The 6 best festivals in Hobart and Tasmania

February

What started out as a humble multicultural street party has transformed into an epic three-day summer extravaganza, celebrating the best of Tasmania’s cool climate produce, beer and wine. Almost 30,000 people flock to Launceston’s historic City Park to catch big-name music performances, fresh comedy acts and celebrity chef cooking demos. Come hungry and pick up a picnic’s worth of food from the stallholders selling everything from tempura mushrooms and bolognese spring rolls to chicken momos, blackberry ice cream and charcuterie boxes. Tassie’s finest wineries, breweries and distilleries are also on hand to keep you refreshed throughout the weekend.

June

Like MONA itself, Dark Mofo revels in the wacky and weird. But don’t dismiss it as just a festival for the cool kids. The best part of this darkly debaucherous festival is that it’s accessible to everyone, from fortuitous local families to Sydney theatre nerds to art kids from Melbourne’s inner north. Despite taking a break in 2024, Dark Mofo couldn’t let go of its popular Nude Solstice Swim or fiery Winter Feast – and we hope to see them return in full force in 2025, along with its usual program full of bold art, mysterious music, crazy performances and after-dark parties.

June/July

Warm up your vocal cords for Australia’s leading singing celebration, a highlight of Tasmania’s festival calendar since 2005. Inspired by the age-old tradition of gathering around a bonfire, this ten-day winter fest unites people through the power of song. You can sing your heart out with up to 5,000 people at The Big Sing bonfire, or belt out your favourite ballads at one of the more casual singalongs. If you’d rather leave the singing to the pros, there are plenty of concerts covering choral, contemporary and cabaret genres, all hosted in communities across the state.

June/July

In Australia, it seems every capital city has its own winter light festival, brought to life by illuminated artworks, epic laser shows and synchronised soundscapes. Bicheno Beams is Tasmania’s edition, lighting up the cruisy east-coast town – just a scenic two-hour drive from Hobart – with technicolour family-friendly festivities for three weeks. Rug up in your winter woollies, bring a thermos of hot chocolate and settle in for the dazzling light display, with two shows alternating each night.

August 

Three Hobartians walk into a bar. With Hobart boasting the largest proportion of scientists out of any Australian city, odds are at least one of them has a lab coat in their closet. That likelihood doubles if you’re in Tasmania during Beaker Street Festival – the nation’s top science and arts celebration held annually during National Science Week. Forget boring school science experiments or dull university lectures. Past festival highlights have included an Antarctic polar plunge and sauna experience, an innovative Future Foods dinner, and talks by Australia’s biggest scientists, including Dr Karl and Adam Spencer.

December/January 

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.