This Off Season

Lose yourself to the thrum of the island’s winter festivals and events.

Tasmania’s crisp winter days and long dark nights are anything but sleepy. Find new meanings in art, feast on sizzling seafood, dance by a bonfire, take an icy plunge, gaze up at laser-streaked skies (or seek out nature’s own Southern Lights).

Feel your festive spirit soar – peruse this tantalising lineup of Off Season events.

Prepare to indulge

Fuel your winter desires with tasty Tasmanian goodness.

At Permission to Trespass (1–30 June), long-table dinners, open-door distilleries and farm-gate tours connect people to place and produce on the north-west coast – keep an eye out for tickets.

Dark Mofo presents the Winter Feast (13–16 and 20–23 June), a decadent delight for the senses as much as the belly. Smoky aromas, glowing fire pits, off-beat performances, warming drinks and a mass of excellent local fare round out the experience on Hobart’s waterfront. Tickets on sale in April.  

At agriCULTURED (1–4 August), celebrate sustainability, tradition and food innovation in the fertile heart of northern Tasmania.

Tassie Scallop Fiesta (4 August) celebrates the start of the annual scallop fishing season, with succulent scallops stealing the show at seaside Bridport.

At Tasmanian Whisky Week (5–11 August), down a dram (or several) of Tasmania’s finest when distillers pour their wares at events across the state. Head to the Tasmanian Spirit Showcase (10 August) for a selection of the island’s finest under one roof in Hobart.

King Island's Fish Fire and Ferment veers offshore with a feast fit for royalty. Devour local crayfish, sip locally brewed beer and celebrate the season’s cray catch at the inaugural black-tie ball on King Island.

Revel with intent

A sense of lightness cuts through the winter dark at a host of riotous events.

Dark Mofo presents the Nude Solstice Swim (21 June) for the ultimate cleansing of body and spirit. Join the masses to strip off and stride into the icy waters of Hobart’s River Derwent. Get in quick to secure your spot when tickets go on sale.

Warm up the West (1–31 July) offers winter workshops and deep conversations. Chat with a local maker over a steaming cup of mulled wine, head into the dark night for an unusual photography experience and immerse in exhibitions on the west coast.

Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival (12–13 July) heads into the orchards of the Huon Valley for its final iteration. Get raucous and throw caution to the wind: dance around the fire, sing to the apple trees and watch Big Willie burn for the very last time. Get your tickets online now.

Beaker Street Festival (9–11 August) celebrates art and science with a rollicking program of talks, exhibitions and excursions featuring some of Australia’s most impressive minds. Find the festival precinct in Hobart’s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and various Beaker Street events sprawling across southern Tasmania.

The biennial Australian Antarctic Festival (22–25 August) brings the icy continent to Tasmania’s doorstep – satiate your curiosity with a burst of frosty science.

Get artsy

Creativity flourishes as unusual art and a cacophony of sound converge this Off Season.

At the Australian Musical Theatre Festival (15–19 May), hone your craft, collaborate and learn as likeminded theatre lovers descend on Launceston.

Mona’s Gala (14 June) is the lavishly fitting opening for the iconoclastic Namedropping exhibition (from 15 June). Dress to impress for an elaborate and debaucherous affair – this is the weekend to hit up the museum and be part of the buzz. Get in quick to secure your spot when a limited number of tickets go on sale in March.

At Festival of Voices (28 June–7 July), lend your vocal cords to the choir, raise your voice around the bonfire, or head to a concert and let someone else do the crooning at Tasmania’s statewide celebration of song. Full program coming in April.

At Bicheno Beams (29 June–20 July), colourful prisms of light decorate the night sky in a mesmerising display of colour and music at east-coast fishing town Bicheno. This is a free, nightly family event.

Hadleys Art Prize (3–25 August) drapes the storied walls of Hadley’s Orient Hotel in colour each year for this prestigious landscape art exhibition. Wander the works of talented Australian artists and find yourself transported to the country’s wild places.