Ten Out-of-Town Spring Events Worth Planning a Weekend Away Around

Bundanon Trust’s annual Siteworks is back, bringing together a motley crew of environmentalists, scientists and contemporary artists for an unusual weekend. Held over a full day and night on Saturday, September 29 at Bundanon Homestead (former home and studio of iconic Australian artist Arthur Boyd), you can spend the daylight hours exploring the festivities on offer and then camp overnight on the historic property.

So what exactly will you be doing? This year’s theme is ‘micro’, so select artists have created site-specific works exploring the miniature and microscopic, turning the Homestead into a giant hive filled with audio installations, dance works, artworks made with rocks from the Shoalhaven River and an installation made with Turkish sugar cubes. If science is more your thing, head to one of the talks hosted by ABC broadcaster Robbie Buck, where you’ll hear talks from farmers, archaeologists, Indigenous artists and a computational biomolecular modeller. There’ll also be live music, miniature painting workshops, food stalls and bars.

Entry is $12 and an extra $10 per person for camping. If you don’t have a car, there will be a shuttle running to and from Nowra bus terminal and Bomaderry Station for five bucks return. It’s eccentric but guaranteed to be one of the most original weekends this year.

Wollongong will be rocking its smaller-than-Sydney vibes in a big way when the Yours & Owls music festival takes over Stuart Park on September 29 and 30. This intimate two-day festival is known for its impressively curated lineup combining local Aussie talent and handpicked international bands in a weekend that rivals any capital city shindig.

Though the festival is still in its infancy, Yours & Owls continues to pull some big names — the 2018 festival will be headlined by Angus & Julia Stone, Peking Duck and Alison Wonderland. The rest of the lineup reads like a roll-call of Triple J up-and-comers, with Middle Kids, Jungle Giants, D.D Dumbo, Alex the Astronaut and Didirri all on there. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, June 5 — and while we don’t know how much they’ll be yet, last year the price was quite reasonable for a two-day ticket. Camping is available too, so make a weekend out of it with our weekender’s guide to Wollongong.

Australia’s stunning flower festival Floriade is back for another colourful year. Hosted in Canberra’s Commonwealth Park from September 15 to October 14, the festival will this year be themed around ‘pop culture’. Festival-goers will get up-close to an intricate array of retro-inspired flowerbeds showcasing many of our icons from music, film and literature, including Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe. And entry is free.

The headline event is NightFest, Floriade’s after-dark experience which, for five special nights from September 26–30, sees the park come to life with dazzling illuminated flowerbeds. To match, there’s an exciting cultural program with food and drink stalls, an open-air cinema and stand-up comedy from the likes of Arj Barker and Akmal Saleh, not to mention a host of live music performances including Caiti Baker and Bowie Unzipped, featuring Jeff Duff and Kate Miller-Heidke. Tickets to the after-dark event will set you back $31.70 a pop.

For dog-lovers, October 14 sees the return of the popular Dog’s Day Out, which this year wants you to deck yourself, and your pup, out like the superhero your furry friend thinks you are. Meanwhile, green thumbs can refresh their skills at The Greenhouse, which hosts a range of creative gardening workshops, including kokedama and terrarium making classes. And for those looking to just have a tranquil layabout in the park, Sundays are your chance with the ‘Jazz in the Park’ sessions providing a peaceful soundtrack to the serene surrounds.

Simple Pleasures Camping Co. is returning to the grounds of Oberon’s Mayfield Garden for its next luxurious eco-friendly camping retreat. After popping up in March this year, Glamping in the Garden will return this spring, from September 21 through November 17, to one of the world’s largest privately owned cool climate gardens.

Located three hours’ west of Sydney’s CBD, the gardens are seriously impressive and include an 80-metre waterfall, a walled kitchen garden and a six-acre water garden — plus a bluestone chapel, aviary and rose garden. Bookings include passes to explore the sprawling 160-acre gardens, with exclusive nighttime access for glamping guests. There’s plenty to do apart from moseying around, including romantic canoe rides, interactive garden mazes, tours and workshops, with Spring Festival also on October 13–28. The campsite is separate into two 15-tent sites: the family-friendly area if you’ve got kids in tow and a more intimate adults-only section situated next to the picturesque obelisk pond.

The bell-shaped tents are fitted with queen mattresses, lavish rugs, bedside tables and solar lighting. The experience also comes complete with towels, an outdoor table and chairs to sit at, lanterns and torches, along with on-site bathrooms and showers, which are exclusive to the glamping area. Bookings also include a ‘paddock and garden-to-plate’ barbecue menu for two, with 80 percent of the produce sourced on-site and 20 percent handpicked from local suppliers. The cook-it-yourself menu includes steaks, marinated chicken, a fresh vegetable platter and vegan salad, with all cookware provided and communal barbecues and alfresco dining area available on the campground.

The annual Orange Wine Festival is back for its 13th run, with ten days of events highlighting the region’s sophisticated winemaking from October 12 through October 21. Patrons can expect wine shows, tastings, dinners and educational workshops, all of which showcase the rich diversity of Orange’s rich culinary culture.

This year’s packed-out program includes over 90 events, which are open to all wine lovers, from the connoisseurs to those still getting to know their palate. The region is known for its cool climate which creates wines with bright fruit and deep, balanced flavours, making them some of the best drops in the country.

While there are events on every day of the two weeks, you shouldn’t miss the festival’s flagship Night Market on October 19 — over 50 food stalls and wine bars will pop up in in Orange’s Robertson Park for a night of wining and dining under the country sky. If you want to try as many wines as possible, the Orange Wine Show Tasting on October 12 will give you a taste of 200 wines for a reasonable $60. Even with all the events, you won’t have any time to sit still — the region is home to 80 vineyards and over 30 cellar doors. We recommend organising a driver so you can drink it all.

Each spring, the Southern Highlands Food & Wine Festival shows off the best of the region’s diverse offering of eats and drinks, last year pulling a record 8800 punters and more local producers than ever before. For 2018, the festival returns to Bowral’s Bradman Oval on September 29 and 30, bringing with it a fresh lineup of cool climate winemakers, artisan producers, pop-up food experiences and acclaimed Aussie chefs. Best of all, it’s happening just over an hour’s drive out of Sydney.

Here, you’ll have the chance to get acquainted with some of that famously good Southern Highlands vino, enjoying free tastings in your keepsake festival glass throughout the day. Last year’s outing showcased wines from the likes of the award-winning Rotherwood, Berrima’s Bendooley Estate, and the sustainability-focused Tractorless Vineyard, along with other liquid goodies from producers like Southern Highlands Brewing Co, Joadja Distillery and Pomologist Cider. Alongside the booze, expect chef demonstrations putting the region’s top local produce to the test, food stalls galore and a swag of live entertainment throughout the day.

There’s escaping the city for an afternoon, and then there’s driving 20 minutes down a dirt road to a secluded river and hopping into a canoe. In this canoe, it’s quiet, very still. The Kangaroo Valley’s bushland surrounds you, ascending on either side of the waterway, creating a landscape that’s punctuated only by the occasional kingfisher flapping by or a solitary trout breaking the surface with a small splash. And I haven’t even mentioned the best bit: this canoe is filled with wine. And snacks. So as you’re floating down the river — minimal paddling is necessary — you’ll be able to pop a bottle of local sparkling and tuck into a few canapés.

As you might have guessed, this isn’t an ordinary off-you-go oar-bearing experience. This one is part of Wildfest, the returning three-day celebration of the food, drink and wilderness of NSW’s Southern Highlands. Led by experienced paddler Travis Frenay, the Canoes, Champagne and Canapés experience will lead you along the Kangaroo River in a custom-built double canoe, through the sunken forest and past a convict-built sandstone wall. Travis has an insane amount of knowledge on the area and will be able to answer pretty much anything you throw at him.

There will be three sessions a day (8.30am, 11.30am and 2.30pm) on October 5, 6 and 7. The whole thing sets off from Beehive Point and takes around two to three hours. Prices are on the heftier side at $195 each, but includes all food, wine and equipment. Plus, this part of the Valley isn’t highly accessible for people without their own gear, so it’s a great (and bloody delightful) way to explore the area on the water. Note: if weather conditions suggest your rusty old sedan won’t make it there and back, the organisers may provide transport down the dirt road. But if it’s dry, you’re all good. It’s part of the adventure.

Jackson Pollock’s Blue poles (1952), Sol LeWitt’s Wall drawing No. 380 a-d (1982) and Jon Schueler’s The first day (1956), as well as works by Andy Warhol, James Turrell, Yoko Ono and Mark Rothko will all be available for your viewing pleasure this spring.

The world-famous works will take over Canberra’s National Gallery of Australia for American Masters 1940–1980, a free blockbuster exhibition showing more than 150 works by over 70 artists. Every piece comes from within the NGA, which impressively holds one of biggest collections of post-war American art outside of the US. Most purchases were made back in the 1970s and 80s, under inaugural director James Mollison — before the gallery’s 1982 opening — and, at the time, were considered rather controversial.

The show takes you on a chronological journey, beginning with abstract expressionism, which spawned Pollock, Rothko, Willem De Kooning and Frank Stella, before moving onto its many progeny, from colour field and pop to photo-realism and conceptual art.

The event that floods Instagram feeds with thousands of vibrant flowers has returned to the Southern Highlands. Now in its 58th year, the annual Tulip Time festival features over a 115,000 tulips planted throughout Bowral’s Corbett Gardens and the surrounding Shire.

If the stunning sight of a tens of thousands of the bulbous flowers isn’t quite enough for you, you’ll be happy to know there’s heaps of stuff happening at the garden throughout the two weeks, which is located a 90-minute drive southwest of Sydney. For the food enthusiastic, we would highly recommend pencilling in a visit to the Festival Marketplace. Here, you’ll find a selection of fresh food from area — including hot mini doughnuts, artisanal ice cream and woodfired pizzas — among potted tulips to take home.

Wiseman’s Ferry is a teeny, tiny village perched on the banks of the mighty Hawkesbury River, surrounded by national park and with a population of just 220. The settlement gets its name from one Solomon Wiseman, an ex-convict who, in 1827, organised the first river crossing by ferry. And his service still runs today.

A weekend at Wiseman’s usually involves hours lolling by, on and in the river; pretty walks through nearby Dharug and Yengo National Parks; a beer or two at Wiseman’s Inn and perusing paintings by local artists. On top of that, the annual Return To Rio rolls into town in November for three days to add even more reason to make your way to the idyllic village.

This year, electronic music big name Sasha will be taking the stage alongside Lee Burridge and Hoj, who come from sets at Burning Man. In the mood for disco? Be sure to check out Greg Wilson and Late Nite Tuff Guy as they create a tropical dance town by the pool. Plus, when you’re not furiously making shapes, you can take a break with crazy golf, water skiing and speed dating. Camping costs an extra $70, but you can turn things up a notch — both glamping houseboats are available for the weekend.