With great food and drink, culture, art, sport and much more across the island, there is so much to love about Tasmania year-round.

Take a look at some of Tassie’s leading festivals and events in 2022.

Dark Mofo
15-22 June 2022

Awaken the senses with Dark Mofo, a celebration of the dark with art, food, music, fire, light, and noise that rocks your core. 

Signature annual events include the Nude Solstice Swim, the Winter Feast, and the sacrificial burning of the ogoh-ogoh. Last year the three-week art and music festival presented Dark Downtown – a collection of large-scale public art, bars, food trucks, hidden nightclubs and live performances scattered throughout Hobart’s CBD. 

Dark Mofo has become one of Australia’s most popular winter events and continues to attract the attention of winter lovers, solstice seekers, artists, and media worldwide. 

Get acquainted with the unexpected at darkmofo.net.au.

Festival of Voices
1-14 July 2022

The statewide Festival of Voices has been bringing music, harmony, and human connection to Tasmanian winters since 2004 and has become known as Australia’s premier celebration of song, attracting audiences of 30,000 people over two weeks. 

The 2022 festival will provide singers of all levels an extraordinary opportunity to develop their skills and find their respective voices with four workshop experiences (classical choral, a Capella, queer choir and gospel).

Start exercising your vocal cords at festivalofvoices.com.

Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival
16-17 July 2022

Held at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed in southern Tasmania, the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival is a celebration of storytelling, winter feasting, and pagan traditions.

The festival centres around the region’s apple-picking history and the wassail: the age-old tradition of scaring evil spirits from the orchard to bring on a bumper crop. Following flaming torches, the wassailers beat drums and pots and pans to dispel the spirits, then the apple trees are ‘awakened’ with the traditional wassail song and blessed with cider. Other much-loved festival traditions include the Burning Man, the coveted costume competition, and tales tall and true from Tassie’s best storytellers.   

The apple isle is calling at huonvalleymidwinterfest.com.au.

Tasmanian Whisky Week
10-16 August 2022

Tasmanian Whisky Week is a celebration of the numerous Tasmanian distilleries, their spirits and whisky. 

Meet the makers and taste some of the finest whisky in the world in distilleries, bars, barns, stables and restaurants around Tasmania. Events include exclusive masterclasses, meet the maker, behind-the scenes distillery tours and access to unreleased whiskies.

Warm up with a wee nip at taswhiskyweek.com.

Always in season

Tasmania has been busting to get into the full swing of celebrating events across the island, with a suite of new niche and bespoke events for every season. 

Working within COVID-19 restrictions means Tasmania’s events have had to get innovative in bringing people together. Here’s a list of new happenings on the horizon.

Autumn

A season for sumptuous local produce

Some of the best vineyards in Southern Tasmania will throw open their doors across three days for Southern Open Vineyards (4 – 6 March 2022). Hit the road, meet the winemakers, and taste local vintages against the backdrop of Southern Tasmania’s stunning wine regions – the Derwent Valley, Coal River Valley and Huon Valley.

Nestled amongst the rolling hills of the historic Cascade Brewery, and set against the breathtaking backdrop of kunanyi/Mt Wellington, Out Here in the Field Festival (19 March 2022) brings a consciously designed event to the heart of Hobart. The inaugural event features The Teskey Brothers, Middle Kids, Angie McMahon, Andy Golledge and Emma Donovan and The Putbacks, alongside an enviable selection of Tasmania’s finest producers and creatives.

For all-day family fun by the waterfront, check out Rockpool (13 March 2022), the Bicheno Lion’s Club annual fundraising event on Tasmania’s East Coast. Celebrate the start of autumn and support this great community event featuring local artists, a variety of food, wine and beer.

Take a trip to Bruny Island to experience some of Tasmania’s most beautifully preserved natural environments and learn about Tasmania’s birdlife at the Bruny Island Bird Festival (25 – 27 March 2022). Bringing together science, conservation, community and creativity, the festival welcomes birders and non-birders alike. 

Celebrate the old and new traditions of harvest on the East Coast of Tasmania with ECHO Festival (8 – 10 April 2022). Held in an idyllic rural setting between the seaside towns of Swansea and Bicheno, this boutique festival’s curated program inspires the senses of taste, smell, sight, sound, and touch. Expect to meet diverse chefs, wine masters, storytellers, musicians, performance, installation artists and scientists all passionate about food and Tasmania. 

The first ever kunanyi Mountain Run (8 – 10 April 2022) is a trail running festival celebrating Hobart’s mountain culture, bringing trail runners, adventurers and the wider community together to feel the power of connection with kunanyi/Mount Wellington. The run was borne from a grassroots’ demand for an immersive event in Australia’s only mountain capital, and a vision for every runner, crew member and supporter to learn from and be inspired by the community’s connection with the mountain.

TrailGraze (23 – 24 April 2022) is set to spotlight the local farmers, growers and makers of Tasmania’s North West. Journey along the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail and join producers as they host a range of activities including workshops, behind the scenes tours, tastings, live music and guest chef collaborations.

Winter

Tasmania’s Off Season (June – August 2022) is the time of year when Tasmania comes alive. It’s the season where things get wild, weird and wonderful. We revel. We create. We light fires and dance around them. We feast. We shout and wassail and sing, so the state is filled with delightful offness.

Awaken the senses with Dark Mofo (15 – 22 June 2022), a festival that delves into centuries-old winter solstice rituals, exploring the links between ancient and contemporary mythology, and the big themes of birth, death, religion and renewal. Dark Mofo is one of Australia’s most popular winter events and continues to attract the attention of winter lovers, solstice seekers, artists, and media worldwide.  

A spectacular laser light show choreographed to app-streamed music devices is a must see when you’re visiting Tasmania’s East Coast. Presented each evening during the winter months, Bicheno Beams (August – September 2022) projects a majestic display of lights across the seaside holiday town of Bicheno.

Held at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed in southern Tasmania, the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival (July 2022) is a celebration of the region’s apple-picking, winter feasting and pagan traditions. Dance to eclectic folk music around the giant bonfire and indulge in southern Tasmania’s delectable local produce and Willie Smith’s famous Organic Tasmanian cider.  

Festival of Voices (1 – 14 July 2022) brings music lovers together with an exciting program of concerts, massed choirs, cabarets, and contemporary performances as well as family and pop-up events. The 2022 festival will provide singers of all levels an extraordinary opportunity to develop their skills and find their respective voices with four workshop experiences (classical choral, a Capella, queer choir and gospel).

Tasmanian Whisky Week (10 – 16 August 2022) is a celebration of the numerous Tasmanian distilleries, their spirits and whisky.  Meet the makers and taste some of the finest whisky in the world in distilleries, bars, barns, stables and restaurants around Tasmania. Events include exclusive masterclasses, meet the maker, behind-the scenes distillery tours and access to unreleased whiskies. 

Spring

Flowers are blossoming and festivities are warming up

Stretching along 221km of spectacular coastline on Tasmania’s east coast, Great Eastern Wine Week (9 – 18 September 2022) offers a collective of events at boutique wineries, restaurants and other local businesses. Explore the cool climate wine growing region, enjoy the spectacular coastal scenery and meet the winemakers, growers and producers. To top it all off, savor a few drops of the regions award-winning wines.

A beloved community event, organised by a dedicated bunch of volunteers that are passionate about Tassie’s East Coast. Bicheno Food & Wine Festival (November 2022) boasts Tasmanian musical talent and a strong focus on East Coast surfing culture. But first and foremost, this is a festival all about indulging the tastebuds, and these producers do food and drink extremely well.

What’s on in 2022

Spoke Motorcycle Festival
Little Swanport
1-6 March 2022

Southern Open Vineyards
Southern wine regions
4-6 March 2022

ECHO
Cranbrook
8-10 April 2022

TrailGraze
North West
23-24 April 2022

DerbyFest
Derby
23-24 April 2022

Targa Tasmania
Statewide
26 April & 1 May 2022

BOFA
Launceston/Tamar Valley
6-15 May 2022

Australian Musical Theatre Festival
Launceston
18-22 May 2022

Dark Mofo
Hobart
15-22 June 2022

Huon Valley Mid-Winter Fest
Huon Valley
July 2022

Festival of Voices
Hobart and statewide
1-14 July 2022

Beaker Street
Hobart
August 2022

agriCULTURED
Northern Tasmania
4-7 August 2022

Tasmanian Whisky Week
Hobart and statewide
8-14 August 2022

The Australian Antarctic Festival
Hobart
24-28 August 2022

Great Eastern Wine Week
East Coast
9-18 September 2022

Junction Arts Festival
Launceston
September 2022