{"id":7697,"date":"2019-04-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/?p=7697"},"modified":"2020-05-01T13:28:59","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T03:28:59","slug":"vivid-sydney-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/sydney\/events\/vivid-sydney-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"5 reasons you NEED to go to Vivid Sydney 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s time to lighten up, friends \ud83d\ude09 Why? Because the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s LARGEST festival of light, music and ideas is about to hit the Harbour City. Yep, Vivid Sydney is back in 2019, from Friday 24 May to Saturday 15 June. If you\u2019ve never experienced the bright, inspiring and downright AMAZING festival that is Vivid, then this is the year to do it. Here\u2019s why\u2026<\/p>\n
1. Incredible live music<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Sure, Vivid Sydney is all about out-of-this-world light displays, creative events and thought-provoking talks, but what about the music? What other festival can boast the likes of Paul Kelly, The Dirty Three, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, FKA twigs, and more? A few headline acts have already sold out (when it comes to concerts, you\u2019ve got to think fast!), but you can still nab tickets for most events \u2013 including Curve Ball, a warehouse party starring Hayden James, Mallrat and Touch Sensitive.<\/p>\n
If you really love your music, don\u2019t miss the X|Celerate program. There are 23 inner-city live music venues to explore, showcasing everything from emerging bands, established musicians and cool sound artists from every genre and style you can think of. If you\u2019re a diehard Aussie music fan, make sure you check out Tex Perkins and Matt Walker\u2019s performance at the Camelot Lounge. If you adore strong frontwomen, head to Ziggy\u2019s Barber Shop, which is hosting a series of pop-up live music parties featuring awesome female arists.<\/p>\n
2. An amazing Pixar Animation Studios installation<\/strong><\/h3>\nArtist Impression. \u00a9Disney\/Pixar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pixar Animation Studios\u2019 films have a special place in many of our hearts. From the original Toy Story<\/em> to the loveable characters in Finding Nemo<\/em>, there\u2019s something about these movies that tugs at the heart strings. To celebrate the stories, characters and artistic vision that this Academy Award-winning studio has given us over the past three decades, a special project called Pixar: 30 Years of Art and Animation<\/em> has been specially designed for Vivid Sydney 2019. It takes audiences on a visual journey through the studio\u2019s creative process, showcasing everything from the early stages of development to beautiful watercolours, digital prints and paintings. The cherry on top of what is an already delicious pop-culture sundae is that this event is FREE and super easy to get to. It lights up the Argyle Cut in The Rocks every night of the festival. Make sure you take the family!<\/p>\n
3. Vivid is even bigger than you think<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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If you thought Vivid Sydney was all about bringing colour and excitement to Circular Quay… well, you\u2019re only partly right \ud83d\ude09 The festival is absolutely HUGE and will keep all of Sydney buzzing. There are awesome things to see and do in Darling Harbour, Taronga Zoo, Chatswood, Barangaroo and Luna Park, to name just a few spots. The Botanical Gardens will also be joining the fun with installations, interactive displays and Firefly Field \u2013 an engineering feat of incredible firefly-like lights.<\/p>\n
4. Inspiring (and challenging!) talks and events<\/strong><\/h3>\nGame Changer: Spike Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Vivid Sydney\u2019s installations, exhibitions and performances are fantastic, but its talks and events \u2013 and the space they create for future-facing, innovative and sometimes controversial themes \u2013 are the real game-changers. Vivid\u2019s workshops, forums and collaborations explore everything from race with iconic American film director and writer Spike Lee, spirituality with TV and radio personality Meshel Laurie, relationships with psychotherapist Esther Perel, and digital distractions in everyday life with Australian journalist and broadcaster Mark Colvin. There are loads of free events too, including the Art Gallery of NSW\u2019s famous Vivid Art After Hours. Check out the bold three-part discussion series hosted by Haiku Hands, an Aussie band who mix high-energy pop with expertly choreographed routines. They cover everything from death to conflict to sexuality.<\/p>\n
5. This pic<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Uh, need we say more? No, we need not, but we will anyway \ud83d\ude09 Because, WOW, you\u2019ve never seen the harbour like this. Get your camera ready, because Vivid Sydney turns most of Sydney (especially Circular Quay) into a huge, immersive art experience, with synchronised light shows across the harbour. You won\u2019t know where to look, but a couple of great places to start include the iconic annual displays at (and on) the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and Customs House \u2013 all must-sees in 2019.<\/p>\n
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