the different categories: Theatre, Dance, Visual Arts, Music, Family, Artist Talks, Lotterywest Festival Films, Beck’s Music Box, Perth Writers Festival, The Great Southern and Free Events!!!

Under the ‘My Festival‘ heading you can sign up and create your own program, very useful!

I already wrote about Sonic Youth (23 Feb) and The Scientists (13 Feb) performing at Beck’s Music Box. I also see Rufus Wainwright is performing, on 9 February 2008 at the Perth Concert Hall.

There’s just so much more, and unfortunately I don’t have the time to look further into it right now! Go and see for yourself!

Quick mentions for the free opening event, a family spectacular you can watch on the foreshore on the Swan River (8 and 10 February), free floating family films in Applecross and Hillary’s Boat Harbour, The Chaser guys and Naomi Wolf for the Perth Writers Festival (22 to 24 Feb) and Black Watch by the National Theatre of Scotland.

Bookings open this Monday, 12 November!

Dullsville Perth, nothing to do? Ha, I wish! Also check out what’s happening this weekend, one of the busiest weekends of the year! And it’s not all expensive concerts, there’s a heap of free events as part of the Northbridge and ABC festivals!

The City of Perth & ARTRAGE invite you to step into the heart of Northbridge next weekend and join in the spectacle as one of Australia’s most popular precinct festivals turns it on, and upside down, over one massive weekend of great arts, cultural and entertainment experiences!

And it’s all FREE!

On Saturday there all kinds of international, national and local acts on the Main Stage on the Northbridge Piazza (corner James & Lake Streets) from 3pm till midnight.
There’s comedy from comedians Jimmy James Eaton and Claire Hooper, music from The Sunshine Brothers, Adam Hall and The Velvet Playboys and The Flairz, Strange Fruit, a fusion of theatre, dance and circus, Fliptease, a combination of acrobatics and burlesque style aerial performances, and much more!!

Throughout the weekend (Saturday midday to 9pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm) the Northbridge Festival Street Market takes over James Street.
There’s stalls by Perth fashion designers and artists, community and creative organisations, galleries and all kinds of street performance.

Sunday there are also events in Russel Square, which is also a nice place for a picnic, and again on the Main Stage at the Piazza, from 11am to 6pm. At 11am there will be a minute silence for Remembrance Day.

See the Northbridge Festival website to download the program, street and precinct maps.