Australians are happy and festive people, and the warm climate in Australia allows them to celebrate all year around. Here are some Australian celebrations, festivals and events that get Australians together at various times of the year.
Australian Festivals in January In JANUARY, it is summer and Australians celebrate Big Day Out - a huge open-air rock concert a day each in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast; Australian Country Music Festival in Tamworth in New South Wales; Midsumma Festival - Melbourne’s yearly gay festival, from Mid-January to mid-February; and Chinese New Year in Sydney. On 26 January which was the day when the First Fleet arrived from England in Sydney and Captain Arthur Phillip docked his boats in Circular Quay, Australians all over the country celebrate Australia Day.
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Australian Celebrations in February
FEBRUARY's festivities are International Surfing Competition on Bells Beach; Adelaide Festival from mid-February to mid-March in Adelaide; and Australian oldest cultural festival - Festival of Perth in mid-February to mid-March in Perth. There's the colourful gay festival of Sydney - Mardi Gras; and the Tropfest which is a short-film festival hold in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart in the last Sunday in February.
March Festivals in Australia In MARCH, autumn begins and we celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17 March with that green beer; but there are also the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne; Targa Tasmania - a six-day exotic car rally on 2000km of roads in Tasmania; and Ten Days on the Island - a Tasmanian cultural festival, celebrated in odd-numbered years.
Australian Celebrations in May In MAY, there are the Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes; the Italian Festival in Ingham; and the Sorry day on 26 May when Australians acknowledge the suffering of Aboriginal people from the last century’s Aboriginal stolen generation.
June Festivals in Australia
In JUNE, it is winter and we celebrate Darling Harbour Jazz Festival in Sydney (mid-June to mid-July); Aboriginal Dance Festival in Cape York (every second year); Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne Film Festival (both during two weeks in the middle of June).
Australian Celebrations in August AUGUST is often the coldest month in Australia when we celebrate City Surf Race in Sydney (which is a race from city to Bondi Beach on second Sunday in August); Shinju Matsuri Festival in Broome - a pearl festival in last weekend in August; Almond Blossom Festival in Mount Lofty; and the biggest rodeo in Australia - Mount Isa Rodeo last weekend in August in Mount Isa in the outback Queensland.
Australian Festivals in October In OCTOBER, the spring is truly here and we celebrate Lygon Street Fiesta - Melbourne’s Italian Festival; Tulip Festival in Bowral (first two weeks in October) in New South Wales; Leura Garden Festival in Blue Mountains; Melbourne Writers Festival; Melbourne Marathon (first weekend in October in Melbourne); Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba in Queensland; and the famous Floriade during the first three weeks in October in Canberra.
Australian Celebrations in November In NOVEMBER, it's getting really hot and Australians celebrate Rose Festival (first two weeks in November) in Benalla in Victoria; Great Mountain Race of Victoria (first Saturday in November) in Mansfield; Maldon Folk Festival (first weekend in November); and the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November.
December Festivals in Australia In DECEMBER, it's all about Christmas and the celebrations include Carols by Candlelight in the bigger cities on Christmas Eve; Australian Christmas Celebrations on Christmas Day; Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the Cricket Test Match in Melbourne on the Boxing Day (26 December); and the New Years Celebrations all over the country, but one to recommend is the New Years Eve in Sydney Harbour with fireworks on the Harbour Bridge and lots of picnickers having a drink and watching the fireworks from surrounding parks.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
