WOMADelaide, Fringe, and Writer's Week all surround the main Adelaide festival, running 28 February - 15 March 2020, and we've got the ultimate guide for your must-see events!
The main festival that surrounds all the other festivals, get your culture hit and see some of the best artists and musicians in Aus over three weeks of incredible, immersive experiences.
South Australian Tourism Commission
Rally your crew for a picnic and a free show courtesy of legend Tim Minchin! Bring a picnic rug and plenty of snacks to keep even the hangriest person laughing along to a hilarious night of music. This is a booze-free event, so keep your drinking to the hostel so you don’t lose your tinnies.
Australia’s public art elder, John Kaldor, has been forming stunning interactive artworks for decades, and he does not disappoint with this custom made doll house. If you’ve ever dreamed of a life-sized dolls house, make sure to head to Rundle Mall to wonder in awe at this strange and surreal home.
Immerse yourself in this exploration of how architecture shapes our experience throughout this cluster of exhibitions. You’ll find yourself caught up in the smells of the bush exploring Somewhere Other while you explore mysterious passages and discover unexpected views along the way in Olympia.
The funky sister to the main event, fringe is where you’ll find up-and-coming artists, cheap as chips tickets, and everything strange, magical and wonderful.
South Australian Tourism Commission
Truly a staple of the Australian diet, goon has been a companion in the best of times and the worst of times. Get boozy in the Tea Tree Gully Library with a ‘low-rent’ degustation dinner for just $35, with multiple courses of classic Aussie food paired with the perfect goon to match.
Missed the Dodecalis Lumarium in Sydney Festival? Experience Adelaide’s answer! The incredible inflatable dome will transport you to a place where time and colours shift and change meaning the longer you spend inside. Running the duration of the festival, the Luminarium is the perfect way to fill some spare time for a truly immersive experience.
A fully immersive and interactive race against time across the city, 80 Days gives you 80 minutes to solve puzzles, meet strange and exciting character, and race to meet the train before it departs with the final solution to the puzzle! You can play alone or with a group to follow the clues left across the Adelaide Rundle Mall with only your phone and a sense of adventure to guide you.
If you have an ISIC Card or a student card, you’ll get discounted tickets at this event, so make sure to have some ID on you to save that $$$ for a bevvy later!
Just in case two festivals running at the same time wasn’t enough to fill your schedule, the Adelaide Writer’s Week runs from 29 February – 5 March with some of the best writers in the country offering free activities across the city!
Arts Project Australia
If you haven’t heard of WOMADelaide, where have you been?! This iconic festival has a great line-up, as always, celebrating music arts and dance. Catch Aldous Harding, Briggs, Odette, Kate Miller-Heidke and so many more stunning acts over four stunning, inspiring days, and just a short trip from our Adelaide Central YHA.