As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s time to celebrate successes and reward employee achievements.
While it might seem too busy a time for planning parties, team events are a valuable investment, and can help recognise hard work and deepen relationships.
To help with your EOFY party planning during this hectic period, Local Sauce has curated a unique list of activities in Sydney that are guaranteed to create memories and bring everyone together.
We can assist in creating a meaningful team event with personalised touches that boost morale and motivation for the year ahead – all without breaking the bank!
Let’s get this party started.
1. Crime & Cocktails tour in Surry Hills
“Surry Hills – Crime & Cocktails” has to be one of our favourite experiences in all of Sydney! Most Sydneysiders might know of Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine, the two crime bosses of the 1920s and 30s, but how many other characters do you know of that period?
On this exploration of Surry Hills, each attendee will be given a character card at the start, representing one of the people who were involved in Sydney’s infamous “Razor Wars”. Perhaps you’ll be a gang member, or a brave female police detective, a lady of the night or even a gang leader! Each “character” will interact with your fellow attendees, with quotes and backstories weaved throughout a 3 hour adventure from one end of Surry Hills to the other. Along the way, you’ll stop at 3 different bars, distilleries and pubs, with 2 drinks included and some nibblies.
This experience can cater for groups from 8 to 14 people, and is the perfect way to start an afternoon out of the office.
The team from Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills had a great time out on the Crime & Cocktails tour
2. Lunch event catered by refugee chefs and asylum seekers
Our pro-bono Refugee Chef Dinners, hosted at “Parliament on King” in Erskineville, are often a bit too intimate for corporate groups (we can cater for just 16 people) and generally are available in the evenings only. But, you can always get some delicious meals from the team at Parliament on King delivered to your office door through their catering service!
You’ll sample food from the homelands of asylum seekers and refugees (think Burmese/Rohingya, Iraqi, Iranian, Palestinian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, Ugandan and more) while providing meaningful work and employment for the chefs. Vegetarians, vegans and guests with other dietary requirements can all be looked after.
Contact us for more info or you can get in touch with Ravi at Parliament on King directly via their Facebook page.
(Photo credit: Parliament on King)
3. Discover street art and multicultural food in Newtown
If you’re looking for a relaxed lunch or afternoon activity, the “Newtown Chewtown” food and street art tour could be perfect for your team. While most Sydney locals are familiar with Newtown, this vibrant part of town is always changing, and has a rocking (and often underappreciated) street art scene.
Over 3 hours, you’ll be led by an expert guide around Newtown’s back streets and main drag, learning about some of Sydney’s biggest names in street art and seeing epic murals. You’ll also get to sample a range of multicultural cuisines along with one or two Aussie classics, with all food included.
With 4 snacks or samples and a shared tasting paddle of beer at the end, this activity can also double as a meal, so makes for outstanding value if you’re on a tighter budget. This experience is also great for photographers and those who are all about the ‘gram, with a mix of grungy and artsy backdrops to work with.
We can cater for up to 20 people per guide on this tour, or split you across multiple groups if required.
Paramount / Network 10 staff had a fun time exploring Newtown on a surprise team event
4. A roving lunch through Chinatown tasting Chinese street foods
One of our most popular team activities, the Chinatown – Street Food & Stories experience is the ideal event for foodies and culture lovers, and can cater for groups of up to 24 people.
You might think you know Chinatown, but really, how many different restaurants do you actually go to when you visit the area? We’d guess most locals have about three venues in Chinatown they dine at, and the rest is a mystery. Well, no longer!
Over 2 hours, your passionate guide will introduce you to at least 4 different restaurants, representing various regions of Chinese cuisine. From the tastiest soup dumplings to authentic Taiwanese breakfast snacks and mouth-watering Xinjiang lamb skewers, you’ll eat your fill on this tour. In fact, like our Newtown tour, this experience is a “2-for-1”, combining lunch and a fun team-building activity. There’s even some prizes and pub trivia on tour, and you’ll learn about the tumultuous yet inspiring history of Chinese in Australia along the way.
This tour makes an excellent lunch activity but can also be done in the afternoon, leading conveniently into knock-off drinks.
A lunchtime food exploration of Chinatown was an inspired choice for the team at Mission Australia
5. Lawn bowls in Marrickville
While lawn bowls might feel like more of a summer activity, on a sunny winter’s day, there are few things better than finely-cut grass under your feet and attempts at “the Flipper”.
Sydney is also blessed with an outstanding array of lawn bowls locations. Take your pick from ocean views at Clovelly, Harbour Bridge vistas at The Greens in North Sydney or bowl in the inner west amongst friendly locals at Marrickville Bowling & Recreation Club or Alexandria Erskineville Bowling Club.
Our personal fave is lawn bowls at the above-mentioned Marrickville club, followed by food and drinks at “The Lucky Prawn” at the Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre, just across the road. The Local Sauce team may have had our last group activity doing exactly that!
We will never reveal who was the best at lawn bowls from the Local Sauce Tours team – we’re all winners!
6. Challenge your team to an escape room
Is your team good at getting themselves out of tricky situations? An escape room is always a fun way to see who in the office is a natural problem solver and who isn’t good at listening to instructions 😂 Plus, there are bound to be plenty of laughs along the way and stories to retell after the game is done.
Sydney is home to one of the best escape rooms in the world, with Cipher Room’s “La Rébellion” in St Peters awarded the prestigious TERPECA Top Room Award in 2022. And the Local Sauce team managed to escape with time to spare – go us!
Cipher Room has five rooms in total, spread across their two locations in Newtown and St Peters (less than 500 metres apart), so if you’ve got a bigger group, you can split yourself into different rooms and make it more competitive. And if you wanted a more relaxed activity afterwards, this pairs nicely with our “Small Bar & Street Art” experience in Newtown.
There are also several escape rooms in the Redfern and Chippendale area, including Social Escape Rooms, Expedition Sydney and The Cool Space. Once again, you could reward yourself with some drinks and street art on our Redfern route of “Small Bars & Street Art”.
Luckily everyone on the Local Sauce Tours team managed to escape and can continue leading tours.
7. Rum-spicing class in Surry Hills
Brix Distillers in Surry Hills only opened up in 2017, but they’ve already won a bunch of awards for their impeccable rums. We love bringing guests to Brix to learn about their collection and the rum-making process. They’re doing their best to improve the reputation of rum in Australia (no more Bundy and cokes, please!).
One of their signature events is a rum-spicing class, which includes a distillery tour, welcome drink, spicing session, and a selection of sliders, tacos and light snacks. During the spicing session, you’ll get a variety of different spices, fruits and nut infusions and 2 x 200 ml base rums to mix your own masterpiece. And of course, at the end of the session you get it to take it home.
You can also choose to include a visit to Brix on our Surry Hills – Crime & Cocktails experience.
(Photo credit: Brix Distillers)
8. Learn about Sydney’s lesser-known stories on a walking tour
If your team is more culturally-minded, a customised version of the “Ultimate Sydney” walking tour might be just the trick. This walk is a great way to bring the team together to discover and celebrate the many stories of Sydney. Whether you were born and bred here or arrived more recently, there is something for everyone on this tour.
Starting at Customs House, you’ll wander through new precincts, laneways and arcades around Sydney’s CBD and Rocks area, learning impressive facts about the city’s history, architecture, and public art. For instance, did you know about the hidden birds of Bridge St?
Along the way, your guide will point out new and lesser-known food hotspots, with the option to add a native Australian food tasting to the tour at an Aboriginal-owned cafe.
You’ll finish at a brewery in The Rocks with some shared tasting paddles of craft beer and views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and harbour – the perfect place to toast your team and your EOFY achievements.
Normally this experience lasts for about 3 hours, but a shortened 2 hour version can be arranged to fit around your schedule.
Justin telling guests about some of the hidden secrets in Quays Quarter, behind Circular Quay
Ready for your team to have some fun?
Check out more team building experiences or get some help booking your next team event here.
About Local Sauce Tours
Local Sauce Tours offers Sydney’s “funnest” small-group experiences, bringing together locals and visitors to make friends and discover the city from a different perspective. Launched in 2018, walking tours explore vibrant inner-city pockets including Chinatown, Surry Hills, Newtown and Pyrmont, along with an annual calendar of special events and exclusive dining experiences. Passionate and entertaining guides host groups of up to 12 guests on tours that blend foodie experiences with stories of the city’s history, culture, nightlife and street art. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay in the loop.
