Night Owls: Outdoor Film Festival

Flying into its ninth season, Night Owls will return to Darling Quarter from 9 to 25 January with a host of free family entertainment under the stars. Featuring live performances, face-painting, giveaways and a huge line-up of Hollywood blockbusters, the 2020 Night Owls film festival is one to mark in the calendar.

Everybody is invited as Darling Quarter comes alive from 5pm each night with face painting by Nat’s Fancy Faces. From 6pm, patrons will be treated to live musical performances from groups such as returning award-winning artists, The Beanies. January 9th will see the festival opened with Lah Lah’s Big Live Band.

Then, from 6:30pm to 6:45pm, Night Owls will play one of a series of exclusive animated shorts produced by creative minds all around the world, ahead of a nightly screening of a feature film at 6:45pm. On selected evenings, an additional ‘after hours’ movie will screen at 8:30pm, making it the perfect option for a date night on a budget.

Guests can choose from 26 movies and are welcome to attend as many times as they like across the 17 days. The programme includes classics such as Over the Hedge, as well as recent releases like Aladdin (2019), Toy Story 4, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Avengers: Endgame and more.

Darling Quarter Retail Manager, Lisa Campbell, said, “We are so excited to host our ninth summer film festival at Darling Quarter in 2020. It comes at a time of the year when parents have exhausted a lot of the regular school holiday options and are looking for budget-friendly entertainment alternatives after the Christmas season.

"We love to see the diverse mix of people who come to visit us and take in the free entertainment as the sun sets over Sydney. We’re so proud of what Night Owls has become, with the fantastic programme of movies, live music and delicious dining options from our retailers."

Guests are encouraged to bring their own picnic blankets and pillows, with snacks and drinks available for purchase. The precinct features a wide variety of tantalising food options for every taste, with sushi, pizza, Thai, fish and chips, steak and Brazillian BBQ. Dessert is also covered with Gelatissimo and Guylian. Many of the retailers will be offering exclusive Night Owls meal deals and discounts.

In addition to a free night out, attendees could take home one of 500 limited edition Night Owls tote bags, which will be handed out between 6PM and 6:30PM nightly. There’s also a chance to win from a pool of minor and major prizes by sharing pictures from the event on Instagram.

Darling Quarter is easily accessible by bus or train and contains plenty of on-site parking at the Wilson Car Park. To receive 20% off parking, guests can enter the promo code Nightowl at bookabay.com.au.