Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, roll up to Foreshore Park from 21 to 29 January to witness the largest geodesic dome in the southern hemisphere, by one centimetre, but never the less the largest!

Owned by three Novocastrians who have affectionately called themselves The Geodesic Gentlemen, the Wonderdome will house a spectacle of circus-style performances for people of all ages.

The owners of the dome are John Campbell of Circus Avalon, Jason Hodgson of Phantasia and actor Ben Tranter. They purchased the outer structure in October 2011 then spent a few months building a suitable cover.

The Wonderdome first made an appearance late last year at Fox Studios in Sydney – for the Sydney Family Show and the Cream Fields Music Festival. A week ago, it returned from the 2011 Peats Ridge Music Festival, where it operated as a unique, mushroom-like theatre for a diverse range of creative performances.

Erecting the dome at Foreshore Park will begin today and take about thee days to complete. It will then be used for rehearsals until the first shows on Saturday 21 January.

The dome is the largest and longest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and is based on a design by famous inventor and engineer R Buckmister Fuller. It uses a lattice like shell structure based on a network of great circles or geodesics. It is the strongest, portable event dome around.

Local circus school Circus Avalon will perform 11 family-friendly shows, including Inside the Head of Edward Tulip and Avaloonies 30 minutes of Delight. Local performance outfit Phantasia will present two adult-only shows including Alchemical Cabaret and The Hot Society Bootleg Ball.  

The Wonderdome will house an audience of 300 and tickets are now on sale via Ticketek, or if you’re lucky at the door. Please see to the program for details.