Top 10 annual Adelaide festivals

By Carla Grossetti
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Eat, drink, dance and be merry at one of Adelaide’s many vibrant festivals.

Adelaide is known as Australia’s Festival City thanks to its calendar of standout events. From festivals featuring music and art to flagship food and wine festivals and hybrid formats that celebrate all of the above, here are 10 Adelaide festivals that will brighten your days and nights.

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival

This boutique counter-cultural festival, which first popped up in a grungy back alley in Melbourne in 2004, encourages up-and-coming and established musicians ­– from psycho-rock guitar bands to top-shelf electro DJS — to reclaim the streets of Radelaide. Expect alt acts such as the Pist Idiots, Ocean Alley, Tones and I and Spacey Jane to find their groove at the festival, traditionally held in the historic Hart’s Mill precinct in Port Adelaide.

Laneway Festival.

Laneway Festival celebrates the alternative music scene.

Adelaide Fringe Festival

Expect to gasp and giggle your way around the annual Adelaide Fringe Festival, where the kaleidoscopic program ranges from grungy, visceral theatre to circus, visual arts, comedy, classical and contemporary music, workshops and more.

A woman throwing fire at Adelaide Fringe Festival

Awe-inspiring performances at Adelaide Fringe. (South Australian Tourism Commission)

All up, there are about 6000 artists performing everything from across 300 venues all over South Australia. Rove through the festival and you will delight at everything from drumming circles to family puppet shows, physical theatre and Indigenous dance.

Adelaide Fringe Festival

Adelaide streets come alive during the Fringe Fest.

Tasting Australia

High up on many a foodie’s bucket list, Tasting Australia has evolved to become Australia’s premier eating and drinking festival, with fabulous food and wine, hands-on workshops, exclusive dinners and inspired feasts. As well as reflecting the diverse cultural heritage of Adelaide’s citizens, the indulgent 10-day adventure will also be your passport to farm tours, tastings and long-table lunches that celebrate the talents of local chefs, winemakers and producers.

People enjoying food at Tasting Australia in Adelaide

Food and wine lovers unite in their shared obsession at Tasting Australia. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

WOMADelaide

The South Australian capital is transformed each year for WOMADelaide, which draws thousands to appreciate its richly varied program of music, aerial theatre, dance, film, art and culture.

Concert goers in the crowd at WOMADelaide

Music is just one part of the multifaceted festival that is WOMADelaide. (Image:Saige Prime)

The annual festival, which has been celebrating cultural and creative diversity since its inception in 1992, is traditionally held across seven stages in Botanic Park. WOMADelaide is one of six WOMAD festivals that are part of a global circuit.

Kids at WOMADelaide

Kids and adults alike can enjoy WOMADelaide. (Image: Megan Crabb)

Groovin the ‘Moo

This annual autumn musical festival has established itself as one of the classical Aussie music events. Expect acts such as Ruby Fields, Lime Cordiale, G Flip and Hockey Dad to headline the festival which is as much about wearing eye-popping and out-there outfits as it is about groovin’ with your moo crew to gigs ranging from electronic to indie rock. The festival is traditionally held in Adelaide Showground. The festival did not go ahead in 2024 but fans are hopeful it will return in 2025.

Groovin The Moo

Australia’s favourite regional music festival.

Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival

The Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival draws together a varied guest list of beer and barbecue vendors who take up residence at Adelaide Showground each year for the annual event.

Close up of glass and guide at Adelaide Beer and BBQ fest

The Beer and BBQ Festival shines the spotlight on one of the great pairings in life. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

With more than 100 brewers, cideries, distillers and winemakers in attendance, you can enjoy a tutored tasting or two and then make a beeline for the best-looking barbecue ribs. The three-day festival also features live music.

100 brewers, cideries, distillers and winemakers convene.

Adelaide Festival

Let the good times roll at Adelaide Festival, which has been around 60-plus years now. Enjoy an eclectic line-up of dance theatre, contemporary and classical music, striking visual arts displays and award-winning writers at the Adelaide Writers’ Week event, which falls under the festival’s umbrella. Adelaide comes alive for the festival, which provides a platform for emerging artists and commissions innovative new works.

Fire displays at Adelaide Festival.

Fire displays at Adelaide Festival.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival

Cue your jazz hands for the largest cabaret festival in the world. Conceptualised in 2001, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival shines the spotlight on creative excellence, highlighting the best local, national and – where possible – international artists through a dynamic program of boundary-pushing performances to suit all ages.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival

Cabaret comes alive.

Cellar Door Fest

What better way to sample world-class South Australian wines than under one roof at Cellar Door Fest, which brings together some of the State’s best wineries, breweries and distilleries for this annual three-day event. Taste South Australian Grenache from Yalumba, sip on big, bold reds from the Barossa and combine cheese and cider at the festival, which also features local musicians ranging from fiddle-forward folk rockers to indie artists.

Sample South Australian wines at Cellar Door.

South Australian Living Arts Festival

The South Australian Living Arts Festival is one of the most vibrant arts events in Adelaide. Established in 1998 as a way to promote and pay homage to South Australian visual artists, the festival organisers continue to celebrate the diverse creative practises of SA artists with cutting-edge programs that keep the brain cells firing.

Adding colour to the festival are visual artists that use collage, assemblage, painting, photography and video to produce their works.

Planning a trip to Adelaide? Read more travel tips and itineraries in our Adelaide travel guide.

Carla Grossetti avoided accruing a HECS debt by accepting a cadetship with News Corp. at the age of 18. After completing her cadetship at The Cairns Post Carla moved south to accept a position at The Canberra Times before heading off on a jaunt around Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America. During her career as a journalist, Carla has successfully combined her two loves – of writing and travel – and has more than two decades experience switch-footing between digital and print media. Carla’s CV also includes stints at delicious., The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, where she specialises in food and travel. Carla also based herself in the UK where she worked at Conde Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times’ Travel section before accepting a fulltime role as part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK. Carla and has been freelancing for Australian Traveller for more than a decade, where she works as both a writer and a sub editor.
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This new bathhouse in Adelaide is focused on community

    By Kassia Byrnes
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    Adelaide just got a new bathhouse, and it’s all about community and connection.

    It’s almost a rule that every year I get further from 30, the more all I want to do with my free time is bathe like a capybara in naturally hot water. In fact, I type this as someone who is about to take a long weekend with friends to do just that. So the news of bathhouse Aalto Community opening in September in Adelaide just means I have another wellness trip to plan.

    Naming it a community wasn’t a mistake. The aim is “accessible, affordable and communal contrast therapy” that focuses on being a community, rather than an exclusive wellness club. To further this, it’s deliberately drop-in friendly. And the inspiration behind this motto? Four friends founded this place, who all had a shared experience in professional sports fields. They felt that spaces outside of work were vital to slow down, recover, reset and connect.

    Aalto Community adelaide reception desk

    Pop in for relaxation and connection. (Image: Jack Fenby)

    For the last couple of years, I’ve been based in Western Australia playing football for the Fremantle Football Club,” said owner Tome Emmett. “During my time over there, I first began to use saunas and ice baths for my athletic recovery due to the physical demands of being a full-time professional athlete. Eventually, I found myself returning to these spaces – not for the physical recovery benefits, but to get out of my social bubble and socialise with other people.”

    Emmet explained how the Aalto Community was born after he stopped playing for Fremantle and began to reflect on his wellness journey.

    “On one end, I had stage four lymphoma at 16. On the other hand, I ended up becoming a full-time professional athlete. [These experiences] sparked my passion for social wellness, and in turn, Aalto was born.”

    Aalto Community adelaide ice baths

    The bathhouse focuses on communal hot and cold therapy spaces. (Image: Jack Fenby)

    Inside, discover Adelaide’s first social contrast therapy space. A modern, open-plan centre (perfect for promoting that connection element. Here, it’s about hot-cold therapy, so Finnish-style saunas and cold plunge pools are the order of the day. Plus communal spaces to relax in between therapies.

    “We deliberately made the space feel industrial – with bare concrete and exposed copper piping – but then softened it with over 150 plants,” Emmet says of the bathhouse decor choices. “The space is open plan with just some guidelines on the wall. That way, people can socialise and not be restricted to time slots in either the sauna or ice bath.”

    “Sitting in the sauna forces you to be present and talk to the person next to you to pass time,” shared Emmett.

    “We also have a big emphasis on our tea and lounge area, so people can stay for a little while longer, or have a cup of tea while they wait for their friend to arrive.”

    Aalto Community adelaide interior

    The bathhouse wants to promote community. (Image: Jack Fenby)

    The Details

    Price: $35 per entry, $150 for a five-pack or $60 per week for a membership.
    Location: Unit 1/72 King William Road, Goodwood, SA 5034
    Website: aaltocommunity.com.au