Cabramatta Moon Festival 2015

Cabramatta's Moon Festival this year was a huge success, the weather was perfect - cool but sunny. There was no commotion and everyone was happily celebrating one of South East Asia's biggest celebrations. 

For those who have never been I highly recommend you going next year as the streets are filled with South East Asian culture and colour, an unforgettable

The Festival is extremely easy to get to being right next to Cabramatta train station and with free shuttle buses provided by the council.

9am - 8 pm may seem like a long day but trust me there is PLENTY to do. Food, Stalls, Live Entertainment, Games, Rides and More Food! There is so much for families and friends to enjoy especially as the streets 

However if you're not great with crowds and long waits as the streets are frenzied with around 90 000 people a smaller festival may be a better option to start with. I had to wait 40 minutes for one of the most popular food there Takoyak, however my only regret was not ordering more. Despite all that and walking less than 1km/hr trying to navigate through the sea of people the festival is a frantic, fun and new experience with lots to do and see. 

Live performances ! There were 3 stages of live performances to watch people sing, dance, defy gravity and even fire shows. 

Hurricane

With all the possible things to do on the 11 hour day, my best recommendation is to try the rides ! Especially the Hurricane and Body Rock, a thrilling experience and possibly the only time you'll be off your feet. 

See you next year, Cabramatta ! 

Event: Cabramatta Moon Festival

Date: 27 September 2015 , 9am - 8pm 

Location: John Street, Park Road, Railway Parade and Arthur Street, Cabramatta 

Never Stand Still

Never Stand Still is a recurring social event in which many people of the same interest in video games come together. The event ranges from friendly but intense competition involving real prize money that is chipped in from all participants as well as being a friendly get-together among like-minded people in a festival-like environment.

All participants and entrants all mingle with one another in this all day event as well as eating together. Because of the accessibility of the event, is is extremely easy to become a participant and competitor in this event with the majority of the participants actually being part of the main events unlike most other events and festivals.

This is one of many competition events that happen around Australia, however the scale of this event is larger than most similar local events but smaller than a national scale competition, keeping the local festival atmosphere as well as being very lively. This event occurs regularly, however not weekly or fortnightly like most smaller ones, but instead at the end of every university break as the majority of the crowd are students of sorts. The event also occurs more than the national yearly counterparts.

Never Stand Still is a fantastic example of a local medium scale event with gaming and dining festivities in which people all come together to play and mingle with one another through common gaming interests.

Event: Never Stand Still

Date: 12th September (recurring)

Location: Sydney, UNSW

Sydney Film Festival

Calling all film makers, film viewers, film lovers -

Anything to do with the silver screen actually.

This is the festival you have to go to!

The Sydney Film Festival happens every year and one of the world's longest-running film festivals. A 12-day festival jam-packed with features films, short-documentaries, short films, and animations.

With a prize offering of $60,000, awarded by a jury of five Australian and international filmmakers and industry professionals to the winner among the 12 titles selected for the official competition, the films are bound to be stellar with skill, form, and art.

Fear not if you're not interested in film screenings, there are plenty of other film-related events for to quench your thirst for the cinematic art.

This includes short talks, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, red carpet premieres, panel discussions and themed parties. And if you're a foodie, why not combine your love for food and cinema at unique events like the Gourmet Cinema.

Next year's film guide has not been released however if you'd like to get an idea of how the festival is run, you can access this year's film guide here.

So muster up your film geeks and come along to next year's Sydney Film Festival!

See you there!

Event: Sydney Film Festival

Date: 8-19 June 2016

Location: Sydney (specific screenings/events TBA)

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

What if??

What if they tell you to use your right hand when you are left-handed person?

What if they don’t accept you just because you are from certain background?

What if you can’t advance to the management position just because you are young?

….

Million of ‘what if’s we ask in our life, just to get to the point of FAIRNESS.

So if you can educate people about individual rights, about violence, why not GENDER equality?

By gender, I don’t just mean men and women. I mean, the ‘Others’ option on the form!

Being bisexual doesn’t mean they are less human. They are just unique in their own way!!

…

So here we are, Sydney people, pride on our freedom and our inclusivity.

SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS – one of the most popular festival in Sydney that remains the one truly global gay annual event and a uniquely attractive escape from the Northern Hemisphere winter.

Come and experience!! Fair Day, Party, Parade, are out of your expectation. In a good way or bad way, just remember, YOLO – You only live once!!

So 10,000 people sauntering streets in a dazzling array of sequins, feathers and speedos. 

More than 200,000 people cheer from the sidelines.

Can't get more exciting than that!!!

Event: Sydney Mardi Gras Parade

Date: Saturday 5^th March, 2016

Location: Oxford and Flinder Streets

Sydney Twilight Parade

Think you’re East Asian and you know everything about Chinese New Year?

Think even though you grow up in East Asian culture overseas but familiarise enough with this culture?

Don’t ever ASSUME! Think twice.

Chinese New Year, aka CNY, or Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is always the biggest festival of the year for any Asian countries who celebrate it, naming China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippine, etc. As the name suggested, CNY festival is to welcome a new year, based on the lunar calendar. Sydney claims to be the area has the biggest Chinese population, as such, the CNY in Chinatown Sydney holds up to 600,000 people every year.

The best part of this whole festival in Sydney is the Twilight Parade. If you are new to Sydney, don’t be surprise to see such many people on the street celebrating a distinct festival of a particular culture. And if you are Sydneysiders and you wonder why Sydney Council does this, go and experience it and you will know why.

With lanterns, floats, projections, costumes, and performances lighting up our city, the night is truly remarkable day for all involved. Walking from Oxford Street to Darling Harbour is tiring, but surely, with all the cheering from the audiences filling up 2 sides of the route path, seeing the beauty of Sydney at night, immersing into the cultural celebration’s atmosphere, the images are still vivid for whoever has marched this parade.

 

Even students love it!

Dragon - symbol of the year!

Welcome to the trip!

Do you frequently festivate?

If the answer is no - what are you doing with your life welcome to the trip! Here you will find reviews, guides, and other fun stuff to teach you how to festivate!

If the answer is yes - you've found your lifetime guide to Sydney's greatest (and not so great) festivals!

What is the practice of "festivating"?

According to Urban Dictionary:
"To have a festival, celebrate, and/or party with great zeal and to an almost superfluous extent"

There are so many different types of festivals to suit people from all walks of life, it is our pleasure, as festival gurus to guide you through these fun times!

Meet the team:

(left to right: Tung, Jenny, Robert, Rebecca)

We are a group of uni students with a passion for festivating and we'd like to share a bit of our experiences and thoughts to anyone who also enjoys attending festivals. 

On this blog you will find festivals mainly held in Sydney. We will do our best to bring you the latest information to ensure you are well informed with what's hot and what's not and will add a little splash of our own opinions and views on all sorts of festivals. You can find that we have a range of interests and hobbies amongst us festival gurus, including: music, gaming, food, films, and much more! 

Feel free to leave any comments on what upcoming festivals you'd like us to talk about, or any general topics about festivals.