At a glance
- When
- Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026
- Free music
- Sounds of Manly, 9am to 5pm both days, at five spots including Rialto Square and Market Lane
- Free surfing
- Surf + Sound Boardriders Competition on Manly Beach, Saturday heats from 8am, Sunday finals and presentations at 3pm
- Getting there
- Manly Fast Ferry from Circular Quay Wharf 2, 20 minutes, Opal accepted
- Parking
- Four council car parks, free for the first 2 hours, then $13.50 for 2 to 2.5 hours
- Who it’s for
- Anyone heading to Manly on Saturday 31 October or Sunday 1 November, by ferry or car
- What to do now
- Pick your Sounds of Manly slots from the tables below and plan the ferry or a car park before you leave
- Last checked
- Monday 26 October 2026, against the Northern Beaches Council and Surf + Sound pages
- Not yet confirmed
- Road closures, bus changes and a wet-weather plan (none published on the pages we read)
Manly has three separate things on the same weekend: free live music across the town centre, a free surf teams competition on the beach, and a pink beach fitness morning on Saturday. Sounds of Manly runs from 9am to 5pm on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, and the Surf + Sound Boardriders Competition runs on Manly Beach on both days. The quickest way in without a car is the Manly Fast Ferry, which takes 20 minutes from Circular Quay. Sydney is on daylight saving time, so every time below is local Sydney time.
This guide uses Northern Beaches Council’s Sounds of Manly page, the Surf + Sound festival program, the council’s Manly parking page and the Manly Fast Ferry site, all read on 26 October 2026.
What is Sounds of Manly and where are the stages?
The council describes Sounds of Manly as a free live music weekend with performances across five locations: Town Hall Forecourt, Market Lane, Rialto Square, Sydney Road and the John Speight Stage on the Manly Corso. The event page lists it from 9am to 5pm on both days and says it includes talented local musicians and roving entertainers. The event page names the council’s Place and Economic Development Team as the contact.
Who plays on Saturday 31 October?
| Time | Stage | Act |
|---|---|---|
| 9am to 10:30am | Rialto Square | Michael Henry |
| 10:45am to 12:15pm | Town Hall Forecourt | Charley Castle |
| 12:30pm to 2pm | John Speight Stage (Manly Corso) | Monique Raso |
| 2:15pm to 3:45pm | Sydney Road | Ben Harris |
| 4pm to 5:30pm | Market Lane | Ziggy McNeil |
| 10:45am to 12:45pm | Roving | Hula hoop and juggler performer |
Who plays on Sunday 1 November?
| Time | Stage | Act |
|---|---|---|
| 9am to 10:30am | Rialto Square | Natalie Theodore |
| 10:45am to 12:15pm | Town Hall Forecourt | Cleapatra |
| 12:30pm to 1pm | John Speight Stage (Manly Corso) | Fairy Wishes Children’s Stage Show, followed by a meet and greet |
| 2:15pm to 3:45pm | Sydney Road | Angelo Francalanci |
| 4pm to 5:30pm | Market Lane | Gregory Throsby |
The council says the children’s show features Scratch the Cool Kat, Lulu The Funky Clown and Trixie The Disco Dancing Pixie, with up-tempo versions of childhood songs such as the Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.
What is the surfing on Manly Beach and is it free?
Surf + Sound is a new three-weekend festival that started on 16 October and finishes on Sunday 1 November. Its Boardriders Competition is on Manly Main Beach on 31 October and 1 November, and the festival says it is free to attend. The festival describes 18 teams from Queensland and New South Wales boardriders clubs, a $55,000 prize purse, and men’s open, women’s open and under-18 divisions. Each club enters its top two surfers in a division. Half of the prize money goes to the winning teams and half to the boardriders club each team represents.
| Day | Time | What |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 31 October | 6:30am | Morning wellness |
| Saturday 31 October | 8am to 10:15am | Under-18 boys and girls heats |
| Saturday 31 October | 10:15am to 11:45am | Women’s open heats |
| Saturday 31 October | 1:15pm to 2:45pm | Men’s open heats |
| Saturday 31 October | 3:30pm | Legends Heat |
| Saturday 31 October | 4:15pm | Men’s open heat 4 |
| Saturday 31 October | 5pm | Day 1 surfing wraps |
| Sunday 1 November | 6:30am | Morning wellness |
| Sunday 1 November | 8:15am to 2:15pm | Semifinals, Meet the Legends and finals |
| Sunday 1 November | 3pm | Presentation and award ceremonies at Felons Manly |
When the festival was announced in September, Australasian Leisure Management reported that the Legends Heat on Saturday would feature world champions Mark Occhilupo, Layne Beachley and Joel Parkinson, with more names still to come. The festival’s own page for the competition lists a Legends Heat at 3:30pm but not who is in it, so check the festival site before you plan around a particular surfer.
What else is on at Manly Wharf and Felons?
The festival’s art trail and Defender live art are free to view at Manly Wharf until Sunday 1 November. According to the program page, five vintage Land Rover Defenders are being painted live during the festival. Music at Felons Manly on the final weekend is listed as follows:
| Day | Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 30 October | From 5pm | DJs at Felons and 1979 | Felons Manly and The Jetty Bar |
| Friday 30 October | Doors 7pm | Skunkhour | Felons Barrel Room |
| Saturday 31 October | 5pm to 10pm | Sounds Good DJs | Felons Manly jetty |
| Saturday 31 October | Doors 7pm | Yolanda Be Cool | Felons Barrel Room |
| Sunday 1 November | Doors 7pm | GANGgajang | Felons Barrel Room |
| Sunday 1 November | Not given | Winston Surfshirt, listed as a secret location | Manly Wharf |
The program page we read gives no ticket prices or booking links for these shows, so the festival website is the place to check whether a show needs a ticket. The Felons shows are listed on the Surf + Sound festival’s own site, not on the council’s Sounds of Manly page.
Is there anything else on at Manly Beach on Saturday morning?
Yes. Pink With Purpose is listed on the council’s What’s On calendar for Saturday 31 October from 7am to 10am at North Steyne and Collingwood Street. It is a morning of movement and fundraising for Breast Cancer Trials, with hundreds of women in matching pink sports bras, a record attempt and a giant human heart. The event page lists tickets, personal fundraising and donations at $95 to $125 each, and the organisers say 100% of funds raised go to Breast Cancer Trials. The event page names Emily White of ZYLA Active as the driving force behind it.
How do I get to Manly by ferry?
The Manly Fast Ferry runs between Circular Quay Wharf 2 and Manly Wharf 2 seven days a week. Its operator says the journey takes 20 minutes, Opal fares and benefits apply, and fares are the same single-journey price as the F1 Manly ferry. Opal’s daily and weekly travel caps apply, and Transport for NSW lists a daily cap of $9.65 on Saturdays and Sundays. Our Opal guide explains how to tap on and off.
| Direction | Weekend and public holiday departures on the Manly Fast Ferry page |
|---|---|
| Circular Quay Wharf 2 to Manly | Every 20 minutes, at :00, :20 and :40 past the hour, from 9am to the last departure at 8:20pm |
| Manly Wharf 2 to Circular Quay | 9:30am and 9:50am, then at :10, :30 and :50 past the hour from 10am, with the last departure at 9:10pm |
The Manly Fast Ferry site says you can also plan trips with the Transport for NSW Trip Planner. The F1 Manly service is the other Opal ferry to Manly Wharf, but we could not read its timetable for this weekend, so use the Trip Planner for F1 departures and any changes.
Where can I park in Manly and what does it cost?
Northern Beaches Council runs four paid car parks in Manly, and says you can park for up to 2 hours free per day in them. The council’s page says they use licence plate recognition, so there is no ticket to take. These are the opening hours and sizes it lists:
| Car park | Address | Spaces | Height limit | Saturday hours | Sunday hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whistler Street | 5A Market Lane | 311 | 2m | Open 24 hours | 6:30am to midnight |
| Peninsula | 25 Wentworth Street | 289 | 2.1m | 7am to 12:30am | 7am to midnight |
| Pacific Waves | 9-15 Central Avenue | 170 | 2m | 6:30am to 12:30am | 6:30am to midnight |
| Manly National | Central Avenue | 220 | 1.95m | 6:30am to 12:30am | 6:30am to midnight |
| Time in the car park (entry 6:30am to 6:59pm) | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 2 hours | Free |
| 2 to 2.5 hours | $13.50 |
| 2.5 to 3 hours | $18.00 |
| 3 to 3.5 hours | $22.00 |
| 3.5 to 4 hours | $26.00 |
| 4 to 5 hours | $40.50 |
| 5 hours or more | $55.00 |
Two rules matter for a weekend of moving between events. First, the council says that if you leave and then enter or visit another Northern Beaches Council car park within 3 hours of leaving, fees start at the 2 to 2.5 hour rate, so the free 2 hours does not renew. Second, entry between 7pm and 11.59pm is a flat fee of $5.50, but the page says evening fees are not available to vehicles that entered during the daytime. Staying past midnight adds a $5.50 overnight surcharge plus the next day’s fee. You can pay by credit card at the pay machine or at the exit, and cash at the pay machine only. If you cannot pay, you have seven days from entry to return and pay at one of the four car parks.
Motorcycles can park free in the designated motorcycle bays in the Manly parking stations, but a motorcycle in a car bay pays the full fees.
Are there road closures or bus changes?
None of the pages we read for this weekend lists road closures, bus diversions or ferry changes. Before you leave, check the Transport for NSW alerts page and Live Traffic NSW. For questions about Sounds of Manly, the council’s event page lists its Place & Economic Development Team on 8495 6255.
What is not published yet?
The council’s Sounds of Manly page and the festival’s pages give no wet-weather plan, no road closure information and no ticket details for the Felons shows. We will update this page if the council or the festival adds them.
Sources
- Northern Beaches Council: Sounds of Manly (performance schedule; checked 26 October 2026)
- Northern Beaches Council What’s On: Sounds of Manly
- Northern Beaches Council What’s On: Pink With Purpose
- Northern Beaches Council: Manly parking stations (fees and hours; as of October 2026)
- Surf + Sound: festival program
- Surf + Sound: Boardriders Competition
- Australasian Leisure Management: Inaugural Surf + Sound coastal festival to transform Manly Wharf (9 September 2026)
- Manly Fast Ferry: Manly to Circular Quay timetable
- Transport for NSW: Adult Opal fares (daily caps)
Featured image: Manly Beach (photo: Hardlinerr / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Northern Beaches Council, Surf + Sound, Pink With Purpose, Manly Fast Ferry or Transport for NSW. Event details can change; check the council’s event page before you go.