Arts & Culture
Lights & Music
Arts & Culture
Sips, Bites & Sights
Calling all speed knitters, art lovers and bookworms—the regions are calling, and they're bringing the heat in all the right ways. From panel events and parties to solstice swims and creative crafts, this winter's arts calendar is packed with Australia’s best and brightest. Read on for all the event details, and where to eat, stay and play while you're there.
Upcoming Events
There’s something special about regional Victoria—it’s where creativity, community and culture collide in the most unexpected ways. The events scene out here is thriving, and every trip feels like a new story waiting to unfold. It’s the best kind of getaway—one that feeds your soul.
Lights & Music
The Victorian regions absolutely come alive with sound and light when the chill kicks in. Think culturally-rich celebrations, artistic illuminations, and gigs popping up in the most unexpected places. With a stacked calendar of festivals lighting up the state, this season’s never looked (or sounded) so good. Read on for all the event details, and where to eat, stay and play while you're there.
Upcoming Events
Sips, Bites & Sights
Keen to roam through vineyards, catch athletes compete for surf supremacy and warm the soul with mulled wine? Lucky for us, when the temperatures drop, the regions heat up. Read on for all the events to head to across regional Victoria, and where to eat, stay and play while you're there.
Upcoming Events
Coby Renkin
Melbourne Editor
National Celtic Folk Festival
Portarlington
5–8 June
Gentlemen, start your bagpipes. The National Celtic Folk Festival is a celebration of Celtic arts and diaspora, drawing in international acts from Scotland and Ireland as well as local artists carrying traditions on. Headliners include Scotland’s Astro Bloc, Celtic-Country musos Saltaire and award-winning uilleann piper Colm Broderick. Learn to cook Celtic cuisine, tell stories by the fire, try the bagpipes, learn a little Gaelic, some dancing and even row a traditional Scottish skiff. For an old-world appropriate stay, Portarlington Grand Hotel echoes a vintage elegance with sage green and timber features, light-filled rooms, sea views and a pub restaurant. If you’re trying the famous Portarlington mussels while you’re here, Pier Street is an excellent choice for moules mariniere.
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East Gippsland Winter Festival
East Gippsland
20 June–7 July
East Gippsland Winter Festival is a massive, month-long regional celebration of arts and culture, food and fire and the incredible landscape and producers. Expect winter feasting, light sculptures, workshops, events drawing you back to nature, parties taking over streets, sauna treatments, hot springs and a freezing solstice dip. Taste the renowned local Gippsland produce, wine and all things delicious. A festival like this demands accommodation out of the ordinary, so mix wellness treatments with a glamping getaway at Metung Hot Springs. Sailor’s Grave Brewing in Dunetown has more than beer and tacos, with The Little Drift tiny house stays and RV spots for adventurers. Find your base, get festive and explore wineries, bike trails, walking tracks and scenic drives.
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Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout
Rutherglen
6–7 June
Roam Rutherglen is Australia’s longest-running wine festival, leading walkers through vino adventures for over 50 years. 17 wineries serve their finest wine and wine-adjacent drinks, like spritzes, mulled wine and even muscat cocktails. It’s tradition to suit up in costume or festival attire for your chance to win prizes. Or just enjoy live music, dance parties, trivia, street eats and hot woodfired pizzas or ‘bubbles and brunch’. Meander between renowned producers, from De Bortoli and Morris to Scion wines. Stay in town at Olive Cottage Rutherglen, or fully immerse yourself by sleeping in the vines. Fuel up at The Pickled Sisters and stop into Grace. bar + eatery for seasonal plates.
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Facing Modernity:
Degas to Picasso
Shepparton Art Museum
23 May–20 September
With pieces never before shown in Australia, Facing Modernity at Shepparton Art Museum features 37 sculptures and paintings drawn from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. These incredible works trace the timeline of modernity beginning with Impressionism and Post-Impressionism through Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism and post-war abstraction. See works from Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and more. The Carrington is a conveniently close stay, overlooking Victoria Park Lake. Take a walk through the gardens or double down on culture with the Shepparton Public Art Walk, before tasting the best of the Goulburn Valley at Fryers Street Food Store.
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Castlemaine Documentary Festival
Castlemaine
26–27 June
Now running for over a decade, Castlemaine Documentary Festival brings nonfiction films from Australia and abroad to the Theatre Royal. Held over three nights and two days, the fest goes beyond screenings to encompass music, panels, parties and games. Previous years saw live-scored film, biographies, and genre-challenging creative works, and the LOCALS showcases short films by Central Victorian filmmakers. Pop into Love Shack Brewing nearby and kick back in a shrine of retro Australiana for a fun pub feed. Stay at the quirky Northern Arts Hotel and explore The Mill precinct, with Vienna-style breakfast at Das Kaffeehaus, bevs at Shedhaker Brewing and Boomtown Wine and a sprawling vintage bazaar.
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Island Whale Festival
Phillip Island
3–5 July
Experience the awe of humpback and southern right whales during their seasonal visitation. Island Whale Festival is a gathering of celebration and education along the captivating coastline of Phillip Island. Discover secrets of whales from local researchers, take a guided whale-spotting cruise, join craft workshops and see the best sea-focused films at the Ocean Film Festival. Kids can also explore interactive learning and play zones at the Festival Experience Hub. Choose Genesta House in Cowes for a charming getaway, or go rural at Bimbadeen and stay on a working farm. Grab gourmet supplies at The Store in Ventnor and vino at Phillip Island Winery before a walk and a picnic, or head to Saltwater in Newhaven for woodfired pizza.
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Shortest Lunch
Yarra Valley
20–21 June
This mid-winter food and wine fest spans two days and numerous family wineries, taking you on a flavourful journey of stories in the vines. Your ticket to Yarra Valley Shortest Lunch includes tastings across the festival and a souvenir glass. Sip, stroll and dine at the wineries—they’ll have one-off specials, with dishes under $25, from homemade apple pies to Italian cuisine. Best of all, the crawl’s kid-friendly. Two Truffles Cottage in Yarra Glen is a quaint base. If you’d prefer the heart of Healesville at the Healesville Hotel or nearby Yarra Gables, start the day at Plum & Rye bakery or The Mare Coffee Co and maybe find time to take in some culture at TarraWarra Museum of Art.
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Nightide
Queenscliff
19–21 June
Let yourself be pulled into the dark mysteries of the sea for Nightide, Queenscliff’s free solstice festival. Over three days, the nights come alive to the theme “Creatures of the Deep: Leviathans Awake”. It begins with Nightide Fringe at an undisclosed location, through to the Frostbite nude swim at dawn on the Saturday, a Solstice Feast and big, free family event on Sunday. Music drifts through the evening as you gather around the fire in the darkness, feasting from food trucks and celebrating midwinter. Stay close at The Royal Queenscliff, start the bright winter morning with toasties and coffee at Ziggy + Kit and if it’s sunny head to the Original Queenscliff Fish and Chips for, well, you can probably guess.
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Mansfield Lantern Festival
Mansfield
19–21 June
Since 2015, Mansfield Lantern Festival has filled the night with artistic illuminations as revellers gather for fire, song and performance. Friday begins with Welcome to Country, a firelight ceremony and lantern-making workshop, with a lantern parade Saturday night before Sunday’s solstice celebration of dawn yoga and brunch. The whole town whips out special winter solstice menus. Bring the family for a hideaway at BullerRoo Luxury Chalet, a working farm set on 24 acres with stunning views of the Barwite Valley. Or, cosy up with a self-contained stay at Burnt Creek Cottages. By day, Mansfield Coffee Merchants is your go-to for a brew, then experience Delatite Winery’s cellar door, head into nature at the Mansfield Wetlands or lookouts or take the kids to see lions at Mansfield Zoo.
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Always Live
Across Victoria
April–June
One to keep an eye on. Victoria’s free regional live music series, Always Live, is back for 2026, kicking off in April and carrying on til June across Ballarat, Gippsland, the Goldfields, the Bellarine, the Murray and the Great Ocean Road. Acts are being announced on the regular over on the Always Live site, so keep your eyes peeled and get ready to hit the road and catch some of the best contemporary music at this state-wide event.
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Winter Wonderlights
Sovereign Hill - Ballarat
26 June–19 July
Victoria’s favourite outdoor museum transforms by night into a canvas for illumination, with food, fire and family fun. Artistic projections cover the facades of Sovereign Hill’s streets for Ballarat Winter Wonderlights, a nighttime festival bringing a touch of Christmas to the coldest months. Faux snow flies as bands play Christmas songs and you sip hot chocolate, wandering through fairy lights. Plus, your ticket covers day entry, too. If you’re bringing the family, stay overnight in the cheerful NRMA Ballarat Holiday Park. Then again, Big 4 Kryal Castle Holiday Park includes free entrance to the castle. When you wake, Johnny Alloo has you covered for all-day brunch, and Aunty Jacks brewery is your cosy retreat with pub eats.
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Sorrento Solstice
Sorrento
20–21 June
At Sorrento Solstice, fire meets the sea for a two-day party. Music flows, light projections turn night into art and free ticketed events run for everything from a silent disco to sound healing. Gather for the ceremonial effigy burning, carouse with local food and drinks and jump in for a solstice swim in Port Phillip Bay. The chic retro-Euro Hotel Sorrento is an iconic stay, grab old school bakes at the Vanilla Slice Cafe, brunch at Buckley Sorrento and Southern French cuisine at Bistro Elba. Sorrento’s beach walks are just as beautiful in winter, from Millionaire’s Walk to the pier and Sorrento-Portsea Artists Trail, or window shop through town and duck inside Sorrento Museum for local history.
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Winter Sounds
Daylesford
14–18 August
Winter Sounds takes over a plethora of Daylesford venues, from churches to halls to a train, complete with light shows for an electric atmosphere. Keep an eye out for the lineup, last year saw big names like Cash Savage, Tim Rogers, Quality Used Cars and Sarah Blasko. Between gigs, gather at the firepit for good drinks and company. Daylesford stays are a cut above, from Lake House (with a hatted restaurant) to Royal Daylesford and Daylesford Art Motel. Same for cuisine, from lauded Bar Merenda to produce-driven dishes at Daylesford’s oldest pub, The Farmers Arms. Rejuvenate at Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, feed your artistic soul at the Convent Gallery or just reconnect with nature.
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Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival 2026
Fish Creek, Gippsland
16–25 May
The Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival centres on the Tea Cosy competition and nine days of crafts and creativity. Learn Fair Isle knitting, needle felting, dill pickling, ‘zentangling’, weaving with native grasses, monoprinting and, of course, making tea cosies, or just watch the speed-knitting contest. Tea fans can go deeper with tea ceremonies, high teas and the Cancer Council’s Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. Stay close at art deco Fish Creek Hotel (note the fish sculpture) with a welcoming cosy bistro awaiting you at dinnertime, or Adrift accommodation for a studio escape. Hit Long John Pickles for brunch and if you need a sea change, it’s a short drive to Sandy Point.
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Bells Beach Longboard Classic
Bells Beach
1 July
Bells Beach Longboard Classic is the second stop on the WSL Longboard Tour. Over 5 days, 48 of the best longboarders compete for surf supremacy. Keep close to the action at Rosina Beach Shack, a breezy retreat in bushland, or take the pooch to snuggle in at Bells Beach Cottages. For surf superfans, the Australian National Surfing Museum is a short drive away in Torquay. Then it’s a pint at Bells Beach Brewing, a sandwich at Mortadeli and maybe wandering a bit of the Surf Coast Track. This is also a perfect jumping-off point for exploring the Great Ocean Road.
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LaFiera Italian Festival
Myrtleford
15-17 MAY
For almost 20 years, La Fiera Italian Festival has honoured the region’s Italian heritage with a weekend of food, wine and festivities. Expect local chefs serving gnocchi, pizza and polenta, plus events like Italian Movie Night. Stay at Panoramia Villas overlooking the Ovens Valley or Haus + Heim’s Echo bush retreat. Explore Myrtleford’s Mosaic Trail, dine at Cafe Fez, sip at Gapsted Estate, visit nearby Bright and scenic alpine drives, then wind down with tapas and vino at Reclaim Wine Bar.
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