Wunderlich Lane Is Hosting A Week-Long Winter Festival In June

Can’t make the Tassie trip to Dark Mofo? Redfern’s pumping new precinct, Wunderlich Lane, is marking the winter solstice with a bold, pleasure-focused festival called NightShift running between Monday 16 and Sunday 22 June.

Wunderlich Lane’s restaurants, bars, wellness spaces and retailers will host one-off events, ongoing specials and curated experiences in the spirit of renewal, community and creativity, with the festival rounded out with roving performances and collaborations between venues.

One-off NightShift dining experiences kick off on Monday 16 June at Olympus with a Greek feast in the spirit of the ancient Greek festival of Haloa and the winter feast of Poseidon. There’ll be a dark palette of florals by Doctor Cooper, roving performances, and instrumental sets by Godtet. This one’s for you and your crew—bookings are available for $2500 per table of 10 guests, and include a drink on arrival and banquet feast.

At R by Raita Noda on Saturday 21 June, the omakase chef and his son Momotaro will break down a whole 60-kilo wild bluefin tuna with noted Sydney supplier Narito Ishii and omakase chefs Toshihiko Oe and Tori Ryu, offering unlimited sushi and sashimi and sake tastings among a soundscape by Toshiki Ohta of NTS Sacred Pools. Tickets are $110.

The Bank Lane Italo Discoteria on Saturday 21 June will bring together Regina La Pizzeria and Gelato Messina for a laneway party complete with an abundant Italian spread ending with a zuppa Inglese sundae, with wines, spritzes and Gelato Messina cocktails (including their pepperoni Negroni) available for purchase. It’ll all be soundtracked by Ministry of Sound pioneer and Messina co-founder Declan Lee, and tickets are $60pp for two-hour sessions from 5pm or 7.30pm.

There’ll also be two nights (Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 June) of immersive late-night jazz from progressive artists Setwun at Bar Julius; a laser-lit Noodle Rave at Island Radio on Saturday 21 June with six hours of DJ sets including headliner JNETT; and two after-work pizzetta parties with S’wich and Regina La Pizzeria with vinyl DJ tunes.

In addition to the standout dining events, cultural, shopping, and wellness activations look like The Best Music Quiz Ever—hosted by music scene faves Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe—at Baptist Street Rec Club on Tuesday 17 June, hot toddies and mulled wine byWunderlich Lane’s event venue, Saltbox, at Saardé in their Kairos glassware, and two-hour renewal and reset treatments at The Parlour Room including hot stone massages, magnesium-infused balms and a guided meditation.

It’s not a winter fest without a dip—though this one isn’t in the nude—so the EVE Hotel’s rooftop pool will exclusively invite hotel guests to experience Nocturne Nightdrift. Guests can take a dip in the (heated, fortunately) depths while taking in curated soundscapes before emerging to enjoy a warming winter cocktail.

Check out the full lineup of NightShift events and activations happening at Wunderlich Lane in June.