The best things to do in Sydney in October

When it comes to the spookiest time of year, Aussies have really ramped up their adoption of Halloween traditions, with costumes and trick-or-treating baskets at the ready. So it’s no wonder Sydney’s Ghost Festival is such a hit  – this year, the annual fest is taking over The Rocks from Thursday, October 29 to Sunday, November 1. Bringing a huge Halloween playground for Sydneysiders to make the most of, it’s cemented itself as the go-to fright-filled celebration for one (unofficial) long weekend. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure set-up for all kinds of Halloween heads, from thrillseekers to not-so-brave partygoers.  No matter what ghoulish activity tickles your fancy, you’ll have the chance to check out a bunch of cool things at this free-entry fest… Hit up the outdoor Audible Ghost Cinema at Cadmans Cottage to catch some goosebump-raising movie screenings. With the likes of Smile, The Shining, Hocus Pocus and Monsters Inc. on the line-up, you’re in for a real scare – but make sure to keep an eye out on your surroundings, because the real terror might just creep up on you.  For those keen on the treats, you can sip your way through themed cocktails at CASA Murder Bar, a hidden vintage speakeasy tucked away in one of the city’s most haunted laneways in Foundation Park. There’ll be 12 exclusive creations brewing at the 1930’s-inspired spot, paired with live retro music. Ready to boogie? The Poliakov Vodka Main Stage and its accompanying Poliakov Vodka Haunted Woods at First...

Sculpture by the Sea, the world’s largest free outdoor sculpture exhibition, is back in Sydney until November 2 for its 30th anniversary. Founded by David Handley as a one-day event in 1997, it has since grown into a major cultural fixture, attracting more than 12 million visitors. “It was intended to be a gift to the people of Sydney and add to the sense of community,” says David. This year’s exhibition stretches for 2km along the coast from Bondi to Tamarama and features more than 100 works by artists from Australia and around the world, set against the backdrop of Sydney’s spectacular coastline. “It brings us joy, makes us laugh and makes us reflect,” says Allegra Spender, Federal Member for Wentworth. Keep an eye out for Surface Breach by Andre Braun, a striking white hand that appears to push its way out of the rugged rocks, as though something is reaching up from beneath the earth. Another personal favourite is The Guardians by Ulan and Rachel, a sculptural tree with long, dangling roots that catch the sunlight and create an almost otherworldly silhouette. Then there’s Judy Witherdin’s Phatyma, a riot of multicoloured mosaic that brings a vivid splash of colour to the coastal landscape. While many works spark joy and laughter, others invite us to stop, pause and reflect. Love by Stephanie Quirk is an aerial skywriting artwork created in response to the community following the tragic December 14 Bondi attack. Four times during the exhibition, the word ‘Love’ will be...

The late, great David Hockney (July 9, 1937 – June 11, 2026) passed away earlier this year, but his art is very much alive. You might know the British artist for his sun-drenched Los Angeles swimming pools, including A Bigger Splash (1967), or Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), which fetched a whopping $90.3 million at auction in 2018. Or, perhaps you’ve seen his portrait of pop star Harry Styles that he painted in just two days, or his vibrant digital landscapes that he created on an iPad. Or maybe you just dig the fact that Hockney wore yellow Crocs when he met King Charles.  Now, Sydneysiders can step right into Hockney’s colourful, endlessly curious world as his acclaimed immersive experience, David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), makes its Australian debut at Carriageworks. Running until January 24, 2027, this spectacular 360-degree production transforms the vast Bay 17 into a kaleidoscope of colour, movement, sound and light. Created by London’s Lightroom, the experience has captivated audiences from Seoul to Singapore since premiering in London in 2023. Bigger & Closer takes you inside Hockney’s artistic imagination, tracing six decades of creative experimentation. Narrated by Hockney himself and accompanied by an original score by composer Nico Muhly, it reveals the stories, ideas and happy accidents behind his extraordinary body of work. Journey through the San Gabriel Mountains, cruise along California’s Mulholland Drive...

You should know the premise by now – divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived all set to a fiery, feminist live band. Henry VIII’s six ex-wives reclaim their stories and their thrones in the worldwide sensation that is Six the Musical. This is the fourth time in (wouldn’t you know it) six years that the queens have graced Sydney stages, the second at the Theatre Royal. So has Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ Tony- and Grammy-nominated electrifying pop-concert hit lost some of its glam? The short answer is “No Way”. What is the plot of Six? What started as an Edinburgh Fringe hit went on to capture the hearts of the West End, Broadway, and beyond. At its core, Six retains those fringey roots in its tight 80-minute, one-set, one-act pop-concert musical in what is a song-cycle of the Tudor Queens turned Pop Princesses who remix five hundred years of history to win their crowns. Who had it the worst under Henry’s reign? Who deserves the most sympathy? And is it all about his-story or is it time for a bit of herstory? The beauty of Six is that it’s a star vehicle for female and gender diverse talents. Thankfully, the creative team have offered up six of the best to fangirl over, from young veterans of the stage through to mainstage debuts: Sarah Murr as Catherine of Aragon, Mia Paris Scalise as Anne Boleyn, Cara Bessey as Jane Seymour, Kadesa Honeyhill as Anna of Cleves, Angela Brischetto as Katherine Howard, and Lorinda May Merrypor as Catherine Parr. Alongside them...

Did you know that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Australia? One in seven Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85. If you want to show your support, head to Manly Beach on Saturday, October 31 for Pink With Purpose. The morning kicks off at 5.30am with optional sunrise meditation and beachfront yoga, followed by coffee and a chance to connect with fellow participants.  At 7.30am, the main event begins, with women gathering in matching pink Zyla sports bras to create a giant pink heart on the sand at 7.45am. This is followed by a 3.4km return walk between Queenscliff and Manly, turning the beachfront into a sea of pink. The morning wraps up with a Pink Breakfast created by Zoe and Anna from Brain of a Dietitian (BOAD) at Bombora Pavilion from 9am to 10am, featuring a live auction as well as nutritious food, all in shades of pink and created specially for the event. Inspired by Northern Beaches mum Bec Bonar’s experience of having breast cancer detected despite a clear mammogram just months earlier, the event also highlights the importance of looking after your health and supporting ongoing research. Bring your mum, daughter, sister, aunt or best mates, or rally your walking group or colleagues to join in. You can also create your own fundraising page to help raise even more for Breast Cancer Trials. With Zyla Active donating the pink sports bras (founded by Bec’s friend’s daughter Emily White) and BOAD...

If you’ve ever felt the push and pull between expectation versus opportunity, then you should nab tickets to the upcoming Belvoir St Theatre takeover, A Room with a View. This stage adaptation of E.M. Forster’s timeless story is heading to the Surry Hills theatre for a month-long stay from next month, and promises a refreshed take of the original work.   In a production boasting a female-led creative team and an exciting cast, expect a modernised take on Lucy’s whirlwind journey as she navigates romance, hope and challenging social norms.  From Saturday, October 3 ’til Sunday, November 1, this book-to-stage adaptation will grace the cosy upstairs space of Surry Hills haunt, with evening sessions running from Tuesday to Sunday each week. You’ll still be met with all the best elements of the original, including the familiar Edwardian era charm and light comedic streaks. But this time, it’s contemporising the narrative that grapples with femininity, societal pressure, freedom and choosing self-expression – themes that still feel pertinent.  Co-produced with Melbourne Theatre Company, this reimagining of E.M. Forster’s classic by rising playwright and Aussie homegrown talent, Grace Chapple (Never Closer), has Hannah Goodwin (Never Closer, The Wrong Gods) directing and will feature Nathalie Morris (Bump), as Lucy Honeychurch. With tickets from $58, you can delve deep into Lucy’s experiences with womanhood, and the expectations that are attached to it, as she travels from her...

Trick or treating, candy and themed Halloween games all make up quintessential parts of the less-scary side of spooky season. So, in the sweeter spirit of Halloween, there’s really no better way to mark the annual occasion than with a chocolate haul of some kind – and with MG Motor Australia and Reese’s Australia’s sweet collab, you can do just that. MG Motor Australia and Reese’s Australia will have a pop-up as part of this year’s massive Ghost Festival takeover in The Rocks, on Friday, October 30 from 7pm to 11:30pm, allowing festivalgoers to take a stab at their sidequest. Hosting a giveaway of epic proportions, the activation is encouraging some competitively friendly fun. The competition takes a page out of classic Halloween traditions, hosting a ‘guess how many’ game, just on a much larger scale. Think: car-boot-sized. If you dare, you can take a shot at guessing how many Reese’s Pieces fit in the boot of the sleek MG4 EV Urban – one of the most affordable EV options on the market currently. It’s completely free to try your luck, and you’ll even score a free pack of Reese’s Pieces chocolate as a treat, which you can add to your pre-existing candy stash. The prize for a correct guess? A $3000 voucher to spend as you like on a stay at Bannisters by the Sea. Just think: you could splash out on a two-night stay with breakfast included, a three-course dinner for two (plus drinks) at Rick Stein at Mollymook, two 60-minute spa sessions, happy-hour tipples at Julio's...and...

The opening note of ‘The Circle of Life’ may just be one of the most recognisable in a Disney musical. If you don’t agree, then you may have to convince the entire theatre-going audience who were at Disney’s The Lion King on opening night. The full house’s roars could be heard all the way out of the Capitol Theatre’s front doors as the king of musicals triumphantly returns to Sydney – the first time in more than a decade. What type of show is The Lion King? It’s called The King of Musicals for a reason. If it’s not Elton John’s iconically recognisable music, or Tim Rice’s lyrics you’ve sung over a late-night karaoke session, then its Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi’s book featuring the characters you love, the characters you hate, and the ones you undoubtedly cry over – tears were definitely still shed during that scene. What’s so beautiful about The Lion King is the blurring of worlds and culture that merges in between all of these. Julie Taymor’s directorial conception blends African culture, language, movement and costume underneath masks and puppetry of the animal characters. Mufasa’s “crown” is a stoic, strong and towering headdress. The elegant lionesses soar and leap through the sky through Garth Fagan’s choreography as wing-like gowns flow behind them. The animals of Pride Rock are adorned with larger-than-life puppets of intricate designs and architecture: a re-engineered bicycle becomes leaping antelope, birds fly above the crowd on poles manipulated by performers,...

It’s been a great week for women in musical theatre. Recently, new queens of Six took to the stage at Theatre Royal Sydney for the musical’s third Sydney season. Across town at Hayes, another female-led production opened with an altogether bloodier agenda: We Are The Tigers. Both productions reflect a musical landscape increasingly shaped by pop sensibilities, spectacle and stories that put women centre stage. But where Six turns female history into a pop concert, We Are The Tigers trades the royal court for a cheerleading sleepover gone spectacularly wrong. I can’t remember the last time I saw an ensemble of nine women and gender-diverse performers command a musical with such collective force. Their chemistry, vocal blend and sheer stage presence are worth celebrating in their own right. What is We Are The Tigers about? Written by Preston Max Allen, We Are The Tigers premiered in Los Angeles in 2015 and then Off-Broadway in February 2019. The musical follows Giles Corey High School cheer captain Riley (Brianna Bishop, Grease, Hairspray), her best friend Cairo (Olivia Vasquez, In the Heights, West Side Story) and their band of misfit cheerleaders and one aspiring cheerleader-turned-mascot Reese (Caitlin McCallig). Under Riley’s L-E-A-D leadership, the team hopes to redeem themselves after last year’s spectacular flop and that viral incident. But what unfolds is more slaughter than spirit. What are the highlights of the cast, music and performances? Preston Max Allen’s...

A sawfish swimming alongside a sea turtle in the Pilbara. Royal penguins stopped in their tracks by an enormous elephant seal. A Tassie devil fighting for survival. A whimbrel racing an incoming wave with a freshly caught crab in its beak. Flame-like patterns formed by the tides across a Western Australian sandbank. It’s true what they say: a picture definitely does speak a thousand words. Opening at the Australian Museum on September 12, the 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition brings you face-to-face with some of the most extraordinary moments in the natural world. From wildlife encounters to otherworldly landscapes, these photographs offer a rare glimpse into the beauty and fragility of nature in our region. This free exhibition, produced by the South Australian Museum, showcases the finest images selected from 2,129 entries by 501 photographers across 17 countries. Spanning Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea, the photographs take in everything from critically endangered species and dramatic animal encounters to patterns and textures of the natural landscape. Western Australian photographer Matt Deakin has been named the 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year for Ethereal Encounter. His mesmerising aerial photograph captures a critically endangered green sawfish moving towards a group of green turtles in the shallow waters of the Pilbara. Shot in the last light of the day, the milky water gives the...