Eats. Beats. Art. set to take over CBD for Parramatta Lanes 2024

Laneways, streets, car parks and gardens in Parramatta’s CBD are set to transform into immersive destinations for food, music and art as Parramatta Lanes returns to the heart of the City this October.

The City’s signature festival will cover more ground than ever before – with more than 16 sites across the CBD, 70 street food stalls and eight stages set to go off with over 100 performers across four massive nights.

A special guest performer is set to headline Parramatta Lanes this year, along with a stacked list of international, national and Western Sydney talents such as R&B singers A.GIRL and Becca Hatch on the Powerhouse Lane stage and rapper B Wise.

For the first time, Prince Alfred Square will come alive for the event, hosting Pro Wrestling Australia live action entertainment as well as Pup Culture, a dedicated area for cultured pooches with a dog agility course returning after a successful inclusion from 2023.

Foodies can feast their eyes and tastebuds on fried chicken inspired by LA’s Raising Canes, KOI’s iconic desserts and social-media worthy bites such as a cookie croissant, Malaysian cuisine, BBQ skewers, American-style burgers, acai bowls, loaded potato spuds and much more.

City of Parramatta chief executive Gail Connolly PSM said the annual event gets bigger and better each year.

“Parramatta Lanes is our flagship event, bringing international and local performers, larger-than-life art installations, and street food from all corners of the world,” Ms Connolly said.

“Last year it attracted more than 180,000 visitors, injecting $1.5 million into our local economy - and this year is shaping up to be even bigger.

“Lanes is just one of the events helping to position Parramatta as a global City, we’re drawing the best there is to offer in art and creativity, dining and entertainment to the heart of Greater Sydney.

The new Powerhouse Lane presented by Powerhouse will be buzzing with Sydney’s best hip hop and RnB artists curated by MC Trey, We Are Warriors and fbi.radio.

George Street will be transformed with new artworks titled Parramatta in Pop by acclaimed artists Andrew and Chris Yee and an array of street food stalls celebrating the culinary landscape of Western Sydney, curated in association with social enterprise Welcome Merchant.

Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah said it’s great to be involved in the flagship event.

“Parramatta Lanes is one of Sydney’s most dynamic and diverse street festivals and Powerhouse is thrilled to be collaborating with City of Parramatta to present Powerhouse Lane,” Ms Havilah said.

“This is the first time Powerhouse has been involved in this epic event and we're looking forward to bringing some of Western Sydney's most exceptional artists, musicians, cooks and caterers to George Street.”

Minister for Roads, Arts, Music and the Night-Time Economy, Jobs and Tourism John Graham said they were excited to support the flagship event.

“Too often our main streets are something we drive through, rather than drive to. Our streets are a critical part of our public and social infrastructure. Great streets make great towns and centres and reflect the local community and culture,” Mr Graham said.

“The Open Streets program is about temporarily transforming our main streets into vibrant and welcoming public event spaces.

“The colour and diversity of these 130 events celebrates the unique personality of each town or suburb. This is what our vibrancy agenda is all about, backing locals to create events and entertainment that works for their local community.”

Highlights from this year’s program include Pass the Mic run by Bodega Collective, a Bollywood-inspired extravaganza at Justice Precinct bringing a fusion of tradition, music and dance for a festival of lights and an exclusive menu of viral food stalls at the rooftop at Eat Street Car Park.

Vibrant art installations are also set to light up each evening, encouraging people to wander through the streets and lanes to discover artworks such as Lost, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired floral garden, Otto and Anina, a duo of colossal cats and interactive musical Trumpet Flowers.

“Our lanes and streets will come alive over four massive nights where you will get to taste food from all over the world, celebrate Western Sydney’s diversity and creativity through delicious food, quirky art and live entertainment,” Ms Connolly said.  

Powerhouse Lane is proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with City of Parramatta Council and Powerhouse Museum.

Parramatta Lanes kicks off from Wednesday 23 October to Saturday 26 October from 5pm each night. Entry is free.

To view the full program or for more information visit atparramatta.com/lanes