Cool and crisp with clear skies, a perfect night for viewing Sydney’s VIVID Festival. If crowds are not your thing, perhaps this festival is not for you.
We pre-booked a car bay in Town Hall, the heart of the city. Sydney Town Hall was lit with pretty pink lights and as dusk fell, producing a warm wintery glow. Popping down into Town Hall train station, we brought our Sunday family funday tickets so we could travel on any public transport around the city. (Opal cards are on our to-do list).
With our comfortable walking shoes on, warm jumpers and beanies, our picnic bag packed with all the necessary items including our small picnic rug, we were set to conquer VIVID.
VIVID starts at 5.30pm in Martin Place. The lights and interactive displays is a family friendly hotspot. Catering to all ages, you can touch and create music as the centre light beams change colour. This particular interactive display reminded me of the curly chips on a stick at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
As we made our way towards Circular Quay, gradual streams of families with a similar idea were also making their way down George Street. We were greeted by the masses, all with the same idea. If you want to experience the best of VIVID, don’t skip Customs House. It’s a great display show. My 2 kids loved watching it. We probably sat there for 30 minutes watching it over and over again.
From there, we walked around to the Rocks. The Museum of Contemporary of Art Australia held an incredible laser light display full of bright colours and you could not see the building behind. Further round, we enjoyed seeing the Chinese pig display. The baby piggy is rather cute.
Cadman’s Cottage is rather funky too. This was an interactive display with a line of people wanting to create their own works of art through movement. I must let you know, the lines are very long if you wish to participate in any of the interactive displays.
There are pockets of pretty light displays scattered through The Rocks which were fun to walk around and discover. We also found a lot less people around here.
From the Rocks, we took the kids on a hike toward the Harbour Bridge. We unintentionally stubbled across the famous Argyle Cut Tunnel. WOW – this is so cool. It’s a short display but an experience not to miss. Luckily for our picnic rug, we could lay down on the road to watch it.
We moved on from the tunnel and up the many stairs to the Harbour Bridge to walk over the harbour. What an amazing view of the City and it showcases VIVID beautifully. We were particularly interested in seeing the Opera House. The photos that I’d seen on the facebook newsfeed were incredible. I will be honest; the Opera House Lights were not as impressive as what I had seen. It might be a different display on Sunday nights to perhaps Friday and Saturday nights.
Down to Luna Park, we arrived at the ferry terminal to take advantage of our funday ticket. The lines for the ferry at Circular Quay had been enormous, however at Luna Park, there was not a soul.
Our ferry trip gave us a great perspective of the harbour and its light displays from a different angle. Disembarking at Darling Harbour we were able to watch the fountain display in the centre accompanied by music which runs every 30 minutes for about 10 minutes. The kids by this time were exhausted and it was late (way past their bed times). Once the show finished we headed up the hill to Town Hall. It was 10.30pm as we pulled out of the carpark, both kids were already asleep in the back of the car.
Would we visit VIVID again? Not next year, maybe the year after. We have seen it, enjoyed it but it’s not something we will make an annual event.
The volume of people is a turnoff. It can be overwhelming at times especially when you have kids. However, it’s only in the congested parts down by the Quay particularly by the train station.
The Artists and the Organisers who put this event together not to mention the hundreds of volunteers who give up their time to stand outside all night long should to be commended.
Have you been and what did you think?