Wide Open Space Music, Arts and Desert Culture Festival

An all ages festival for Central Australia, showcasing inspiring local and national music and arts. Situated against the stunning backdrop of the East Macdonnell Ranges at the Ross River Resort 85 km from Mparntwe Alice Springs, Wide Open Space blends music, dance, art, environment, and desert culture with a unique outback camping experience.

Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival

The Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival will be held on the 5th of May on the Nightcliff foreshore, followed by a week of workshops around Darwin.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Wordstorm Writers Festival

The NT Writers’ Centre presents a four-day extravaganza of writing in all its wild and wonderful forms. Wordstorm offers over thirty NT, interstate and overseas writers, literary dinners, the famous comedy debate, workshops, master classes, panels, readings, book launches, live music, cabaret, poetry slams, zine workshops, digital poetry and the Fabulous Festival Club to cruise you through the balmy evenings.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$30 000 per year 2012-13.

Merrepen Arts and Sports Festival

The annual Merrepen Arts Festival showcases the exquisite visual arts of the region, based on its abundant bush tucker and encompasses a combination of events, including art sales and auctions, traditional music and dance, bush tucker displays and tasting and a football and sporting carnival.

Boonu Boonu Festival

This festival is a celebration of Indigenous culture from Borroloola and surrounding regions. There is a strong dance and music component to the program which fosters young people to maintain the cultural traditions of their country.

Barunga Sports and Cultural Festival

One of the major and longest-running Indigenous community festivals in the Northern Territory. The festival showcases contemporary Indigenous musicians from the Territory and runs concurrently with a sports program and attracts participants from remote communities throughout the Territory. Cultural activities include traditional didgeridoo workshops and performances, traditional dance, arts and crafts demonstrations and exhibitions. Bush tucker tastings and spear throwing are all regular elements of the festival.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2010-12.

Original Recipe

A festival presented by Music NT that celebrates local original music in the Northern Territory. The festival will provide performance opportunities for local musicians and increase awareness of local music in the wider general public.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$15 000 for 2012.

Ngukurr Festival

The inaugural Ngukurr Festival will be celebrating the culture, history and country of the region. Activities will include mural painting, art competition, didgeridoo making, craft and much more. Open to the general public.

The Bulman/Weemol Community Festival

A festival that will showcase cultural, sporting and healthy lifestyles opportunities. The festival will engage the community in a range of workshops, crafts and bush foods. There will also be a film screening, disco, music concert and the Bulman Olympics.

Alice Springs Beanie Festival

A unique Central Australian event to celebrate the humble beanie. Over 6 000 beanies from around the world handmade by over 500 beanie makers. Textile workshops, exhibitions, live music and our world famous teashop. Highlighted at the festival are the beanies produced by the Indigenous women of Central Australia, there to share their crafts and cook you kangaroo tail!

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Pine Creek Gold Rush Festival

The Pine Creek Goldrush Festival brings a whole weekend of events to the town, including the Gold Panning Championships and the Pine Creek Art Exhibition and Art Prize of $2 000. The Gold Rush Festival promotes the mining industry, the history and Indigenous culture of the area.

Traditional Dance Festival at Ali Curung

Located four hours north of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway to Darwin, the Festival presents dancing, woomera spear throwing competitions, a fire making competition with boomerangs, nightly music concerts and film showings. The festival will also hold football, softball and basketball games.

At the community owned Art Gallery, bush tucker tastings, bush medicine talks and art demonstrations of painting, jewellery making and artefact making can also be experienced.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Wadeye Harmony in our Community Festival

Wadeye (also known as Port Keats) is an Aboriginal community located in the northwestern corner of the Northern Territory, roughly 400kms from Darwin. It is the largest, isolated Aboriginal community in Australia with 3 000 people. This festival brings together the seven different clans to celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the region.

Gove Peninsula Festival

A huge celebration of the music, art, sport and recreation in the Gove region. The festival showcases a wide range of entertainment including float parade, arts, crafts, performances, sports and activities.

Walking with Spirits

A performance event in an ancient playground, when the Wugularr (Beswick) Community invite visitors to camp for the week and share their songs, stories, dance and music. Features corroborees from several Arnhem Land languages and Beswick Falls, open to the general public only once a year for this event. Provides the perfect natural setting for the show with its picturesque lake and cliffs.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2010-12.

Milimika Festival (A Break on the Islands)

Milimika - Tiwi Islands Festival, in its second year, offers a packed program of arts, culture and performing arts. This is a weekend of celebration with proud Tiwi Islanders' sharing their culture, featuring local talent in music, dance, the Tiwi Bombers football team and lots of activities for kids.

Lingalonga Festival

Held under a canopy of beautiful trees at the Batchelor Oval, this family friendly event has something for everyone.
Activities have included a rock climbing wall, giant waterslide, and entertainment such as dancers, music, sporting events and market stalls with great food.

Darwin Festival

The Darwin Festival reflects the Indigenous, Asian and Pacific cultures of the region and provides a feast of local, national and international performances to excite, inspire and entertain. The festival includes everything from free outdoor events to theatre, dance, music, cabaret, films, workshops and comedy, not to mention the sensational cuisine, artists and cultural groups.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government as
Principle Partner with $1 million.

The Katherine Festival

The community of Katherine comes together to enjoy a wide variety of arts and entertainment over a period of ten days. The events have included Mayoral Debutante Ball, Katherine Prize Art and Craft Acquisition Awards, exhibitions, artistic workshop activities, Aboriginal culture, family fun day with the Teddy Bear's Picnic, unique cultural experience of the Chinese Dragon Boat Races on the Katherine Gorge in Nitimluk National Park, Flying Fox Walk and Talk,' Main Event' including markets, car show, and plenty of entertainment.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Stone Country Festival

The Stone Country Festival features traditional dancing, painting and weaving demonstrations, bush tucker banquets, Bim story tent (a forum and stories presented by Binninj), a massive art market, a sports carnival and scenic helicopter flights. Other highlights are tours of Injalak Hill to view ancient rock art, and a concert of contemporary Aboriginal music in the evening. The festival is set in the beautiful location of floodplains surrounded by the West Arnhem Escarpment.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Desert Harmony Arts and Cultural Festival

A growing annual festival that celebrates cultural diversity through dance, performance, street parade and markets, music and art with a rich tapestry of events, breathing new life into the community and reflecting the harmonious environment that residents enjoy.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2010-12.

DanceSite

DanceSite celebrates Indigenous traditional dance from Central Australia and provides a cultural backdrop for further appreciation and greater insight into Central Australian Indigenous culture including dance, ceremony and connection to country.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$18 000 per year 2011-13.

Palmerston Festival

The Palmerston Festival has been established since 1990 and is an annual celebration of the community. The Festival provides opportunities for people to develop new skills, meet new people, and discover new talents and ways of expressing themselves. Previous programs have included Festival of the Kites, Art in the Lime light, Youth Night, Sound Healing Workshop, Palmerston’s Got Talent, Toddler Proms with Darwin Symphony, Pet Fair, Psychodrama Workshops and Family Fun Day.

Alice Desert Festival

Central Australia’s premier arts and cultural festival, celebrating the desert and its peoples. The Alice Desert Festival shares the stories, songs and the unique lifestyle of Central Australia’s arid region. RedHOT Arts Central Australia manages this unique annual event. The festival includes the Bush Bands Bash where musicians from some of the most remote communities in the Australia come together to perform, the Wearable Art Awards, the exquisite cooking of wild bush foods and choirs that are set amidst ancient and desert landscape.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$180 000.

Bush Bands Bash

The Bush Band Bash is the forefront of contemporary Indigenous music showcasing in Central Australia and has attracted a significant following from both Indigenous and non-indigenous audiences. Nine previous concerts have been held as a major event at the Alice Springs Desert Festival in September. The event has a national profile, with bands performing to upwards of 4000 people each year.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Jabiru Mahbilil Festival

The traditional owners of Kakadu welcome visitors to become involved in the festival celebrations. Held beside Lake Jabiru, the Mahbilil Festival is a one-day celebration of cultural diversity and community. Running from midday to midnight, the Jabiru community far and wide, come together to enjoy a range of festivities including popular traditional dancing, market stalls and bush foods. The highlight for many is the grand Magpie Goose cooking competition. Children can get involved by helping traditional owners prepare the geese for cooking over the coals.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2010-12.

Mobfest Tanami 2012

Three days of fabulous workshops and concerts showcasing the great things remote Indigenous kids can achieve when given the vehicle of music and arts as a pathway for learning and education. A comprehensive cultural program runs concurrently with the Music Outback Program. Story telling and sand stories, body painting, art & the making of artefacts will be on the daily menu.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Fist Full of Films

The Northern Territory's home-grown short film festival and has been showcasing NT short films for more than 10 years. Fist Full of Films screens Territory-made short films in all genres including drama, comedy, documentary, animation and digital media.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-13.

Galiwin'ku Healthy Lifestyle Festival

The festival, organised by the Galiwin’ku Community in northeast Arnhem Land on Elcho Island, aims to strengthen traditional understandings of health and healing.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2010-12.

Gattjirrk Milingimbi Cultural Festival

The Milingimbi Festival celebrate and strengthen cultural expression through traditional dance, music workshops, local bands, arts and crafts.

Ramingining Bak’bididi Festival

The Bak’bididi Festival at Ramingining is a cultural event showcasing the artistic, musical and sporting talent of Yolngu people in communities in East Arnhem Land. Events include an art competition, sports, traditional and contemporary dance, spear throwing, and music.

Darwin Fridge Festival

Yes Fridge! Darwin Community Arts is producing a unique, adventurous and distinctly Darwin community festival. This festival involves not only the whole Darwin community but also remote communities in the Northern Territory and engages an array of visual artists, performers, graffiti artists, and photographers.

Milpirri Festival

Milpirri is large-scale performance event, staged in the Aboriginal community of Lajamanu in the northwest Tanami Desert. It embraces and celebrates what it means to be Warlpiri. Milpirri is based on teachings from traditional ceremony. It assists young Warlpiri people discover their cultural heritage through their old people, and through engaging with Tracks artists they are enabled to express this culture in new forms.

Proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government with
$20 000 per year 2011-12.

Darwin Pride Festival

Darwin's very own Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Festival. The Darwin Pride Festival aims to promote equality and diversity through a range of week long events and activities that create a cultural celebration and awareness of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (GLBTQ) community in Darwin and surrounding regions. Events range from art exhibitions, SistaGirls, sunset cruises, Queer film nights, free family day picnics, Gala drag nights and dance parties.