Running from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2026, FLOAT River Festival will celebrate the Parramatta River with a vibrant mix of riverside market stalls, food vendors, live entertainment, floating activations, illuminated installations, outdoor movie moments and community-focused experiences. The event will open on Friday 4 September from 5:00pm to 9:00pm, creating a twilight festival atmosphere with food, music, lights, inflatable movie entertainment and riverside activity. It will continue on Saturday 5 September from 2:00pm to 9:00pm, before wrapping up on Sunday 6 September from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. Outdoor movies will screen on Friday and Saturday at 7:00pm.
Designed as a free-entry community festival, FLOAT aims to showcase the Parramatta River in a fresh, colourful and highly engaging way, encouraging families, locals and visitors to enjoy the foreshore across the weekend. Festival-goers can expect market stalls along the river, food and beverage vendors, live music and DJs, giant inflatable ducks, floating visual activations, family entertainment, an inflatable movie screen, photo moments and a relaxed riverside atmosphere.
One of the major highlights of the weekend will be the Charity Rubber Duck Race, taking place on both Saturday and Sunday at 3:00pm. Members of the public will be able to purchase a numbered rubber duck online, decorate their duck on the day and cheer it on as it races across the river. The first duck across the line will win a cash prize, with proceeds supporting charity. The official charity partners for the duck race will be announced on 20 August. Event organiser Monique Annetts said FLOAT River Festival has been designed to create a memorable, accessible and family-friendly experience for Parramatta.
“FLOAT is all about bringing people together along the river and creating something colourful, joyful and different for the community,” Ms Annetts commented “We want families to come down, enjoy the markets, grab something to eat, listen to music, see the giant ducks, enjoy the outdoor movie atmosphere, take part in the duck race and experience Parramatta River in a completely new way. The Charity Rubber Duck Race is going to be such a fun moment for the weekend, but it also gives the event a meaningful community purpose by supporting charity.”