Good morning, Inner Westies. From parking wars to Latin festivals and the longest night of the year — here's what's happening in your Inner West.

Note: Please check to confirm details are accurate with venues, event providers, restaurants and pubs by clicking through to their site. Events are occasionally cancelled at the last minute.

Grab your morning coffee and join us as we explore the Inner West together.

— Jess Thorning

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🚛 Parking Drama in Annandale: Rude or Fair Game?

A trailer parked on a residential street in Annandale for over five weeks sparked unexpected drama — after someone scribbled angry messages all over it. We shared the situation on social media and over 1,700 people voted:

54% said “Yes – it’s rude”, 43% said “Not my business”, and 3% didn’t care either way.
The comments were just as divided, with some defending the legal right to park on public streets, and others calling it inconsiderate.

What do you think — fair game or foul move? Hit reply and tell us.

After 13 and half years as a beloved local institution, The Dock Bar in Redfern announced this week of its permanent closure in an emotional farewell post. Like many Sydney venues, they struggled with post-Covid challenges and locals having less disposable income. It’s the end of an era for the local music and nightlife scene.

With many local nightlife venues struggling to survive in these tough economic times, if you can spare the cash, get out there and support them - every visit and drink purchased helps keep our community's entertainment scene alive.

Bring your community to life with Local Lines' range of Sydney Suburbs colouring books. The Inner West edition features hand-drawn illustrations of local landmarks and hidden gems. From Balmain, to Abbotsford, to Drummoyne - it's a perfect gift to celebrate your community, educate kids on their neighbourhood or welcome new residents to the area. 

👉️ Check out their full range on their Website or follow along on Instagram

Image courtesy of Inner West Council

Celebrate the upgraded playground with free face painting, coffee, ice cream and cake! New features include play unit with slide, nature trail with rope bridge, inclusive nest swing, bike track with skills ramp and native gardens.
📍Tom Kenny Reserve, Marrickville / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 9:30am – 11:30am

🎉 Kids Disco Party @Burwood Chinatown
Celebrate the longest night of the year with non-stop tunes and high-energy fun! Free entry.
📍Burwood Chinatown, Level 1 Kids Playground / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 5pm – 7pm / Free

🛁 Bath Bomb Making Workshop
Hands-on workshop where you'll make and take home 3 fizzy bath bombs. Pick from three sessions.
📍Village Green, South Eveleigh / Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 June 2025 / 1pm, 2pm or 3pm / $10 + BF

🎨 Live Cartoon Artists
Free silly family portraits sketched on the spot. No bookings needed, first come first served.
📍South Eveleigh / Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 June 2025 / Sat 11am – 2pm, Sun 11am – 4pm

⚙️ Kids STEAM Club (ages 9 to 12)
Explorative and creative play in a wide range of STEAM-based activities such as coding, robotics, and creative arts. All materials will be provided – just bring along your sense of curiosity and fun! Book ahead.
📍Burwood Library and Community Hub / Wednesday 25 June 2025 / 3:30pm – 4:45pm

🧩 Lego Session / Drop in Session 
Enjoy a Lego session / drop in session at the Library. Children should be accompanied by a supervising adult at all times. Runs during school term. No bookings required.
📍 Haberfield Library / Thursday 26 June 2025 / 3pm – 4:30pm ♿️

All Weekend

🍷 Good Food & Wine Show
Sydney's tastiest day out returns! From the hottest chilli sauces to the smelliest cheese, watch top chefs cook live on stage and meet makers to sip, sample and shop produce.
📍ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour / Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June 2025 / 10am – 5pm daily

🛍️ The Loco Markets
Six weeks of curated charm featuring artisan stalls with handcrafted treasures, free live music, Heritage Walking Tours, blacksmithing workshops at Eveleigh Works, and interactive weekend activities for kids.
📍South Eveleigh / Thursday 19 - Sunday 22 June 2025 / Thursday to Saturday 10am 7pm, Sun 10am4pm\

🌙 Darlo After Dark
This is out of the Inner West but worth sharing! Ten-day winter solstice festival transforming Darlinghurst with late-night culture, food and drink. Features opera singers, street dancers, tarot readers, cult movie screenings, mulled wine, lantern making and solstice ice cream.
📍Darlinghurst Village / Thursday 19 – Sunday 29 June 2025 / 6pm – 11pm

🚴 SPOKEN - Australia's Premier Bike Show
Celebration of design, innovation, performance, and cycling culture brings together the best in bicycles and apparel from around the world. Connect with industry pioneers, emerging makers and fellow riders.
📍Carriageworks, Eveleigh / Friday 20 June to Sunday 22 June 2025 / Friday 4:30pm – 9:30pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm

Friday

👉️ Flour Mill Night Market @ Summer Hill
The first night market of 2025. Head there for delicious food, live music, and good vibes.
📍1 Flour Mill Way, Summer Hill / Friday 20 June 2025 / 4pm – 9pm

🎨 Auslan Ceramics Art Club @ Glebe 
Have fun with clay and develop new techniques at the Auslan Ceramics Art Club, facilitated by deaf ceramic artist Kirsty Collins. Open to all skill levels, this club welcomes Deaf and HOH community members to craft unique pieces while making new connections.
📍 Kil.n.it, Glebe / Friday 20 June 2025 / 6pm – 8pm

🎵 Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story - Official Sydney Premiere
Award-winning documentary following reggae icon Sister Nancy as she fights to reclaim the rights to her genre-defining hit 'Bam Bam' - one of reggae's most sampled vocals in history.
📍Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville / Friday 20 June 2025 / 7pm

💃 Club De Tango: La Milonga
Sydney's original milonga held in elegant Glebe Town Hall since 1999. Experience dance with golden age tango music, classes for all levels taught by award-winning teachers, and social dancing. BYO wine/beer, tea and coffee included.
📍Glebe Town Hall / Friday 20 June 2025 / 7:30pm – 11:45pm / $25

Friday & Saturday

👖 Re Place Inner West - Buy a Bag Sale
Grab a bag for $35 and cram it with as many preloved clothes as possible! Most people get well over $100 worth. 500+ items arrive each week.
📍Re Place Inner West, Sustainability Hub, Summer Hill / Friday 20 June, 2pm – 5pm & Saturday 21 June 10am – 4pm

Saturday

🔥 Fiesta De San Juan
Celebrate at this Peruvian festival with traditional food, drinks, music and dancing. Features Lucerito Leon Band, DJs, and authentic jungle cuisine including tacacho, cecina and juanes. Tix $20 - book ahead.
📍Balmain Town Hall / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 1pm – Midnight

🎉 Latinos en Sydney's Fiesta
Annual celebration featuring a full day of live entertainment, Latin American foods including Colombian, Chilean and asado BBQ. Free kids activities and futsal competition included.
📍Sydney Portugal Community Club, Marrickville / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 12pm – 9pm

🎵 Emerging Artists and the Music Industry Talk
Informative presentation by Jim Flannagan, founder of award-winning music venue Lazy Thinking. Learn how to navigate the music industry, build your career, and approach venues, programmers and tastemakers as an emerging artist. Register here.
📍Burwood Library and Community Hub / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 2pm – 3pm

🤸‍♂️ Pilates & Pastry Pop-Up
Combine movement and cake! A 45-minute Pilates flow followed by cozy drinks and freshly baked pastries. A great opportunity to recharge and meet new people while indulging in tasty treats. Bring your own mat.
📍Studio Newtown / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 5:30pm – 7pm

✍️ Knowledge Series: For the Record - Writing us into existence against erasure
Join renowned writer and poet Sara M Saleh for a workshop exploring writing as a tool to engage with history, memory, and identity. Using imagination as a playground for self emancipation and collective liberation, we'll write to resist erasure and record all parts of ourselves.
📍Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 11:30am – 3pm

Sunday

🪴 Magical Winter Market @ Wattle & Bee
Celebrate 2 years of Wattle & Bee, a plant shop in Petersham, with a cosy winter market featuring artisan stalls, art, candles, skincare, jewellery, clothing and plants. Free bubbles (non-alcoholic) on arrival and prizes to win throughout the night. Support local makers in this beautiful, green space. RSVP in advance.
📍Wattle & Bee, Petersham / Sunday 22 June 2025 / 4pm – 6pm or 6pm – 8pm

🌙 Callan Park Midwinter Walk
A 2-hour ramble around the former asylum site discovering dark tales of its past including the rampages of Frederick Legard, the murder at the piggery, and the man who fought for his sanity. Not suitable for children or those with mobility restrictions. Book in advance.
📍Callan Park, Rozelle / Sunday 22 June 2025 / 2pm – 3:30pm

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Screen x Inner West Council: Free Pride Film Screenings & Market
Celebrate Pride Month with a vibrant one-day celebration of love, identity and community featuring market stalls, vendors, film screenings and panel discussion. Free event but booking recommended.
📍Leichhardt Town Hall / Sunday 22 June 2025 / 11am – 7:30pm

🚶 Heritage Walking Tour
Uncover South Eveleigh's legacy on a 60-minute guided tour. Explore the industrial past, discover worker stories, and learn how this 134-year-old space became a vibrant innovation precinct.
📍South Eveleigh / Sunday 22 June 2025 / 10am – 11am or 12pm – 1pm / $20

🔥 Eveleigh Works
Experience the texture and pace of a working forge in the middle of the city.
📍Eveleigh Works / Sunday 22 June 2025 / 10am – 4pm

  • Coin Press Workshop – Create a personalised brass coin using fire, a mechanical fly press, and your own hands. 15-minute guided sessions / $15 + BF - Book now

  • Open Workshop – Explore the space and meet the people keeping these traditional skills alive / Free

📆 Coming Up Next Week

📱 Creative's Guide to Social Media
Learn the best ways for creative and arts professionals to use social media as a powerful marketing tool. Partnership event with Balmain Rozelle and Leichhardt Business Chambers of Commerce.
📍The London Hotel, Balmain / Tuesday 24 June 2025 / 6pm – 8pm

🎮 Game-A-Week
Intensive 5-week program creating prototype video games through rapid prototyping. Each week features new thematic constraints, gameplay sessions, and community connection. Drop in and out over the 5 weeks - focus is on experimentation and fun, not polish.
📍Burwood Library and Community Hub / Thursdays 26 June – 24 July 2025 / 6pm – 8pm

👥 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
Special roundtable event with local faith leaders focusing on elder abuse prevention and community-led action. Join this meaningful conversation to strengthen support networks and create safer environments for older people in our communities.
📍Canadian Exiles Room, Concord Oval / Friday 27 June 2025 / 9:30am – 12pm

🧵 Craft & Quilt Fair Sydney
Unite with craftspeople, sewists and quilters! Be inspired by guest artists, try workshops and see spectacular quilt exhibitions. Includes Make & Takes, seminars and demonstrations. Tickets $27 ($23 concession, $13 child).
📍ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour / Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 June 2025 / 10am – 4pm

GET YOUR EVENT ON THE LIST 🎸

Our deadline is close of business Wednesday for each Friday edition.

Restaurants & Cafes to Try

🌾 Winter Solstice Festival at Pocket City Farms
Family-friendly festivities including Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, workshops, farm tours, market stalls, face painting, lantern making, lantern parade, food, music and campfire. Get tickets here.
📍Pocket City Farms, Camperdown Commons / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 12pm – 6pm

🇱🇧 Beirut Street Food Brekky Special
Head to Marrickville for delicious modern lebanese cuisine. Enjoy their $35 all you can eat brekky special on Saturday & Sunday (from 9:30am – 11:30am only). See venue for terms.
📍 Beirut Street Food, Marrickville

📆 Book Ahead

3 Tomatoes and Khamsa Dinner Collaboration
🍅 Sharon Salloum and Sarah Issa Shaweesh (from Khamsa Eatery) are sharing the tastes of Sarah’s family and Palestinian heritage. 6 courses for $89pp. Bookings essential.
📍3 Tomatoes, Ashbury | Friday 27 June 2025

🚸 Kids Eat Free

The Henson, Marrickville | Friday 20 June 2025 | 3pm6pm | 2-4-1 Kids Meals, Snacks & Shares - see venue for terms.

Happy Hour Heroes

🍺 The Henson, Marrickville | Monday | All Day | Pints for Schooner price - see venue for terms.

🍻 Kelly’s on King, Newtown | $10 Pints of Guinness all month (June) - see venue for terms.

🍺 The Mitch Hotel, Alexandria | Monday | From 8pm | All Schooies $4 until the tap runs dry - see venue for terms.

🍻 Red Lion Hotel Rozelle | Monday to Wednesday | 4pm to 6pm | See venue for terms.

Bar of the Week

🍸 Scarlet Weasel, Redfern
A friendly local bar serving up quality drinks, yummy food, and a solid mix of tunes and laid-back vibes. Head there this Friday from 7pm for their Britney Spears Vs Katy Perry Tribute Night.
📍169 Regent St, Redfern

The Inner West Council continues to run their drop-in sessions for their Fairer Future Plan. It’s your chance to learn about the proposed project, ask questions and share your thoughts about the future of our community.
📍Marrickville Library / Saturday 21 June 2025 / 10:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 3:30pm
📍Ashfield Civic Centre / Tuesday 24 June 2025 / 5:30pm – 8:30pm
📍Emanuel Tsardoulias Community Library, Dulwich Hill / Wednesday 25 June 2025 / 6pm – 9pm

A Reminder to Have Your Say
You can provide feedback by completing this survey or emailing [email protected]. Last day to provide feedback is 6 July 2025.

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Reminder: Please check to confirm details are accurate with venues, event providers, restaurants and pubs by clicking through to their site. Events are occasionally cancelled at the last minute and specials can change.

Have a fun weekend!

Jess

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