What’s On In Adelaide This Week, Month And Beyond
Travel and Entertainment Editor | Urban List, WA
Benjamin Fitzgerald
Contributor | Urban List Adelaide
Spring has officially sprung. And, with the easing of the cold and rain comes a slew of fresh events to showcase the best of Adelaide. Australia's most Euro-feeling city is looking cooler than ever in terms of tours and international visitors this year (check out our complete guide here), plus it seems every week there's a new festival, gigging artist in town, rooftop dinner or completely charming market popping up, much to our delight.
So let's jump straight into the good stuff, here's Urban List's picks for the best things to do this week, month and beyond in Adelaide.
What's On In Adelaide September 2026
Nature Festival
September 25 - October 11
We all know that South Australia has some incredible flora and fauna. And Nature Festival 2026 is all about celebrating our beautiful animals, plants and landscapes with its jam-packed program taking place all across the state.This year’s theme is SEED, played out in over 300 nature-inspired events made up of art, adventure, music, food, wine, wellbeing, and Aboriginal culture, including lots of free and family-friendly events too. Book tickets to select events here.
Negroni Week Party
Latteria | September 27
There ain’’t no party like a negroni party. Latteria Bar's annual Negroni Week party returns to the Hutt Street locale this Sunday where 20 of Adelaide's best bars (think 1910, 2KW, Africola, Bandit, Bank Street Social, Bar Cruz by Aptos, BarBar, Bar Sofia, BRKLYN, Burdette, Chianti, Hains & Co, Honeydripper, Malt & Juniper, Maybe Mae, Monica, Nearly, Osteria Oggi, Pink Moon, Proof and Trap) will take turns behind the stick at Latteria, pouring their version of the classic burgundy cocktail. Every 30 minutes, two new bars will step up, and side by side serve just one drink: their signature Negroni, so you’ll get the chance to work your way through a negroni congo line as the night unfolds. The best part? For every Negroni sold on the night, $1 will again be donated to Hutt Street Centre. Book here
Gelato Bello 30th Anniversary
Gelato Bello, Glynde | October 10 – 11
Congratulations is in order for one of Adelaide’s longest-standing food businesses. Gelato Bello is turning 30, and to celebrate the gelateria, located in the inner-eastern suburbs, is hosting a party and you’re invited. For one weekend only, come and grab 30% off all gelato, from a whopping 40 flavours to choose from, plus the return of iconic flavours including Golden Gaytime, Banana Cream Pie, Cherry Ripe and Lemon Meringue Pie. If that’s not tempting enough, the first 100 customers each day will receive the store’s original 1996 pricing (inflation who?), all served up in the business’s original packaging from their friendly staff decked out in retro uniforms. Now that’s a blast from the past.
Adelaide Film Festival
Various locations | October 14 - 25
The Adelaide Film Festival is back for another year, promising 12 blockbuster days across cinema locations throughout the city. With 122 films from 52 countries set to screen, there’s plenty to get excited about: 27 titles will make their Australian premiere, while another 10 will make their world debut at AFF 2026. Program headliners include Wild Horse Nine, Jim Queen, Coward, Fatherland, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Josephine, Minotaur and Rose alongside the festival’s special presentation segment starring Paper Tiger, Pressure, Wicker, and Shine. Grab your popcorn and frozen coke and settle in for hours of on-screen entertainment that doesn’t normally screen at your local theatre. Book tickets here.
Negronis For Good
Hains & Co. | Sep 18 - 27
Negronis for charity? Count us in. This September, Hains & Co. – and its recently opened Admiral’s Quarters bar upstairs – is hosting very own Negroni Week starring five special Negronis – the Classic, the Bloody Negroni (a darker and fruitier version of the Classic), the Ginache Sour, and the take-it-easy, low-alcohol Negroni Sbagliato. But, for something extra flash, you gotta go to the Salted Beeswax Negroni – a velvety, savoury rendition of the classic drink. A generous $2 from every negroni sale will be donated to Kickstart for Kids, with Hains &Co. looking to serve up 500 negronis over the week, providing 500 local children with breakfast and lunch. Get negroni-ing for a great cause.
ADL Fashion Week
Various locations | October 7 - 11
Image Credit: Courtesy
Adelaide is having its very own The Devil Wears Prada moment this year, with ADL Fashion Week returning to the city this October. And the 2026 schedule is jam-packed with runways, workshops, talks and dining experiences for the state and nation’s best designers and style makers.
The SAFIA Industry Breakfast will kick things off on October 7 at Patina Place, bringing together industry perspectives for a candid conversation on several fashion business topics.
The event’s headline runway shows open on October 8 at Adelaide Town Hall with The South Australian Showcase: The Threads Between Us showcasing both established and emerging local labels backed up by Sydney label By Johnny for a 9 p.m. runway show that same night.
October 9 is couture day at Adelaide Town Hall with The Couture Ball runway featuring Alexis George, Cristina Tridente’s Couture+Love+Madness, and new bridal house Priv’elle presenting Steven Khalil, while October 10 will present two solo runways, beginning with Viktoria & Woods joining forces with menswear designer Christian Kimber, followed by festival’s final headline runway, The Wolf Gang and the Adelaide label’s 10-year anniversary collection runway. Alongside the shows, there will be a wider fashion program taking place at various retail, hospitality and cultural spaces including the exclusive Pip Edwards X Nightcha Yakisan Party and the SA Style Wrap Party at Hotel Alba to close out the festivities with a bang. In the words of Miranda Priestly, "That's all." Book tickets here.
2KW Presents: Gerard McCabe Jewellers
2KW | 10 October
Image Credit: CourtesyAs part of the official Adelaide Fashion Week 2026 programming, local jewellery icon Gerard McCabe is teaming up with the city’s fave rooftop bar, 2KW, for their first-ever luxury jewellery brunch.
Hosted by media personality Jade Robran, 2KW Presents: Gerard McCabe Jewellers is a melange of fine jewellery, premium sparkling wine care of Deviation Road and delish canapés, with the main event being the chance to try on Gerard McCabe’s beautiful jewellery pieces while learning about the savoir faire that goes into each and the stories behind them. You’ll even get a goodie bag to take home too. Book tickets here.
The Temper Trap: Sungazer Tour
Hindley Street Music Hall | September 16
Image Credit: Courtesy
OzAsia Festival
Elder Park/Tarntanya Wam | October 9 - November 1
Image Credit: Courtesy
The OzAsia Festival is having one last hurrah. The festival, known for showcasing the best in Asian and Asian Australian art, literature and music, will hold its 20th, and final, edition this October, and it promises to go out with a bang. There’ll be free concerts by Australian rockers, Regurgitator, and Japanese-Australian electronic duo, Lastlings, alongside the festival’s signature Moon Lanterns, which will be on display for an extended four-week season as part of Lucky Dumpling Market – a huge food market offering all the goodies like dumplings and bao buns that Asian cuisine has to offer.
A series of visual arts will also be on display including Damien Shen’s Entombed in Joy, in the Adelaide Railway Station Historic Phone Booths. In Artspace, Jake Yang’s installation Fire Horse will evolve throughout the festival and in Festival Theatre foyer, The Galleries will feature Naina Sen’s large scale video work Shundori. The festival’s Weekend of Words, curated by Sami Shah, will return starring Antoinette Lattouf, Benjamin Law, Durkhanai Ayubi, Michael Hing, Yumi Stynes and more.
Lucky Dumpling Market
Elder Park/Tarntanya Wam | October 9 - Nov 1
Image Credit: Courtesy
Adelaide Asian food festival, Lucky Dumpling Market, is back for its whopping tenth season, where you can try some of the city’s best Asian food and drinks.
Bringing together 27 food vendors, including 6 new ones (including a legendary collab between Shobosho and ShoSho) and 21 returning favourites, the market – which forms part of OzFest – will serve up a feast of dumplings, bao, noodles, curries, satay, desserts and more, alongside bars, live entertainment and family-friendly fun such as karaoke.
Family Affair
Latteria | Ongoing
Image Credit: Latteria
Calling all families, and friendship groups that feel just as close – Latteria is kicking off a new weekly Sunday lunch experience that focuses on good company, great connection, and even greater food. Much like the classic, yet chaotic, Italian lunch with la famiglia, think plates of Italian favourites like lasagne shared among your nearest and dearest, as the wine and conversation flows. And with the first week coinciding with Father’s Day, consider this your cue to book a table to celebrate dad too. Book here.
Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Exhibition
South Australia Museum | August 29 - February
Image Credit: Matt Deakin
The Oscars of nature photography, the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year award for 2026 has gone to Matt Deakin for his submission, “Ethereal Encounter”, a photograph of an endangered green sawfish swimming with a green turtle, captured by drone in waters off
the Pilbara in the far north of his home of WA. And making sure you get to see all the wildlife snaps up close, the South Australia Museum is exhibiting Deakin’s winning entry, alongside the 100 shortlisted images too. Book tickets here.
Oyster Fest
SkyCity | September 1 - 30
Image Credti: The Kitchen at SkyCity | Facebook
Taking over SkyCity’s The Kitchen for four weeks only, Oyster Fest is back this September and it's more seductive than ever. From Tuesday to Friday, come along for oyster happy hour, where SkyCity members get $1 oysters, or if you’re not a member, they’re still a cheap $2 each. Pair your pearls of the ocean with your fave cocktail and then settle in for the night, with an oyster-inspired a la carte menu available from 4pm. Book here.
Rundle Reflections
David Jones, Adelaide Central Plaza | September 1 - October 5
Image Credit: David Jones Store | Instagram
As part of Rundle Mall’s 50th birthday celebrations, David Jones Adelaide Central Plaza is having its own nostalgia moment via a new exhibition dubbed, “Rundle Reflections”. Curated by Eddie Zammit, the all-ages visual feast hosts eight South Australian artists in an immersive space alongside rare archival pieces from David Jones’ history in Adelaide. Vintage fashion-meets-contemporary-art-cool in the heart of Adelaide.
Skitsofrenis Mural Series
95 Currie Street | Ongoing
Adelaide just got a whole lot more artsy, thanks to the unveiling of a new mural series by Greek artist Kostas Louzis, also known as Skitsofrenis, in an Australia-first project from the internationally celebrated creative.
In partnership with local independent tertiary education provider and advocate, EQUALS – whose founder Katina Jones connected with Skitsofrenis’ on a recent visit to Louzis’ local Kalamata, the major large-scale public artworks brighten up the usually bleak Currie Street walls via three distinct mural works exploring themes of humanity, identity, diversity, resilience and community in an array of colours and formations. Banksy, eat your heart out.
Biggest Mob
Adelaide Festival Centre | July – October
Image credit: Biggest Mob
In celebration of an incredible 20 years of Our Mob, Adelaide Festival Centre is putting on its biggest First Nations arts program ever, stacked with theatre performances, literary programs, exhibitions and more, over three huge months.
Duly named Biggest Mob, must-see exhibitions in the program include collaborative exhibit Connected by Wilay Designs, As Long As We Weave by Carly Tarkari Dodd in the Adelaide Railway Station Historic Phone Booths, and UV Songlines: Illuminating Young Stories by Colleen Strangways.
There’s also the return of literary programs Our Words, and Our Young Words along with poetry exhibition, defi-Nations, while the State Theatre Company’s Logan St will take the stage in Space Theatre.
In September, the festivities ramp up with a free Family Day event, headlined by First Nations band Mulga Bore Hard Rock, alongside local teen DJ Angel on the decks, with handmade goods from local First Nations artists and makers at the Next Gen Mob Market up for grabs, plus plenty of workshops to attend, face painting, and more. Book tickets here.
Marina Pier’s Umbrella Lights
Marina Pier | July - mid-September
Image credit: Kelsey Zafiridis
Looking for a place to take a romantic stroll with your better half or a light-filled adventure the whole family can enjoy? Marina Pier’s Umbrella Lights – a series of 14 lit-up, sky-high balloon installations that line the popular pier - is back this winter, and this time with some yummy dinner offers from local restaurants and bars that call the marina home.
After soaking in the luminating rain protectors, why not head to Ellenika Ocean Grill for their half-price on Wednesday hearty moussaka, or grab a table at Luciano’s for their weekday pasta and wine lunchtime special for just $35. Sunset Bar is rallying for winter with a Mario Kart competition on the big screen every Tuesday in July from 6pm, crowned by its special Princess Peach fishbowl cocktail, while Seafire is pairing with Glaetzer Wines for a six-course pairing, showcasing newly released vintages that will appease even the most avid wine lover. Sammy’s is offering a one-night-only five-course dining experience with Mollydooker Wines on August 7, and Tomiko Japanese Steak House has a teppanyaki lunch special, with a tap beer or house wine to wash it down. For more food steals, Junipers on the Marina is serving up $1 wings for Wing It Wednesdays and jump onboard the Spain train for Paella Thursdays. Take a stroll, get fed.
Patience and Penitentia
Samstag Museum of Art | June 26 - September 18
Image credit: Ida Sophia
Berlin-based South Australian artist and 2023 Ramsay Art Prize winner Ida Sophia is bringing her major work 'Patience and Penitenita' to Adelaide.
Opening as part of Samstag Museum of Art’s Kudlila season, the performance-slash-exhibition will take visitors on a journey into the depths of “silent treatment”, or the relational punishment oftentimes used by families, relationships and communities when conflict arise. Using sound, language, movement and gesture, Sophia’s work looks to bring light to this hidden, abusive tactic to show what happens when communication, affection and attention is withheld. Sounds like a great alternative to your weekly therapy. Admission is free.
Champagne Tray Fridays
2KW Bar | Fridays All Winter
Image credit: 2KW Bar
Forget the meat tray, 2KW Bar is busting out the champagne for its new winter promotion - Champagne Tray Fridays.
On Fridays throughout winter, simply purchase a drink at the rooftop venue’s Terrace Bar between 5pm and 7pm to receive a raffle ticket for the chance to win a champagne tray featuring three top shelf bottles of champagne. Now, that’s the classic pub raffle with a sparkling twist.
Double your winnings with the bar's scrumptuous food menu, including Southern rock lobster or lamb shoulder, and you've got yourself a great start to the weekend.
The Olive Hours
Paloma Bar & Pantry | Thursdays All Winter
Image credit: Alexander van de Loo
Paloma Bar’s new weekly winter activation, The Olive Hours, is all about the martini. Created in partnership with Never Never Distilling Co, this CBD hotspot’s new Thursday night ritual brings together James Bond’s drink of choice (shaken, not stirred, remember?) with a European twist.
Martini connoisseurs can switch between a Classic Gin or Vodka Martini, Oyster Gin Martini or Vesper Martini, each paired with a classic gilda, a small Spanish snack served on a skewer, featuring an anchovie, pickled pepper, and of course, an olive.
Whether you prefer it dirty or dry, The Olive Hours is the perfect opp for after-work drinks or a sophisticated kickstart to an early weekend celebration.
After Light
Exchange Lane, The Marriott Hotel Adelaide | Thursdays in Winter
Image credit: Charlie Conybeare
As the June sun starts to set earlier and the mercury begins to drop, Adelaide Marriott Hotel’s Exchange Lane is heating things up with After Light - a new night-time winter dining experience that makes going out worth it.
Taking place every Thursday from 4 - 7 p.m., the cozy, yet sophisticated intimate dining experience is whipping up seasonal cocktails and the very-best South Aussie wine, accompanied by bespoke food offerings, all within the warmth of outdoor heating. When the social bug bits, After Light at Exchange Lane is your versatile winter go-to for after-work drinks, catch ups with the gang, or a cute date night with someone special.
Nightcha
Yakisan | Friday & Saturday nights
Image credit: Yakisan
You've heard of yum cha, but now there's Nightcha: Yakisan's new late-night supper club that serves up delish bites of Asian fusion delights (with bubbles, if that's your poison) from 10pm to midnight, on both Friday and Saturday nights.
With a menu starring champagne, caviar, nigiri, and hand rolls, alongside a high-end cheeseburger and juicy fried chicken, it's the perfect feast for the more stylish night owls among us (or those looking for something other than regretful fast-food beyond 10pm). Praise be.
Mount Lofty House
Adelaide Hills | All Winter
Image credit: Mount Lofty House | Instagram
Ditch city life for a hot minute and turn those winter blues into a weekend of (very well deserved) five-star luxury at the decadent Mount Lofty House. Just a speedy thirty minutes from the CBD and set on thirty acres of lush, immaculate grounds, a stay at this cosy, completely charming vineyard escape is the antidote to those cold, dreary winter morns. Better still, if you book through Hotel Tonight, you'll a) grab a cheeky discount and b) score yourself 10% credit back into your Airbnb account too. A total win win.
Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition
Art Gallery of South Australia | July 11 - November 8
Image credit: : Supplied | Toldeo Museum of Art | 'Water Lilies' by Claude Monet c.1922
Fancy seeing a Monet on a Saturday morning in Adelaide? Or a Matisse during the holidays with the kids? Now, you can, thanks to the upcoming Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition exhibition taking place at the Art Gallery of South Australia (ASGA) from this July. Expect to get up close with some of the world's most famous artworks created by the most influential European and American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The line-up is a big one: Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Helen Frankenthaler, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot and Vincent van Gogh, from the collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, United States. And, their arrival at ASGA mark an Australia-first for most of these works, making the exhibit an even more must-see.
There's somethings for music lovers too, with the preview night on July 10 featuring a live performance by Australian musician Alexander Flood. Hosted in the Monet to Matisse lounge, expect a high‑energy live show, blending dynamic rhythms with driving bass from the world-class drummer.
To celebrate the exhibit, from July 24 AGSA will kick-start weekly Monet to Matisse Friday Nights events, with each evening featuring a curated line-up of live performances from local musicians, after-hours access to the exhibition, a Taittinger champagne bar, and French-inspired snacks (bon appetit, mes amis). Already on the schedule are performances from DJ duo Ebonyplusdylan, and Adelaide-based beat producer Oisima. Then from August, Friday Nights will link up with Creative Original Music Adelaide, for four nights of weekly musical acts including trumpet and piano duo After Words, ambient electronica musician Georgia Oatley, former ABC Jazz artist-in-residence Ciara Ferguson, and flute and piano virtuosos Fleur Green and Melanie Walters Duo.
Finally, South Australian artists Arlon Hall and Billie Justice Thomson will present a new installation in AGSA’s free activity space The Studio, where visitors are taken on an explorative journey of light, colour, line and shape. From fans of art to music, and French food, there's something here for everyone. Book tickerts here.
7 Paintings Dinner Show
Crowne Plaza Mawson Lakes | April - September
Image: 7 Paintings
Name a better combo than great food and world-class art? We can't either. After a successful stint in Melbourne and Brisbane, 7 Paintings - a gastronomy-meets-art-meets-technology dinner show - has landed in Adelaide. The globally renowned dining experience takes the traditional restaurant meal and turns it into two-and-a-half-hour immersive journey, thanks to a whopping seven courses, each inspired by some of the world's most influential artists: Michelangelo, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and Vincent van Gogh.
Prepared by culinary great Chef KG, diners will tuck into a menu made up of native ingredients (hello, Davidson plum-decorated kangaroo and line-caught barramundi) and fancy international imports such as asil caviar, all the while painting and solving puzzles before the last course ends. One of the tastiest and educational events this year for sure. Book now here.
French at Five
2KW | Last Thursday of every month 2026
Image Credit: 2KW
2KW is turning Thursday evenings into a little slice of rooftop joie de vivre with French at Five — a once‑a‑month wine hour where the ties loosen, the corks fly and French drops take centre stage. Guided by Jono Hersey from The French Wine Centre, guests can dive into a fast‑paced, high‑energy tasting of 4–5 French wines from rotating regions and styles. No lectures, no pretence — just seriously good wine poured with enthusiasm, all against that signature 2KW skyline. Drop in between 5 and 6pm on the last Thursday of each month and let a little French flair lift your week. No need to book.
Death of a Salesman
Festival Theatre | September 26 - October 4
Image credit: Courtesy
Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Death of a Salesman is making its Adelaide debut at Festival Theatre this September, and it stars one of South Australia's biggest acting exports. Adelaide born and raised Anthony LaPaglia will play the role of Willy Loman, an ageing travelling salesman struggling to reconcile his dreams of success with the reality of his life, his family and the American Dream.
LaPaglia will hit the stage alongside Alison Whyte, Josh Helman, and Ben O’Toole, and having already been performed in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and soon Brisbane, the hit play has scored five-star reviews from leading Australian media. A theatre classic with some big-gun actor names not to be missed. Book tickets here.
What's On In Adelaide October 2026
Adelaide Fashion Week
Various Locations | October 7 - 11
Image credit: Supplied | Lucas Dawson
Adelaide is having its very own The Devil Wears Prada moment this year, with Adelaide Fashion Week returning to the city this October. Last year's fashion week included iconic moments such as the Acler show at The Loft at Hotel Richmond, and the Future Collective runway featuring The Wolf Gang, Van Brussel, Katya Komarova and 23rd of August.
While the official 2026 schedule is yet to be released, fashionistas can expect an equally wow-factor programming spanning runways, workshops, talks and dining experiences, bringing the state's best designers and style makers to the forefront for the fashion community to experience and explore. Full program details, including the 2026 runway lineup and associated events, will be announced later in the year. In the words of Miranda Priestly, "That's all."
Strummingbird Festival
Victoria Park, Newington, Victoria | October 10
Image credit: Strummingbird Festival | Supplied
Strummingbird Festival is back for its second year, touring a stacked lineup of American country stars and homegrown heroes across regional Aus. Topping the bill is cross-genre superstar Post Malone, bringing his Nashville-inspired F-1Trillion to the stage. On support duties are the likes of Bailey Zimmerman, Cooper Alan, Jindabyne local Brad Cox and Cigarettes @ Sunset—plus a stack more on the mammoth program.
Kicking off in Ballarat on October 10, before heading north to Newcastle on October 17 and finishing the run on the Sunshine Coast on October 18, it’s set to be a toe-tapping, head-banging boogie. We don’t need to tell you that country’s having a comeback, so make sure to grab your presale tickets here on May 13 to lock in the best price.
CheeseFest
Rundle Park | October 17 - 18
Image credit: Courtesy
CheeseFest is turning 21 this year, and it's gonna be bitier than ever. Featuring more than 100 cheese, food, wine, beer, spirit, and beverage producers, includng both established favourites and exciting new makers from across South Australia and beyond, the 2026 edition will also star for the first time TV personality and foodie extraordinaire, Miguel Maestre, who will bring his big energy and culinary expertise o the festival's RAA cooking demonstration stage.
CheeseFest 2026 will also see the return of South Australian MasterChef 2025 winner, chef and restaurateur, Laura Sharrad, as well as interactive masterclasses, cheese and beverage experiences, live music, premium lounges and opportunities to taste and purchase directly from producers.
The fromage festival has also tapped local artist and illustrator Billie Justice Thomson to create a new body of artwork for the event, serving as an important part of its visual identity across its marketing, merchandise and festival experience. Book tickets here.
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