Kat Dopper

Welcome to the seventh guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! Every Wednesday of February, Heaps Gay founder, 'Queen of the Party' and Mardi Gras board member Kat Dopper is telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendations for this week, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to Kat. A small horde of Sydney music lovers took over the Chippendale Hotel on the evening of Friday February 24 for the latest instalment of the Red Bull Sound Select series. Full disclosure: I’m the artist rep for this project – which means I get to work with some amazing artists and curators. Curated by FBi Radio this month (the events are curated on a rotating roster by FBi, I OH YOU and Laneway Festival), the lineup featured Kllo, Habits and Kimchi Princi – all for the low, low price of $3 (with RSVP).  Sydney’s Kimchi Princi was up first, and as always, took to the stage with contagious energy and presence. It’s amazing what this girl can do with little more than a beat, a microphone and her inimitable dance moves. Uber confident and unafraid to wear her sexuality on her sleeve, she started out her set zipped up to her chin in a windbreaker, before stripping that off to nothing more than a PVC sports bra. For my money, there is no act more entertaining in Sydney right now.   Kimchi Princi – Red Bull Sound Select at Chippendale HotelPhotograph: Ken Leanfore     Where Kimchi is precocious and bubbly, Melbourn

Welcome to the seventh guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! Every Wednesday of February, Heaps Gay founder, 'Queen of the Party' and Mardi Gras board member Kat Dopper is telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendations for this week, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to Kat. Of all of the events on the Mardi Gras calendar, Koori Gras is my number one pick. And the opening night at 107 Projects in Redfern was incredible: as soon as I stepped into the gallery space I was immediately drawn to (and dwarfed by) a wall sized glittering Aboriginal flag; the room was packed with people engrossed in passionate conversation and embracing each other, on a night that feels very special.   Koori Gras exhibition Photograph: Anna Kucera     The positive energy in the room is the purpose of the event: as Koori Gras curator Tim Bishop said to SBS earlier this week, “We gather too often for inequality. This is an opportunity to focus on the celebration of… lives and achievements.” And this was one hell of a great celebration! After some beautiful stories told, Mardi Gras royalty ‘the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ graced the stage to lead the room in two hymns, my favourite being ‘Blest the Koori’ to the tune of ‘Waltzing Matilda’.   The Sisters of Perpetual IndulgencePhotograph: Anna Kucera     The night was brought to a close by Nana Miss Koori, a towering glamazon drag queen, performing

Welcome to the sixth guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! Every Wednesday of February, Heaps Gay founder, 'Queen of the Party' and Mardi Gras board member Kat Dopper is telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendations for this week, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to Kat. Have you ever wanted to see someone deep throat a 4-foot-long balloon sausage? Or watch a space alien gyrating hoola hoops to soft rock? You should have been at Chippendale’s Knox Street Bar last Thursday night – for The Oyster Club: Glamdrogynous Freakshow. Photograph: Tim da-Rin   One of the newest things to arrive on Sydney’s ever-changing queer scene, the Oyster Club is a monthly variety show curated by a couple of performance artists (who have graced the stage at Heaps Gay): Julia Rose and Marlena Dali. It’s an all-inclusive line-up with a key ongoing theme: “More Art, Less Trump”. Last week I took time out from planning Heaps Gay’s Marrickville street party to head over to the Oyster Club and see what the fuss was about. As soon as I wandered into the small bar I knew I was in the right place: this is a gender-bending and welcoming crowd, and a great event to head to solo and make some new pals.   Emcee Marlena DaliPhotograph: Tim da-Rin     The show is always in two parts, so you can shout your new friends a round of Aperol Spritzes in the intermission and chuck the spare change into the oyster feat

Welcome to the fifth guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! Every Wednesday of February, Heaps Gay founder, 'Queen of the Party' and Mardi Gras board member Kat Dopper is telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendations for this week, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to Kat. You might think of it as a cinema and bar, but Golden Age is also a hidden gem in Sydney’s deflated live music scene. For the last couple of months they've been putting on a killer bunch of live (and free!) music showcases in the Golden Age Bar, featuring artists such as Marcus Whale, Holy Balm, MEZKO and Melbourne’s Pikelet. Spanning jazz, off kilter pop and DIY, the line-up is more on the experimental/classical side of the music spectrum – which suits the space perfectly.    Golden Age BarPhotograph: Anna Kucera     Tucked away and hidden beneath the old Paramount Pictures offices, the cosy Art Deco bar is viewable on approach through street-level windows. Romantically lit, it glows with an intimateness that is perfect for a date. My partner and I decided to check out Sydney improvisational band Tangents on Saturday, and grab a wine or two. (I particularly like that these guys serve natural wine.) We smashed through a cheese board till the golden curtains slowly slid back to reveal Tangents, ready to perform. Enchanting jazz filled the room. Appearing completely effortless, their music carefully wove acous