Entertainment guide for Parramatta in July
From Timezone reopening to the Studebakers ‘80s and ‘90s nightclub comeback and school holiday activities that will banish boredom, here is what to do in Parramatta in July.
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It’s the middle of winter but Parramatta is kicking July off with a hot line-up of entertainment, including The Crown Hotel taking us back to the ‘80s and ‘90s, the opening of Timezone at Westfield and plenty of shows including 30 Something for the theatre buffs and the Riverside. Find something right up your alley.
Studebakers
If you’re one of the lucky retro music-loving partygoers who snagged a ticket to The Crown Hotel’s return to the much-loved Studebakers nightclub on Saturday, July 2, get your Reeboks on for its 21st century debut from 9pm.
If you weren’t so lucky, you can still hit the dance floor at Eve Saturdays, which features Pusiki and Lady Lyric on July 9, DJ Noiz and Donell Lewis on July 16 and Brown Sugar on July 23, from 9pm.
For those preferring the sublime music of the ‘80s, Studebakers returns on the first Saturday of every month when DJ Troy T, Sam Boutros, Troy T, Pepe, Jimmy Jam and Danny K send us back in time.
Rob Shehadie will get the crowd pumped and host giveaways as the nostalgia takes over the dance floor.
Tickets are $20.
Western Sydney University Westmead Family Fun Day
Western Sydney University invites families to enjoy a free day of fun during the school
holidays at the brand new Westmead Innovation Quarter on Friday, July 15.
The Western Sydney University Westmead Family Fun Day is an exciting opportunity for children, parents, grandparents and seniors to come and explore the university and learn about its world-leading health and wellbeing research.
It will also be an opportunity to showcase the Westmead Innovation Quarter – the university’s new $350 million health, medical and education research hub – to the community.
Families will be able to take part in a host of interactive activities across the day, including research demonstrations, immersive virtual tours of the world, wearable headsets that monitor the electrical activity of the brain, a robot piano, brain games, as well as tours of BabyLab and other innovative research spaces.
There will also be treasure hunts, arts and crafts, family yoga classes as well as
food, drinks and lucky door prizes – with the first 100 families to register also
receiving a special gift.
MARCS Institute director for brain, behaviour and development Professor Kate Stevens said opening the university’s doors and sharing its research with the community was an important part of its mission.
“We are delighted to be able to welcome families and friends to the Westmead
Innovation Quarter this school holidays where they can interact with our cutting-edge
research and facilities and learn more about how our research is having a positive
impact on the health and wellbeing of our communities,” Professor Stevens said.
The Family Fun Day will include two sessions that each run for two hours, starting at
10am and 1pm, with activities for all ages. Registrations are essential.
Timezone
Get your tokens ready and polish those bowling balls because Timezone is opening at Westfield Parramatta on Saturday, July 2. If you remember the arcade centre at Argyle St from the 1990s, you’ll be chuffed that a split-level family entertainment venue on level 4 (at the site of the former Parramatta Phoenix restaurant) is opening.
The centre shut its doors more than 20 years ago and will be the 53rd Timezone to open in Australia just in time for the school holidays.
Punters will find four short-lane bowling lanes, over 100 arcade games, eight spin-zone bumper cars and a laser tag arena for up to 24 players on the 1700sq m site.
There will also be three party rooms for functions, whether it’s birthdays, farewells or a day spent with colleagues.
Sydney Comedy Club
Why so serious? Forget about your worries (at least for an hour and 40 minutes) when the Parramatta Riverside Theatres hosts comedians Gerard McGowan, James O’Connell and Simon Kennedy for the monthly show, which hosts a trio of comics.
The July 23 stand-up comedy show gets under way at Raffertys Theatre and is sure to help with a dose of the funnies.
Prices range from $26 to $30, with a $4.60 transaction fee.
Those of us who love watching Parra play at home are in for a treat in July when the Eels host three games at CommBank Stadium, kicking off with trans-Tasman rivals the Warriors on Friday July 15 at 7.55pm, followed by the Broncos on Thursday July 21 at 7.50pm and the local derby against Penrith on Friday, July 29 at 7.55pm.
The Eels will be determined to prove their win against the premiers in May was no fluke when they take on the Panthers in their last match of the month.
Visit nrl.com for tickets.
Photo exhibition
Parramatta’s growing list of disappearing historic treasures (the Royal Oak Hotel, Willow Grove to name a couple) comes into focus with No Time To Spare: A Photographic Exhibition at the Riverside Theatres running from July 26 to September 4.
The free exhibition captures images of landmarks lost and those still standing, including the Art Deco, beloved Roxy Theatre on George St.
See the display in the theatre’ foyer from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 9.30am to 1pm.
Junior theatre
It’s school holidays and it’s time for youngsters to get a taste of entertainment away from digital devices. Luckily, the Riverside Theatres has an array of productions including Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers from July 4 to July 7 in the Lennox Theatre.
Especially made for youngsters aged six and up, the interactive show involves games and imaginative play, while exploring Roald Dahlʼs extraordinary stories, including The BFG and The Twits. Prices range from $22 to $30 with special rates for group bookings.
From July 6 to 10, the Cumberland Gang Show’s Next Level bursts onto the stage with family entertainment full of new songs and dances.
The orchestra supports a vibrant cast and an excellent backstage team “who helps to produce a spectacular experience that you won’t want to miss”.
Join the gang as they visit dinosaurs, explore friendship, encounter aliens, join a cycling revolution, meet Zorro and interview a Viking.
Tickets range from $21 to $37.50.
The holiday shows continue with The Owl and the Pussycat on July 15 and 16 when adventure calls and takes the creatures on a sailing trip aboard a pea green boat for a year. The story shows how love conquers all in a nostalgic musical journey and “irresistible blend of romance and nonsense”.
Prices range from $16 to $30.
Visit riversideparramatta.com.au for bookings and show times.
Stories hit the stage
A rich line-up of theatre is planned at the Riverside, starting with Laila on July 2 when a gripping tale of a claustrophobic mother-daughter relationship promises to keep the audience on edge until the end.
The story centres around Mithu, an unmarried woman in her early 40s, who cares for her sick mother, Madhabi. The pair shares a toxic relationship. Madhabi relentlessly taunts her daughter and Mithu blames her mother for her misery. The audience is left wondering who is the most vulnerable and who is most scheming.
The production begins at 6pm and tickets range from $20 to $50.
If you missed 30 Something, don’t panic, because extra shows have been organised so the audience can step back in time to New Year’s Eve, 1939, at the Bohemia Kings Cross.
On the last night of the decade, “maestro of mischief” Phil Scott and powerhouse songbird Catherine Alcorn reunite for a joy ride back to their 18 karat lounge act and count you down to the end of a very dramatic era filled with politics, the Great Depression and booze.
30 Something takes audiences back to the speak-easier days via a 21st century lens with music from artists including Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Irving Berlin, Phil Collins, Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga and Prince.
Tickets range from $49 to $64.
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