Surry Hills at Play

28/04/2023

Oh hey dog lovers! Head to The Carrington from 2:00pm this Sunday for an afternoon of pawsome FREE events including a dog and owner fashion extravaganza, dog themed photo selfie station, music, food and special offers! It is also the last day to see the amazing dog portrait exhibition from , Annabel Osborne that has been showing at The Carrington all month – come and find your favourite famous local pooch!

Wanna dance? Stick around at the Carrington after the dog show for some Streetfunk, Disco and House Grooves with Professor Groove and the B***y Affair from 4pm.

18/04/2023

Join us for an exciting and fun-filled Play Day — the grand finale of our month-long celebration of play in Surry Hills.

For one day only, on Sunday 30 April, we'll be taking over Shannon Reserve with hands-on activities, local business collaborations, live entertainment, kids' workshops, kids’ markets, food, and much more!

Kids can join Cardboard Heroes to build their own village where they set the rules.

🚴 🚴 🚴 Bike lovers can get a free tune-up from City of Sydney partners PedalSetGo or drop into our "pimp your bike" station to express their personality through their wheels.

🐶 🐶🐶Dog lovers are invited to enter themselves and their BFF into our "Best in Surry" dog fashion parade where prizes will be awarded for esteemed categories such as owner that looks most like their pet, best dressed, and audience choice.

And if you've always wanted to have your face painted as your dog, this is your moment to shine! Our guest artist and Australian body painting champion takes face painting to a whole new level.

In the meantime, SAVE THE DATE, and stay tuned for the full program release while you (and your bike) get ready for the fun-filled day.

https://facebook.com/events/s/play-day/2440382579451085/?mibextid=RQdjqZ

04/04/2023

The hounds are on the loose in Surry Hills, and we need you to sniff them out!

Gather your pack and find the supersized stickers of six legendary local pooches are hiding throughout the neighbourhood.

All you need to do is put your nose to the ground, follow the clues, and find all six stickers to win a guaranteed prize! And you can do it at any time on any day the shops are open throughout April!

Download the hunt from our website (link in bio) or collect a copy from Surry Hills Library.

30/03/2023

We're kicking off the month-long Surry Hills Festival festival at Sydney Streets on Crown Street, this Saturday!

Join us all day for lawn games, ping pong, vintage picnic vibes, scavenger hunts, and the lowdown on all the weird and wonderful (and FREE) events you can enjoy throughout April.

Find the pink marquee outside the library, and you've found us. Let the play begin!

This event is part of Surry Hills Festival, proudly presented by and supported by .

27/03/2023

Pair up with your pooch and wow the Surry Hills at Play crowd at the inaugural Best in Surry dog and owner fashion parade at Play Day - let the kids take over Surry Hills!
Strut the dogwalk to compete for coveted crowns such as Best Dressed and Owner That Looks Most Like Their Pet.

Sign up by tagging a pic of your dog on this post or send a picture to [email protected] with your doggo’s name.

This event is part of Surry Hills at Play, proudly presented by Reactivate Consulting and The Carrington and supported by City of Sydney.

24/03/2023

How cool is this! We are beyond thrilled to have 3 studio A artists as part of our perfect match window activations this April and will be lining up to get our hands on some of their amazing artwork on April 1!

22/03/2023

We are so proud to present Surry Hills at Play, a new precinct activation coming to Surry Hills this April!

Bringing together local business, residents, over 75 artists and community groups, our month-long festival is reigniting the signature spirit that makes Surry Hills a unique creative playground.

From children’s programs, bike tours and dog parades, to scavenger hunts, holiday workshops and pop-up picnics, art installations, and a major Play Day on Sunday 30 April, there’s something for all walks of life.

There’s even an exciting design competition for budding architectural talent or even established practices to design a playscape to be used in public space.

After all, cities should be fun for all generations!
Surry Hills at Play is produced by Reactivate Consulting and supported by the City of Sydney's precinct activation grant program.
A big thanks to our Creative Producer Susie Rugg Handywithscissors

22/03/2023

We are so excited to present this FREE workshop with the amazing Brolga Dance Academy. Perfect for ages 6-12. Registration essential.

School holiday Aboriginal Contemporary dance workshops for kids aged 6-12 years old in Surry Hills on Thursday, 13 April 2023 from 11am to 12pm.
This is a free workshop but registration is essential. To register click here https://events.humanitix.com/brolga-dance-workshop
Surry Hills at Play

20/03/2023

We're thrilled to launch our Play Design Competition! 🎉

To encourage play in the inner city we have commissioned a design competition to create a play prototype! ⚽️

Whether you’re an emerging or professional designer, a primary, high school, or tertiary student, or have an awesome idea about play – this competition is for you.

Did we mention there are some AMAZING prizes? Including...

🍽️ $1000 voucher from Nour Restaurant and $500 from Arthur Restaurant

🎓 Paid internship at prestigious architecture firm MHN Design Union

🍦 Free Yo-Chi for a YEAR ()
🎨 ART Creative packs for our young talents
⭐️ And much more!

15/03/2023

CALLING ALL KID MAKERS!

Are you or someone you know aged 5-18 and have a passion for making things? Would you like to sell your creations at a market run by kids?

As part of Surry Hills we are scouring Sydney for a bunch of special mini-makers to sell their wares at our Play Day!

10am – 4pm Sunday 30 April 2023 at Shannon Reserve on Crown Street, Surry Hills.

We will provide stalls, customers, a mentoring session and promotion. All you need to do is get making, and start dreaming of how you’ll use your hard earned cash!

To find out more or apply for a stall, please send us some information on what you would like to sell, a few photos or sketches and we’ll be in touch!

Entry is free but places are strictly limited.


[email protected]

13/03/2023

Meet the team!

🌟🌟Nicole Dennis is the Place Strategy and Engagement Director at Consulting and the original brain behind the festival. As a former long term resident of Surry Hills, she saw the need to bring back the FUN side of Surry Hills post lockout laws, light rail and lockdowns. She is a parent to a 3 year old mini Spiderman who inspires her to develop meaningful opportunities for kids and families to play in urban environments. She is also a big believer in the potential for art and artists to inspire change and ignite the imagination. She has been key in championing the artist led approach the festival has taken.

🌟🌟Susie Rugg (aka will lead the festival as Creative Producer. Susie has three kids under the age of 10, a dog that thinks it’s a human and a rabbit that thinks he’s a dog so it goes without saying that she know a bit about play. She was the Children’s Coordinator at the Museum of Contemporary Art for 10 years, and last year produced the Way out West (WOW) Children’s festival at Casula Powerhouse that attracted over 10,000 people over 7 days. She regularly holds large scale workshops for families that celebrate creativity and sustainability through her almost obsessive love of small pieces of junk. Her favourite game is hopscotch and her favourite spot in Surry hills is the monthly markets.

🌟🌟Daria Grove is the festival producer and has spent the last 15 years championing play while working across precinct development, partnerships, marketing and stakeholder management. She loves a good festival and has successfully produced a whole bunch of them. She is mum to a 13 year old failed guide dog called Major, who loves a good doggo pub, so it’s no wonder they both like hanging out in Surry Hills. She believes quality partnerships and community connection are powerful ingredients for thriving local business and is well placed to lead this important part of the festival.

03/03/2023

Hi! 👋🏻👋🏻 Nice to meet you! We are a collection of playful peeps who have been working our little hearts out to put together a month of playful activations that will take over Surry Hills for the month of April.

We believe play is for everyone, the young and the young at heart, and we are thrilled to present our program with you.

There is a LOT going on, but we cant resist a little teaser so here goes…

🐾 Do you think your furry friend has what it takes to be a star? Join us and your BFF in a fashion parade with a twist. Move over, Ru Paul, this one is all about the paws!

While we're on the subject of all things furry, don't miss our scavenger hunt throughout April. Help us find 8 local dogs captured by the talented Annabel Osborne and hidden throughout Surry Hills. Find them all and win a prize!

🖼️ Art is at the core of everything we do, and we have partnered with 17 local businesses and a group of celebrated contemporary artists to create extraordinary window displays that will be on view all month.

If that’s not enough there will be pop up picnics, free bike tours, a kids market, yoga, holiday workshops, special offers and giveaways from local business and a WHOLE DAY OF PLAY on Sunday April 30
when we takeover Shannon reserve with a massive festival style picnic and play session in the park.

To find out more, follow us on socials or join the email list for firsthand information and offers.

We can’t wait to play with you!