Smiles, Beats & Treats – Festivals & Local Council Events in South Australia
In South Australia we love getting together for festivals and events, and are spoiled for choice with so many things to see and do year-round.
It’s hard to imagine a festival or event in South Australia that wouldn’t involve councils in its planning, preparation, approvals or promotions.
This includes major events such as arts festivals, music extravaganzas, food and wine events and cycling races.
This broad offering continues at the local level, with Australia Day events and supporting festivals dedicated to CALD communities, events promoting local produce, writers’ week events and holiday celebrations such as carols, pageants and more.
Have you ever considered how many of these events are supported by the work of local councils?
South Australian councils provide and maintain the open spaces, parks and gardens that host these events. Councils assess permit applications to ensure events are safe and appropriate for local conditions, and can provide additional infrastructure like fencing, lighting and toilet facilities.
Councils also often promote these events to their communities, and some offer events and festivals grants programs for local community groups.
Many councils also develop and run their own events, generally free for all to attend, to bring their communities together.
Councils work with event organisers to help events run smoothly, both for those who are local and for visitors, so everyone can keep smiling…
Find out what’s on in your local SA Council below:
CITY OF SALISBURY
Salisbury Fringe Carnival
The Salisbury Fringe Carnival is returning in 2022 for two days of jam-packed FREE fun.
Featuring free amusement rides and activities, local musicians and performers and a range of food vendors, the heart of Salisbury will be buzzing with excitement!
Amusements and activities include:
- Sizzler ride
- Safari train
- Inflatable pirate ship
- Dodgem cars
- Boat races
- Totem tennis
- Duck pond game
- Airbrush tattoos
- Activities by the local Morella Community Centre
- Balloon artists
- Kids’ silent disco (subject to COVID restrictions)
New to the 2022 Salisbury Fringe Carnival is an exciting ‘Blue Brick Road’. Grab yourself a Fringe bag and journey around the event to find six stalls.
Friday 25 February 5.30pm to 9.30pm & Saturday 26 February 10.30am to 9.30pm at Salisbury Community Hub, 34 Church Street, Salisbury
Keep up to date via INSTAGRAM
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PROGRAM
CITY OF PORT ADELAIDE ENFIELD
CSI KIDS
This interactive game gives participants the chance to asses the crime scene, explore the evidence, interview suspects, collect and analyze evidence and SOLVE THE CRIME. Perfect for ages 7-13. Race your friends, play as a group to beat the clock or play as a fun family activity. All new game design for 2022!
Saturday 26, Sunday 27 February & Saturday 12 March 2022 | Theatre One at the Parks Theatres | BOOK TICKETS HERE
The FUnhouse
Every kid hates being told to clean up their room. This fun and interactive kids show is about getting messy! Meet the zany characters who inhabit the fun house during this interactive stage performance where chaotic clutter isn’t just allowed – it’s encouraged! How will your kid join in the fun?
Saturday 19 February 2022 | Theatre Two at the Parks Theatres | BOOK TICKETS HERE
FIND MORE CITY OF PORT ADELAIDE ENFIELD FRINGE EVENTS HERE
FRINGE ON TOUR & RURAL/REGIONAL FRINGE EVENTS
CITY OF VICTOR HARBOR
Fringe at Victor Harbor
Get away for a day of fun, sun and Fringe celebrations in Victor Harbor. South Australia’s favourite coastal holiday destination will be buzzing on Sunday 27 February with a line up of performances, markets and experiences for the whole family. Join the fun from 9am to 4pm at Warland Reserve, Ocean Street and Railway Plaza for a full day of family friendly activity including the Adelaide Fringe on Tour artists from 12-2pm. Only 1.5 hours from Adelaide, and not to mention the picturesque journey through the McLaren Vale Wine region, it is a destination worth the drive.
Sunday 27 February 2022, 9am | Warland Reserve, Esplanade, Victor Harbor
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
DISTRICT COUNCIL OF LOXTON WAIKERIE
River Fringe
Enjoy a family-day-out by the river. Jam packed full of Fringe fun, markets, aerial acrobatics, food, juggling, and performances. This event is one of many in the freshly cultivated ‘River Fringe’ 10-day mini-festival. Enjoy the Rotary Riverfront markets from 1pm – 6pm with roaming entertainment and a bunch of stalls from all the local favourites. In the afternoon sun, plant yourself on Ferry Forest Hill to see the Adelaide Fringe Caravan (packed full of Fringe artists!) entertain crowds of all ages from 4pm into the evening.
Sunday 13 March 2022, 4:00pm | Ferry Forest Hill at Waikerie Riverfront
FIND THE FULL RIVER FRINGE PROGRAM HERE
MURRAY BRIDGE COUNCIL
Street Theatre on Sixth
Street Theatre on Sixth is a public celebration of the Arts featuring a mix of Adelaide Fringe and local Murraylands based performers. Sixth Street in the heart of Murray Bridge will be closed for a street party style event with performances through the evening and plenty of colour. A key event for Murray Bridge Fringe.
FIND OUT MORE HERE
KINGSTON DISTRICT COUNCIL
Sea and Sand Carnival
In 2022 Kingston will host the ‘Sea & Sand Carnival’ as part of the Fringe on Tour regional program. An all ages, inclusive, free community event that includes 2 hours of Fringe entertainment, including the Fringe Caravan, local talent show, sea creatures from the deep, music, comedy, food stalls, drinks and more. A visual creative feast!
FIND OUT MORE HERE
NARACOORTE LUCINDALE COUNCIL
Naracoorte Fringe Street Party
The Naracoorte Fringe Street Party will return on Saturday 12 March 2022, bigger and better than the inaugural event in 2021!
Take your picnic blankets and chairs and settle in for an afternoon of family friendly fun, in the Town Squares featuring the Fringe on Tour caravan, markets, and food vendors.
Expanding in 2022, the event will also transform local businesses and community spaces in Naracoorte’s CBD into intimate venues and gallery spaces to showcase the diversity and creativity that the community has to offer.
Saturday 12 March 2022, 2pm | Naracoorte Town Square | Naracoorte Lucindale Council
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
WHYALLA CITY COUNCIL
Whyalla UneARTh Festival
UneARTh Whyalla will kick off on Saturday 19 March in spectacular style with an epic opening event of music, entertainment with diverse food and markets. Enjoy a family fun day out and experience the beautiful festival gardens along the Whyalla Foreshore. Go for the day or for the entire 9 day festival, there’s plenty to enjoy!
Relax by the beautiful seaside, visit the dolphins, walk along our award-winning jetty, go for a swim, take a walk in the Wetlands or simply create and rejuvenate.
Saturday 19 March 2022, 11am | Ada Ryan Gardens, Whyalla
FIND MORE EVENTS AT WHYALLA UNEARTH FESTIVAL HERE
TOWN OF GAWLER
Gawler Fringe
The 2022 Gawler Fringe will again kick off with the Opening Event in Walker Place on Friday 18 February. This will be followed by a huge variety of events and activities taking place at the Gawler Civic Centre and around the Town for the entirety of the Adelaide Fringe month.
Right across the month of Fringe you can look forward to live music, comedy, film, theatre, circus, cabaret, quiz night, Fringe in the Park, Nunga Fringe, the Gawler Fringe Art Exhibition, workshops, demonstrations, Library events and so much more!
Saturday 19 to Sunday 20 March 2022 | For more information about the Gawler Fringe contact 8522 9208 or email community@gawler.sa.gov.au
Keep up to date via Instagram
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL PROGRAM
DISTRICT COUNCIL OF MOUNT BARKER
Cupid’s Koi Garden
The world’s first inflatable fountain is brought to you by ENESS, the creators of Airship Orchestra, a hit of Illuminate Adelaide.
You’re cruising past familiar hardware shops and fast-food outlets when suddenly, wha…? A gigantic cupid surrounded by 10 oversized goldfish in mock terrazzo ponds? Have the good burghers of Mount Barker District Council gone mad? Have they commissioned some folly to trump Tailem Bend’s rhino or Kingston’s cray?
No, they’ve partnered with the Adelaide Festival to delight the community. You might remember how nice it felt on a cold winter’s night to be crooned to by lullingly benign aliens. Well, this five-metre-high cherub may also boast cute LED eyes and an interactive soundtrack, but he’s prone to squirting you with jets of water – and on a scorching summer afternoon that’s nothing to whinge about.
The installation is FREE to view.
Wednesday 9 March – Monday 14 March 2022, 10am – 10pm daily | Keith Stephenson Park, Adelaide Road, Mount Barker
READ MORE HERE
ALEXANDRINA COUNCIL FRINGE EVENTS
The Goolwa Caravan
All manner of performers, comedians and characters delight audiences from 9 to 90 years of age out of the ‘Goolwa Caravan’ in 2022!
Sunday 13 March 2022, 10.30am | Goolwa RSL Garden of Honour
FIND MORE ALEXANDRINA COUNCIL FRINGE EVENTS HERE
CLARE & GILBERT VALLEYS COUNCIL
The Birds are Spies plus Charlotte and Georga Concert in Auburn The Clare Valley
After barely two years of playing together, The Birds are Spies emerged winners of the nationwide 2020 Rockfest, and Lachie took home the award for best drummer. They have numerous EPs available for streaming around the internet, as well as more than a dozen gigs under their belts. The most recent EP, Big Nothing, dropped in July and has spent the ensuing months creating waves in the local scene. The Birds are Spies are a band not to miss.
Charlotte and Georga have been a strong duo for three years now and have written many original songs together. They perform regularly around their rural town on the outskirts of Adelaide and infuse their music with inspiration from many artists like Melanie Martinez, Lana Del Rey and MSJ Angus and Julius Stone.
FIND MORE CLARE & GILBERT VALLEYS COUNCIL FRINGE EVENTS HERE
YORKE PENINSULA COUNCIL FRINGE EVENTS
Bettong and Buddies
Bettong and Buddies follows Rufous, a young bettong realising his dream to become a violinist. On this hilarious journey, he encounters other creatures in the Australian bush, who teach him and the audience, what it means to be a critical member of his ecosystem.
Bettong and Buddies is full of surprises. Is that a real Owl sitting in that tree? What else might you see?
Each new animal friend Rufous meets on his adventure gives him a gift which, when put together at the end, forms one very special surprise that will strike a chord!
After the show meet some of our unique endangered wildlife and have a pat and a hold.
Sit extra close to the action with our VIP seating, be the nearest to our live native animals! Interactive educational session included.
February & March | On tour Yorke Peninsula
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE & BOOK TICKETS
FIND MORE YORKE PENINSULA COUNCIL FRINGE EVENTS HERE
DISTRICT COUNCIL OF TUMBY BAY
Colour Tumby
On the long weekend, 11- 14 March, Tumby Bay will explode with an incredible, collaborative program of events including street art, markets and expo, classic car show and Fringe events including outdoor projected theatre in the “Garden of Industrial Delights”, and shows from the effervescent Adelaide party band Fizzy Pop and the fabulous Frankie J Holden and Wilbur Wilde.
Tumby Bay is a day’s drive (600km) from Adelaide, 300km from Port Augusta, and just 50km from Port Lincoln – and so worth the trip!
The Tumby Trail takes you on a socially distanced loop of existing street art and new walls being transformed in front of your eyes, with the magic of 60 plus market and expo stalls, and a classic car show on the stunning Tumby Bay foreshore complete with rock n roll music and dancing.
Friday 11 – Monday 14 March 2022 | Tumby Bay Soldier’s Memorial Hall
FIND MORE DISTRICT COUNCIL OF TUMBY BAY FRINGE EVENTS HERE
FIND EVENTS IN YOUR LOCAL COUNCIL ON THE LGA WEBSITE
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For more information about council services in your local area please visit the LGA website
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: supplied, Adelaide Fringe website
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