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Shen Lieyi (China), ‘Tracing’, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2024
Photograph: Charlotte Curd | Shen Lieyi, ‘Tracing’, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2024
Photograph: Charlotte Curd

The best things to do in Sydney this weekend

All the best ways to make the most of your weekend

Avril Treasure
Edited by Avril Treasure
Editor, Time Out Sydney
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Wanna have fun this weekend? Of course you do. Here's a good place to start.

Sculpture by the Sea in Bondi – the world’s largest annual, free-to-the-public, outdoor sculpture exhibition – is back this Friday, baby! The beautiful coastal walk is made even more striking thanks to 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and around the world along a 2km stretch. The exhibition runs until Monday, November 3 – making it a great weekend activity. BYO joggers. Find out more here.

SXSW Sydney – the week-long, city-wide celebration of culture, tech, innovation, music, games and more – finishes this Sunday. If you're keen to see a gig, listen to a mind-blowing talk, or get inspired, you can do that here. Find out more here.

Calling all creatives: Sydney Ceramics Market is on this weekend (Oct 18–19) at Carriageworks. Australia’s largest ceramics event will feature incredible treasures from more than 130 local artists and potters, as well as live wheel-throwing demonstrations and food and drink stalls. Tickets are on sale now. Find out more here.

Surry Hills stalwart Chin Chin is hosting a disco brunch each weekend this October. Expect delicious yum cha delights, free-flowing cocktails and retro tunes – all for $89 per person. How good? It’s on Saturday and Sunday from 12-3pm.

It’s a big month for musical theatre in Sydney, with two high-octane shows, Rent and Back to the Future: The Musical, now playing. Keen for more razzle dazzle? You can check out our full guide to all the shows on in Sydney here.

Plate it Forward has kicked off the Third I Festival this spring, a month-long celebration of food, culture and community across its gamechanging (and delicious) Sydney venues Colombo Social, Kolkata Social and Kyiv Social. From bottomless brunches with South Asian flair to hopper dinners and one big laneway party, there’s lots of fun in store. Check out the full program here.

And if you want more boozy fun, you can check out Sydney's best bars here as well as the best clubs here. Oh, and you can suss Sydney’s best restaurants and best affordable eats too.

Have a great weekend.

Weather not looking so hot? Check out our list of the best things to do indoors in Sydney.

Looking for weekday fun? These are the best things to do in Sydney this week.

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, straight to your inbox.

The best things to do this weekend

Hong Kong Disco Yum Cha Brunch at Chin Chin

  • Things to do
  • Food and drink
  • Surry Hills
Hong Kong Disco Yum Cha Brunch at Chin Chin
Hong Kong Disco Yum Cha Brunch at Chin Chin
Photograph: Anna Kucera
A Hong Kong-inspired disco yum cha brunch is going down this October at Sydney’s neon-pink and high-energy Chin Chin – and you’re invited. The funky and delicious riff on Chin Chin’s brunch will see you and your friends experience a taste of Hong Kong without even leaving Sydney – all soundtracked to retro beats (and with free-flowing cocktails, of course). Chuck on your best ’70s-style look and feast on delicious yum cha delights like golden and crunchy prawn and scallop bao toast amped up with Sichuan mayo; barbecue pork and pineapple milk buns featuring a perfectly buttery and flaky pastry; and plump pork and prawn siu mai topped with pops of salmon roe. Other menu highlights include bouncy soy-coated egg noodles tangled with gai lan, cabbage with pickled green chilli; succulent char siu pork rib-eye flavoured with five spice, ginger and spring onion; and for dessert there’s baked egg tarts hitting sweet, nostalgic notes. Pair your yum cha brunch with specialty curated party-ready cocktails inspired by Hong Kong’s vibrant bar scene, home to many of Asia's and the World's 50 Best Bars 2025. There’s the Skyline Spritz, a fun and fruity tipple swirling with peach, jasmine, passionfruit and bitters; and a Mango Mimosa – a tropical take on the OG with fresh mango juice and prosecco. As well as cocktails, guests can sip on glasses of Tar & Roses Prosecco, Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc, Marquis de Pennautier Rosé, and Young Henry’s Newtowner Pale Ale. The 90-minute experience...

SXSW Sydney Unlocked

  • Things to do
  • Fairs and festivals
  • Sydney
SXSW Sydney Unlocked
SXSW Sydney Unlocked
Photograph: Supplied | SXSW Sydney | Paul McMillan
After two successful launch seasons, the Texas-born multidisciplinary festival of music, tech, film, games and innovation is coming back to the Harbour City, with SXSW Sydney 3.0 set to be a biggie. Alongside the line-up of talks, panels, workshops and showcases open to SXSW pass holders, this year’s event also features a huge free program which is open to the public. Here’s the lowdown on SXSW Unlocked. Running throughout the festival (from Monday, October 13 until Sunday, October 19), the official public program for SXSW Sydney will transform Tumbalong Park into a (free-to-access) cultural playground, with more than 85 hours of live performances, talks, film screenings, gaming sessions and fashion and tech-focused events.  Highlights of the public program include lunchtime talks, an incredible First Nations creative showcase and a series of live performances spanning multiple genres: from J-Pop to country. Plus, this year will see the festival’s impressive Innovation Expo and immersive Games Expo open to the public for the first time on Saturday, October 18.  While most of the events mainly appeal to Sydney’s adult population, there’s a lot of family-friendly fun scheduled throughout the week too – from kids rock gigs to interactive exhibitions.If you’re keen to nab a freebie (on top of the free entertainment), you can explore the interactive brand hubs which will be offering giveaways throughout the week.You can learn more and plan your free SXSW experience over here....
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Back to the Future: The Musical

  • Darling Harbour
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Back to the Future: The Musical
Back to the Future: The Musical
Photograph: Daniel Boud
Great Scott! All the way from 1985 to 1955 and now 2025, Sydney has landed the opening of mega-movie musical Back to the Future: The Musical, complete with a superb ensemble, captivating visual effects and enough nostalgia to power a time-travelling DeLorean.  For full transparency, Back to the Future is one of my favourite films of all time. Growing up watching Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd’s Dr. Emmett Brown travel through time across three films was a large part of my movie-watching childhood. So when it was announced that it would be getting a high-octane staging, I was both ecstatic and sceptical. However, like the show’s original writer (and now the musical’s) Bob Gale said, “we’re not going to do this unless we can do it right”.   Thankfully, of the musical version I can safely say – to borrow from the Doc – “IT WORKS!” What’s the premise of Back to the Future: The Musical? After uncovering an old folder of photos in his parents’ basement, Gale wondered, after seeing a high school version of his father, whether he would have been friends with him back then. “The answer is no,” he joked at the opening night bows. The result of this is classic ’80s nostalgia – in both setting and plot.  BTTF follows teenager Marty McFly in Hill Valley, 1985, whose life is less than spectacular. He dreams of being a rock 'n’ roll star but he’s told he’s too loud and a “slacker” like his father. His family are just as hopeless. None more so than his father George...
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Culture Vibes

  • Things to do
  • Fairs and festivals
  • Kensington
Culture Vibes
Culture Vibes
Photograph: Supplied | Randwick City Council
Sydney never slows down, but spring has a special way of cranking up the good times. And now, there’s a fresh new festival joining the party: the inaugural Culture Vibes festival is landing in Kensington Park on Saturday, October 18, from 3-10pm. Hosted by Randwick City Council, this one-day celebration brings a jam-packed program of global beats, eats and art. Expect cultural workshops, drumming performances from House of Rhythm, roving performers from puppeteers Curious Legends and an epic art installation from Amigo and Amigo titled ‘Unity’. There'll also be a pop-up bar slinging drinks all day long and plenty of prime picnic spots, all set to a live soundtrack of DJs and music from around the world.   Eat your way through the international food stalls serving up everything from empanadas and souvlakis to dumplings, Dutch pancakes, wood-fired pizza and Portuguese tarts. Then, hit the markets where you can find all kinds of homewares, clothing and accessories from global stallholders. Think Palestinian-inspired embroidered accessories, organic vegan Mexican chocolate, Parisian-designed fashion, African wax-fabric pieces and natural goodies made from native Aussie botanicals. The best part: it's completely free. Just bring your blanket or camping chairs and settle in for a few solid hours (or the whole day) of culture, community and sunshine.  Find out more here. 
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Rent

  • Musicals
  • Sydney
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Rent
Rent
Photograph: Opera Australia/Michelle Grace Hunder
Nearly 30 years after it burst onto Broadway, Rent remains a landmark. It won four Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, but its true legacy lies in how it blew open Broadway’s doors to the misfits, bringing ’90s rock, raw emotion and the gritty diversity of real New York life to the stage. It didn’t just reflect a generation, it shaped one. For theatre kids like me, Jonathan Larson’s words were the ones we belted backstage and found ourselves in. And it wasn’t just us, Rent inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to write In the Heights and paved the way for the Glee generation: a wave of fans and artists who saw musical theatre as urgent, inclusive and unapologetically cool. Now, Opera Australia is reigniting that spark for a new generation with a bold, heart-filled production. What’s the premise of Rent? Jonathan Larson’s rock musical Rent follows a group of seven struggling young artists and friends trying to survive and create in New York City’s Lower East Side during the late 1980s. As the AIDS epidemic spreads and claims lives around them, they grapple with love, illness, addiction and the looming threat of eviction. At the same time, they face a growing disillusionment with capitalism and the gentrification rapidly reshaping their neighbourhood. Who makes up the cast of Rent? As in Puccini’s La Bohème, the inspiration behind Rent, the story begins with two friends: Mark (Henry Rollo, Rocky Horror Show), a struggling documentary filmmaker, and Roger (Harry Targett, Dear Evan...
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Orange Wine Festival

  • Things to do
  • Fairs and festivals
Orange Wine Festival
Orange Wine Festival
Photograph: Supplied | Orange Wine Festival
As the weather warms up, the spontaneous afternoon tipples, Sunday wine sessions, and boozy alfresco lunches start to make a welcome comeback. And if your wine rack is ready for a refresh, we’ve got just the thing. This spring, the beloved Orange Wine Festival returns to Australia’s cool-climate gem, the Orange Wine Region. It’s your chance to discover new favourites, meet the makers, and soak up the sunny weather – one glass at a time. With nearly 40 unique events hosted by the region’s passionate vignerons and winemakers, the festival promises a flavour-packed journey through one of Australia’s most exciting wine destinations. Whether you're strolling through sun-dappled gardens, tasting straight from the barrel, or indulging in curated menus paired with local wines, there’s something for every palate.  The festivities begin with the Orange Wine Festival Night Market, a twilight event where guests can sip and stroll beneath the stars, sampling local drops and gourmet bites. Then, on October 24, the second weekend brings the highly anticipated Sip & Savour, hailed as the ultimate wine tasting experience. Think speed dating, but with wine, and minus the awkward small talk. Instead, ticket holders are “matched” with over 300 award-winning wines from the 2025 Orange Wine Show. By the end of the night, you’re bound to have found the perfect wine to add to your rack.  If you’re craving something even more intimate, take a private guided winery garden walk or dine with the...
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The Book of Mormon

  • Musicals
  • Haymarket
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon
Photograph: Supplied | Daniel Boud
As I’m on my way to Sydney's Capitol Theatre for the new Australian production of The Book of Mormon, my friend tells me it’s the very first musical a lot of people see. Created by South Park duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone (with Robert Lopez), the show’s reputation for extremely irreverent jabs at religion draws a non-traditional theatre crowd. What I now realise my friend didn’t mean was, “it’s often the first musical kids see”. When I say the musical is extremely irreverent, I mean it. The humour is crass, verging on grotesque (some things I wouldn’t dare repeat). So it’s probably questionable that I’ve brought along my 13-year-old son with me. That said, he loves it.  Some of the humour is classic teen boy (i.e. a regular exclamation from one of the Ugandan characters that he has “maggots in my scrotum”). Very South Park. My son laughs loudly with the rest of the audience – and when the jokes go too far, he cringes, glancing around with a “should I be laughing at this?” look. Although the shock value is high, it’s nice seeing a Gen Alpha-ite who’s been raised on Youtube and other screen-based entertainment bopping along in his seat to the song and dance of a stage show.    What’s the premise of The Book of Mormon? The Book of Mormon tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a small village in Uganda. Although the story centres on Mormonism, Parker and Stone have been known to refer to the show as an “atheist’s love letter to religion” – a wink and a jab...
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Daytime Deewane

  • Drama
  • Parramatta
Daytime Deewane
Daytime Deewane
Photograph: Supplied | Nat Cartney/Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta
This October, step into a 1990s daytime rave in full, euphoric swing, where pulsing beats and dancing bodies collide with heartfelt moments, betrayal, friendship, and self-discovery. This is the world of Daytime Deewane by Azan Ahmed – a genre-blending production that captures the tenderness and emotional turbulence of being a young adult just trying to figure it all out.  The Australian premiere is running from October 16-25 at the all-new Riverside Live at PHIVE theatre in Parramatta Square. Told over the course of a single afternoon, the story follows cousins Farhan and Sadiq – two young ravers navigating the tension between their Muslim heritage and the pressure to become “proper” British men. The catch? They need to figure it out before the sun sets. Rooted in British South Asian history, Ahmed’s story explores the familiar complexities of diaspora identity, blending cultural nuance with a banging soundtrack that makes it hard to sit still. You’ll laugh, reflect, and definitely dance. Directed by Sepy Baghaei (Gate Theatre’s Wish You Were Here) and starring Ariyan Sharma (STC’s Dear Evan Hansen) and Ashan Kumar in his mainstage debut, get ready for a high-energy fusion of theatre, music, and spoken word rolled into one poignant, euphoric experience.  Presented as part of Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta 2025 Season Programme and playing during Parramatta Lanes Festival, Daytime Deewane runs from October 16-25 at Live at PHIVE. For tickets, performance times,...
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Bubble Planet

  • Things to do
  • Sydney Olympic Park
Bubble Planet
Bubble Planet
Photograph: Supplied | Bubble Planet
Need a new profile pic? We’ve got you. One of the world’s biggest immersive experiences has landed in the Harbour City – serving up a fun, surreal backdrop for your Instagram grid glow-up . Bubble Planet: An Immersive Experience is open now at Paddington Pavilion, Sydney Olympic Park, offering Sydneysiders a transporting, ultra-Instagrammable experience. Already experienced by more than two million visitors around the world, with sell-out runs in Milan, Los Angeles, London and Brussels, Bubble Planet is a fantastical world of optical illusions, cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, giant bubbles, and next-level immersive projections. Visitors to the Sydney site can expect to embark on a dreamlike journey through more than 10 otherworldly rooms, home to giant bubble domes, LED underwater-style wonderlands, selfie hubs and VR dreamscapes.  Almost 10,000 tickets were sold ahead of the official opening, so we expect this one will be another sell-out run for the people who brought the incredible immersive Van Gogh experience to Sydney back in 2020. Session at this bizarre immersive world run for between 60-90 minutes, and the experience is suitable for people of all ages – with kids under four welcomed in for free. Keen? You can learn more and snap up tickets over here.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, things to do and travel inspo, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Want more activity inspo? Here’s what’s on in Sydney this...
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Suntory Bar at Prefecture 48

  • Cocktail bars
  • Sydney
Suntory Bar at Prefecture 48
Suntory Bar at Prefecture 48
Photograph: Supplied | Jiwon Kim
Most people know a Suntory beverage. Maybe it’s the mega popular Minus 196 cans, the ultimate to-go Boss Coffee, the refined Roku Gin or premium Japanese whiskies. What we guarantee you *don’t* know is just how many popular labels it owns: think everything from Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark to Canadian Club. And now, you can experience more than 125 years of Suntory’s history and innovation all in one place – for the next three months. Say hello to Sydney’s new Suntory Bar. The Japanese spirit company has chosen the city’s only Japanese culture and dining precinct, Prefecture 48 on Sussex Street, as host for the residency. The moody Whisky Thief bar with gorgeous historic artwork and marbletop counters is the place to be when you clock off. Choose between timeless highballs, signature serves, special cocktails, RTDs, The Premium Malt beer and whisky flights crafted by the team at Prefecture 48 in collaboration with Suntory.  The must-try tipple of the affair is the Highball. While it’ll be dished up with a range of Suntory whiskies (it’s what Suntory’s known for in Japan), we say try the spotlight cocktail, the Hakushu Highball, first. Not only is it a refreshing mix of Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve, soda and mint, but it’s been paired with an exclusive snack from the genius Michelin Star chef Tetsuya Wakuda (you know, from *the* Tetsuya’s). Now’s the chance to sample Wakuda’s cuisine since his eminent Sydney restaurant closed last year – that’s a golden opportunity if we ever...
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