The Best Things To Do In Sydney This Weekend

There's never a shortage of fun things to do in Sydney/Eora, and this weekend is no exception, with heaps of exciting events to stack your calendar with.

Pack your weekend with disco yum cha, a MasterChef street food takeover, a thrifty fashion market, a cosy harbourside cabana experience, a massive warehouse sale, a new music venue launch, unmissable theatre shows, jaw-dropping art exhibitions, and so much more. 

Here are Urban List's picks of the best things to do in Sydney this weekend.

Acler, Anna Quan & Significant Other Warehouse Sale

410 Oxford Street, Paddington | Thursday 31 July–Sunday 3 August

Three of Australia’s top fashion labels, Acler, Anna Quan and Significant Other, have teamed up to host a huge warehouse sale spanning four days. There’ll be never-before-seen styles and past collections up to 80%, plus exclusive one-off pieces that could be yours. BYO bag, a friend and get shopping. View more details online.

Loom Lounge Launch Week 

Loom Lounge, 23 Willoughby Lane, Crows Nest | Thursday 31 July–Sunday 3 August, from 6pm 

Image credit: Loom Lounge | Website

Sydney has scored a new secret music hideout behind Li’l Darlin in Crows Nest called Loom Lounge, opening this Thursday 31 July. To celebrate, they're throwing one helluva launch party across four days and giving away 100 free tickets to see the next Sultry & Sample show, a revolving cast of funky musicians who improv and edit live. There'll also be Loom's late-night bites and snacks on offer like pizzettas, tacos, wines and cocktails. RSVP for free online and check in at Loom to be in the draw to win. 

Fashion Thrift Society

Howie Complex, Gate 11, Australia Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park | Sunday 3 August, 10am–4pm 

Image credit: Fashion Thrift Society | Instagram

Fashion Thrift Society is a touring market bringing hundreds of racks of secondhand finds and wishlist designer pieces to over 25 cities across Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Shop vintage collectors, slow-fashion labels and indie stalls, alongside pop-ups offering permanent jewellery, tooth gems, tarot card readings, photobooth pics and more. There’ll be food trucks, a licensed bar and all-day DJ sets from emerging talent, too. Tickets range from free to $15, depending on entry time. Book online. 

MJ The Musical 

Sydney Lyric Theatre, 55 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont | Until Saturday 23 August

Image credit: MJ The Musical | Website

The legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson, is brought back to life in the four-time Tony Award-winning MJ The Musical. MJ’s mesmerising moves and vocals are flawlessly captured by Broadway star Roman Banks in an incredible depiction of the 1992 Dangerous World tour on and off-stage. 

Packed with hits like Thriller, Smooth Criminal and Billie Jean—plus plenty of moonwalking and hehes—the musical feels like attending an actual Michael Jackson concert. Book online.

Aprés On The Harbour

Pier Bar, 11 Hickson Road, Dawes Point | Until the end of August

Image credit: Pier Bar | Website

A floating winter wonderland has taken over Pier Bar on Sydney Harbour, complete with crackling firepits, sparkling lights, chic cocktails and cosy outdoor cabanas overlooking the water. The winter menu is filled with warming favourites like a cheesy potato bake and truffle jaffle, steak frites, oven-baked camembert, and a candle-lit Biscoff fondue served with pretzels, toasted marshmallows and fresh strawberries to dip. 

A half cabana fits 4 guests with $150 minimum spend, a full cabana fits 8 with a $300 minimum spend and the entire cabana area fits up to 14 with a $600 minimum spend. Aprés On The Harbour is open daily from 12pm to 9pm, until the end of August. Book online.

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Cheese Making Class With Bottomless Bubbles

Shop 2a, 791–795 Botany Road, Rosebery | Various dates in August and September

Image credit: Omnom Cheese Making | Facebook

A hands-on cheese-making class is the perfect way to spend a not-so-sunny Saturday or Sunday in Sydney. Part of RedBallon’s Best Of Guaranteed experiences, you’ll learn how to make burrata and bocconcini from scratch with expert instructors, all while enjoying bottomless bubbles. And the best part is: you’ll take home almost one kilo of handmade cheese. Tickets are $109 per person. Book online.

Derrel's X Sarah Todd X Young Henrys

Derrel’s and The Lady Hampshire, 89–91 Parramatta Road, Camperdown | Until Sunday 31 August

Image credit: Derrel’s | Declan Blackhall

Famed chef, restaurateur and MasterChef legend Sarah Todd is taking over the kitchen at Camperdown’s kitschy cool Indian joint, Derrel’s, for a month-long street food pop-up. She’ll be there in person this Saturday and Sunday, slinging a trio of limited-edition dishes alongside a custom Young Henrys' Curry Leaf XPA at The Lady Hampshire next door. 

Try the IPA Bhatti Da Murgha (mustard-spiced charred chicken with roomali roti and hop glaze), Dahi Bhalla Papdi Chaat on a banana leaf drizzled with ghost chilli, and the salty-sweet peanut butter lassi with Parle-G biscuits. Book a table online.

Disco Yum Cha

North Bondi Fish, 120 Ramsgate Avenue, North Bondi | Every Saturday and Sunday until 9 August, 11am–3pm

Image credit: North Bondi Fish | Alana Dimou

Your usual weekend bottomless lunch just got a huge upgrade at North Bondi Fish, with a Yum-Cha-style set menu, cocktails and disco DJs from 12pm, taking over the beachfront powerhouse every Saturday and Sunday ‘til August. Seafood is still the main event, so expect plenty of scallop wontons, prawn dumplings and salt and sichuan pepper squid, plus special strawberry matcha cocktails and mandarin margaritas. 

Two food menus are available: a small set for $65pp or large set for $89pp (with optional add-ons), alongside two drinks packages: bottomless beer and wine for $30pp, or the addition of cocktail jugs for $60pp (with extra yum cha cocktails available). Book online.

Wednesday Island Takeover

Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour | Saturday 16 August, evening until 10pm

Image credit: Supplied

To celebrate the highly anticipated new season of Wednesday, the cast (and outcasts) are being summoned to Sydney for Wednesday Island, a one-night-only, gloriously gothic fan festival taking over Cockatoo Island on Saturday, 16 August.

Attendees will step into the eerie world of Wednesday as Cockatoo Island transforms into Jericho, Vermont, complete with Wednesday and Enid’s dorm, The Raven’s Passage, a nightmare-fuelling Scream Show, and a top-secret activation they’re keeping under wraps. Plus, as the final stop on Netflix’s global Doom tour, the event will feature cast appearances from Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, Tim Burton, and creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

Expect live performances from Peach PRC and ŪLA, exclusive merch, spooky giveaways, and Wednesday-themed food and drinks—with two tokens included in every ticket. All guests will be ferried to and from the island, so no Poe Cup rowing required. Find out more about tickets here.

Grumpy Donuts Night Shift

379B Princes Highway, St Peters | Fridays and Saturdays, 5pm–9pm

Image credit: Grumpy Donuts | Supplied

Ever wanted to build your own doughnut? Well, now you can at Grumpy Donuts' St Peters venue. Every Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 9pm, you can grab a Night Shift DIY donut fix from $8.50. Pick between vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, caramel, strawberry and maple donut flavours, then add one of 30 different fillings and two toppings with extras from 50 cents. 

Fillings include Nutella, peanut butter, berry jam, passionfruit curd, and marshmallow fluff, with toppings like crushed waffle cones, fresh fruits, white choc drizzles, brownie bites, cookie pieces, a cereal of the week, soft serve, and premium bacon—don’t knock it ‘til you try it.

Bubble Planet

Paddington Pavilion, Sydney Olympic Park | Until Sunday 31 August

Image credit: Bubble Planet | Supplied

A massive, multi-sensory bubble playground has sprung up at Sydney Olympic Park featuring ten wow-factor rooms, including huge ball pits, Yayoi-Kusama-inspired infinity rooms, immersive virtual reality experiences, and heaps of bubble-themed photo ops. The Bubble Planet experience caters to all ages, with tickets starting at $26.90 for children (3-12 years), $33.90 for adults, and are free for children under 2. Book online.

Yolŋu Power: The Art Of Yirrkala

Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, Sydney CBD | Until Monday 6 October

Image credit: AGNSW | Supplied

Celebrating eight decades of works from the communities of Yirrkala, in north-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Yolŋu power: the art of Yirrkala shares the community, culture and C0untry of the Yolŋu people, through their eyes and over 300 works including video, sculpture, bark paintings, digital installations and prints. The exhibition is a collaboration with the Aboriginal-owned Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, which was launched during the ‘70s as an act of Yolŋu self-determination in the midst of the land rights movement.

In the gallery's historic World War II fuel tanks you can visit Yalu, an illuminated, large-scale work by a collective of Yirrkala artists and digital producers which is free to visit and runs until 20 July, sharing the colours and sounds of Yirrkala with representations of fires, storms, and waterways.

Adult tickets to Yolŋu power: the art of Yirrkala are $25, kids under 12 are free, and you can nab two-for-one tickets between 5pm and 10pm on Wednesday nights.

Cerith Wyn Evans....In Light Of The Visible

Level 3, Museum Of Contemporary Art, 140 George Street, The Rocks | Until Sunday 19 October

Image credit: Museum of Contemporary Art | Website 

Welsh contemporary artist and sculptor Cerith Wyn Evans presents his first ever exhibition in Australia, Cerith Wyn Evans….in light of the visible at the Museum of Contemporary Art. His towering neon light installations create an immersive environment of light and sound, inviting guests to discover the exhibition as if they are wandering through a garden. 

Major works include Sydney Drift (2025), hanging sculptural forms inspired by Sydney Harbour; F=O=U=N=T=A=I=N (2020), a three-metre-tall white neon wall audiences can walk through; and Composition for 37 Flutes (2018), 37 glass pipes breathing sound into the gallery. Book tickets online from $20 for adults and $16 for concessions. 

The Book of Mormon

Capitol Theatre, 13 Campbell Street, Haymarket | Tuesday 15 July–Sunday 30 November

Image credit: Capitol Theatre | Website 

Labelled “the best musical of this century” by the New York Times, the Tony, Olivier and Grammy award-winning musical-comedy, The Book Of Mormon, has returned to Sydney at the Capitol Theatre. 

If you’re not familiar with the plot of this smash-hit, it follows two young mismatched Mormon missionaries as they aim to spread the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to a remote village in Uganda, which quickly unfolds with hilarious improvisations and satirical sing-a-longs. Tickets start at $99, plus a booking fee. Book online.

Now, fill your calendar with

• ​Sydney's Best Bottomless Brunches Right Now
• The Best Rooftop Bars In Sydney
• The Best Waterfront Restaurants In Sydney

Main image credit: Pier Bar | Website

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