From cherry harvests to curry festivals, NSW's events calendar is stacked with food festivals. Whatever the season or your culinary inclination, meet the state’s best growers, producers and cooks at these annual free and ticketed foodie celebrations.
- 5 min read
Spring
Once a small community event, Flavours of Mudgee (free entry) is now one of NSW’s biggest celebrations of food and wine. In late September Mudgee’s streets are lined with over 60 stalls doling out hearty meals, cheese samples, olives and preserves plus the region’s best big reds and bright chardonnays.
In the same month the Hunter Valley hosts the D’Vine Festival (free entry), a three-day lineup of barrel tastings, wine-paired banquets and barbecues, all highlighting the stellar producers that helped put the region on the map. In between meeting the makers, enjoy live music, garden tours, segway tours, axe throwing and carriage tours.
Flavours of Mudgee - Credit: Mid-Western Regional Council
Head west to wander alongside the Lachlan River, stopping to enjoy six delicious food and beverage pairings chosen for Grazing Down the Lachlan. Apart from the amazing central west produce showcase, what makes this September dining experience truly unique is the underlying commitment to delivering a no-waste, environmentally responsible event.
On the North Coast, spring is an explosion of flavour. Woolgoolga celebrates its local Punjabi community with more than 100 stalls at Curryfest (ticketed entry). In October, Savour the Tweed (free entry) offers a packed five-day program of food tastings, markets, author talks, communal dinners and the Fire to Fork Feast, a menu of fire-kissed dishes.
Grazing Down the Lachlan, Greens Road - Credit: Monique Lovick Photography | Grazing Down the Lachlan
In the Riverina, food, community and connection to land are all celebrated at the Riverina Good Food Weekend. Long lunches, road trips between farm gates, canola trail photo stops and cooking workshops await. Each October, the Griffith Spring Fest (free entry) celebrates spring harvest and spring gardens with over 60 unique citrus sculptures made from locally grown oranges and grapefruit. Explore the region’s finest private gardens during the Open Gardens weekend, fuel up at food stalls and don’t miss the street party among the fruity sculptures.
Bowral’s two-day Horizontal Festival (ticketed entry) over the October long weekend highlights the charming region’s excellent food and wine. Entry tickets include wine, distillery and cheese tastings, live music and performances, a take-home festival glass and market access.
Griffith Spring Fest , Griffith - Credit: Andrew McLean | Griffith Tourism
Summer
Held at the height of the Southern Tablelands’ picking season in December, the National Cherry Festival (free entry) takes over Young. The three-day festival is a chance to gorge yourself on cherry pies, compete in quirky games like pip spitting, see live music and a street parade. Kids can join the fashion parade and jump on thrilling carnival rides.
In the New England area, the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival (free entry) celebrates exactly what it promises in addition to live music, antiques and a craft market in the new year – stop by on the way to the Tamworh Country Music Festival.
National Cherry Festival, Young
Autumn
For one fabulous day in March taste small batch wines, feast on farm gate produce and dance to live music at A Little Bit of Broke (ticketed entry), located only 20 minutes from the heart of the Hunter Valley. Roam between 15 of Broke’s best venues - tickets include a souvenir wine glass and four tastings.
On the mid-North Coast, Shoal Bay Food and Wine Festival (free entry) sees a guest chef conduct a cooking demonstration as the sun sets and guests enjoy delicious local food and drink. Head to Oberon in the Blue Mountains for Field to Forest (free entry), a three-week showcase of the region’s wild and cultivated produce. Forage wild (and safe) mushrooms, join one of the idyllic forest lunches, browse autumnal markets and explore the town’s beautiful open gardens.
A Little Bit of Broke, Broke
Orange FOOD Week (ticketed entry) is Australia’s longest-running regional food festival, with locals and visitors celebrating the wine region since 1991. In 2026, it will celebrate 35 years with close to 100 events featuring chefs, growers and winemakers. Over 10 days in March (held during the autumn grape harvest), enjoy a raucous mix of night markets, workshops, foraging expeditions, vineyard tours and long lunches that take over the city streets.
Orange FOOD Week, Orange - Credit: Orange FOOD Week
One of NSW’s biggest autumn festivals is Newcastle Food Month (free entry), which fills April with over 70 flavoursome events at restaurants, masterclasses and pop-up cellar doors. Further north, the New England area hosts two autumn festivals: Taste Tamworth Festival (ticketed entry) and Moree on a Plate (ticketed entry). The former is a 10-day smorgasbord of blind tastings, food workshops, picnics and long lunches. The latter sees 50 local producers showcase their best during a long lunch and a festival marketplace.
Newcastle Food Month, Newcastle
A highlight on the Sapphire Coast’s culinary calendar is the Eat Festival (free entry) featuring farm-to-table oyster tastings and bespoke events presented by the region’s best bakers, chefs and drinks masters. Join in March for a day of sunset oyster-tasting cruises by kayak, long lunches and picnics. Further north, the South Coast hosts Narooma Oyster Festival (free entry) on the first weekend of May. Learn how to shuck oysters, watch cooking demonstrations and tour oyster farms to meet farmers before eating your fill. True fans can start the festivities early at Rock Oyster Week in Pambula.
Eat Festival, Merimbula - Credit: David Rogers Photography
Taste seasonal flavours at Shoalhaven’s Autumn Celebration of Food, which runs for six weeks across May and June. Join charcuterie courses, make your own chocolate box, enjoy street eats with a side of street beats and more.
Head north to Casino, the self-proclaimed ‘beef capital of Australia’, for the nine-day Casino Beef Week (free entry). Tour farms and learn about the paddock-to-plate process before enjoying markets, music, motorcycle stunts and competitions. Hungry? Eat a juicy steak.
Casino Beef Week, Casino - Credit: Jess George
A June long weekend mainstay on any food and music lover’s radar is the Glenworth Grazing Festival (ticketed entry) in the picturesque Glenworth Valley on the Central Coast. Two days of live music are the backdrop to an enormous food offering with over 100 local vendors serving everything from fresh oysters to okonomiyaki as musicians fill the air with music.
Glenworth Grazing Festival, Glenworth Valley - Credit: Glenworth Grazing Festival
Discover the bucolic countryside of the Central Coast hinterland at the Harvest Festival (free entry) over the June long weekend. The curated event trail loops in local farms, country markets, pick-your-own produce experiences, scavenger hunts and more.
Winter
One of NSW’s most unique festivals is the South Coast’s Fungi Feastival (ticketed events), a month-long exploration of science, truffle hunting, tastings and mushroom-related art. While the south is celebrating a cool mushroom season, the North Coast takes on the heat with the Sawtell Chillifest (ticketed event) on the first Saturday of July. Stroll the main street where 100 exhibitors and food vendors sling chilli-infused dishes or catch the live chilli-eating challenge where champions compete for a spot in the World Chilli Championship.
Griffith celebrates 90 years of Italian migrant history with two winter festivals. A Taste of Italy - Griffith (ticketed entry) is a week-long exploration of traditional Italian cooking and eating, ending in the lively salami competition and banquet Festa delle Salsicce (Festival of the Sausage).
A Taste of Italy, Griffith - Credit: A Taste of Italy
