Adelaide Festival

A Floating Ballroom On The Torrens Is Everything Adelaide Needs This Summer!

The Adelaide Festival is set to resurrect a 1920’s Adelaide relic, a huge floating ballroom on the Torrens this March!

There, in the dim distance of the city’s receding cultural memory, one of our oldest jewels: the “Taj Mahal of the Torrens”, once “most distinctive and beautiful place of entertainment in the Commonwealth” is set to glow again this summer among the rapidly transforming Adelaide Riverbank.

An ornate floating ballroom, The Floating Palais, was once the pinnacle of Adelaide’s nightlife throughout the 1920’s, until its mysterious sinking “after a series of explosions” at the height of the decade. But it is set to be resurrected as part of the 2017 Adelaide Festival this March.

The Floating Palais De Sanse on the Torrens, Circa 1924.

The Floating Palais De Sanse on the Torrens, Circa 1924.

The new, specially designed Floating Palais is going to be all about entertainment with a Grand Ballroom featuring DJs nightly. There will be a stunning open air mezzanine bar to soak up the summer atmosphere or gasbag about the evening’s entertainment. The Palais will be open during the daytime as well, with breakfast, lazy lunches and after work drinks all on the cards. Gill Minervini (Dark MOFO Winter Feast) will combine with Duncan Weldemoed (Africola, Lola’s Pergola) to curate the menu with internationally renown chefs Christine Manfield, Cheong Liew and Cath Kerry all set to showcase their talents.

But quite seriously, the concept of quite literally floating on the River Torrens as we dance the night away. You had us at hello!

Curiously, we haven’t found out who is behind the creation of this venue. We shall let you know as soon as we are done digging deeper.

The Riverbank Palais will be open from March 2-19 as part of the Adelaide Festival 2017. To find out more information visit the Adelaide Festival website.

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