Festivals and events in Tasmania

Tasmanians love a party, with bonfires warming up winter festivals and sparkling waters as the backdrop to summer celebrations.

In fact, year-round, there’s a festival or event happening somewhere in the state – and you’re invited.

Winter

Tasmania in winter is anything but chill. The Off Season is winter for real, a time to gather around blazing log fires, to frolic in frosty alpine landscapes and plunge into festivals.

Dark Mofo is taking a well-earned break in 2024, but you’ll still be able to catch two of the festival’s signature events this year: the tantalising Winter Feast (13–16 and 20–23 June), where friends and family gather to eat fiery fare; and the Nude Solstice Swim (21 June), a bracing bare-naked dash into the River Derwent at sunrise. Or head along to Mona, Hobart’s boundary-pushing museum, for its wintertime exhibition, Namedropping (from 15 June). Dark Mofo is planning to bring back its full festival program in 2025.

Also in June, Permission to Trespass (1–30 June) is a curious collision of art, culture and storytelling set within typically restricted patches of the state’s north west (not to be missed is the Table Cape Sound Walk).

Heading into July, the Festival of Voices (28 June–7 July) erupts in song with workshops, concerts and singalongs. Then in the middle of the month, gather among apple orchards for music, cider and bonfires at the final iteration of Willie Smith’s Mid-Winter Festival (12–13 July).

More July celebrations include the dazzling Bicheno Beams (29 June–20 July) on Tasmania’s east coast, and Devonport Jazz (25–28 July), which lights up the north west with smooth live music, entertaining improv performances and cosy vibes.

The good times roll into August – Bridport’s Tassie Scallop Fiesta (4 August) celebrates the north east region’s fishing and maritime heritage and the start of the scallop season. Back in Hobart, Beaker Street Festival (6–13 August) is all about science and art, offering scientist-led talks and workshops, thematic cruises and tours, live music, and installations. Also in Hobart, and at various distilleries around the island, Tasmanian Whisky Week (5 –11 August) celebrates the island’s golden spirit and its distillers. And at the north west’s annual Chocolate Winterfest (11 August), dessert is the main event.

Round out the frosty winter fun at the biennial Australian Antarctic Festival (22–25 August) – a nod to Hobart’s position as a key gateway to the icy continent.

SPRING

This is the season of blooming gardens, sunny days, picnic hampers and good vibes. Bring something warm to wear just in case – and join a Tasmanian spring fling.

See fields of intense colour at Table Cape Tulip Farm on the state’s north-west coast (late September, for a month). To coincide, the local council runs the Tulip Festival Wynyard (12 October), with food, music, art and vibrant entertainment.

Just as colourful but of human making, Launceston’s Junction Arts Festival (19–22 September) is about extraordinary arts events in unusual places. Also in September, Great Eastern Wine Week (6–18 September) is a collective of over 40 events, celebrating the cool-climate drops and boutique wineries of the East Coast Wine Region.

On Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, Nubeena Bee Festival (5 October) celebrates our champion pollinators and their sweet honey, while native botanicals and local fruits infuse the offerings at Hobart Gin Festival (25–26 October), where craft distillers gather to share their juniper-based wares.

Artists gather in Sheffield’s Mural Park to compete in the annual Mural Fest (3 –9 November), with the artworks remaining on display for the following year – worth a look regardless of when you visit. And unique contemporary art thrives in the most unordinary of places at the Unconformity – an inventive, biennial festival on the rugged west coast (October 2025).

Looking for a festival to satisfy your niche interests? The Tasmanian Craft Fair (1–3 November). The Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival (8–10 November) and Effervescence Tasmania Sparkling Wine Festival (8–10 November) have got you covered.

Summer

As long days and balmy nights lure revellers outdoors, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race surges home in late December at Sullivans Cove.

Sailors and travellers of all sorts are welcome at Tasmania's Taste of Summer (late December), a week-long food and wine festival in Hobart, crammed with entertainment including New Year’s fireworks. Launceston Beerfest (31 December) brings merrymakers together in the north for more NYE festivities.

Tennis fans can get their fill at the Hobart International (6–11 January 2025), with views of the Hobart waterfront framing the annual series of professional matches. On the east coast, athletes splash through the turquoise waters of Freycinet National Park at Coles Bay Triathlon (8 February 2025), under the striking backdrop of the Hazards mountain range.

Up north, Launceston’s own Festivale (31 January–2 February 2025) is a three-day summer showcase of Tasmanian food and drink with live music for all ages. While every second February, Hobart’s waterfront is the scene of more maritime celebrations at the Australian Wooden Boat Festival (7–10 February 2025).

And join summer events across the island, including the Cygnet Folk Festival (10–12 January 2025), Clarence Jazz Festival (February) and the penny farthing championships at Evandale Village Fair (February).

Autumn

The island erupts in leafy colour as the days get shorter and cooler, and the air crisper. Celebrate the harvest (and art, and life) at ECHO Festival (14–16 March 2025) in the east-coast wine country near Swansea.

Fresh produce from the region’s volcanic soils and windswept seas shines at Sheffield’s Taste of the North West (March). Also in Sheffield, quirky engineering heritage chugs back to life at SteamFest (March).

More deliciousness flows at Hobart’s Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens for the Tasmanian Wine Festival (March) and at Southern Open Vineyards (March) – a self-guided journey across the south’s finest wine regions. For a full-blown foodie affair, sample the seasonal flavours of Tasmania’s Tasting Trail at TrailGraze (April).

Runners traverse the rugged trails of kunanyi / Mount Wellington at kunanyi Mountain Run (28–30 March 2025), and dash past the famous southern waterfront at Hobart Airport Marathon Festival (6 April 2025).

Tasmania’s thriving agricultural scene draws a big crowd in the north at Agfest (1–3 May 2025). Speaking of agriculture, check out giant pumpkins, wood chopping and Blundstone boot-toss competitions at the Bream Creek Show (March) – a quintessential country event.

Be captivated by a diverse, toe-tapping program or take a masterclass with an industry professional at the Australian Musical Theatre Festival in Launceston (May).

And join the pilgrimage to see the “turning of the fagus”, when Australia’s only winter-deciduous tree blankets alpine hillsides with autumnal colour (late April and May).