At a glance
- Who it’s for
- Families and groups in Bankstown, Wiley Park, Lakemba, Chester Hill and nearby who want free Christmas events close to home
- What to do now
- Put the four dates in the calendar, book the Jolly Holly show if you want seats (it is the only ticketed one)
- The dates
- Saturday 28 November (Chester Hill), Monday 30 November (Bankstown), Saturday 5 December (Wiley Park), Tuesday 8 December (Bankstown, ticketed)
- Cost
- Chester Hill, the tree lighting and the carols are free; the Jolly Holly Xmas Show is $25 a ticket, or $20 each for a group of 10 or more
- Last checked
- Wednesday 4 November 2026 (AEDT), against the council’s Christmas page and each event’s own page
- Not yet confirmed
- The carols stage line-up and fireworks time, parking and road closures, wet-weather plans, and who runs the Chester Hill festival
Canterbury-Bankstown Council has published its Christmas list for 2026, and it is four dates: a free community festival at Chester Hill on Saturday 28 November, the Bankstown tree lighting on Monday 30 November, the free Carols in the Park at Wiley Park on Saturday 5 December, and a ticketed morning concert, the Jolly Holly Xmas Show, at the Bryan Brown Theatre on Tuesday 8 December. This guide puts them side by side with times, places, costs and the ways to get there.
Everything below comes from the council’s own pages, read on 4 November 2026. Where the council has not said something, such as parking or the carols line-up, we say so rather than guess.
What is on, and when?
| Date | Event | Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 28 November | Christmas Festival | 5pm to 7:30pm | Chester Hill Anglican Church, 125 Proctor Parade, Chester Hill | Free |
| Mon 30 November | Lighting of the Tree | 7pm to 9pm | Paul Keating Park forecourt, Bankstown | Free |
| Sat 5 December | Carols in the Park | 5pm to 9:30pm | Wiley Park Amphitheatre, Edge Street, Wiley Park | Free |
| Tue 8 December | Jolly Holly Xmas Show | 10am to noon | Bryan Brown Theatre, 80 Rickard Road, Bankstown | $25 (group of 10+: $20 each) |
All times are Sydney time (AEDT, UTC+11), as listed by the council.
What happens at the Chester Hill Christmas Festival?
The council lists the Chester Hill festival as a community event, and describes it as having a free sausage sizzle, a petting zoo, face painting, games, craft, a puppet show and cultural choirs. It runs from 5pm to 7:30pm on Saturday 28 November.
The venue is Chester Hill Anglican Church at 125 Proctor Parade. Entry is free. The council’s page does not name the group running it, and it does not mention parking or what happens if it rains, so check the council’s event page again the week before.
We could not place the church on a map to measure a walking distance, so we are not giving one.
Where and when is the Bankstown tree lighting?
The council says the lighting of the tree is the opening of its festive season. It is on Monday 30 November from 7pm to 9pm at the forecourt of Paul Keating Park in Bankstown. The page promises that visitors can “watch the spectacular decorations be lit up” with live music by young local artists. Entry is free.
The council has not published the exact time of the switch-on within the two hours.
By our own calculation, using OpenStreetMap positions, the park is about 250 metres in a straight line from Bankstown station (not an official figure; the walk is a little longer).
What is Carols in the Park at Wiley Park?
This is the biggest of the four. The council calls it its annual Carols in the Park, and says Wiley Park “comes alive once again with food, fun, festivity and fireworks”. It runs from 5pm to 9:30pm on Saturday 5 December at the Wiley Park Amphitheatre on Edge Street, Wiley Park. It is free for all ages.
The council says the program includes a stage show, a food menu and free activities for children. It has not yet published the performers, the order of the night or the time of the fireworks.
How far is it from the trains?
Our own calculation, from OpenStreetMap positions, puts the Edge Street end of the park about 660 metres in a straight line from Wiley Park station and about 720 metres from Lakemba station. These are not official figures, and the real walk is longer than a straight line.
| Starting point | Straight-line distance to the Edge Street end of Wiley Park | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wiley Park station | About 660 m | Our own calculation, not an official figure |
| Lakemba station | About 720 m | Our own calculation, not an official figure |
The council’s page gives no parking advice and no road-closure notice.
Is the Jolly Holly Xmas Show worth booking?
It is the only ticketed event in the list, and the only one in the morning. The show, a Christmas concert with Grace Rizzo and Lonnie Brabender, is on Tuesday 8 December from 10am to noon at the Bryan Brown Theatre, 80 Rickard Road, Bankstown. The council describes it as carols and holiday hits, aimed at families and friends, and tags it for seniors. Its page lists the following:
| Item | What the council says |
|---|---|
| Ticket | $25 per ticket |
| Group of 10 or more | $20 per ticket |
| Online sales close | 2 hours before the start |
| Box office on the day | From 1 hour before the start, subject to availability |
| Wheelchair seating | Phone (02) 9707 9404 (venue open Monday to Friday, 9am to 3:30pm) |
| bryanbrowntheatre@cbcity.nsw.gov.au |
The council tags the show as access friendly and lists an accessible toilet among the theatre facilities, and its contact for booking assistance is 02 9707 9404. The page does not say whether a booking fee applies on top of the $25. The same theatre is staging the musical Gypsy earlier in November; our Gypsy guide covers the theatre’s parking and the walk from Bankstown station.
Which of the four suits whom?
| If you want | Pick |
|---|---|
| A short, early evening with small children and a petting zoo | Chester Hill Christmas Festival, Saturday 28 November |
| A quick look at the lights after work, with live music | Lighting of the Tree, Monday 30 November |
| A full night out with food, a stage program and fireworks | Carols in the Park, Saturday 5 December |
| A morning concert for a group or older relatives | Jolly Holly Xmas Show, Tuesday 8 December |
What should I check before I go?
The council has one page for the Christmas list and one for each event, and they are linked in Sources below. Check the event pages again close to each date, because the council has not yet published parking, road closures or wet-weather plans for the free events, and the stage details for the carols are still to come.
What has the council not said yet?
As of 4 November the council has not published the carols line-up or fireworks time, any parking or road-closure notice for Wiley Park or Bankstown, a wet-weather plan for any of the three free events, the organiser of the Chester Hill festival, or whether the tree lighting needs registration. The council’s page also has a link to last year’s list (“Christmas 2025”), and we have not treated anything from it as a 2026 event.
Sources
- City of Canterbury Bankstown: A CBCity Christmas (read 4 November 2026)
- Christmas Festival, Chester Hill
- Lighting of the Tree, Bankstown
- Carols in the Park, Wiley Park
- Jolly Holly Xmas Show, Bryan Brown Theatre
- Distances: OpenStreetMap positions via Nominatim, calculated by us on 4 November 2026
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the City of Canterbury Bankstown or the Bryan Brown Theatre.