The program for this year’s Willoughby Spring Festival has been announced. The Spring Festival is the largest cultural and entertainment celebration on Sydney’s North Shore.
The month long festival, held each year in September, will feature visual arts exhibitions, live entertainment, film and music performances, kid’s and youth events, cultural and community celebrations.
“September is one of my favourite times of year. It’s when our diverse local community comes together to celebrate everything we love about the Willoughby area. This year’s program has an exciting line up of activities, with something for everyone” said Willoughby Mayor Gail Giles.
| Visual Arts Program | Sep 1st – 30th |
| Jeral Puppets | Sep 5th – 30th |
| Ensemble Theatre – Jack Manning | Sep 5th – 27th |
| Willougby Street Fair | Sep 6th |
| Concourse Urban Screen – Dispicable Me | Sep 6th |
| Concourse Urban Screen – Frozen | Sep 6th |
| Sunday Sounds @ The Concourse | Sep 7, 14, 21 & 28th |
| Jane Rutter – Live at Lunch | Sep 11th |
| Artarmon Night Market | Sep 12th |
| Colourful Taiwan | Sep 13th |
| Willoughby Craft Beer Fair | Sep 14th |
| The 26 Storey Treehouse | Sep 15th & 16th |
| Canadian Carnivale | Sep 15th – Oct 3rd |
| Around the World in 80 Quizzes | Sep 25th |
| Festival Oasis | Sep 25th – 28th |
| Jason Byrne @ The Concourse | Sep 26th |
| Willoughby Sympny | Sep 27th & 28th |
The Willoughby StreetFair will be held on Saturday 6 September from 10am. There will be a colourful street parade, market stalls and entertainment throughout the day on numerous entertainment stages. Popular kid’s movies, Despicable Me 2 (12pm) and Frozen (2pm) will play on The Concourse’s Urban Screen and Bananas in Pyjamas will make an appearance at the HomeHQ Kids’ Zone. A new attraction at this year’s StreetFair is The Concourse’s Chill Out Bar on the Victoria Avenue terrace – the perfect place for adults to take some time out while still being able to view all the action down on the streets.
New to the Spring Festival is the Festival Oasis at The Concourse, Chatswood – 25 to 28 September. The Festival Oasis is a special pop-up event designed to capture the essence of spring relaxation, right amidst the hustle and bustle of Chatswood’s CBD.
The year’s visual arts program will have 16 different exhibitions or workshops, from live art performances based around Buddhist meditation, to exhibitions on the technical art of printmaking and an open artist’s studio weekend.
Willoughby Symphony will perform a concert of George Gershwin’s beloved classics (Saturday 27 September and Sunday 28 September), and the ARIA award winning a capella group, The Idea of North a special spring concert of join Jane Rutter’s Live at Lunch series for an uplifting lunchtime concert (Thursday 11 September). There will be free live music each Sunday during the Spring Festival on The Concourse with Sunday Sounds, including performances by the Willoughby Band.
For theatre lovers, the renowned Ensemble Theatre join the festival for a three play program – The Jack Manning Trilogy (Monday 25 August – Saturday 27 September), and one of Australia’s best loved comedians Jason Byrne will entertain with his show at The Concourse, Chatswood (Friday 26 September).
There are lots of opportunities for days out at fairs and markets during September. The Colourful Taiwan festival will celebrate all things Taiwanese with all-day activities and entertainment in the heart of Chatswood (Saturday 13 September). The Willoughby Craft Beer Fair is rapidly establishing itself as one of the best food and beverage events in Sydney, and is a great day out for the whole family with gourmet food, live music and kid’s activities including a petting zoo (Sunday 14 September). Artarmon village will come alive with a fantastic variety of stalls, food, craft and entertainment at the new Night Market at Artarmon (Friday 12 September).
There will be kids fun with stage shows, The 26 Storey Treehouse at The Concourse (Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 September) and Puppeteria Theatre’s Jeral Puppets (Friday 5 September – Tuesday 30 September). Local libraries will host a range of free kid’s activities for Carnivale based around Canadian culture (Monday 15 September – Friday 3 October), and there’s a great range of bushwalks tailored specifically for little ones to discover the magic of the local bush. Around the World with 80 Quizzes and Games is a great holiday activity for school-aged children, with fun games, quizzes and prizes (Thursday 25 September).
