The 19 best food and drink festivals in Australia

March 15–24, 2024

Need a good excuse for a culinary road trip? Mark your calendar for this ten-day celebration of all things food and drink, which causes a stir in Melbourne and regional Victoria every March. Featuring a star-studded line-up of international chefs and local food heroes, the 2024 iteration will offer a smorgasbord of 300 events, including bake sales, celebrity sausage sizzles, pop-up dinners and the festival’s signature World’s Longest Lunch.

April 1–30, 2024

The idyllic coastal city of Newcastle comes alive in April each year for this epic month-long food and drink festival, with events and shenanigans happening every day of the week. From cheese and wine pairings to live gigs and schmick dinners held in secret locations, the line-up features events for food and wine lovers at all price points (and hunger levels). In 2023, more than 80 local businesses were involved with Newcastle Food Month – including favourites Humbug, Flotilla, Customs House Hotel, Jana, Harrison’s, Arno Deli and Elementa – with organisers Louise and Gus Maher keen for it to one day be Australia’s biggest food festival.

April 5–15, 2024

With its country charm, cool climate and boutique winemakers, Orange has risen through the ranks to claim its place as a go-to wine destination. Time your trip to coincide with one of the region’s popular events, Orange F.O.O.D Week. which is also Australia’s longest-running regional food festival. More than 10,000 meals are enjoyed and 6,000 bottles of wine are popped across 100 events each year, including at the Sampson Street Long Lunch, four-kilometre forage to the most well-known Orange vineyards and F.O.O.D Week Night market.

April 2024 – April 2025

Jake Kellie, the seriously talented chef and owner of South Australia’s award-winning open-flame diner Arkhé, is teaming up with 12 of the world’s best chefs (and his mates) for a year-long dinner series. He'll host one event every month at his Adelaide restaurant, with big names like Vaughan Mabee of Amisfield in New Zealand, Rosheen Kaul of Melbourne’s Etta and James Lowe of Lyle’s, London getting amongst the flaming action. So, if you’ve been looking for a sign to visit South Australia’s capital (the vineyards! The beautiful beaches!), this is it.

April 25–27, 2024

If you’re a foodie with a passion for the deep blue, then add Shore Leave to your travel bucket list. Taking place in Geraldton, this ultimate seafood festival celebrates all things ocean and adventure, with more than 30 events hosted across five jam-packed days. From the iconic Abrolhos Island long table lunch and Mid-West Paddock to Plate culinary experience, to tours, markets and music, there’s almost too much to see, eat and do.

May 2–12, 2024

Peppered over WA’s Great Southern region, this premier regional foodie festival fuses incredible flavours, fine wines and otherworldly landscapes. Dive into more than 40 culinary experiences spread across 11 glorious days, with everything from lavish long lunches and gourmet degustations to premium pairing events and bustling community markets.

May 3–12, 2024

Prepare your palates for the country’s longest-running eating and drinking festival, which returns to South Australia from May 3 to 12. This ultimate gastronomic paradise spotlights the nation’s favourite culinary stars and local producers across 150 events in all 12 regions. From full-day degustations to regional pop-ups and hands-on cooking classes, this festival will be one your taste buds won't forget.

May 17–25, 2024

Located on the banks of the Ord River, Kununurra is the launch pad of a cultural experience distinct to WA’s precious Kimberley region. The annual Ord Valley Muster is the biggest festival in the region and celebrates the North West’s vast and dramatic landscapes with culinary, creative and cultural events. Rally the squad and adventure on down for comedy in the park, dinner under the stars, the top-end mustering rodeo, a yoga boat ride and more.

May 17–26, 2024

Get to know one of the best vineyards in one of South Australia’s wine capitals at this boozy festival celebrating all things vinous. Returning in 2024 for its 40th anniversary, this is the oldest food and wine festival in Australia and is split across three stages. Taste the fanciest drops over the ‘Festival Weekend’ with gourmet wine lunches, meet the maker tasting sessions and cellar door degustations; partake in wine masterclasses, art classes and paddock-to-plate experiences during the ‘Breathe It In’ midweek program, and send it off in style on the final ‘Land of the Long Lunch’ weekend.

May 17–26, 2024

When this Byron Bay foodie festival first popped up in 2022, it took what was already one of the regional foodie capitals of NSW to whole new heights – transforming the region into a buzzing hub with supper clubs, art installations and wellness classes. The ten-day ode to the region’s counterculture is coming back to the Northern Rivers in May 2024, this time with a boosted program, including an opening party at The Farm Byron Bay, Arabian-themed cabaret shows, a long seafood lunch at the iconic Raes on Wategos, an ode to autumnal produce at the acclaimed farm-to-table eatery Harvest, a free live-music event at beachside pizzeria and bar Treehouse, and a tropical-themed closing party at North Byron Hotel.

May 24 – June 15, 2024

Soon, Sydney will become a sparkly city on steroids as the Southern Hemisphere's largest multi-platform festival lights up the sky for 23 nights in winter. While Vivid initially began as a light show, over the last few years it’s transformed into so much more, with the introduction of Vivid Food. In 2024, there are three parts to Vivid Food: Vivid Residence, Vivid Chef Series and Vivid Fire Kitchen, which all will tie back to the 2024 festival’s theme of ‘humanity’, highlighting food as a fundamental part of the human experience and how it brings people from all over the world together.

May 24–26, 2024

Kakadu – home to the world’s oldest living culture – hosts the ultimate Indigenous bush foods and culture festival, which has been 65,000 years in the making. The star of the show is a Bowali Under the Stars – a four-course dinner prepared by renowned bush-food chefs Paul Iskov of Fervor and Ben Tyler of Kakadu Kitchen, using seasonal ingredients foraged locally in Kakadu National Park. You can also learn from traditional owners at other events, including ranger-guided bush tucker walks, ‘croc and canapé’ cruises, and ground oven feasts.

May 30 – June 2, 2024

Experience the best of this jewel of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at Noosa’s annual eating and drinking festival. It’s been a firm Noosa favourite for more than 20 years, bringing some of Australia’s favourite celebrity chefs to the beachside town, including Adriano Zumbo, Gary Mehigan and Khanh Ong. Five local restaurants will collaborate for the 2024 signature Long Lunch, which stretches end-to-end along Noosa Junction’s Arcadia Street. Beer and cider fans aren’t forgotten with plenty of brewers demonstrating their crafts, plus sundowner sessions at The Beach Garden pop-up, produce markets and interactive masterclasses. The Festival Village buzzes day and night with live entertainment, so don’t forget your dancing shoes.

June 1–30, 2024

From the small country village of Beechmont to the secluded hinterlands of Tamborine Mountain, this month-long food fiesta hosts more than 120 delicious events. It’s backed by some of the biggest names in the local hospo scene, who will cook up stellar paddock-to-plate experiences, including long lunches, guest chef degustations, food tours, and growers’ markets. Get in quick if you want to attend the famous Kalfresh Carrot Day in Australia’s carrot-growing capital. The carrot ice cream from Moffatt’s Fresh Produce is a must-try.

June 28–30, 2024

Celebrate winter's most delicious harvest at this three-day festival held in the heart of Australian truffle country in Manimup, a 3.5-hour drive south of Perth. Truffles are of course at the centre of all weekend activities, including candlelit long table lunches laden with freshly harvested shavings of ‘black gold’, intimate fireside cooking masterclasses, truffle dog demonstrations and truffle hunts in orchards. However, the festival also celebrates 50 other kinds of the region's most prized produce with an undercover marketplace, free cooking demonstrations and wine tastings.

July 12–13, 2024

A lot of apples come of out Tasmania's Huon Valley, like A LOT. So much so that this area just west of Hobart runs a festival each year to awaken the cider apple trees in a traditional custom called wassailing. The process involves going to the orchards, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to chase away the evil spirits and ensure a good harvest. These days, while locals and visitors still celebrate the custom at the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival, the annual event is very much a festival for foodies (with plenty of music and cider).

July 26 – August 4, 2024

The Sunshine State is good for more than just glittering beaches and tropical rainforests. It’s the stage for one of Queensland’s premier culinary festivals, The Curated Plate, which dishes up 90 food and drink events over 10 days. The main courses for this year’s program are the Sunny Coast Breweries and Distilleries Festivals by Gabs on the banks of the Maroochy River; the return of the ever-popular Sunshine Coast Asian Food Festival; and a special Chefs in Conversation discussion hosted by celebrity cook Hayden Quinn.

August 8–11, 2024

Four days of feasting by the beach with some of Australia’s leading celebrity chefs? Sounds like our type of holiday. For its eighth season, Taste Port Douglas is stretching its foodie festivities from Port Douglas to Cairns with masterclasses, long seaside luncheons, cocktail soirees and tropical parties, all backdropped by the reefs and the rainforests of tropical Far North Queensland. The hottest ticket in town is always for ‘A Night of Fire’, which takes place under the flickering candlelights at Flames of the Forest, Australia’s only rainforest dining experience.

December 27, 2024 – January 6, 2025

It seems everyone’s talking about Tasmania these days. One way to get amongst the best of the Apple Isle is by attending the much-lauded (and free!) Taste of Summer festival, which takes over Hobart waterfront each year. More than 100,000 visitors eat, drink and dance their way around the event, which is the oldest and largest food and drink festival in all of Oz. Along with fine dining events, cooking demos and masterclasses, there are also more than 100 market stalls showcasing 100 per cent Tasmanian delicacies like seafood, mushrooms, cheese, cool-climate wines and craft beers.