As the autumn temperatures begin to cool down, our social calendars are heating up. We’ve found some of the best events on the Sunshine Coast to ensure you won’t be missing out this year.
We’re ready to roll on into the best events and happenings around the Sunshine Coast in 2024.
Caloundra Music Festival Will Not Run In 2024
Image Credit: Caloundra Music Festival | Bruce Haggie
The much-loved Caloundra Music Festival (CMF) will take a break in 2024, due to the impact of rising costs and cost-of-living pressures on event ticket sales. It will join the growing list of major music festivals across Australia, such as Splendour In The Grass and Groovin The Moo, that have been affected by similar challenges recently.
As such, CMF, which won the People’s Choice Award for Festival of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards, will not be held this October, but there are hopes of a return in 2025 if conditions improve. Here's to hoping CMF can get back on its feet in 2025.
Paws And Pints Are All The Rage At Parklands Tavern's Epic Dog-Friendly Beer Garden
238 Parklands Blvd, Meridan Plains QLD 4551
Image Credit: Parklands Tavern | Lumea Photography
Doggo lovers, listen up. Parklands Tavern's outdoor beer garden, aptly named The Yard, is rolling
out the welcome mat for our four-legged friends, as of Sunday 7 April. Open daily 10am to 5pm just outside of Caloundra, you and your doggo can lap up the laidback atmosphere while you sip on cold tap beers and fine wines, paired with a decadent lunch menu.
And for your pup? They'll be treated like royalty with water bowls and tasty treats. Plus, snap a pic of your pooch and tag it with #poochesofparklands for a chance to win a $50 beverage tab every Sunday. Round up your mates (and your best furry one, of course) and head down to Parklands Tavern, stat.
Young Franco Is Hitting The Station This April
Image Credit: Young Franco | Instagram
Since the opening of huge entertainment venue The Station in March, the Sunshine Coast music scene is well and truly on the up and we're here for it. Young Franco is the latest artist to hit The Station's stage and we're scrambling for tickets.
Young Franco is well and truly establishing himself as one of Australia’s legendary producers, with over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, three ARIA Certified Gold records and a string of sold-out headline shows across Europe and the USA. He'll be performing at The Station on Saturday 27 April and you can snag tickets here.
THE DETAILS
When: Saturday 27 April, from 6pm
Where: The Station, 8 The Avenue, Birtinya 4575
Cost: Tickets from $41
For more details & tickets, click here.
Round Up Your Crew For This Sunday Drive-Worthy Foodie Festival
2 Reilly Road, Woolooga QLD 4570
Image Credit: The Big Rosella Field Day | Supplied
If you're looking for an authentic foodie festival that's slightly off the beaten track, Big Rosella Field Day is right up your alley. Running since 2016, Rosella Field Day will return on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May, celebrating the harvest of rosella fruit and promoting the love of farming at Petersen's Farm.
On the agenda is farm tours, an artisan farmers market, chef demos, tastings live music, plus a new addition this year is a special Paint Among the Petals experience—an open air paint and sip surrounded by the bright crimson rows of rosellas, led by local artist Jordi Kate.
THE DETAILS
What: Big Rosella Field Day
When: Saturday 4 May to Sunday 5 May
Where: Petersen's Farm, 2 Reilly Road, Woolooga QLD 4570
For more details, click here.
Let The Littles Loose On The New Forest Trail At The Ginger Factory
50 Pioneer Road, Yandina QLD 4561
Image Credit: The Ginger Factory | Supplied
If you're on of the 150,000 visitors who have visited the now-iconic Gruffalo Trail at The Ginger Factory, we've got great news for you. The Ginger Factory is welcoming a new agumented reality forest trail, after The Gruffalo Trail came to an end in January. Zog, A Forest Adventure will make it's Australian debut at The Ginger Factory on Wednesday 27 March, bringing the much-loved picture book to life.
Visitors can download the Zog, A Forest Adventure App and immerse themselves in the interactive 'Zog’s Dragon School' as they wind through the tropical gardens of The Ginger Factory. Once you've explored the Forest Trail, hit the retail precinct, kid-friendly rides or cafe. Best of all, it's free admission—we're thinking this is going to be THE go-to place these school holidays.
THE DETAILS
What: Zog Rainforest Trail
Where: The Ginger Factory, 50 Pioneer Road, Yandina
Cost: Free admission
For more details, click here.
Round Up Your Crew For The Noosa Eat & Drink Festival
Various Noosa locations
Image Credit: Noosa Eat & Drink Festival | Supplied
Where: Various Noosa locations
Cost: Ticket prices vary depending on event
For more details & tickets, click here.
Embrace Your Green Thumb At The Queensland Garden Expo
Nambour Showgrounds, Nambour QLD 4560
Image Credit: QLD Garden Expo | Supplied
The iconic Queensland Garden Expo, a horticultural staple in Australia for four decades, is gearing up for its 40th-anniversary celebration with an extended four-day event this July. The seven-hectare immersive gardening experience will take over Nambour Showgrounds, featuring Australia’s largest gardening speaker program filled with gardening royalty.
More highlights of Queensland's premier gardening event include the 360+ exhibitors, 150+ free lectures and demonstrations, the giant kitchen garden, the Living Backyard, a floral design competition and—of course—the huge array of nurseries with 200,000 plants for sale over four huge days. If you're a green thumb (or an aspiring green thumb) you need to be here.
THE DETAILS
When: Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 July, 2024
Where: Nambour Showgrounds, Coronation Ave, Nambour
Cost: $22.50 per adult; variety of tickets available
For more details, click here.
Looking for more?
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Check out the best Sunshine Coast markets happening this month.
Main image credit: Horizon Festival | Supplied