What's on in Spring
From blooming tulips to a festival dedicated to the humble squid, make your way to a seasonal event celebrating the island’s art, food, landscapes, and live music. Spring in Tasmania brings the promise of flowing wine, fresh air and, of course, indulgent seafood.
Great Eastern Wine Week
9-17 September 2022
Learn the stories of innovation and hard work behind the region’s winemakers, growers and producers at Great Eastern Wine Week.
Wine Week’s 60 boutique events include sip-and-shuck tastings with Gala Estate Vineyard and Melshell Oyster Shack, a long-table lunch at Freycinet Marine Farm, gourmet grazing with grape ‘n’ grain at Ironhouse Tasmania, game meat cooking at Twamley Farm, and a degustation feast of east coast produce at Craigie Knowe Vineyard.
Devil's Corner Cellar Door. Photo: Pete Harmsen
Junction Arts Festival
14-18 September 2022
The island’s flourishing creatives are set to make their annual pilgrimage to Launceston for Junction Arts Festival. At this community celebration, people of all ages and interests can express themselves authentically and without pretension.
This year’s northern fest is jampacked with acts, from celebrated Indigenous soul singer Emma Donovan & the Putbacks to Australian comedian Josh Earl. Audiences can connect with Tasmanian acts and artists including Collision by state dance company Tasdance, dance music event Klub Fruity curated by Priya Vunaki, and Tasmanian Aboriginal showcase tunapri palawa by Caleb Nichols-Mansell.
The fun rages from morning until night over the festival’s five days.
Junction Arts Festival. Photo: Jacob Collings
Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival
2-30 October 2022
It’s been a century since legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie visited Tasmania. The milestone will be commemorated at Australia’s southernmost literary celebration, the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival. Past iterations of the festival have brought other notable creatives like actress Marta Dusseldorp and best-selling author Tara Moss to the Huon Valley.
The festival’s free exhibition of writing and storytelling is titled Tasmania: A Century of Mystery, celebrating 100 years of Tasmanian crime fiction in honour of the late, great Christie. Book events, dinners, professional development masterclasses and waterfront writers’ retreats round out the program.
Agatha Christie. Photo: Popperfoto/Getty Images
Wynyard Tulip Festival
8 October 2022
A vibrant day of festivities will descend upon the town of Wynyard and nearby Table Cape Tulip Farm, where dense rows of colourful flowers stretch towards the picturesque coastline in Tasmania’s north west. This spring marks the 30th anniversary of the beloved Wynyard Tulip Festival. Expect live music, entertainment, food, market stalls and fireworks.
The very first iteration of the festival saw news reporters dub Wynyard 'Tulip Town', and the moniker has stuck. Tulip season is now embraced through the region's Spring Loaded Program that will see special events and offerings throughout the month of October.
Table Cape Tulip Farm. Photo: Tony Crehan
Blooming Tasmania Flower and Garden Show
8 October 2022
The richly preserved UNSECO World Heritage-listed site Woolmers Estate and its famous rose garden began life in the early 1800s. What endures today is an expertly landscaped property that, come springtime, bursts alive with delightful colour and fragrance.
Head along to the northern Tasmanian estate in Longford for the annual Blooming Tasmania Flower and Garden Show. Admire the displays of floristry, landscape design and horticulture pulled together by dedicated green thumbs. Buy gardening supplies, watch demonstrations and learn how to bring the flower show back home with you.
Woolmers Estate. Photo: Tourism Australia
Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival
19-23 October 2022
A triumphant return is in store for the Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival following two years of COVID-19 cancellations. Among the line-up of performers will be Australia’s world-famous Goldner String Quartet. The quartet has filled concert halls around the world and was a finalist for the BBC Music Magazine’s Chamber Music Award. Joining the quartet will be one of the country’s most globally esteemed classical musicians, pianist Piers Lane AO.
A rich program of music will fill the many charming historical venues in Tasmania’s northern midlands. The festival doubles as a fun excuse to explore the picturesque region, with the program moving from Falls Pavilion in Longford to the quaint, historic Evandale, then the atmospheric Christ Church in Longford, before finally arriving at Westbury’s Culzean garden.
Christ Church Longford. Photo: Mel de Ruyter
Spring Bay Squid Festival
25-27 October 2022
A floating audio-visual 'Squid Theory' installation and the family-friendly 'Squid Day Out' are just some highlights at the upcoming inaugural Spring Bay Squid Festival. The festival will celebrate the finest fare from Tasmania’s east-coast waters – particularly the mysterious squid.
Portside town Triabunna will come alive with flavours of the sea, art, science and entertainment during this three-day event. The festival will showcase eclectic performances, squid-ink cocktails and aquatic canapes. See the full program upon its release in October.
Spring Bay Squid Festival launch. Photo: Alistair Bett
Effervescence Tasmania Sparkling Wine Festival
11-13 November 2022
World-class, crisp, complex and notably bubbly, only the best sparkling wine will be front and centre at this year’s Effervescence Tasmania Sparkling Wine Festival. Producers appear by invitation only at this high-quality event, which last year attracted some 1200 attendees to its sold-out dinners and masterclasses. The weekend of wine will include the highlight comedy event Grapes of Mirth – a wine-fuelled Sunday of side-splitting laughs, courtesy of some of the country’s best talent.
Effervescence Tasmania will take place at the picturesque Josef Chromy Wines in Relbia, just southeast of Launceston.
Joseph Chromy Wines, Relbia. Photo: Andrew Wilson
Stanley and Tarkine Forage Festival
11-20 November 2022
On the remote, rugged north-west coast, a resilient agricultural industry thrives alongside Australia's largest cool-temperate rainforest.
Journey to the fresh and fertile north west for the inaugural Stanley and Tarkine Forage Festival. Learn how to bottle your own kimchi with Korean-born Tasmanian Sue Glynn, take a wellness retreat into the ancient rainforest of takayna / the Tarkine, shuck and savour oysters directly from the wild, and meet the makers of the region’s best wine, beef, gin, abalone and other world-class fare.
The new 10-day festival showcases a region naturally graced with rich soils and exceptionally fresh air. The event is supported by grant funding under the Recovery for Regional Tourism program.
takayna / Tarkine. Photo: Rob Burnett
Please note that event information is current as at 13 September 2022, please check the event’s website for the most up to date information.
Visit: discovertasmania.com.au