A celebration of community and lights big and small, Vivid Festival is one of Sydney’s most popular annual events. And while the increasingly elaborate installations may be the drawcard for the masses that descend on Sydney Harbour, it’s the pop-up events that are the unsung heroes. Here is our pick of the top 10 unmissable activities you can enjoy this year.

1. Dinner at Taronga Zoo
Guests can dine at Taronga Centre’s The View Restaurant, where they will be immersed within oceanic light projection ‘Lights for the Wild’. Head chef Craig Milnes will take care of the contemporary cuisine, with a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales going towards supporting wildlife conservation worldwide through Taronga Conservation Society Australia.

2. Grain Bar x Dom Pérignon Pop-Up
George Street drinking hole Grain Bar will be joining forces with Dom Pérignon for a special event at Vivid. Not only will the bar itself be illuminated with light projections, but so too will the bottles of Champagne. Available from 6.00pm until late from May 26 the drink will be matched with a seafood smorgasbord – think freshly-shucked oysters, truffle Gruyere and lobster corn dogs.

3. Goodgod’s Soft Future Piano Bar
Nightlife group Goodgod will be transforming the Northern Foyer of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall into the Soft Future Piano Bar for the festival – the festival’s first ever sustainable bar. Inspired by retro-futurism and a passion for zero waste, the bar will be conjured up from recycled furniture and natural wines, with all food leftovers to be composted. A nightly soundtrack of ambient jazz and plenty of guest performers is also expected.

4. Sydney Table
From June 14-17, Carriageworks will host the Sydney Table foodie events. Led by Mike McEnearney, the dinner series will see some of the nation’s most beloved chefs deliver canapés and a three-course meal, matched with Archie Rose Gin, wines from Scotchmans Hill, and Asahi Super Dry. Chefs involved include O Tama Carey of Lankan Filling Station, Clayton Wells of Automata, James Viles of Biota, and Ben Sears of Moon Park.

5. Evolving A Tasty Niche
Curious about a career in food? That’s exactly the subject matter explored by Vivid Talk Evolving A Tasty Niche – Love and Struggle in Creative Food Careers. A speaker line-up that includes Clayton Wells, Danling Xiao, Emma Joyce, Katherine Sabbath, and Nikki To ventures into modern food careers, roaming in subjects from social media to career strategy.