Vivid Sydney is in full-swing and while there are plenty of free attractions to keep you immersed in the city’s night time vibrancy, there are also select ticketed events which offer an exclusive Vivid experience. One of those is a convenient walk away from the festival’s heart and utilises one of Sydney’s most beautiful year-round attractions – that is Lightscape in the Royal Botanic Garden. Entering through the Sydney Opera House forecourt, tickets are $50 for adults on weekends and provide you with an hour or so of peaceful, yet intriguing optic exhibits.
The trail takes a good hour to walk through and snakes around trees and lakes, and through foggy thickets of forest which made me feel as though I was in Jurassic Park. There’s a fire garden, a winter cathedral, mammoth-sized peonies and an ocean of fibre optic orbs that seem to pulsate against the backdrop of the CBD. Each attraction feels distinct and evokes different feelings, from tranquillity to curiosity to intense focus.
There are also pitstops along the way where you can indulge in a selection of food trucks and pop-up bars, exclusive to ticket holders. I wasn’t aware of this when booking my ticket and had instead stuffed my face at dinner only minutes earlier, however if you’re debating whether or not to purchase some chips on a stick at the vendors on the outskirts of the gardens, just hold off until you’ve walked through the exhibit and seen what’s on offer. There’s a number of cuisines to choose, from Greek to Vietnamese, and there’s even a marshmallow stall conveniently situated near an open fire pit.
As someone who went to two shows in one night, this being one and the other being the highly anticipated Dark Spectrum, I can safely determine Lightscape to be the winning attraction. The venue itself is easier to find, entry was a breeze, and the space wasn’t crowded to walk through. I also found the lightwork itself to be more impressive and aesthetic to appreciate. Still, a lot of my experience is credited to the weather - a dry, calm, slightly warm evening. This event goes ahead rain or shine, and if my weather conditions were any different, I’d say that it would have heavily impacted my enjoyment.
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