South Eveleigh Solstice Festival Turns Historic Precinct into Food and Beverage Destination

As the longest night of the year approaches, South Eveleigh’s historic Locomotive Street is transforming into a hub of music, art, food and culture.

Part of the inaugural Sydney Solstice festival celebrations, the South Eveleigh location’s heritage buildings - including the 139 year old locomotive workshop - will play host to events including musical performances from PNAU and Genesis Owusu, food from Kylie Kwong’s Lucky Kwong as well as art installations and cultural experiences curated by Jiwah, an Indigenous company specialising in cultural landscape and design.

From 5pm on Friday June 18 and 11am on Sat June 19, the historic precinct is hosting a mix of free and ticketed events. Before it becomes a permanent retail space, the locomotive workshop will become the Locomotive Stage featuring musical performances from PNAU (DJ set), Genesis Owusu, Jono Ma, Kota Banks, 1300, Budjerah, Pricie and Royel Otis. While the Locomotive Stage is ticketed, the free FBI stage will host local acts like Stevan, Maina Doe, SK Simeon and Carolina Gasolina to keep the vibe high as you make your way around the festival.

Or more to the point, drink and dine your way around the festival. Already home at South Eveleigh, Kylie Kwong’s Lucky Kwong will be staying open past the usual 2:30pm closing time and will be open until late on both Friday and Saturday offering festival goers a selection of warming classics. Expect to struggle with the food choice, with Rara Chan’s tsukemen-style ramen alongside offerings from Fishbowl, Bekya, Sushi Hon, North Sandwiches and Yoho Loco on hand also. Thirsty types can get their fix at Re, Matt Whiley’s inventive and sustainability-focused cocktail bar, which will be offering a small selection of speciality cocktails.

Green thumbs should know Indigenous cultural and landscape design firm Jiwah will be running native fauna education workshops across the two days. Jiwah oversees the South Eveleigh Gardens and will be conducting educational garden tours, reinforcing the importance of the space’s indigenous heritage. Jiwah director Clarence Stockee will host the fauna workshops. Each day will commence with a smoking ceremony on the Fbi Community Stage to acknowledge the land’s traditional custodians.

Kids get a look in too – DJ Levins will curate kid-friendly tunes on the Friday night, while Dress Up Attack will bring book readings and live performances on the Saturday. Kids can also spend their Saturday afternoon getting fabulous, with a junk jewellery wearable art workshop on the Saturday provided by Handy With Scissors.

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This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with South Eveleigh.