Powerhouse Parramatta to Launch 23-Day Opening Festival with 179 Events

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The festival will present astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr., designer Marc Newson, and performances by Western Sydney artists and international innovators.

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A special twenty-three-day Powerhouse Parramatta Opening Festival will feature a veteran astronaut, an acclaimed industrial designer and local Western Sydney acts performing.

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Across three weeks and four weekends in November, Powerhouse Parramatta's Opening Festival program features 179 events ranging across First Nations culture; space, science, technology and transport; design, architecture, music, food and film.

Sixty-five percent of the opening program events are free, and all people under sixteen years old will receive free entry for all exhibitions.

The Museum will open seven days a week and during the opening festival the museum will stay open until 9pm on Thursday to Sunday. Mondays to Wednesday the museum will open 10am to 5pm.

Developed in collaboration with Western Sydney communities and running across November, audiences will enjoy programs featuring leading Australian and international innovators, thinkers, creatives and artists, sharing new works, bold ideas, and immersive contemporary experiences.

Highlights from the 179-event program include:

- Charles F. Bolden Jr.: Veteran astronaut and former 12th NASA administrator reflects on a lifetime of leadership in space exploration. - Off Earth: A conversation with space architect Melodie Yashar, artist and engineer Xin Liu, spacesuit developer Kiriti Rambhatla and artist Tavares Strachan about living in space. - Ted Chiang: Internationally acclaimed science fiction author Ted Chiang, whose short story Tower of Babylon inspired the design of the Task Eternal exhibition, talks on the pleasures and perils of the pursuit of immortality. - New Tech Entrepreneurs: Ideas to spark change: Hear from leading tech entrepreneurs about emerging technologies that are changing the world, from bio-manufacturing and space technologies to AI medical diagnostics. - Historic trains and buses: On the historic opening weekend, visitors can travel aboard steam trains and vintage buses operating on November 7 and 8, to celebrate the opening. The NSW Railway Band will welcome train travelers with a performance at Parramatta station.

- The Pride: Jin Wu Koon unveils The Pride, a major new commission featuring bespoke lion and dragon dance costumes and a celebratory performance for the opening. - Matavai Pacific Cultural Arts: a major new performance by a collective of Pacific community groups that uses the power of Pacific artistry and ceremony to open the new Powerhouse Parramatta and reveal the newly commissioned Te Waka Whakakotahi (a Maori watercraft) and Pacific weaving mats. - Pasifika Film Festival: inspiring Pasifika creatives working across all aspects of film and digital media to explore links to their culture, the annual festival showcases scripted and documentary films across short and feature length formats, animation, music videos and digital installation works.

- Jannawi: Through dance, song and storytelling, Jannawi Dance Clan and collaborators will officially welcome audiences to Country and to the Powerhouse Parramatta site. - Eseli's Story: For the first time outside of the Torres Strait Islands, 44 male dancers and 8 singers and musicians from Badu Island will perform a story dance inspired by childhood memories of watching World War II fighter planes taking off from Ngurapai (Horn Island). - Aunt Beryl Van-Oploo OA & Sharon Winsor: Respected Gamilaroi Elder, cookbook author and founder of Yaama Barrgay Catering, Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo OAM, and Ngemba Weilwan woman Sharon Winsor, founder of native food and botanicals venture Indigiearth, join with Julie Gibbs for a discussion shaped by shared knowledge, connection and cultural continuity. There is also a strong program for families and young people, ranging from family friendly events on the weekend, to a special school summit with local Parramatta primary and high school students.

Nominate your favorite local productions and performers before the deadline on October 31, 2026.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/sydney/article/Powerhouse-Parramatta-Opening-Festival-to-Feature-179-Events-20260921)._