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In the middle of Parramatta’s Centenary Square, between the historic St John’s Church and the soon-to-be Intercontinental Hotel, dangles a two-metre tall plush bear.
It is held up by a pole and a small rotating handle that individually shakes every limb. Its left eye is a button, and its right eye is a camera, barely protruding from the thin, lifelike hair that covers its face and round tummy.
Bhuvana Sundaram and her 11 month old son Skandan look at the installation Dancing Teddy 2.0 by artist EJ Son as part of the Parramatta Lanes festival.Credit: Kate Geraghty
It’s a point of fascination to a mother and her young child walking past, but not even the bear, or its two siblings of various sizes, is out of place at the Parramatta Lanes festival, beginning on Wednesday night.
About 70,000 people are expected to attend the four-day festival, now in its 12th year. But new Parramatta Mayor Pierre Esber reckons attendance numbers will be 20 per cent higher than last year.
Why? Well, Parramatta is “where heaven touches earth,” he insists. But the more pragmatic reason involves dogs.
Just next to the Riverside Theatre, over the Parramatta River, Lennox Bridge has been transformed into a “pup culture zone”.
Pierre Esber is the new mayor of Parramatta.Credit: Kate Geraghty
The doggy dreamland will feature a silent cinema – to entertain owners while the dogs remain the stars of the show – and a dog agility course, along with treats for dogs and humans.
Artist EJ Son created the animatronic bears, which will appear in Phillip Lane, near the bridge, as a reflection on labour and the entertainment industry.
“I thought about how robots were created [so] humans could be spared of burdensome labour,” Son said. “And entertaining has become that way – especially reality TV – and by making a dancing robot [bear], I could pimp it out.
“Because it’s an object, I don’t have to feel bad about it,” they joked.
Artist EJ Son with installation Dancing Teddy 2.0, appearing in Parramatta as part of the Parramatta Lanes festival.Credit: Kate Geraghty
The festival will also see the rooftop carpark at Erby Place transformed into an open-air alley of restaurants and bars – including Mrs Wang’s Dumplings and Archie Rose Distilling – and music and rap venue. On Friday night, local artists will face off in a rap battle on the rooftop.
Earlier this year, Parramatta’s CBD was awarded the Purple Flag tick of approval, part of a new state government program aimed at identifying safe and high-activity places for locals and tourists to visit after dark.
The program has already recognised sections of city nightlife around George Street, in Sydney’s CBD, and Lakemba.
It is part of the council’s long-term plan to bring continued growth to the city’s night-time economy, which it says is worth $1.1 billion.
Council has set a goal to transition its CBD to a true 24-hour centre, supplemented with later trading and town centres with a greater mix of things to see, do and explore.
Esber puts it this way: “All lanes lead to Parramatta.”
Parramatta Lanes, Wednesday 11 – Saturday 14 October, Parramatta Square. Free entry.
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