Alongside a host of fun for the grown-ups, this summer’s Festival program is a feast for all ages. With school holidays in full swing, the city becomes a playground for the young and young at heart — with plenty of free options too.
The extracurricular activities on offer will please everyone from toddlers to clued-in teens, spanning visual art, theatre, circus, music and all-out silliness. Read on for the handpicked events that’ll make January fly by for the whole family.
Interactive art and history
Snag a ticket to Amigo & Amigo’s art and play wonderland, Colour Maze, at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. Kids will wind their way through 10 kaleidoscopic rooms – with building blocks, swings and knitted playgrounds, and channel their inner artist with hands-on craft and sticker activities featuring Tongan motifs.
For the teenage history buffs, Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru at the Australian Museum features a combination of state-of-the-art projections, video and over 130 priceless artefacts that tell the deep story of the Andean people. There’s even a cutting-edge virtual reality visit to the Incan city, Machu Picchu.
Unforgettable theatre and high-flying stunts
Sydney Festival always brings the circus to town, and 2025 is one of our most eclectic years yet.
The aerial experts at Sydney Trapeze School are bringing their jaw-dropping best to Darling Harbour for two free daily Swing! shows, in addition to outdoor workshops suitable for all skill levels.
With stints in Parramatta and Sutherland during the Festival, beloved Québécois troupe Cirque Alfonse will present its latest surreal circus experience, Animal. Expect daring acrobatics and juggling (everything from eggs to giant cowbells), tap dancing, absurd humour and even a tractor doing wheelies.
For physical feats of a different stripe, there’s Air Time at Chippendale’s Seymour Centre, a spectacular street-style performance that showcases BMXers, skaters, dancers and parkourists at their most awesome and unpredictable.
Written by award-winning comedy writer Vic Zerbst with composer Oliver John Cameron, the ATYP production of Converted! is a wildly funny disco musical that celebrates queer teenagers. For theatre lovers aged 3+, the Australian premiere of BullyBully from Netherlands company Maas theater en dans follows two childish grown-ups whose quarrels and duelling songs have hilarious results. Think West Side Story, but with more tantrums.
Free fun for every generation
As ever, the 2025 program is stacked with entertaining thought-provoking — often in Sydney’s great outdoors — that don’t cost a cent. To stir the spirit and inspire some deep discussions about the environment and sustainability, make a beeline to the world premiere of What We Leave Behind at Tallawoladah Lawn. The whole family can write messages of hope for our planet, which will then be woven into the unique bamboo installation. On the evening of 25 January, head to Vigil at Barangaroo Reserve for a large-scale night of live performances and shared emotions that foregrounds First Nations voices.
Meanwhile, down at the Bondi Pavilion courtyard, you can be wowed by the large-scale whale suspended in space – an interactive creation from Fremantle’s Spare Parts Puppet Theatre that celebrates the beauty of whales and their vital role in our ecosystem.
To get your little ones’ hands busy, Hive Festival returns to the Art Gallery of NSW and Blacktown Arts, with a whole world of art-making, interactive storytelling and playful performances. And for the family that loves classical music and fireworks equally, look no further than Sydney Symphony Under The Stars at Parramatta Park – the perfect starlit concert for rolling out a picnic basket and staying up past bedtime.
So if you need a watertight summer holiday game-plan that pleases everyone, whatever your budget, Sydney Festival has it covered.
