Holy hell. When did October become the new March? There are sooo many bloody cool events, festivals, markets, wine dinners, and everything in between, that it’s almost kind of ridiculous. Is it humanely possible to do everything? We’re game enough to try it.
Here are some of the major events happening in October but keep scrolling for a more comprehensive list of what’s going on in Adelaide this month.
- OzAsia: September 21 to October 8
- Open State: September 28 to October 8
- Indofest Adelaide: October 1
- Hybrid World Adelaide: October 4 to 8
- Festival of Architecture and Design October 5 to 8
- Adelaide Film Festival: October 5 to 15
- Bridgestone World Solar Challenge: October 8 to 15
- Adelaide Fashion Festival: October 11 to 15
- Vogue Festival: October 13 to 14
- Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Art: October 13 to 22
- Ferment the Festival: October 19 to 22
- Vegan Festival: October 28 to 29
Thursday 21 September – Sunday 8 October, OzAsia. OzAsia Festival is Australia’s premier international arts festival focusing on Asia. The two week festival features the finest theatre, dance, music, film, talks and visual arts that Asia has to offer. Highlights of the Festival include Lucky Dumpling Festival which will transport you to the street markets of Asia, with authentic cuisine, premium wine and beer, and market stalls. You can check out the full program of OzAsia Festival here.
Thursday 28 September – Sunday 8 October, Open State. Together with event partners, Open State have created a festival where South Australians come together to secure our future prosperity. Now in it’s second year, the festival features talks and events focusing on six categories; food, cities, planet, human, enterprise and democracy. Open State’s purpose is to connect global and local leaders with South Australians, to explore new opportunities and address our state’s challenges together. The best part? Over half of the events are free to the public! Check out the events program here.
Sunday 1 October, Moon Lantern Festival. Australia’s largest lantern parade will feature over 40 different handmade lanterns led by the giant Hong Kong dragon, plus community and roving performances. FREE ENTRY (Elder Park) but pro tip: get in early.
Sunday 1 October, McLaren Vale Spring Affair. Roam three of McLaren Vale’s most iconic wineries, Maxwell Wines, Paxton Wines and Coriole Wines at Spring Affair! Some of the best food and wine from the region will be on showcase, as well as live DJ music and a variety of tasting experiences at all three locations. Among the venues offering Spring Affair tours are The Highway and The Colonist. Limited tickets are still available here.
Sunday 1 October, Indofest Adelaide. Celebrate all things Indonesian at Indofest-Adelaide, a vibrant community festival. A collaborative effort of South Australia’s Indonesian community groups, it is hosted by the not-for-profit Australian-Indonesian Association of South Australia.This year, they celebrate the tenth anniversary of Indofest with an exciting program of traditional and contemporary music and dance, with cooking demonstrations, workshops for adults and children. Head to Victoria Square for a fun-filled day of free family activities with a range of delicious Indonesian regional food for sale.
Sunday 1 October & Sunday 15 October, Gilles Street Market. Held in the heart of Adelaide, Gilles Street Market returns to trade twice a month. Gilles Street Market is a focused Fashion & Accessories market only. It provides a fantastic platform for young South Australian designers and gives them the opportunity to develop their brands and style. Gilles Street Market will be open from 9 am to 4 pm. Check out the event here.
Wednesday 4 October – Sunday 8 October, Hybrid World Adelaide. An exciting new technology festival, and a first for South Australia, will be spanning across five days at the Tonsley Innovation District. Hybrid World Adelaide hosts a myriad of public activities, a conference and a development lab for new projects and inventions. Explore the many ways the real and digital worlds are intertwined.
Thursday 5 October – Sunday 8 October, Festival of Architecture and Design. Are you an architecture or design junkie? FAD, held every two years, presents a fun, engaging and informative program of architecture and design talks, forums, exhibitions, performing arts, children’s activities and guided walking tours. FAD celebrates and promotes the future of architecture and design in South Australia locally, nationally and internationally. Check out all of the events on offer here.
Thursday 5 October – Sunday 15 October, Adelaide Film Festival.
Grab your choc-tops! The Adelaide Film Festival is back for another jam packed season. Over 11 days, the festival fills the city and surrounds with feature films, documentaries, shorts, animation and new media works. In cinemas, galleries and on the street, Adelaide Film Festival sends you around the globe in a cinema seat. If you’re a serious movie lover, MultiPasses are your key to unlocking the amazing homegrown and international films on offer. Check out the full program guide here.
Friday 6 October, Comfort Food Cabaret by Michelle Pearson. A truly unique food-cabaret experience which walks the line between a cooking demo, supper club and cabaret performance. Within the show, Michelle cooks a three-course meal and feeds the audience, weaving in personal stories and moving renditions of popular rock, pop and jazz hits accompanied by Loren Quinn in the kitchen and maestro, Aaron Nash. Buy tickets here.
Saturday 7 October, Oktoberfest. Inspired by a deep love of the traditional Bavarian festival and great beer, Oktoberfest in the Gardens features two massive big top beer halls, authentic German food stalls, roving performers, sideshow alley, silent disco, and an eclectic mix of entertainment and on stage competitions across multiple stages throughout the afternoon and evening. You’ll be able to taste your way across Europe with a large selection of imported German beer, cider, wine and a range of other beverages. Buy tickets here.
Sunday 8 October – Sunday 15 October, Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Every two years, for the past 30 years, the World Solar Challenge has welcomed the greatest minds from around the world to Australia to travel the outback in a vehicle powered only by the sun. Traversing 3,000 km from Darwin to Adelaide, teams comprise of tertiary and secondary students from over 30 countries. Be part of the celebrations as the teams complete their challenge at the Official City of Adelaide Finish Line, marking a successful end to years of planning, designing, building and event preparations. Visit the village and be inspired by the future of solar and renewable energy technology. Free kids science activities from Questacon, Imagination Playground. Check out all the events on offer in Adelaide here.
Wednesday 11 October – Sunday 15 October, Adelaide Fashion Festival. Highlighting Adelaide’s dynamic and creative industries against a backdrop of the city’s vibrant venues, the Adelaide Fashion Festival returns this October. Showcasing established and up-and-coming Adelaide designers such as Naomi Murrell, Tiff Manuell and Paolo Sebastian, as they present contemporary fashion and accessories with unique hair and makeup styling. Also on offer includes local photography, music and South Australia’s iconic food and beverages. Check out all the amazing events on offer, tickets are still available for most events. There’s also the first Rural Runway happening at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa.
Friday 13 October, The Mercedes-Benz Unley Long Lunch. One of Adelaide’s leading fashion events, ‘The Mercedes-Benz Unley Long Lunch’, formally known as ‘Variety on King William’, is set to provide an afternoon full of vibrant local fashion and food. Embracing a whole new feel on Adelaide’s most iconic fashion strip, King William Road, this is an event not to be missed! There’s a long lunch with bubbles and live music, a gourmet grazing platter, bubbles, fashion, music and more. Buy tickets here.
Friday October 13 – Saturday 14 October, Vogue Festival. The inaugural Vogue Festival is invigorating Adelaide’s fashion scene in signature style with runway shows, prizes, giveaways, events and more in Rundle Mall and Rundle Street. Adelaide welcomes the new two-day event this year which is presented by Vogue Australia in partnership with Rundle Mall, Adelaide Fashion Festival and the City of Adelaide. Special guest appearances include Vogue Australia editor in chief Edwina McCann, the Face of Myer Jennifer Hawkins and City of Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese to launch our first Vogue Festival on Friday 13 October from 12pm under the Gawler Place Canopy in Rundle Mall. For more information about Vogue Festival, head to rundlemall.com/vogue.
Friday 13 October – Saturday 14 October, Seafood & Sounds at the Adelaide Central Market. Across two days the Adelaide Central Market will be putting on a Seafood and Sounds extravaganza! Celebrate the best local seafood with a Singapore style chilli crab pop-up, gin & bubbles bar, roving oyster shuckers, free activities for the kids and free cooking demos with a generous side of jazz and blues. FREE ENTRY.
Friday 13 October – Monday 22 October, Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art. Building on the success of the 2015 Festival, TARNANTHI returns in 2017, a platform for artists from across the country to share important stories. TARNANTHI sheds new light on contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. TARNANTHI works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to extend the practices they have been developing in studios, art centres, institutions and communities. Check out all of the events on offer here.
Friday 13 October, Sherry Sessions at FINO Seppeltsfield. Seppeltsfield has one of the largest and oldest Solero Sherry Systems with over 50,000 litres of sherry – now known in Australia as ‘Apera’. You’ll start with a walking tour to Store 2, one of the largest Fino soleros in the southern hemisphere, tasting Seppeltsfield Apera straight out of the barrel. Upon return to the restaurant you will be presented with 4 tastes of sherry including the Seppeltsfield Solero Apera collection, Spanish sherry along with 4 tapas. Then you’ll wrap up the Sherry session at 7pm with a very special pour of Apera from Seppeltsfield’s limited release Paramount Collection. Buy tickets here.
Saturday 14 October, Vogue Festival Wrap Party. Presented by East End Social, this is the ultimate Fashion Festival wrap party. Set to be held in Vardon Avenue with fashion parades, a moonshine bar, good tunes, great food and plenty of vino from East End Cellars and Mothervine. Buy tickets here.
Thursday 19 October – Sunday 22 October, Ferment the Festival. This festival is, you guessed it, a celebration of all things fermented in Rundle Park. From cheese, chocolate, charcuterie, sourdough bread, cultured butter, to beer, cider, gin, wine and whisky, to pickles, kombucha and kimchi, there is something bound to tickle your pickle. General admission tickets are $30 and under 12s get in free. Limited tickets for masterclasses are also available online.
Thursday 19 October. World Gin & Tonic Day.
Friday 20 October.Food Truck Movement Launches at the Adelaide Showgrounds. Adelaide’s first permanent food truck park is back bigger and better than ever. Every Friday-Sunday there will be live entertainment, food, and a bar full of amazing South Australia beer, cider and wine. Free entry.
Sunday 22 October, Label Style Markets. Shop new, preloved, samples & vintage fashion across the multi-level, industrially chic Plant 4 Bowden. There’s plenty of delicious food on offer as well as a loft bar and balcony over looking the entire market where you can enjoy local drops including craft beer, wine & gin.
Sunday 22 October, The Kensi x Sidewood Estate Long Lunch. Enjoy a six-course menu paired with great wine and cider at the Kensi’s Long Lunch with Sidewood Estate! They’ve got things like Seared scallops, black rice risotto, sautéed oyster mushroom, pea puree, pane frito; Confit pork belly, orange miso sauce, charred asparagus, pickled radish, crackling, baby shiso and Chargrilled lamb rump, pressed lamb shoulder, prosciutto, cauliflower puree, roast pumpkin, pickled rhubarb, native pepper berry and port jus. Bookings essential – buy tickets here.
Thursday 24 October – Saturday 28 October, Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Swimming Championships. Come and see the stars of the World Championships Emily Seebohm, Emma McKeon and Mack Horton as well as Olympic gold medallists Kyle Chalmers and Cate and Bronte Campbell as they take on the 2017 Australian Short Course Championships in Adelaide. Plus see our Para swimmers Ellie Cole, Monique Murphy, Matthew Levy and Brenden Hall fresh off the back of the World Championships in Mexico. Buy tickets here.
Saturday 28 October, Urban Wine Walk. Put on a pair of your most comfortable shoes as the streets, laneways and footpaths of Adelaide are transformed into the ultimate cellar door experience. Urban Wine Walk offers a self-guided wine tasting experience from a handpicked selection of local bars and restaurants. Vino Lover tickets are available at this link.
Saturday October 28, Slowlife Hosted by Food Truck Movement. A car show, a car meet, and an automotive entertainment hub revolving around nothing but the four (or two) wheeled machines that you love. A twilight celebration of South Australian food, beverages and local talent. The Slowlife car community will be brought together to celebrate a mutual love, respect and passion alongside the Food Truck Movement. There will be some of SA’s favourite food trucks and a fully equipped bar licensed ’til midnight as well as live music. The event kicks off from 5pm.
Saturday 28 October – Sunday 29 October, Vegan Festival. Bringing together the vegan and non-vegan community of Adelaide, Vegan Festival, returns in October. Over two massive days, Vegan Festival offers stalls with amazing food and products, inspiring keynote speakers, empowering cooking demonstrations, workshops, kids entertainment and activities, not for profit organisations and community groups and dancing. Entry is $5 and under 12s get in for free.
Saturday 28 October, Halloween on King William 2017. Dress up your kids in their spookiest (or cutest) outfit and take to King William Road to trick or treat among the districts shops, restaurants and cafes. Come and enjoy the free Halloween Bloomsbury Street Party between 10am-2pm! It’s fun filled with local entertainment and activities for the whole family. There will be a Halloween photobooth, giant games and face painting! You can also enjoy music in Bloomsbury from The Atlantic Street Band, Chunky Milk school band (Unley High) and a Kids DJ.
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