Your guide to the best events near Brisbane

The 2026 festival will focus on raising funds for cuddle beds in hospitals across south-east Queensland. Tickets go on sale in March.

Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

Now in its 77th year, Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a Queensland institution, and Australia’s longest-running floral event.

The festival, from late September through to early October, will celebrate the spring flowers with more than 150,000 in bloom across the city. It also offers live music, food events, carnival rides, a paw parade, and more.

Mary Poppins Festival

Held in Maryborough for one day only each year, the Mary Poppins Festival will be held on July 5.

P. L. Travers, who wrote the Mary Poppins series, was born in Maryborough in 1899. The festival began in 1999 as a morning tea in celebration of what would have been the author’s 100th birthday.

Festival favourite events include chimney sweeping, nanny races, and the grand parade.

Admission is free, though individual events may incur a charge, and street parking is available near the event.

Abbey Medieval Festival

The Abbey Medieval Festival, from July 10 to 12 in Caboolture, is entering its 37th year.

Visitors can experience life in the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East, from 600 to 1600AD.

The Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology runs the event, which includes re-enactors, jousters, performers, food vendors, and merchants, as well as free access to hundreds of museum artefacts.

Historic Leyburn Sprints

The Historic Leyburn Sprints is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and will be held on August 15 and 16.

The event, one of Queensland’s largest motorsport festivals, features hundreds of historic, classic and performance cars racing on the closed streets of the Southern Downs town. It commemorates the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, which was held on a disused wartime airstrip in Leyburn.

Other activities include a fun run, a charity auction, and a special 30th anniversary dinner. Tickets will be released in April.

Swell Sculpture Festival

Centred on Currumbin and running from September 11 to 20, Swell Sculpture Festival features more than eight large-scale contemporary artworks set among the natural landscape of the beach.

Visitors can also experience guided twilight walks through the artworks, live music, comedy, masterclasses, artist talks next to the sculptures, and artist-led workshops.

Blues on Broadbeach

This year’s Blues on Broadbeach line-up features US blues legend Charlie Musselwhite and local up-and-comers, including WILSN, Blue Shaddy, and The Mason Rack Band.

Australian favourites The Teskey Brothers headline the Sunday Ticket, the only ticketed event of the four-day festival, which will celebrate its 25th year from May 14 to 17.

Jumpers and Jazz in July

Dubbed the state’s quirkiest festival, Jumpers and Jazz in July will take over Warwick on the Southern Downs from July 16 to 26.

During the annual festival, which includes multiple art installations and events, trees along the town’s main street are dressed up in jumpers.

A laneway party and twilight jazz in the park are among the live music events throughout the town.

Gympie Music Muster

Country music lovers have been attending the Gympie Music Muster in droves for more than 40 years, with no signs of abating.

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Alongside live music, the festival features activities including markets, line dancing, bull riding, bush poetry, whip cracking, music workshops, and kids’ events.

Held on August 27 to 30 this year, the line-up includes Lee Kernaghan, Graeme Connors, Adam Eckersley Band, Beccy Cole, Brooke McClymont & Adam Eckersley, James Blundell, Nathan Cavaleri, and The Wolfe Brothers.

Emerging artists also taking to the stage include Brooke Schubert, Cass Eager, James Johnston, Lane Pittman, Pierce Brothers, Sara Berki, Taylor Moss, Tori Darke and Zac & George.

Groundwater Country Music Festival

Some of the best country artists will converge on Broadbeach from October 16 to 18 for three days of free music and events at the Groundwater Country Music Festival. Keep your eyes peeled for the 2026 line-up, which will be announced later in the year.

Woodford Folk Festival

More than just folk music, this four-decade-strong event is the largest gathering of artists and musicians in Australia.

Festival goers can check out market stalls, acrobatic workshops, comedy shows, panel discussions, yoga sessions, and more.

In 2025, the music line-up boasted Sarah Blasko, San Cisco, Troy Cassar-Daley, Briggs, Barkaa, Hollow Coves and more. This year’s line-up will be announced around October.

The Woodford Folk Festival is held every year from December 27 to January 1.

Stanthorpe Apple & Grape Harvest Festival

The Granite Belt’s pride and joy will mark its 60th anniversary from February 27 to March 8.

The biennial Stanthorpe Apple & Grape Harvest Festival celebrates the region’s fresh produce, award-winning wines and country charm.

Visitors can enjoy a street parade, the famous grape crush, food markets, buskers, and other live entertainment.

Scenic Rim Eat Local Month

Scenic Rim Eat Local Month started in 2011 as a single week of events that has grown into a month-long celebration of the region’s local produce, farms, wineries, and distilleries across more than 100 events.

Held in June, visitors can explore the Scenic Rim through hands-on workshops, masterclasses, and farm tours.

From long lunches to hot-air ballooning and fireside feasts, the festival has something for everyone.

Noosa Food & Wine Festival

Visitors to this year’s Noosa Food & Wine Festival, from June 11 to 14, can enjoy live cooking demonstrations and music, while choosing from more than 40 bars and eateries at the Festival Village.

An Italian long lunch, multiple beachside meals, and golden hour drinks on the beach are some of the signature events. Tickets to the village and main events are on sale now. The festival’s restaurant series will be announced on March 4, with tickets available from March 18.

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