Festival

Last weekend the weather was hot but perfect for the tough breed of Heavy Horses at the Allora Showground. This being the second year of running the Darling Downs Heavy Horse Festival over two full days. Organisers were thrilled with the crowd of around 5,000 through the gates with Saturday being a huge day.

To be more precise, the two young ladies, both nineteen, are from Furstenfeldbruck, within the Munich (now Munchen) area of Germany. In their Travellers Autobarn camper van, they have motored down Australia’s east coast, arriving at the Donald caravan park in time for the out-of-town Esoteric Festival.

Treasured Australian singer-songwriter and Maldon local Mandy Connell is the face behind a monthly mini-festival at the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon. The event, called Goldfields Folk & Roots: Roo Fest, offers a curated afternoon of folk and roots music celebrating local and invited musicians.

Two full days of Activities,   Displays and   Demonstrations. You’ll be amazed by the gentle giants such as Clydesdales, Percherons, Shires, Australian Draught Horses and Belgians. This year sees 120 magnificent horses displaying their versatility in Breed Led Classes, Working horses and Ridden events including hack, dressage and barrel races.

Seven years in the making and interrupted by a Covid cancellation, Donald’s 2023 Esoteric festival, “Wild Wastelands”, proved to be a sell-out, with a gathering of 7,500 paying patrons converging on the site, just north of Donald for the five day event. Local promoter, Sam Goldsmith, has invested heavily in the continued development of the location, spending months upgrading infrastructure for this year’s event.

Fancy a writers' festival with a bit of rustic charm and some good old-fashioned country hospitality? This March, head to the historic Avon Valley town of York in Western Australia's Wheatbelt for a unique event: a weekend featuring some of WA's finest authors and poets in conversation with each other, unmediated and unplugged!

Cook Shire Mayor, Peter Scott is looking forward to the upcoming festival, stating, "The Cooktown Discovery Festival is a celebration of our community's rich cultural heritage and the special place Cooktown has in Australian history. It is a time for us to come together and celebrate all that makes Cooktown and this region so special."

The 2023 River Daze festival thrilled attendees with talented musicians, great food and reasonable prices. “It’s such an intimate setting to have over 1,000 people in here, the river in the background and a family friendly atmosphere,” said Paul, who had travelled from Melbourne for the event.

Now in its sixth year, Donald’s annual Esoteric Festival continues to evolve and grow, with this year’s event, to be held over over 5 days from Friday, March 10 through to Tuesday, March 14, having the potential to attract an estimated attendance of 7,000 patrons. Speaking to the "[Buloke] Times" on Monday, with final preparations being carried out at the site, off Harris Road, promoter Sam Goldsmith said everything was in readiness for the region’s biggest event.

The World Wetland Day Yabby Festival was a huge success ... The Pollack Swamp is a 700ha flora and fauna nature reserve in the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest. Historically occupied by the Barapa Barapa people, the swamp has become a model of how locally driven projects can collaboratively engage community members, farmers and traditional owners to enhance environmental outcomes.

Jenny Pollard. It starts with a road trip and bridges the city / country divide. There’s a playlist for the road and it brings some of the biggest names in indie music to the “bush”. But above all, what makes the “OK Motels Festival” such a hit is the positive focus it brings to Charlton and the energising momentum that results.

The hall was packed and all eyes were on the screen at the Bangalow Flickerfest on Saturday, February 18. IndyNR.com presented  Tinnie Heroes  – a film about the floods.

Bouncing back from the flood-enforced cancellation last October, Charlton's "OK Motels" Festival was back with a bigger and better impact as visitors soaked up the relaxed country lifestyle last weekend. With the focus firmly set on “community” and the town presenting an array of add-on activities, there was a tangible feeling of homecoming, as friendships were rekindled, new ones made, and former attendees introducing newcomers to what could viewed as a “lifestyle” event.

The Barkly will be representing in the upcoming Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, with our own Emily Wells starring! ... She will be marching with the organisation Trans Pride Australia on a float called the “Kaleidoscope of Gender”.

Get your calendars out and highlight these dates if you want to immerse yourself in a Sunshine Coast event like no other. Organisers have confirmed that the 2023 Horizon Festival, a 10-day showcase of culture, music, visual art, theatre, dance, comedy and creative workshops, will return in 2023 from August 25 to September 3.

Thanks to all the hard working Committee and Volunteers who made the Allora Heritage Weekend such a great success. The weekend brings many visitors to our town, meaning a real boost to local businesses.

We’re so excited to share with you the information that we'll be running a series of events for our community in late February… all part of the Lord Howe Island Festival!

A diverse curation of the very best local and international arts talent and events will bring focus to Castlemaine, spotlighting the wealth of the region while bringing visitors from across Australia and overseas to experience this renowned family-friendly, fun, and accessible seventeen-day event.

Nothing will stop the popular weekend this year - after a postponement then a cancellation in 2022 everyone is ready for an action packed two days of displays, demonstrations and swap meets this Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January.

Stratheden St was packed on Saturday, January 21 at the Summerland Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Festival. And there was a line-up of giant vegetables that people had come to see.

We are thrilled to announce that Festival of Small Halls is heading out on their Autumn Tour 2023: Port Fairy Folk Festival to Lake Gkula and we would love it if you would join us again ... There are 18 communities across Victoria, ducking into New South Wales and South Australia, flinging open the doors of their halls and welcoming you in this March and April.