A quick mention of the Hoopla Festival at Darling Harbour currently being run this Easter long weekend. Ant and I decided last minute to go and visit after seeing advertisements around Darling Harbour in the last few weeks. To our delight the Hoopla Festival is actually a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out, especially with the children if you’re around the area. There are lots of things going on and being Darling Harbour there are also the usual things to do – Harbourside, Cafes, Restaurants and IMAX etc. So couple the usual with the festival and you’ve got a good day’s worth of activities to keep you pretty busy!
They’ve set up a Big Top and although it looked pretty small and limited on the outside, upon entering it is quite surprising how much space there actually is inside. The Big Top can actually fit up to 450 people inside with reasonable comfort – though the seats are quite low and may not be appropriate or comfortable for elderly or persons with disability (though I’m sure they would have measures for this). The events are split up into Hoopla Day and Hoopla Night and best of all most of the events are free, but if you’re really enjoying it all and keen there are some shows that play from 6pm onwards at night and are paid ticket events (approx. $5-10).
The event has been run by the Darling Harbour Foreshore Authority for the last few years and the night is topped off at night with fireworks. The whole area is pretty packed and buzzing with life and things to do. Even though the weather is always iffy around the Easter break if you’re looking for something cheap and fun to do with the family this would be a pretty good option!
A couple of pictures of Ringside where we saw Ruby Ray and other trapeze acts and also the ZimboyZ in the Big Top (30 min show) – really good stuff and worth the lining up and wait. The things they do are pretty fun and amazing and even being a little cynical about it all I was quickly won over with the atmosphere and fun.
For more information visit Hoopla Festival Darling Harbour
Ant and Owl 