From October 22, Parramatta’s CBD will once again transform into the city’s most beloved street party. Hosted across four incredible nights, more than 200,000 festival goers are expected to turn out for an epic celebration of Western Sydney; there will be live music, loads of street food stalls, live performances, immersive art and much more.
At Parramatta Lanes you can discover art installations such as Summer Kim, a four-metre tall inflatable girl who's ready for her close-up. There’s also the world premiere of a gravity-defying aerial performance on the side of a building, a bold Afro-futuristic digital installation and an interactive AI tarot reader.
Get your groove on after dark at one of ten pop-up stages, featuring a stacked line-up of musical acts. Find international and local bands including Sydney’s king of alt-country Andy Golledge, the legendary punk rock band The Hard Ons, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Immy Owusu, jazz, hip-hop and R'n'B fusion band Who Gon Be There (WAGBT), UK jazz band LVDF, and Maori/Chinese duo Flowerstream. There’ll also be a live rap battle with the national Pass The Mic competition, presented by Bodega Collective and Triple J.
Hit the dance floor at Queer Line Dancing, head over to the K-Pop dancing, or pick a winner at the pop-up pro-wrestling ring. Make sure you also check out Horwood Place for four nights of music and artwork at Powerhouse Lane.
Most importantly, though, what’s on the menu? The festival will showcase more than 80 street food vendors, including Yummy Yummy Knafeh, BlackBear BBQ, TokyoTaco and many more. And this is cool – for the very first time, Parramatta Lanes will host a Boodle Fight, a traditional Filipino communal dining experience where you’ll eat delicious bites served on banana leaves. Tickets are limited for this one, so get in early if you want to snap up a spot.
With more than 20 festival sites to explore, it makes sense to enjoy Parramatta Lanes across the four days – especially considering entry is free.
Parramatta Lanes is presented by the City of Parramatta and will run from October 22-25. For more information, head to the website.