Amid the hustle of getting back to work and into the year, we wouldn’t blame you if you’ve totally missed all that this year’s Sydney Festival has to offer. Good news is, the festivities aren’t actually over until the Ferry’s fly on Australia Day, so there’s still plenty of time to get in on the action.
We’ve found seven completely free Sydney Festival events that are well worth shuffling your schedule for to catch before the festival, and our festive season (because we all know it doesn’t really end until after Australia Day), packs its bags…
By Chloe Schneider
Symphony in the Domain
Uniquely fusing classical music with the sounds of contemporary Indigenous Australia, Symphony in the Domain sees ARIA award-winning performer, composer and didgeridoo player William Barton join the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to perform Peter Sculthorpe’s Beethoven Variations and Barton’s own Birdsong at Dusk. The evening will also feature pieces by Beethoven and poetry and prose readings by Anita Heiss.
When: 18 January at 8pm
Where: Art Gallery Road, Royal Botanic Gardens
Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour
This is exactly as it sounds, but better: a swing that creates a cascading curtain of water that miraculously opens just in time for you to pass through without getting completely drenched. Thrilling, breath-taking, and so fun you’ll forget all about that looming deadline or dreaded meeting, this ride designed by a team of artists, designers and engineers from New York really is a must.
When: 8 – 24 Jan, 9am – 9pm Daily
Where: Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour
Outdoor Yoga Classes
If you need to destress and decompress, lululemon’s complimentary 1 hour yoga classes in Hyde Park are the Festival event for you. Taught by 4 of lululemon’s local Sydney ambassadors and other local yoga teachers, they’re the perfect way to kick start that healthy new year’s resolution.
When: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday at 7.15am and Wednesday nights at 6pm
Where: Hyde Park North, Entry near Archibald Fountain
Opera in the Domain
One of our favourite festival regulars is back with an incredible line-up featuring sopranos Lorina Gore and Natalie Aroyan, mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley, tenor Diego Torre and baritones Andrew Jones and Shane Lowrencev. And with a program including arias from Carmen, The Barber of Seville and Tosca, it’s sure to be an incredible night of Opera under the stars.
When: 24th January at 8pm
Where: Art Gallery Road, Royal Botanic Gardens
Sydney Buddha
Described as one of China’s most daring artists, Zhang Huan’s work is a feat of engineering as much as it is a powerful and comment on contemporary life. Huan’s work Sydney Buddha, featuring two 5-metre tall sculptures created from 20 tonnes of ash and aluminium, is on display at the beautiful Carriageworks. We suggest you see it now, then find time to see it again closer to the exhibition close date in March as the ash Buddha will disintegrate over the course of the exhibition.
When: 8 Jan – 15 Mar 2014, 10am – 6pm daily
Where: Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh
SpongeBob SquareTimes
While shooting in New York’s Times Square, photographer Greg Barrett unknowingly recorded someone in a SpongeBob SquarePants costume trying to attract the attention and generosity of passers-by for a solitary 45 minutes. Struck by the loneliness of this character in the bustling city, Barrett turned the footage into a film accompanied by two Pianolas playing ten Holt’s cult piece Canto Ostinato. As the festival guide puts it, “people-watching at its most poetic.”
When: 8 – 17 Jan, Noon – 8pm
Where: Carriageworks, Bay 19, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh
Ferrython
It wouldn’t be Australia Day without Ferrython! This most iconic and popular of events sees our ferries go head-to-head in a race from Circular Quay to Shark Island and back again with a Kodak-moment finish at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you’ve never witnessed this event live, gather your kids up, pack a picnic and head to the foreshore for a day you won’t soon forget.
When: 26 Jan, 11am
Where: Sydney Harbour, Circular Quay
For more information and to see what else is on, head to sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/
