NAIDOC in the City 2014

Overview

NAIDOC Week happens in the first full week of July every year, and this year there's a packed program of events to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

One of the biggest drawcards is NAIDOC in the City, which invites Sydneysiders down to Hyde Park for an afternoon of festivities on Monday, July 7. The event is a sensory delight (seriously). Two underground earth ovens will be temporarily installed in the park, cooking up slow-cooked samplers of crocodile, kangaroo, emu, chicken and fish (as well as corn and sweet potato, representing your serving of veg). Chefs from Goanna Hut and Fred’s Bush Tucker will be up from 5am prepping the ovens, which use rocks heated by fire to cook the foods under a blanket of banana leaves, branches, wet hessian and sand.

While you're there, watch traditional dance, try weaving or seashell art, and hear music from the likes of Marcus Corowa, Evie J, Jimblah and Horrorshow with Georgia Humphries. If you're feeling active, you can even make your way there by way of bicycle tour (bookings essential). Aboriginal guides from the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority will lead you around some of our city's most historic sites, finishing up in Hyde Park so you can join in on the fun.

There's plenty else going on throughout the week, too. See John Pilger's Utopia at the Opera House or take a wander through the Art Gallery of NSW. Their special edition Art After Hours on July 9 features pop group Pirra, actor Luke Carroll and a tour of the Yiribana collection.