Rosebery Plaza opens with Lunar Lights and a grand ceremony on 19 February 2026, followed by a vibrant Family Day in Sydney’s south-east.
On certain summer evenings in Rosebery, the light lingers longer than expected. It settles along Epsom Road, glances off brick façades and new glass, and gathers in the wide sky above the old industrial rooftops. This February, that light will find a new focal point. Rosebery Plaza, long anticipated by locals watching its steady rise, will open not with a quiet ribbon-cutting but beneath lantern glow and the pulse of Lunar New Year celebrations.
The timing feels deliberate. As Sydney marks the Year of the Horse, Rosebery Plaza steps forward with the same symbolism the zodiac carries: energy, movement, fresh beginnings. For a neighbourhood that has transformed from factories and warehouses into apartments, cafés and creative studios, the opening of Rosebery Plaza signals another turn in its evolving story.
An Opening Night at Rosebery Plaza Under Lunar Lights
On Thursday, 19 February 2026, from 5:00pm, Rosebery Plaza will open to the public with an evening designed to draw people outdoors. The event, titled Lunar Lights & Opening Night Ceremony, forms part of the broader Sydney Lunar celebrations, but its focus remains distinctly local: neighbours greeting one another, families arriving with prams, teenagers hovering near the music.
By early evening, market-style stalls will line the plaza, their canopies catching the last of the sun. Outdoor dining tables will fill gradually as visitors settle in with plates designed for sharing. There will be live entertainment and what organisers describe as “feel-good beats”, but the atmosphere is intended less as spectacle and more as invitation — a chance to occupy this new civic space together.
At 6:00pm, the official ceremony will begin. Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller of the City of Sydney will lead a ribbon-cutting and plaque unveiling, marking Rosebery Plaza’s formal debut. In her words, the Year of the Horse represents “energy, progress and new beginnings”, qualities she sees reflected in the plaza’s arrival. As the sky darkens and lantern light sharpens, the symbolism may feel less abstract and more immediate: a neighbourhood acknowledging its own momentum.
The Making of Rosebery Plaza
Rosebery has always balanced industry and intimacy. Once defined by manufacturing and distribution centres, it has, over the past decade, drawn new residents and small businesses seeking proximity to the city without surrendering a sense of space. Rosebery Plaza sits at 81 Epsom Road, a corridor that has quietly become one of the suburb’s central spines.
The plaza’s design gestures toward openness. Rather than turn inward, Rosebery Plaza creates an outdoor meeting ground — a forecourt of sorts — where dining spills into fresh air and events can unfold without barriers. In a city where new developments can sometimes feel sealed off, Rosebery Plaza appears to lean in the opposite direction, framing itself as a communal threshold.
That idea of “Your Rosebery Plaza”, as the opening campaign describes it, is less a slogan than a proposition. It suggests that this is not simply a retail addition, but a shared space intended for lingering: a place to pick up dinner, meet friends, or pause between errands. The opening night, with its emphasis on gathering under the stars, will be the first test of that ambition.
Rosebery Plaza And the Spirit of the Year of the Horse
The Year of the Horse carries associations of vitality and forward motion — qualities that resonate in a suburb still defining itself. For Rosebery Plaza, aligning its launch with Sydney Lunar festivities places it within a wider cultural rhythm, acknowledging the diversity of the city it serves.
As lanterns glow above Rosebery Plaza and music drifts across Epsom Road, the symbolism will be less about tradition in isolation and more about intersection. Lunar New Year in Sydney is an urban celebration, unfolding across streets, parks and public squares. By opening during this period, Rosebery Plaza situates itself within that shared calendar, inviting the community to mark both a cultural milestone and a neighbourhood one at once.
The effect, organisers hope, will be cumulative. Energy builds from one gathering to the next. And so, nine days after the opening night, Rosebery Plaza will host a second event designed with families firmly in mind.
Family And Community Day at Rosebery Plaza
On Saturday, 28 February 2026, from 11:00am to 5:00pm, Rosebery Plaza will shift its focus from ceremony to play. The Family and Community Day extends the opening celebrations into daylight, trading lanterns for sun hats and late-night dining for daytime performances.
The program reads like a snapshot of contemporary suburban life: K-POP performances on stage, a kids’ disco, magic and craft workshops, face painting and hobby horse races. There will be pony rides and games with prizes, alongside food and beverages served throughout the day. For younger children, the plaza’s open layout promises room to move; for parents, shaded seating and the steady rhythm of entertainment offer a rare chance to relax while staying close.
Yet beyond the activities, the day signals something quieter. Rosebery Plaza is positioning itself as a meeting point — a place where neighbours who have shared hallways but not conversations might finally exchange names. In a suburb of new apartment blocks and long-standing homes, such encounters can shape the tone of community life.
A New Gathering Place for Rosebery
As February edges toward autumn, the evenings will begin to cool. The glow of opening night will fade, replaced by the regular cadence of daily trade. But first impressions matter. The way a place is introduced often sets the mood for how it is used.
If Rosebery Plaza succeeds in drawing people out — encouraging them to sit a little longer, to return for a second event, to recognise familiar faces — it may come to represent more than its footprint at 81 Epsom Road. It may become part of the suburb’s shared vocabulary: “Meet you at Rosebery Plaza,” said casually, as if it has always been there.
For now, anticipation carries its own charge. On 19 February 2026, as the ribbon is cut and lanterns lift against the night, Rosebery Plaza will step into the Year of the Horse with a sense of momentum. And in the mingling of music, conversation and warm evening air, a new chapter for Rosebery will quietly begin.
Family and Community Day
Date: Saturday, 28 February 2026
Time: 11:00AM – 5:00PM
Location: Rosebery Plaza, 81 Epsom Road, Rosebery NSW
Official Website: https://roseberyplaza.com.au/