Your guide to the best of the Inner West from 25 to 27 September

Good morning, Inner Westies.

Spring school holiday are here, and this weekend brings food festivals at Carriageworks, a poolside screening of The LEGO® Movie, Moon Festival fireworks and gigs across the Inner West. We’ve also unpacked local council moves on smart glasses and the proposed second GreenWay from Ashfield to Iron Cove.

Grab your morning coffee and let’s explore the Inner West together.

Have a great weekend,
Jess

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.

Guiding at $7.3 million to $7.5 million, this six-bed home spans three levels with a lift. Imported marble runs right through the house. The kitchen island has a ribbed breakfast bar, plus there's a walk-in pantry. Floor-to-ceiling glass opens the living room out to an outdoor kitchen, then a gated pool with a water feature. The basement is where the fun is: a proper bar, a theatre, a gym and a full bathroom. It's 750m to Strathfield Station.

📍 6 bed / 5 bath / 4 car / 677sqm approx.
👉 Listed with Belle Property Strathfield

City of Sydney and Inner West Council have voted to ban smart glasses at council-run facilities, with exemptions for people who use them as accessibility devices. Canada Bay is taking an item to its October meeting, and its mayor plans to write to the federal Attorney-General. Burwood is reviewing its entry rules. Strathfield has no restrictions and none planned.

👉 Read the full story

A Balmain renovator opened up a bricked-in fireplace in their Victorian terrace and found a photograph of a baby. Handwritten on the back are the names "Uncle George" and "Little Shirley aged 6½ months". They say the print came from a post office on The Strand in the city. Now they'd like to find the family and give the photo back.

Know the name, the family or the house? Reply and we'll pass it on.

Inner West Council is now calling the long-planned Iron Cove Creek path its second GreenWay. The proposed 3.5km walking and cycling route would link Ashfield Aquatic Centre to the Bay Run. Locals have pushed for it since 2020 and concept design is underway, but Council has not said when it could be built or how construction would be funded.

👉 Read the full story

It's the last day of term, so below are our picks for the next week. For the full list of camps, creative workshops, sport, STEM, live shows and free activities, head to our Spring School Holiday Guide. We update it regularly with new activities.

👉 View the Spring School Holiday Guide

THIS WEEKEND

🎨 Face Painting Fridays
Face painting runs alongside play spaces, live music, food and drinks.
📆 Fri 25 Sep / From 4pm
📍 Camperdown Commons

🐐 Kindifarm Mobile Animal Farm
Children can meet calves, sheep, goats, ducks, chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits at this mobile farm visit.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 11am – 1pm
📍 Alex Trevallion Plaza, Marrickville

🎬 Dive In Movie: The LEGO Movie
Watch from the pool, with entry from 5pm and the film starting at 6pm.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 5pm – 8pm
📍 Annette Kellerman Aquatic Centre, Marrickville ♿️

🏊 Swim Lesson Trial Weekend
A free trial session introduces children and adults to swim lessons, with level assessments, pool entry and games.
📆 Sat 26 & Sun 27 Sep / 1pm – 3pm
📍 Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, Ultimo ♿️

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PICKS

🤹 Sydney Fringe Kids
Two weeks of kids' circus, magic, bubble, balloon and science shows, including The Flying Bubble Show and Trash Test Dummies Circus.
📆 Sat 26 Sep – Sun 11 Oct / Various times
📍 Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park

🎲 Mr Mack’s Chats (ages 3–12)
Free weekday school holiday sessions bring together games, stories, sport, structured activities and outdoor free play.
📆 Weekdays Mon 28 Sep – Fri 9 Oct / From 10am
📍 Federal Park, Annandale

🐝 Kids' Honey Workshops
Children meet beekeepers, handle real honeycomb, extract honey and fill a jar to take home.
📆 Mon 28 Sep / 10:30am – 11:15am
📍 The Grounds of Alexandria

🛼 School Holidays Open Social Skate Session
All ages welcome, with coaches on hand for beginners and limited skate hire.
📆 Mon 28 Sep / 3:30pm – 5pm
📍 Robyn Webster Sports Centre, Tempe ♿️

🏹 Young Archers (ages 7–9)
No experience needed: kids learn the basics, then play target games on the range used for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
📆 Mon 28 Sep – Fri 9 Oct / Session times at booking
📍 Sydney Olympic Park Archery Centre

🏺 Kids School Holiday Pottery Classes
Small pottery classes cover hand-building or the pottery wheel, with materials supplied.
📆 Mon 28 Sep – Fri 9 Oct / 2-hour sessions from 10:30am
📍 Glaze Galleria, Drummoyne

🧵 Creative Crafts and Textiles Course for Kids
A full day making craft and textile projects from reclaimed materials, guided by experienced facilitators.
📆 Tue 29 Sep / 9am – 3:30pm
📍 Reverse Garbage, Marrickville ♿️

💐 School Holiday Flower and Craft Vase Workshop (ages 6+)
A professional florist teaches kids to name, care for and arrange Australian flowers into a vase to take home.
📆 Tue 29 Sep / 10:30am – 11:30am
📍 Summer Hill Community Centre

🔬 Get Crafty: Egg Carton Character Portraits
Kids turn recycled egg cartons into colourful 3D character portraits to take home.
📆 Wed 30 Sep / 10:30am & 11:30am
📍 Marrickville Metro

🏕️ Harbour Heroes: Survival Skills (ages 5–12)
Children forage useful plants, test ways to make water safe and build a shelter beside the harbour.
📆 Thu 1 Oct / 8am – 4pm
📍 Callan Park, Lilyfield

🔬 School Holidays: Science Fun (ages 5–8)
My STEM Lab runs a friction tug-of-war and hair-raising static electricity experiments with a Van de Graaff generator.
📆 Thu 1 Oct / 10:30am – 11:30am
📍 Ashfield Library ♿️

🌱 Garden Adventures for Kids
Making seed bombs and compost, plus propagating plants to start a food garden at home.
📆 Thu 1 Oct / 2pm – 3:30pm
📍 Inner West Sustainability Hub, Summer Hill ♿️

👉 See every school holiday activity in our guide

ALL WEEKEND

🍜 Japan StrEAT Party
A four-day Japanese festival with street food, drinks, performances, DJ sets and cultural activities.
📆 Thu 24 Sep – Sun 27 Sep / 12pm – 10pm
📍 Carriageworks, Eveleigh

🌾 Australian Native Food Festival
A two-day food festival brings together First Nations businesses, chefs and makers for native ingredients, demonstrations and weaving.
📆 Sat 26 – Sun 27 Sep / Sat 9am – 5pm; Sun 9am – 4pm
📍 Carriageworks, Eveleigh

🥳 Sydney Fringe Festival
Continues this week, running until 30 September. Check out what’s on in the Inner West Precinct, as well as what’s on this weekend in the Theatre & Comedy section later in this email.

🏮 Moon Festival
A walk-through lantern installation, free lantern decorating, dance workshops and live music on Friday and Saturday nights.
📆 Sat 19 Sep – Sun 4 Oct / 5:30pm – 8:30pm
📍 Darling Square, Haymarket

FRIDAY

🎬 For Love or Money
A screening of a remastered documentary on Australian women's work and history is followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
📆 Fri 25 Sep / 5:30pm – 8:30pm
📍 The Women's Library, Newtown

🧘 Guided Chan Meditation
A foundation class in Silent Illumination meditation, open to beginners and experienced practitioners.
📆 Fri 25 Sep / 6pm – 7pm
📍 Ultimo Community Centre

📚 Joshua Black – Performance Politics
Historian and speechwriter Joshua Black discusses Performance Politics, his study of political memoirs and documentary storytelling.
📆 Fri 25 Sep / 6pm – 7:30pm
📍 Gleebooks, Glebe ♿️

🎶 Strings After Dark
The Miriam Lieberman Trio and a Sydney Concert Orchestra string quintet play a free evening, RSVP required.
📆 Fri 25 Sep / 7pm – 9pm
📍 Ford Lane, Burwood

SATURDAY

🎮 Retro Resurrection
A free community gaming day features Nintendo 64 favourites, casual play and competitive matches.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 9am – 4pm
📍 Redfern Community Centre ♿️

✍️ Inner West Writers Group
Writers at any stage share work and swap feedback, from fiction and memoir to poetry and playwriting.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 10am – 12pm
📍 Marrickville Library and Pavilion ♿️

🎲 Burwood Games Club VIII: Mini Games Con
A free mini games convention with tabletop and video games, local creators, prizes and TCG scrapbooking.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 12pm – 4pm
📍 Burwood Library and Community Hub

🌕 Homebush West Moon Festival
Lion dancers, live music, kids' craft, mochi-making and face painting, plus free $10 food vouchers for participating local businesses (see website for terms and conditions).
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 1pm – 6pm
📍 The Crescent, Homebush West ♿️

🚶 Balmain Walk
Architect James Allen leads a two-hour walk through significant homes, landmarks and local built history.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 2:15pm – 4:15pm
📍 Balmain Ferry Wharf

📚 Debbie Hatumale-Uy: Community Is the Strategy
Debbie Hatumale-Uy discusses her new book on building communities that help businesses earn lasting loyalty.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 6pm – 7:30pm
📍 Gleebooks, Glebe ♿️

💃 Latin Nights Block Party
Starts with a free salsa and bachata lesson, then two dance floors with live Latin music and DJs.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 6pm – 11:45pm
📍 Hay St Market, Haymarket

🎆 Moon Festival Fireworks
The Moon Festival program culminates in a large fireworks display.
📆 Sat 26 Sep / 9pm
📍 Burwood Chinatown

🏃‍♀️ Nike After Dark Tour Sydney
The sold-out Nike After Dark Tour features a women's half marathon, expo, live DJs, activations and a finish festival.
📆 Sat 26 Sep – Sun 27 Sep / Sat 8am – 6pm; Sun 9am – 3:30pm
📍 Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour

SUNDAY

🏃 Valet Run Club
A social 5km run loops through Sydney Park, followed by free coffee and matcha.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 7:30am
📍 Valet, Newtown

🎨 Animal Watercolour Painting
A guided beginners workshop teaches watercolour washes and details while participants paint an animal artwork.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 10:30am – 1pm
📍 Pyrmont Community Centre

🌿 Ecofest Inner West
Panels, stalls and speakers examine urban ecology, including waterways, tree canopy, native plants and invasive species.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 11am – 3:30pm
📍 Gumbramorra Hall, Marrickville

🛍️ Black Sunday Markets
An independent market brings records, VHS, DVDs, posters, books, music merchandise and collectables.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 12pm – 6pm
📍 Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt

💬 Glebe Society’s 10th Annual Biodiversity Lecture
BirdLife Australia's Holly Parsons discusses how cities can better support birds and urban wildlife.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 2pm – 3pm
📍 Glebe Town Hall

✍️ Spoken Word and Poetry Open Mic
A monthly session upstairs in the Radish Lounge: sign up on the day to perform, or come along to listen.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 2pm – 5pm
📍 We Three Bar, Marrickville

🌵 Succulent Terrarium Workshop
Design and build a mini succulent garden in glass, from drainage layers to plant choice, with materials included.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 2pm – 3:30pm
📍 The Plant Doctor, Forest Lodge

🕵️ Dark Tales Afternoon Speakeasy
An afternoon of Inner West true crime and local history is paired with vintage jazz, swing and blues on vinyl.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 3pm – 6pm
📍 Hopsters Cooperative Brewery, Enmore

🏉 AFLW: Sydney Swans v Brisbane Lions
A family match day with food and entertainment to kick off the school holidays.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 3:05pm – 5:30pm
📍 Henson Park, Marrickville

🏉 NRL Preliminary Final: Panthers v Knights
Minor premiers Penrith face a Newcastle side chasing its first Grand Final since 2001.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 4pm
📍 Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park

🎤 Bini
A Filipino pop concert brings the Signals world tour to Sydney.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 6pm
📍 TikTok Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour

🏀 NBL: Sydney Kings v Illawarra Hawks
Kids go free with an adult ticket as the Kings open this season's Freeway Series rivalry.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 6pm
📍 Afterpay Arena, Olympic Park

COMING UP

🤖 LEGO & Sip: Comedy, Chaos & Poor Life Choices
Comedian-hosted LEGO challenges turn strangers, dates and mates into rival building teams.
📆 Mon 28 Sep / 6:45pm – 8:30pm
📍 The Chippo Hotel, Chippendale

🚗 Free Anti-Theft Screw Fitting
A free fitting session supplies anti-theft number-plate screws for local car owners.
📆 Tue 29 Sep / 9am – 12pm
📍 Westfield Burwood P2 Car Park

🏙️ Bays West Public Meeting
The Better Future Coalition is holding a public meeting about the NSW Government’s Bays West development plans, including the scale of proposed housing, the use of public land, foreshore access and community consultation. Speakers include Judy Mundey, Eddie Ma and John Stamolis.
📆 Tue 29 Sep / 6:30pm
📍 Balmain Town Hall

🎯 Inner West Cornhole
A new season has just started for this friendly community of bag throwers, with everyone welcome and beer to be won.
📆 Wed 30 Sep / 7pm
📍 Sydney Brewery, Rozelle

🏀 NBL: Sydney Kings v Brisbane Bullets
Kids go free with every adult ticket at this school holiday home game.
📆 Wed 30 Sep / 7:30pm
📍 Afterpay Arena, Olympic Park

📚 Forgotten Palestinian Cities Launch
Jazz Money and Lux Eterna read from the book alongside a photographic exhibition and mutual-aid fundraiser.
📆 Thu 1 Oct / 6:30pm – 8pm
📍 The Rose Read Bookshop, Summer Hill

🎶 Our Own Festival
A music, arts, fashion and culture festival returns with Agum among the announced performers.
📆 Sun 4 Oct / 1pm – 7pm
📍 Factory Theatre, Marrickville

The Jets face Penrith in the NSW Cup decider at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta, at 7pm Saturday. If you've been meaning to get to a Jets game, this is the one.

👉 Find out more

Marrickville Road and surrounding laneways will host a free music festival on Sunday 11 October, from midday to 6pm. The festival will feature six stages, local makers, food stalls and performances including Polish Club, La Gati, The Slims and XääD.

👉 Find out more

Construction has begun on 220 build-to-rent apartments for essential workers at the former WestConnex site in Annandale. The Joinery will include studio through to three-bedroom homes for workers including teachers, health staff, police and emergency services, with rents intended to sit below market rates.

It is a concrete step in turning a former motorway footprint into housing, though the homes are not yet available.

👉 Find out more

Inner West Council will trial free sunscreen in 15 local parks from November to March, after councillors unanimously backed Mat Howard's motion on Tuesday night. ‘Inner West Sun Stations’, either vending machines or manual dispensers, will go into three parks per ward, including Enmore Park, Petersham Park, Gladstone Park and Yeo Park Playground. A QR code on each station would collect feedback, with a report back to council by April 2027.

Would you use one? Reply and let us know.

Homes NSW is proposing around 340 homes across four buildings on former WestConnex sites in Haberfield and Ashfield, including approximately 100 social housing dwellings.

The early-stage plans include buildings of three to seven storeys, gardens, shared spaces, bike parking and car parking. Community feedback closes at 5pm this Monday, 28 September, before a formal State Significant Development Application is lodged.

👉 Find out more

Strathfield Council is asking for feedback on a draft masterplan for its side of the town centre, covering areas including Strathfield Square and Strathfield Plaza.

The plan sets a long-term direction for public space, movement, housing and the centre’s future character. It does not itself change planning controls; further planning work would be required. Feedback closes 10 January 2027.

👉 Find out more

The first tenants announced for Rozelle Village include Coles Local, Stitch Coffee, Double Cross Dining Room and a new New York-style diner from the team behind Brooklyn Boy Bagels. The development will include 227 apartments, 59 affordable homes, retail and dining spaces, public laneways and a town plaza, with completion targeted for early 2028.

👉 Find out more

A major Rhodes waterfront proposal has gone on public exhibition, with plans for 1,720 homes across eight buildings on Leeds and Averill streets.

The Billbergia-backed proposal includes more than 16,000 square metres of public open space, a foreshore promenade, retail and community facilities. It remains subject to state planning approval, with public submissions open until 13 October.

👉 Read more

🥟 $1 Dumplings for Dumpling Day
Celebrate National Dumpling Day! Choose from chicken and kimchi, beef and leek, or pork and chive dumplings, available dine-in until sold out.
📆 Sat 26 Sept / Lunch only
📍 Lotus Dumpling Bar, Summer Hill

☕ Crust and Crema Panini Cafe
A new Italian panini bar by the station, serving bacon and egg panini for breakfast and sausage or meatball Baciata for lunch.
📆 Mon – Sat / 6am – 3pm
📍 Crust and Crema Panini Cafe, Ashfield

🍕 Gigi's Balmain Ranks No. 16 in the World
The restaurant placed 16th on 50 Top Pizza's world list, the highest Australian entry, and Daniel Semrani won Pizza Maker of the Year.
📆 Open now
📍 Gigi's, Balmain

🥩 Steak Frites at Sippenham
A 200g MB3 sirloin with shoestring fries, pink peppercorn sauce, pickled onion and jus is $37, or $49 with paired red.
📆 Every Thu until Dec / Dinner
📍 Sippenham, Sydenham

COMING UP

🍷 Over the Hill at Nest
Nest and De Beaurepaire Wines present eight courses celebrating produce from the Blue Mountains and Central West, matched with reserve wines.
📆 Fri 2 Oct / 6pm
📍 Nest, Newtown

🍺 Sauce Turns Nine
Marrickville’s Sauce Brewing Co is celebrating its ninth birthday with a party in the beer garden. Expect live music, drink specials, games, prizes and food truck fare, plus the brewery’s new Oktoberfest Festbier and Weissbier on tap.
📆 Fri 25 Sep / From 4pm
📍 Sauce Brewing Co, Marrickville

🍺 Oktoberfest at Concordia Club
Marrickville’s German club begins its Oktoberfest season this Sunday, with German-style food and imported beers including Veltins, König Pils and Erdinger. Lunch is sold out, but dinner places are still available, with celebrations continuing every Sunday in October.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 4:30pm – 8:30pm
📍 Concordia Club, Marrickville

🍺 Mountain Goat Newtown Is Closing
The Melbourne brewery's only Sydney venue is closing after almost six years.
📆 Final day Sat 26 Sep
📍 Mountain Goat, Newtown

🦪 Oyster Sundays at Doom Juice
The wine brand's cellar door pairs oysters from three Pambula and Merimbula growers with $10 glasses of fizz and $55 bottles, and numbers are limited.
📆 Sun 27 Sep / 12pm – 6pm
📍 Doom Juice, Marrickville

HAPPY HOUR HEROES

🍷 Eve's Bar, Chippendale | Sunday to Friday | 3pm – 6pm | $7 house wines, $6 Sydney Brewery beers and $12 limited spritzes; subject to availability and not available with other discounts - see venue for terms and conditions.

🍺 Marrickville Hardcourt Tennis Club | Monday to Friday | 3pm – 6pm | $8 schooners and $11 pints; $8 schooners run until close on Tuesdays - see venue for terms and conditions.

🍻 The Merton Hotel, Rozelle | Monday to Friday | 4pm – 7pm | Beers from $4.50 and house wines for $5 - see venue for terms and conditions.

GET YOUR EVENT ON THE LIST 🎸

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