Embrace the chill and discover winter events Australia-wide. We’re showcasing some of the best winter experiences to make the most of mid-year escapes. Whether you’re seeking winter festivals, powdery snow scenes, wholesome foodie finds close to home or a sunny trip north to defrost; it’s time to rug up and celebrate winter wanders down under.
Dive into the darkness of Tasmania’s midwinter solstice event with art, music, food, and fire spread over two weeks of serious Dark Mofo fun.
For anyone that enjoys 'eclectic' musical genres - get ready for Bass in the Grass Festival, Darwin. The lineup boasts an array of indigenous artists such as Baker Boy, with local folk stars Angus & Julia Stone. Even The Presets are playing!
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Hobart Airport Tourist Park
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Hidden Valley Holiday Park & BIG4 Howard Springs Holiday Park
As the temperature plummets midyear, warm up by visiting one of the many diverse food and cultural festivals across the country. Fancy a sensory feed in the country? The Rutherglen Gourmet Amble is a progressive regional feast where you can bike, walk or drive to savour the flavours of Rutherglen’s best boutique wineries – Jones Winery & Vineyard and Anderson’s Winery. What's also cool is that there's a BIG4 park only 30 minutes away.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Wangaratta North Cedars Holiday Park
The biggest and best winter festivals are back with a vengeance for 2023. From a bustling night market, a winter solstice event by moonlight, to a feel-good winter festival with pals, this winter is about gathering together no matter the weather!
Go global while staying local at Melbourne’s beloved Queen Vic Night Market, returning with scrumptious street food eats and live entertainment in June. Grab your mates, wander endless stalls sipping mulled wine and devouring bao buns, and listen to your favourite local bands live every Wednesday until the end of August.
Catch Melbourne’s most extravagant winter-themed event, RISING: Melbourne, a whimsical winter festival under the moonlight. From 7-18 June 2023, RISING: Melbourne showcases 185 weird and wonderful immersive art, mass participation song and dance performances, sound baths, tempting food treats, and live music events scattered around Melbourne’s magical CBD.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Melbourne Holiday Park
Celebrate cinema this winter at Sydney Film Festival 2023. Now in its 70th year, you can see it all with over 200 local and international comedies, documentaries and stories, including the anticipated debut of ‘The Last Daughter,’ by Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews and ‘Red White & Brass,’ a feature-length comedy from across the ditch.
Vivid Sydney is back for the 13th consecutive year, with 23 days and nights of after-dark kaleidoscopic fun. Take to the water or the streets to see the city transform into a creative wonderland with bewildering bright lights and creative installations splashed across Sydney’s harbour-front icons and the night sky.
BIG4 nearby: NRMA Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park, Ingenia Holidays Avina, Ingenia Holidays Nepean River & Ingenia Holidays Sydney Hills
If seasonal feasts and long lunches make your mouth water, then mark your calendar for this year’s family-friendly Scenic Rim Eat Local Month starting 1 June 2023. Just an hour’s drive from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, you’ll discover a delicious lineup of fresh farm produce, paddock-to-plate experiences, food walks and tastings, wrapping up with Eat Local Month’s signature event, Winter Harvest on 1 July 2023.
BLEACH* Festival is back with a beach-side mash-up of out-of-this-world art and intriguing cultural experiences in unconventional spaces by Australia’s most adventurous contemporary artists. This year, the Gold Coast’s glistening natural scenes will form the backdrop of BLEACH*, where visitors can meander between striking landscapes and perception-altering artwork displays.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park, BIG4 Tweed Billabong Holiday Park & NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort
Ever wondered what happens in the zoo after dark? Visit this year’s family-friendly highlight of Illuminate Adelaide (29 June-23 July) for a glimpse into the wonderful world of the wild. ‘Light Creatures’ is a mysterious moonlight spectacle that reveals the secrets of the animal kingdom as you’ve never experienced before in a not-to-be-missed winter event in Adelaide.
Unsound Club is an electrifying pop-up for late-night revellers at The Lab, where a dream DJ lineup evolves into the early morning hours, mixing cross-genre sounds and high-energy beats from 14-15 July 2023. Oh, and don't forget that Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival 2023 is back on this year! The barbie will be lit from July 15 to July 17, 2023.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 West Beach Parks, BIG4 The Bend Holiday Park, Marion Holiday Park & The Retreat at West Beach Parks
Don’t worry, the Tassie winter festivities don’t come to an end after Dark Mofo – it’s immediately followed by the Festival of Voices. Australia’s premier celebration of voices attracts thousands of singers, choristers and music lovers from across Australia and overseas to perform in Tasmania’s concert halls, theatres and public spaces.
‘From the depths and darkness of winter to the embers of fire and light,’ Tasmania’s annual Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival returns with a winter solstice event just 35 mins from Hobart. From 14-15 July, celebrate winter with roving circus performers, storytellers, pie-eating competitions and food and market stalls the whole family will love.
If winter calls for a cosy fire and a tipple of your favourite spirit, then Tassie’s annual Whiskey Week is for you. From 7-13 August, visit Hobart to sample award-winning whiskeys from over 40 distilleries across 15 events celebrating Tassie’s world-renowned whiskey and spirits in a tempting winter event not to be missed.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Hobart Airport Tourist Park
If you break out of hibernation for one winter festival near Perth this year, make it Cabin Fever. Round up your mates and head south from the 14-23 July 2023 to discover over 50 winter-themed events from Busselton to Margaret River, including the real deal South American wine and meat feasts, locally-inspired Bites, Beats & Liquid Treats event, wholesome steamy soups stalls, beers by the bonfire and so much more!
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Taunton Farm Margaret River, RAC Busselton Holiday Park & BIG4 Breeze Holiday Parks - Busselton
Like a field of light-up dreams beneath the canopy of trees, Kings Park is transformed into a world of light, colour and sound. Lightscape Perth reveals a labyrinth of giant luminous trees and ginormous flowers this June to create a glowing and enchanting winter event idea for all.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Perth Midland Tourist Park & BIG4 Geraldton Sunset Beach
Start winter with a bang at Bass In The Grass. With deliciously warm weather, no mud and guaranteed good vibes, the Top End’s coolest annual music festival event is set to sell out for the fourth year with sounds from Spacey Jane, Baker Boy, San Cisco and more.
Darwin Fringe Festival has it in spades with pop-up performances, roving artists, and emerging crafts. This year, don’t miss the Top End’s favourite open-access festival from 14-23 July 2023, with low-cost winter events happening all over the city and surrounds.
BIG4 nearby: BIG4 Howard Springs Holiday Park & BIG4 Hidden Valley Holiday Park.
Gearing up for your BIG break this winter? GO BIG and find a BIG4 Holiday Park here.
