Sydney has a lot on all year round. But the change from winter to spring always brings a host of new events to coax you out of your puffers and into the sunshine or out past your bedtime. From big-name artists to award-winning musicals, here are six must-do events to attend over the coming months.

The Peacock Lounge

This year, the Peacock Lounge at the Winx Stand, Royal Randwick is a fresh addition to the Sydney Everest Carnival. Alongside the James Squire Bar, it’ll feature a yum cha menu with dumplings by former Masterchef contestant and TV host Hayden Quinn, alongside lobster spring rolls and steamed pork buns. Get comfortable in a booth, bring out your competitive side with a game of pool, or come just for rotating DJ sets. The party continues well after the last lap across five Saturday race days, including the Sydney Surf to Turf Day on September 21, TAB Epsom Day on October 5, TAB Everest Day on October 19, Moet and Chandon Spring Champion Stakes Day on October 26, and The Big Dance on Cup Day on November 5, with tunes by Teddy Cream, Levi and Kinder. The best part? You automatically gain access to the Peacock Lounge as part of your Sydney Everest Carnival ticket.

Sculpture by the Sea

Dig your toes into the sand at this iconic, free event that never disappoints. Sculpture by the Sea is back for its 26th year, dotting works of art along the picturesque walk from Bondi to Tamarama. Sculptures by 103 boundary-pushing artists from 18 countries will again transform the two-kilometre coastal walk. A free app gives you access to an interactive map and the full artist and artwork listings, or you can make a donation of $2.99 for the audio tour.

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Night at the Barracks

The outdoor program at this year’s Night at the Barracks is a goodie – we’re talking Six60, Pete Murray, Matt Corby, Birds of Tokyo, Xavier Rudd and more spread out over four weekends, with The Presets and Bag Raiders’ show already sold out. Set under the stars at North Head Sanctuary in Manly, with Sydney Harbour in the background, you’ll also find a host of local food and drinks to enjoy before watching any of the 12 performances.

Art After Hours

Wednesday nights at the Art Gallery of New South Wales will look a bit different over the next few months. Art After Hours is transforming the gallery every week with free exhibitions, workshops, tours and films. There’s an Art Appreciation lecture series, portraiture lessons, the Japanese Film Festival, highlight tours and a panel discussion on the longstanding, but often problematic, tradition of women as icons or muses. Be sure to check out the full program so you can book your spot for some of the more exclusive sessions.

Hamilton

Whether you’re a fan of musical theatre or not, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is a modern classic worth seeing. The smash hit has multiple Tony Awards, a Grammy, Olivier Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for a start, and the show has returned for an encore season at the Sydney Lyric Theatre (it won’t be going anywhere else in Australia afterwards). The musical phenomenon fuses hip-hop, jazz, R&B and showtunes, and has had a lasting impact across culture, politics and education since premiering off-Broadway just nine years ago. Don’t throw away your shot to see it.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine

A collection of more than 100 works by Japanese photographer, architect and artistic producer Hiroshi Sugimoto is being exclusively shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. The exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine, is his first major retrospective in the southern hemisphere, and highlights his ideas of time and memory, as well as his ability to document and invent. Head in to see some of his most famous pieces, which blur the lines between abstraction, impressionism and photography, alongside early works from 1976 and some of his most recent, from 2018.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Australian Turf Club.