Glebe Street Fair

On November 20^th, Glebe Point Road was closed down to traffic for some odd reason. I had no idea what for. Was it construction? Did something explode? No, Paul, you’re ridiculous (I say to myself in retrospect), it’s to host the Glebe Street Fair! Taking place once per annum, it’s an exciting event where dozens of vendors set up stalls in the middle of the street. There’s over a kilometer of different stalls with ethnic food, handmade crafts, and nifty activities. I, along with hundreds of other people, descended into the street to check out the buzz. The fair has entertainment all day long, including attractions for kids, live music, and street performances. I was so intrigued by the amount of stalls here that sold practical and quirky things; I ended up making friends with a hammock salesman. Who’d have guessed?
The performance I was most looking forward to was the unicyclist riding a super tall unicycle. Unfortunately, it started belting rain in the late afternoon, so I ran back home, disappointed once again at Mother Nature.

Glebe Street Fair is a one-​day annual event in Glebe that brings the immediate and surrounding communities together. Glebe Point Road comes alive with music, a live stage, food stalls, craft markets, entertainers and a whole lot of other market stalls. You will find everything at a typical weekend market but on a much grander scale.
There is something here for everyone. Glebe Street Fair is very kid friendly with many activities on offer to keep the younger generation entertained so it is a great opportunity for a day of family fun. That is not to say that the older generations won’t enjoy the fair just as much. Being in November, it is also the perfect place to pick up some Christmas gifts. And when you’re done, why not reward yourself with a drink at one of the nearby pubs. Ah, what a perfect Sunday!

Glebe Point Rd is busy most weekends, with Glebe Markets bringing in crowds from Sydney’s suburbs far and wide. And yet, on one day of the year, Glebe Point Road is thrice as thick with people, as the Glebe Street Fair takes over the inner west suburb.
On this one day in November, the Glebe community comes together with a vibrant and exciting energy, as Glebe Point Road is closed to traffic from Parramatta Rd to the Bridge road intersection. Cars are replaced with stalls, pedestrians and performers, wedged side by side and spilling in to both Glebe Public School and Foley Park.
Face painting, kite making and instrument making are included in the many kids activities of the fair, whilst the rest of the stalls are made up of your typical fair fare, from poi and firetwirling stands to organic hemp clothing stalls, recycled paper journals and tonnes and tonnes of food stalls. The fair is a not for profit event and all profits of the day go towards various Glebe community projects.
So walk the length of the fair down and back, sweat excessively and apply and reapply coats of sunscreen. Grab something to eat from one of the many international food stalls and end up lying back on a grassy patch of Foley Park, shaded from the sun by one of the parks leafy trees and serenaded by the throngs of buskers and the buzz of excited community voices. This is the true Glebe Fair experience and it can only be caught once a year.
10am — 7pm
Sunday 20^th November, 2011