One thing is for sure, there’s heaps of school holiday fun at Brisbane Festival this year.
Brisbane’s most anticipated festival of the year is here, bringing with it plenty of school holiday activities and events for families this September.
BOQ Festival Garden
When: Until Saturday 25 September
Where: South Bank Parklands
Tickets: Free
With roaming performers, live entertainment, pop-up bars and dining and family activities, the BOQ Festival Garden is an entertainment hub to connect, play, and explore. Some activities include:
- I Believe: Part art display, part playset, the I Believe swings are more than just a set of swings. Take a seat, lift your legs, and open your mind to a higher purpose as you rock back and forth.
- Light Seesaw: This interactive light installation will reignite your fascination with the humble and classic piece of playground equipment.
- IMB Institute of Light: A mysterious game of secrets and spectacle awaits you. Unlock secrets of the natural world from the ground beneath our feet in a beguiling display of light.
Street Serenades
When: Until Saturday 25 September
Where: Suburbs all across Brisbane
Tickets: Free
We’re on the road again to serenade all 190 suburbs of Brisbane with pop-up concerts delivered direct to your neighbourhood. Use the schedule to create your own entertainment itinerary for the day. Pack a picnic and enjoy a self-drive discovery tour of your neighbourhood and beyond! More information and schedule here.
Bright Times at Northshore
When: Wednesdays 8, 15, 22 and Tuesday 21 September
Where: Brisbane Festival’s pop-up precinct at Northshore, Brisbane
Tickets: Free
Come to Northshore from 4 – 8pm and explore Brisbane’s Art Boat while it’s moored, wander through the magical and otherworldly installations and enjoy live performances. More information here.
Imaginaria
When: Until Saturday 25 September
Where: Adjacent to Queensland Maritime Museum, South Brisbane
Tickets: $23.95 + booking fee
IMAGINARIA is a fun, immersive experience designed for all ages where imagination and technology collide to create a stunning audio-visual play experience from the future. Immerse yourself in shimmering light sculptures, the interactive cave, the multi-dimensional light maze or step inside a giant infinity bubble. More information and tickets here.
Auntie’s Fiafia Night
When: Until Saturday 11 September
Where: South Bank Piazza
Tickets: Single admission $35. Groups of four $25 each
A celebratory night of circus fun, Pacific song and dance featuring gravity-defying acrobatic feats by world-renowned Casus Circus, traditional slap and fire dances, chants and ancient urban legend stories for the ultimate evening with Auntie. More information and tickets here.
Collision
When: Friday 17 – Thursday 23 September
Where: The Warehouse, Northshore Hamilton)
Tickets: Single admission $30. Groups of four or more $25 each
Contemporary circus meets street dance as two Brisbane dynamos, Casus Circus and Mad Dance House, team together to bring a ground-breaking performance. More information and tickets here.
Summer Play Factor (SPF)
When: Tuesday 21 – Thursday 23 September
Where: South Bank Piazza, BOQ Festival Garden
Tickets: $15
Combining amazing circus skills from Brisbane’s Flipside Circus and a live DJ, this playful party is a sweet treat for all ages. Expect surfboard acrobatics, infectious choreography, ice-cream juggling and beach cricket in this tasty summer delight.
More information and tickets here.
Babushka: Right to Party
When: Wednesday 22 September
Where: Brisbane City Hall, Brisbane City
Tickets: Free, bookings essential
Award-winning group Babushka has cooked up its first ever show dedicated to kids aged five and over. This feisty trio wants to break rules, sing killer tunes and show the next generation how to be rascals, radicals and ratbags. Beasties young and old are invite to this punk-rocking celebration of musical ground breakers and game changes over the past 50 years, from The Ramones and Queen to Lizzo and P!nk.
More information and tickets here.
Wilbur the Optical Whale
When: Wednesday 22 – Saturday 25 September
Where: Metro Arts, West Village
Tickets: $25 + Booking fee
This production about friendship and celebrating differences uses alternative storytelling methods (including interactive media with integrated Auslan), circus, music, movement and spoken word, to deliver a strong anti-bullying message and promote acceptance.
More information and tickets here.
Lost
When: Until Saturday 25 September
Where: Metro Arts, West Village
Tickets: Free
An enchanting wonderland of extinct and endangered floral illuminations has taken over the garden at West Village. Created by Australian artist Amanda Parer, these large botanicals are a celebration of nature in its most beautiful forms, seemingly grown in place.
More information here.
Common People Dance Eisteddfod
When: Sunday 19 September
Where: South Bank Piazza, BOQ Festival Garden
Tickets: Single admission $35. Groups of four $25 each
Brisbane serves as the battleground for a dance off between the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast. Against a soundtrack of eighties and nineties hits, armoured with sequins and tights, these duellers will dance to win. Which team will you cheer for?
More information and tickets here.
The Mechanics of Adaptation
When: Until Saturday 25 September
Where: Metro Arts, West Village
Tickets: Free
In a fascinating new Metro Arts commission, retired CityCycles are reimagined by artists Ross Manning, Kinly Grey, Susan Hawkins, Aishla Manning and Sarah Poulgrain, in collaboration with young people through Traction, to reflect both art history and the urgent need for environmental awareness and sustainability.
More information here.
Sunsuper Riverfire
When: Saturday 25 September
Where: Brisbane River and surrounds
Tickets: Free
All eyes are on the skies as Sunsuper Riverfire returns to ignite the Brisbane skyline and wrap up three incredible weeks of Brisbane Festival for yet another year. More information here.
Brisbane Festival 2021 runs until 25 September 2021.
For tickets and more information, visit www.brisbanefestival.com.au.
Who’s in for some school holiday fun at Brisbane Festival?
