GLOW

Overview

The Gold Coast is already known as the glitter strip, but from Thursday, August 1 to Saturday, August 3, it'll be extra dazzling. Forget the shine of the southeast Queensland spot's many beachside high-rises — who needs those kinds of lights when there's immersive luminous mazes to walk through, high-powered laser beams to see and radiant inflatable horses to marvel at?

All of the above form part of GLOW, a free, three-day, after-dark festival that's brightening up HOTA, Home of the Arts with creatures and colours of the night. Featuring works from both Australian and international artists, it'll also liven up your winter, because frolicking through projection-filled interactive play spaces and sculpting neon critters out of glowing wires will do that.

Highlights include Dan Acher's Borealis, which'll change the colour of the sky into the hues of the northern lights; Proud Horses, which sees France's Cie Des Quidams let luminous animals loose; and Meagan Streader's Parallelism, which combines light and sculpture into an all-encompassing installation.

Or, you can wander through the bubble garden, listen to the HOTA choir, grab something to eat from a food truck or nab a drink from a bar — while this is an all-ages, family-friendly affair, it's also licensed.

GLOW runs from 5–9pm between Thursday, August 1 to Saturday, August 3.