One of the largerst suburbs in Sydney’s colourful Inner West, Marrickville boasts a mighty reputation for creativity, culinary prowess and diverse cultural experiences. The Marrickville Festival is a free day of entertainment across the suburb that brings together local creatives with shoppers, dancers and diners. This year, they’ve kicked it up a gear with more hands-on workshops, tastings and demonstrations alongside the beloved markets and entertainment hubs.
The Local Market will set up stalls on Alex Trevillion Plaza, where shoppers can peruse locally crafted gifts and sustainable homewares, as well as some of Sydney’s finest gourmet fridge fodder. The local pickling and fermenting masters from the Cornersmith have curated the market this year, and they’ve organised a series of fun workshops to run throughout the day. You can start with their signature pickling class in the morning, followed by a sausage masterclass from Feather and Bone, and then stretch out beautiful blobs of buratta with Vannella Cheese in the afternoon and learn how to wrap it all up in beeswax wraps from Prava.
Then whack all your workshop winnings in a tote bag and head to the new Art and Design Alley for more creative action organised by local art, fashion and gift shop Hypmotive. Here you’ll find local makers throwing clay, screen printing, creating mosaics, and running wild virtual reality experiences. You can watch demos, get your hands messy, or just keep an eye on the kids as they get colourful in their dedicated craft corner. And if art doesn’t tire out restless tikes, send them to Little Marrickville for a whirl on the circus playground and giant garden games.
Once you’ve exhausted the DIY action, set up your craft and farmers’ market bounty at one of the festival stages. You’ll find laidback indie music vibes at the Lazybone Stage, a soundtrack of sea shanties, jazz, funk and blues pumping from the Gasoline Pony Stage, epic ballads from school and community choirs at the Raw Stage and much more.
Feeling a little parched after all the wild sing-a-longs? Amble over to the Calvert Street carpark for Beers at the Ville. Local brew legends like Willie the Boatman, Batch, Philter, Wayward and Grifter will be pouring pints – and there’ll be a cheeky Aperol bar in there too so you can round out the day with a Spritz.