Australia Day in the Inner West
In the Inner West, we know how to celebrate Australia Day: with food, music, community and a celebration of all the different cultures which make up our immigrant nation.
Head to Ashfield Aquatic Centre for a day of free activities. The gates open at 10am and there will be a range of scheduled activities for adults and children. A free BBQ will be held at 1pm.
At 3pm Enmore Park will be hosting Marrickville Council’s citizenship ceremony. This will be followed by live entertainment from 4:30pm and a myriad of free activities. There will be 20 stalls offering a wide range of international foods to enjoy while watching the evening fireworks.
Further West, Sydney Olympic Park Authority and Auburn Council are hosting a lavish array of performances at Cathy Freeman Park. Also kicking off with their Citizenship awards at 12pm, the main stage entertainment includes circus, magic, K-POP dance, Bollywood and reggae.For the kids, there are free pony rides, carnival rides, a barnyard, Indigenous art and crafts workshops to explore.
Where: Ashfield, Aquatic Centre, Enmore Park and Cathy Freeman Park
Treading Lightly
Environmentally conscious Inner Westies are now spoiled for choice with the sheer variety of ways they can reduce their carbon footprint. Treading Lightly is brought to you through a collaboration between the councils of Burwood, Strathfield, Leichhardt, Ashfield and Canada Bay.
A series of community workshops on sustainable living, Treading Lightly will teach you dozens of ways to tweak your lifestyle and become greener and cleaner. Everything is covered, from veggie gardening in pots for the spatially challenged urbanite to beekeeping and alternatives to harsh chemical cleaning products.
Food is a recurring theme, as you would expect in any Inner West offering. Ever wanted to make your own cheese and yoghurt? Look no further! But your choices are not limited. There are many workshops on offer to help you reconnect with nature, including wildlife photography, how to attract birds to your backyard and even a corroboree for kids.
Workshops are free and local residents will receive priority when booking. Bookings are essential and open eight weeks prior to the workshop.
See Treading Lightly’s Eventbrite listing for more info.
Fri 22nd, 29th Jan and Fri 5th Feb
Pop-Up Farmer’s Market
Sydney Park in St Peters is host to a pop-up farmer’s market for three dates this summer as a trial run for the weekly markets we can look forward to later in 2016. Drop by one morning from 8am-1pm to grab a bite, mingle with other Inner Westies and enjoy the fresh produce of our local farmers.
Where: Sydney Park, St Peters.
Sun 31st January
Glebe Discovery Ride
Kick off your morning with an hour long, 10km bike ride from Glebe’s foreshore to the CBD. Your BIKESydney tour guide will show you all the best views as well as a handy route from the Inner West into the city. Inexperienced riders are encouraged to join but under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. If you are prone to making ambitious resolutions to exercise more and reduce your carbon footprint, the time is now. Sessions run from 8:30 to 11:30am. They’re free but bookings are essential.
To book a place visit: sydneycycleways.net/events
Thursday nights (on-going)
No Lights No Lycra
The girls at No Lights No Lycra have taken their desire to ‘dance like no one’s watching’ to new heights. No Lights No Lycra offers the chance to let loose without fear of persecution. Returning on January 28th, Main Hall will become Newtown’s pitch-black party central every Thursday night. There are no lights, no teachers and no judgements. Arrive at 7.30pm and bring $7 for the door, your loudest clothes and your most outlandish moves for one hour of mayhem. Once the lights go down, no one knows who you are.
Where: Main Hall, Church Street, Newtown.
Mon 11th – Sat 30th January
Jungle Book – The Musical
After a successful 2014 season, King St Theatre’s artistic director Markus Weber and Michael Summ bring their production back to Newtown for the school holidays. Taking a twist on Kipling’s classic, this show is a great way to entertain those restless kids. Shows begin at 10:30am and 1pm. Tickets are $20 each, $15 for Preschools and $70 for families of four.
Please visit http://www.kingstreettheatre.com.au/junglebook-the-musical/ to buy tickets.
Mon 4th – Sun 31st Jan.
Whiteout art exhibition
The Kate Owen Gallery is always a top destination for lovers of Indigenous art. ‘Whiteout’, its newest exhibition, finishes at the end of the month and boasts a stunning range of intricate patterns and textures. Other exhibitions on display feature the works of prominent Aboriginal artists from all over Australia.
Where: 680 Darling Street, Rozelle
Fri 22nd Jan, Fri 5th Feb
Leichhardt Council’s Pics in the Park
Leichhardt Council is delivering a free outdoor movie program this summer on four Friday nights, showing at Pioneer’s Memorial Park and Mort Bay Park alternately. Beginning at 8pm on Friday 22nd January, head to Pioneers Memorial to catch ’10 Canoes’, the first movie filmed entirely in Australian Aboriginal languages. Cult Classic ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ will be showing at Mort Bay on 5th February at 8pm. Head back to Pioneers Memorial and get nostalgic on the 19th February with an 7:45pm viewing of ‘Twilight’, and finish the summer at Mort Bay on 4th March at 7:30pm with ‘Oddball’, a kids’ classic about protecting a colony of penguins and saving the local community.
The viewing of ’10 Canoes’ will begin with a selection of short Indigenous films while all other nights will kick off with a collection of short films from FlickerKids. The Council is running the program in support of the Glebe/Leichhardt Police Citizen’s Youth Group, so please bring a gold coin donation to support this great local group.
Where: Pioneer’s Memorial Park, Mort Bay Park
Sun 31st Jan
Power of Goals Seminar
Having a little trouble making your 2016 resolutions stick? You’re not alone. International speaker Rohn Walker will be presenting a seminar on goals and purposes, and how to transform yours into reality. The seminar will run from 3:30-5:30pm. Seats are $10. To book, call 9518 3442 or email mary@maryszental.com.au, and make sure 2016 is your best year yet.
Where: Church of Scientology, Mission of Leichhardt. Renwick St, Leichhardt.
