Top 10 annual Adelaide festivals

Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
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Eat, drink, dance and be merry at one of Adelaide’s many vibrant festivals.

Adelaide is known as Australia’s Festival City thanks to its calendar of standout events. From festivals featuring music and art to flagship food and wine festivals and hybrid formats that celebrate all of the above, here are 10 Adelaide festivals that will brighten your days and nights.

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival

This boutique counter-cultural festival, which first popped up in a grungy back alley in Melbourne in 2004, encourages up-and-coming and established musicians ­– from psycho-rock guitar bands to top-shelf electro DJS — to reclaim the streets of Radelaide. Expect alt acts such as the Pist Idiots, Ocean Alley, Tones and I and Spacey Jane to find their groove at the festival, traditionally held in the historic Hart’s Mill precinct in Port Adelaide.

Laneway Festival.
Laneway Festival celebrates the alternative music scene.

Adelaide Fringe Festival

Expect to gasp and giggle your way around the annual Adelaide Fringe Festival, where the kaleidoscopic program ranges from grungy, visceral theatre to circus, visual arts, comedy, classical and contemporary music, workshops and more.

A woman throwing fire at Adelaide Fringe Festival
Awe-inspiring performances at Adelaide Fringe. (South Australian Tourism Commission)

All up, there are about 6000 artists performing everything from across 300 venues all over South Australia. Rove through the festival and you will delight at everything from drumming circles to family puppet shows, physical theatre and Indigenous dance.

Adelaide Fringe Festival
Adelaide streets come alive during the Fringe Fest.

Tasting Australia

High up on many a foodie’s bucket list, Tasting Australia has evolved to become Australia’s premier eating and drinking festival, with fabulous food and wine, hands-on workshops, exclusive dinners and inspired feasts. As well as reflecting the diverse cultural heritage of Adelaide’s citizens, the indulgent 10-day adventure will also be your passport to farm tours, tastings and long-table lunches that celebrate the talents of local chefs, winemakers and producers.

People enjoying food at Tasting Australia in Adelaide
Food and wine lovers unite in their shared obsession at Tasting Australia. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

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WOMADelaide

The South Australian capital is transformed each year for WOMADelaide, which draws thousands to appreciate its richly varied program of music, aerial theatre, dance, film, art and culture.

Concert goers in the crowd at WOMADelaide
Music is just one part of the multifaceted festival that is WOMADelaide. (Image:Saige Prime)

The annual festival, which has been celebrating cultural and creative diversity since its inception in 1992, is traditionally held across seven stages in Botanic Park. WOMADelaide is one of six WOMAD festivals that are part of a global circuit.

Kids at WOMADelaide
Kids and adults alike can enjoy WOMADelaide. (Image: Megan Crabb)

Groovin the ‘Moo

This annual autumn musical festival has established itself as one of the classical Aussie music events. Expect acts such as Ruby Fields, Lime Cordiale, G Flip and Hockey Dad to headline the festival which is as much about wearing eye-popping and out-there outfits as it is about groovin’ with your moo crew to gigs ranging from electronic to indie rock. The festival is traditionally held in Adelaide Showground. The festival did not go ahead in 2024 but fans are hopeful it will return in 2025.

Groovin The Moo
Australia’s favourite regional music festival.

Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival

The Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival draws together a varied guest list of beer and barbecue vendors who take up residence at Adelaide Showground each year for the annual event.

Close up of glass and guide at Adelaide Beer and BBQ fest
The Beer and BBQ Festival shines the spotlight on one of the great pairings in life. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

With more than 100 brewers, cideries, distillers and winemakers in attendance, you can enjoy a tutored tasting or two and then make a beeline for the best-looking barbecue ribs. The three-day festival also features live music.

100 brewers, cideries, distillers and winemakers convene.

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Adelaide Festival

Let the good times roll at Adelaide Festival, which has been around 60-plus years now. Enjoy an eclectic line-up of dance theatre, contemporary and classical music, striking visual arts displays and award-winning writers at the Adelaide Writers’ Week event, which falls under the festival’s umbrella. Adelaide comes alive for the festival, which provides a platform for emerging artists and commissions innovative new works.

Fire displays at Adelaide Festival.
Fire displays at Adelaide Festival.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival

Cue your jazz hands for the largest cabaret festival in the world. Conceptualised in 2001, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival shines the spotlight on creative excellence, highlighting the best local, national and – where possible – international artists through a dynamic program of boundary-pushing performances to suit all ages.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Cabaret comes alive.

Cellar Door Fest

What better way to sample world-class South Australian wines than under one roof at Cellar Door Fest, which brings together some of the State’s best wineries, breweries and distilleries for this annual three-day event. Taste South Australian Grenache from Yalumba, sip on big, bold reds from the Barossa and combine cheese and cider at the festival, which also features local musicians ranging from fiddle-forward folk rockers to indie artists.

Sample South Australian wines at Cellar Door.

South Australian Living Arts Festival

The South Australian Living Arts Festival is one of the most vibrant arts events in Adelaide. Established in 1998 as a way to promote and pay homage to South Australian visual artists, the festival organisers continue to celebrate the diverse creative practises of SA artists with cutting-edge programs that keep the brain cells firing.

Adding colour to the festival are visual artists that use collage, assemblage, painting, photography and video to produce their works.

Planning a trip to Adelaide? Read more travel tips and itineraries in our Adelaide travel guide.

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Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti has written across print and digital for Australian Traveller and International Traveller for more than a decade and has spent more than two decades finding excuses to eat well and travel far. A prestigious News Corp cadetship launched her career at The Cairns Post, before a stint at The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald gave way to extended wanders through Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, Asia and Europe. Carla was chief sub editor at delicious and has contributed to Good Food, Travel & Luxury, Explore Travel, Escape. While living in London, Carla was on staff at Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times Travel desk and was part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK.
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Good food, beautiful nature & history: your guide to a long weekend in West Gippsland

(Credit: Rob Blackburn)

    Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
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    From rainforest walks and scenic drives to historic gold-rush towns and standout regional dining experiences, you can find it all in West Gippsland.

    Hover over West Gippsland on Google Earth and you’ll see vast tracts of land spread out like green velveteen around the Toorongo Falls Reserve. It’s a landscape that feels almost impossibly lush for a region sitting little more than an hour from Melbourne.

    Track southeast in late autumn and early winter and you’ll see pockets of the Mt Baw Baw Plateau dusted in snow. In addition to the forests of mountain ash veined with creeks and rivers, there are pastures and farmland cross-stitched together to form pretty patchworks.

    But West Gippsland isn’t defined by scenery alone: in addition to its awe-inspiring nature, a Venn diagram of the region includes gold-rush history and great culinary experiences.  Spend a long weekend here and it quickly becomes clear how often these three overlap.

    Getting there

    Messmates Dining west gippsland
    Spend the weekend eating and exploring in West Gippsland. (Credit: Messmates Dining)

    Getting to West Gippsland involves as easy drive – it’s just over an hour out of Melbourne along the Monash Freeway.

    Not driving? Catch the train from Melbourne on the Gippsland line, terminating at either Traralgon or Bairnsdale, and hop off at Warragul or Drouin.

    Visit historic villages

    Walhalla historic township
    Wander into Australia’s Gold Rush history at Walhalla. (Credit: Rob Blackburn)

    The West Gippsland region is on the Traditional Lands of the Kulin and Kurnai nations, specifically linked to the Bunurong, Gunaikurnai and Wurundjeri Peoples, whose connection to Country stretches back thousands of years.

    European settlement occurred in the 19th century as timber cutters, farmers and gold seekers pushed into the region’s dense forests. Small towns grew around sawmills and railway lines, and many of those gold rush settlements, timber towns and railway villages still shape the character of the region today.

    The most evocative of these is Walhalla Historic Township, a remarkably preserved gold-rush township tucked deep in the mountains. In the late 1800s, it was one of Victoria’s richest goldfields. Today visitors can step inside that history at the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine, where underground tours reveal the scale of the mining operation that once powered the town’s prosperity. Nearby, the Walhalla Goldfields Railway retraces part of the original narrow-gauge line through the valley, offering a slow journey past forest and river scenery.

    Further west, Noojee is a classic mountain village. It’s surrounded by dense forest and waterfalls and has become a natural base for exploring the Baw Baw region. Just outside town, Noojee Trestle Bridge stands as one of West Gippsland’s most striking relics of the rail era. The towering wooden structure is the tallest surviving trestle bridge in Victoria and today forms the centrepiece of an easy scenic walk with wide views across the valley.

    Alpine Trout Farm west gippsland
    Catch your own lunch at Alpine Trout Farm. (Credit: Nicky Cawood)

    At Alpine Trout Farm near Noojee, visitors can fish for trout in mountain-fed ponds before enjoying the catch prepared fresh onsite. It’s a simple experience that reflects the area’s long connection to the surrounding waterways.

    Back in Warragul, the region’s main service town, the story shifts from heritage to modern regional life. With galleries, restaurants and sweeping views across the rolling farmland of Gippsland, the town has become a lively hub linking the district’s past with its evolving food and cultural scene. Drive through the town and you’ll find heritage buildings, old pubs and weatherboard cottages that hint at the area’s early days as a frontier landscape.

    In other towns the past survives in quieter ways – a historic hall here, a century-old bakery there.

    Walks, waterfalls and wild places

    Toorongo Falls in west gippsland
    Stroll Toorongo Falls Reserve. (Credit: Nicky Cawood)

    Even simple roadside stops can feel cinematic in West Gippsland. The region also delivers plenty of opportunities to lace up your walking shoes.

    One of the region’s most rewarding nature escapes lies just outside Noojee at Toorongo Falls Reserve. A network of walking tracks winds through the cool-temperate rainforest where towering mountain ash trees filter the light and the air smells of rich, damp earth. The 2.2-kilometre trail to the viewing platform overlooking Toorongo Falls is short, but spectacular, as the water cascades down over moss-covered rock faces into a cool, green gully in Little Toorongo River.

    Further north, the Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort offers year-round adventures. In winter, the mountain attracts skiers and snowboarders. The warmer months are just as compelling, with scenic drives to see alpine wildflowers, mountain bike trails and panoramic hiking routes that open across the plateau.

    Cyclists and walkers looking for a more relaxed pace can follow the Rokeby Neerim Rail Trail, which traces a former railway line through farmland and small Gippsland villages. The mostly flat trail passes rolling paddocks, creeks and historic bridges, making it an easy way to drop it down a gear when exploring the countryside.

    Taste the best eats of West Gippsland

    Hogget Kitchen west gippsland
    Taste the best of the region at Hogget Kitchen.

    For many travellers, the real drawcards of West Gippsland are the food and wine. The region sits in the heart of Victoria’s fertile dairy country, and that agricultural backdrop has helped shape a dining scene where seasonal produce and local provenance take centre stage.

    Hogget Kitchen has helped put Warragul firmly on the radar for serious regional dining in West Gippsland. Here, head chef and owner Trevor Perkins runs the kitchen alongside well-known winemakers William (Bill) Downie and Pat Sullivan. Hogget Kitchen lives up to its promise of exceptional destination dining; what lands on the table depends largely on what nearby farms have harvested that week as well as a wine list from Wild Dog Winery and other Gippsland producers.

    Warragul is also where you’ll find Messmates Dining where the kitchen team is led by Michelin-trained chefs. The Euro-leaning bistro and wine bar brings a polished edge to the local dining scene using produce sourced from across West Gippsland.

    For something more casual, the century-old Noojee Hotel is the kind of hub that every traveller dreams of finding after a long drive. Expect generous pub classics served on the sunny deck in summer or beside the crackle of a log fire in winter.  Nearby, rustic Toolshed Bar, Bistro & Cabins is the place to go for a wood-fired pizza topped with smoked local trout paired with Gippsland wine, making it a rewarding stop for lunch or an overnight stay.

    Time your visit with the Truffle Festival

    Food lovers visiting in winter should consider timing their trip to coincide with Noojee Truffle Festival, running from 10 July to 2 August 2026. The inaugural event celebrates the region’s emerging truffle industry with tastings, special menus and events built around one of winter’s most prized ingredients.

    Start planning your long weekend in West Gippsland at visitgippsland.com.au.