Five reasons you don’t want to miss Parramatta Lanes in 2025

The festival's menu is huge and has heaps to choose from. More than 80 street stalls will deliver everything from sizzling skewers to matcha-flavoured desserts, smash burgers and melt-in-your-mouth pastries. Regulars like Koi Dessert Bar will be back alongside new offerings including authentic Palestinian desserts from Yummy Yummy Knafeh and smokey dishes from BBQ legends BlackBear BBQ.

Plus, for the very first time, a Boodle Fight is coming to Parramatta Lanes – this is a traditional Filipino communal feast, which involves piling meats, seafood and veggies on top of banana leaves and chowing down sans cutlery. Hosted by the Filipino Food Movement under a marquee in the heart of the festival, this unique event is ticketed, so reserve a spot asap.

Find your vibe at one of Parramatta Lanes’ 10 pop-up stages, featuring diverse performances from more than 100 musical acts. From DJ sets to punk bands, soulful R'n'B and even a karaoke stage, you'll be spoilt for choice with a mix of international and local bands – and these concerts won’t even cost you a cent. 

Opening night kicks off with the genre-defying collective Who All Gon Be There, from the USA. You can also catch jazz supergroup LVDF, the Māori/Chinese duo Flowerstream, local legends Andy Golledge, The Hard Ons, multi-instrumentalist Immy Owusu, and improv group Party Dozen. Western Sydney’s Bodega Collective are back to host their infamous Pass the Mic night in collaboration with Triple J, where one lucky winner will take home a huge cash prize.

Sudanese-Australian rapper VV Pete will headline the Music In Exile line-up on the Ngurra Gunya stage on Thursday night, bringing her unique blend of club rap, drill and baile funk. For R'n'B and Middle Eastern music, head to Auctioneer Lane, or kick back in an immersive sound bath from Kaleidoscope Collective. Plenty of DJ booths will also be popping up across the city, so keep an eye out if you’re down for a boogie.

Parramatta Lanes also features a range of impressive art installations and performances. The Darkness Between the Stars is a cyber-surreal digital installation that uses visual effects, animation and 3D modelling. Watch out for the gravity-defying aerial spectacle Ascend by Legs On The Wall, performed nightly on the side of a building. Have your cards read by an AI Tarot reader whose personalised readings are shuffled by your pulse. Head up to Level 3 of the Eat St Car Park to catch the immersive photographic installation Sammi, which explores themes of surveillance. And for a show-stopping picture, pose beside Summer Kim, a four-metre-high inflatable girl that is set to rival Australia’s novelty ‘big things’. 

This year's festival is set to be bigger than ever, and they’re raising the bar with a multi-storey car park takeover. Hop on an Optus Disco Buggy and hitch a ride to the rooftop, where you’ll pass art installations, music stages, a silent disco and more. Next to the car park you’ll find a pop-up pro-wrestling ring where you can back your faves in an epic showdown. 

There are plenty of opportunities for K-Pop fun, with a dance party taking over Parramatta Square featuring local crews HIMI, Virtue and SIRIUS presented by the Korean Cultural Centre Australia. Plus, you have the chance to catch international dance crew D#Orchestra on George Street and the Eat St Carpark Rooftop and George Street (while you’re there, rehydrate at the Hydralyte station*). If you’re more cowboy than K-Pop, saddle up and head down to line dancing with Queer Line Dancing Co Saddle Club. Cool off at the Latin Quarter on Phillip Street where you can order up a Margarita from the Parkroyal Tequila Cantina before hitting the dance floor again for some samba, rumba and salsa.

This year, Terrazza Aperol will be transforming Parramatta Town Hall’s Centenary Square into a Mediterranean oasis so you can soak up the ambience with an Aperol Spritz in hand. We recommend stopping by for a bit of sunny-time people watching – and if you’re lucky, you just might catch the aerial performance Ascend by Legs On The Wall.

Find the full program for Parramatta Lanes here. 

*Always read the label and follow the directions for use.