Halloween is looming large and families are securing their spots for the ever-popular Garden Monsters and the PlantBankParty, but this Halloween in Sydney adults get in on the fun too.
Here at Sydney’s Botanic Gardens we love an excuse to have fun in the great outdoors – whether it be the best NYE events on the harbour, a massive Easter Egg Hunt for the kids, or an Olympic swimming pool-sized mass of Western Australian paper daisies.
Halloween is no exception, so we are throwing two spine-tingling, blood-curdling events for grown up thrill seekers.
Ghostly Garden
Do you think you know the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney? Of course it has its gentle curving cove, carefully tended garden beds, and welcoming green lawns... but enter through the creaking garden gates after dark and you may change your mind.
Ghostly Garden is a tour of the dark side of Sydney’s oldest botanic garden and scientific Institute. While the city glows with activity beyond the tall trees, the Garden is deep and dark at night.
With torches at the ready, the Garden’s talented storytellers will weave a small group through the Garden, stopping at the creepiest corners and those sites with secrets deeper than tree roots.
This Halloween, experience over 200 years of treachery, death, and deeds far more dirty than you’d expect from a gentle city oasis.
The special Ghostly Garden takes place on All Hallow’s Eve, Thursday 31 October. Numbers are limited for the best experience so booking early is recommended.
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney changes after dark
Murder in the Garden
It's a murder mystery like no other: death, deception and theft in the futuristic PlantBank at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan.
In a rare opportunity to explore the Garden after hours, guests will enter the PlantBank – the location of Australia’s one and only Seed Vault – for a sophisticated evening of science accompanied by wine and antipasto.
However, something goes wrong, and party guests will soon find themselves interrogating suspects, inspecting evidence, and undertaking forensic analysis.
Can they convict a murderer by the end of the night?
This immersive theatre experience is a who-dunnit with a twist, incorporating the real-life scientists and setting of the Australian PlantBank.
The unique event is organised by the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan and Alliance Francaise with support from Theatre Excentrique.
Murder in the Garden takes place at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan on Saturday 2 November.
Check out the photo gallery below for an idea of the thrills and spills of Murder in the Garden:
The futuristic PlantBank.
Modern-day data collection. Photo by Caroline Seltz
Solving forensic clues at Murder in the Garden. Photo by Caroline Seltz.
The real-life Seed Vault at the PlantBank.
The crowd gathers to confront the suspects. Photo by Caroline Seltz
Forensic analysis at Murder in the Garden. Photo by Caroline Seltz.