July events in Sydney
Glide through mid-winter with the best events in Sydney this month
Many misinformed winter-haters might lament about the lack of activities during Sydney’s chilly season, but we’re here to set them on the path to cold weather adventures. We’ve found warming food festivals, spectacular ice skating spots and sizzling gigs on every week during July.
Looking to heat up your love life? Bring a new boo to these fabulous bars for first dates or show how quirky-cool you are with these delightful old fashioned Sydney date ideas.
RECOMMENDED: NAIDOC Week in Sydney.
July's best events
Zirk! Russia's Big Top Circus Spectacular
There's been no shortage of big tops popping up in the Entertainment Quarter in recent years, and now Zirk! will join them. It mixes traditions of Russian circus (although thankfully there are no animal acts) with contemporary spectacle. There'll be a double wheel, aerial acts, acrobatics and the terrifying-sounding 'Globe of Death'.
Burramatta NAIDOC
Wander through the market and see First Nations artists perform traditional and contemporary dance at this family-friendly festival. Each year, there’s also a collection of free workshops and activities, dance and music at the corroboree circle, plus a feast starring native Australian ingredients.
Muriel's Wedding the Musical
Muriel’s Wedding the Musical will leave you smiling for days. Directed by our finest big-picture showman Simon Phillips, this is the film-to-stage adaptation critics, audiences and creatives dream of: an updated and evolved version of the original story that stands proudly as its own creation.
Winterlight
When the winter chill arrives, Parramatta is taken over by Winterlight. The frosty festival offers glowing carnival rides, warming, carb-heavy snacks and mulled wine, plus the all-important ice rink. It's a great spot to skate under the dazzling winter sun or twinkly fairy lights in the evenings.
Childish Gambino
You could almost hear the collective sigh of disappointment when Childish Gambino cancelled his Opera House dates back in October 2018. He promised to return and he’s remained true to his word. He's coming to Sydney after his headline slot at Splendour for what is arguably the most anticipated gig of the year.
Bastille Festival Sydney
Experience the best parts of France – food, wine, art and performance – without leaving the city at Sydney’s celebration of Bastille Day. The festival will take over Circular Quay and the Rocks for four days with food villages, wine bars and beer gardens, movie screenings, free concerts and street performances.
Anatomy of a Suicide
Described as “one of the most formally ambitious, emotionally rich and daring plays to have emerged out of the UK in recent years,” Anatomy of a Suicide follows mother, daughter and granddaughter Carol, Anna and Bonnie and the legacy that mental illness wreaks across their lives
Carriageworks Winter Night Market
This year’s winter edition of the after dark food adventure will be curated by James Viles from fine dining establishment Biota in the appropriate freezing Southern Highlands. The line-up of more than 50 stalls will create dishes which utilise native, ethically sourced produce, with a special focus on using all elements of the ingredients.
Brené Brown Live
Brené Brown has spent 20 years unpacking courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy within social and professional contexts, becoming one of the world’s most recognised voices in a social research and leadership. Now, she is headed to Sydney share seven years of research into brave leadership.
The Happy Prince
Little Ones Theatre are back in Sydney with this award-winning take on one of Oscar Wilde’s stories. They're known for taking on classics and giving them a fresher-than-fresh update. This production stars two of our favourite local actors – Catherine Davies and Janine Watson – in a variety of different roles.
Little Simz
Given the hype surrounding her latest album, Grey Area, you’d be forgiven for assuming it was Little Simz’s debut release. The London MC has been putting out mixtapes and records for nearly a decade now, so it's high time you got to one of her live performances.
SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show
Whether you're mad for cosplay, a gaming wizard or in love with the artistry of anime and manga, the return of SMASH! is sure to excite Japanese pop-culture fans. The weekend program includes panel discussions, film screenings, music and dance performances, art demonstrations and creative workshops.
Skating at Cathedral Square
Skate every day – and late into the night – at an open-air ice rink at the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral. During the day you'll skate under the Sydney winter sunshine, but the evenings will be illuminated with a colourful glow as you head to the rink-side bar.
An Evening with Michael Pollan
He was once focused on teaching the world how to eat for a healthy body, mind and planet, but now Michael Pollan has his mind on something else: drugs. Hear him tackle the taboo and recount his own recent experience with psychedelics and the science and history surrounding these drugs.
Lord of the Flies
Mia Wasikowska, who played Alice in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland movies, probably isn’t the first person you’d think of to cast as one of the young boys in Lord of the Flies, but Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Kip Williams is giving the story a significant rethink.
Dave
Londoner David Omoregie might be barely out of his teens, but he’s already a bona fide star in his homeland. His debut album, Psychodrama, is an impressively accomplished work, marrying the unyielding style of UK grime with nakedly candid lyrics, where Dave opens up about his struggles with mental health and racial abuse.
Donut Masterclass with Shortstop
If you’re a diehard doughnut fan and you’ve got Shortstop on your list of top dough joints, you better join their talented doughnut makers in this masterclass. You’ll be rolling, proofing, frying and glazing your own batches of doughnuts, before you scoff them straight out of the fryer.
Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k
The main drawcard for the Real Insurance Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k races is that they’re both real flat, real fast and take you past really gorgeous city views. If you’re looking to smash a personal record, this is a fun and scenic way to do it.
NAIDOC in the City
Share in the traditional food, song, dance and stories of Sydney's Indigenous community. This free, family-friendly event will celebrate Sydney’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and bring together the wider community with earth oven treats, an art, craft and produce market, plus painting, weaving and sports workshops for kids.
SZA
American singer SZA’s career blew up in 2017 with the release of her debut album Ctrl, which delivered modern-day R’n’B with introspective reflections and a willingness to borrow from other genres. Her name is everywhere now, so you’d better catch her while she’s here.
Apollo 11
The Powerhouse Museum is hosting a cosmic exhibition dedicated to the Moon landing and its 50th anniversary. It'll feature more than 200 objects involved the momentous 1969 space journey and other pieces exploring the science, design and historical impact of the event, plus the popular 'Museum of the Moon' installation.
Banging Denmark
This new work is about a feminist academic called Ish and a pick-up artist called Jake. They’re not exactly fans of one another, but when Jake falls in love with a Danish librarian, he needs to call in Ish for advice on how to woo her in a less problematic way.
Foals
Foals' Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost is an album in two halves – part one was released in March with the concluding part following later in the year. It features waves of guitar as you’d expect, but also new ideas fizzing at every turn. Get set for an intense and cathartic experience.
NAIDOC Week: Voice. Treaty. Truth.
Join this day of learning that recognises our collective responsibility for creating an informed, inclusive multicultural society. Sydney Living Museums and their cultural partner Muru Mittigar Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre are hosting dance performances, a smoking ceremony, yarning circle, Indigenous language workshops and art activities.
The Streets
Following a six year hiatus, the original geezer poet returned in 2017 releasing his first music since 2011’s Computers and Blues LP. And with his keen eye for the minutiae of life and his killer way with a one-liner, Mike Skinner’s talents feel more relevant than ever.
Bangarra: 30 Years of Sixty Five Thousand
After thirty years, Bangarra Dance Theatre has emerged as one of Australia’s best dance companies, consistently working to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and experiences. In 30 Years of Sixty Five Thousand, three contemporary works are brought together to celebrate the strength and breadth of Bangarra’s legacy.
The Torrents
You probably haven’t heard of Oriel Gray or The Torrents, but in 1955 it was the joint winner of the Playwrights’ Advisory Board Competition with Australia’s most famous play, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. It’s been rarely performed since the 1950s, making it a hugely neglected classic – and look, that’s probably because it wasn’t written by a man.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
The Melbourne psych stalwarts are known for their astonishing prolificacy – they released five full-length albums in 2017 alone – but they never skimp on quality. Have a good old-fashioned boogie listening to them perform hits plus tacks from their most recent album, Fishing For Fishies.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in Concert with the SSO
What could possibly improve on the grandeur of the Harry Potter film series? Seeing it on a huge screen with the magnificent Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing the score live. See the next installment of this global concert tour celebrating the boy wizard films all over the world.
Laugh yourself warm
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