Ignite your Off Season with a winter pilgrimage to Tasmania's stimulating south.
When the temperature drops, Hobart and the south warms up. This is where larger-than-life festivals and artistic installations spark to life. Inhale the southern chill and stoke your inner fire with Off Season festivities, experiences and events.
EAT
Fresh seafood, cool-climate wines, fungi-laden tunnels and abundant fruit orchards make southern Tasmania and Hobart in winter an unmissable food and drink destination.
An annual highlight on Tasmania’s foodie calendar, Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast, is one of the tastiest things to do in the city during winter.
The south of the state has a tantalising variety of fine dining restaurants, wine bars and cafes.
If you like your wines lo-fi, dining out is sure to be top of your things to do in Hobart. Pair your natty wine with dishes crafted by some of the state’s best chefs showcasing southern small-farm produce.
Find stillness by a glacial lake, sink into an outdoor hot tub under the stars or settle into heritage luxury in the heart of the city.
Winter in Tasmania’s south is a time for indulgence, where the crackle of a fireplace and the cool air pouring off Kunanyi / Mount Wellington makes for a perfect pairing.
Whether you need a secluded retreat or a lively night out in Hobartthe city offers a mix of wilderness and cultural things to do during winter, so you can choose to pause or party.
Sink into luxury in Salamanca with bustling nightlife on your doorstep, or head further south for infinite starry skies to ogle from your balcony.
Embrace the season's wild side with a jam-packed festival, events and tour season. The south comes alive in the winter, with thought-provoking art and places to dance, sing, sweat and explore.
Tasmania’s south is an open invitation to experience winter in its most exhilarating form.
Lightwave is an annual winter arts festival celebrating 'people and place' across Turrakana Tasman Peninsula. Lightwave fosters community connection and collective warmth in the darkness of winter by taking the phenomenon of light as the catalyst for the festival's multi-artform programme.
Lightwave presents three days of music and art events on Turrakana Tasman Peninsula in the southeast of Tasmania. The main event features live music, contemporary light-based art, delicious food, and community warmth and is a free, all ages community festival.
Friday 21 July 2023 - Sunday 20 August 2023 (Annual) Hobart
Presented by Hadley’s Orient Hotel, the Hadley’s Art Prize, Hobart is an acquisitive Australian landscape prize, which offers $100,000 to the winning entry.
Hadley’s Orient Hotel has a long history with art starting with art-loving landlords in the late 1800s. The Hadley’s Art Prize contributes to the art community, celebrates excellence in contemporary landscape art, promotes cultural tourism in Tasmania, and restores art to the historic walls of Hadley’s Orient Hotel through a landscape prize similar to the competition won by Howard Hadley in 1895.
Judged by a panel of art specialists, the prize is open to Australian artists over the age of eighteen working in two-dimensional media. Artists at all career stages are invited to enter.
Saturday 2 August 2025 - Sunday 10 August 2025 (Annual) Hobart
For one week, every year, we can get together and share our story and passion for whisky and spirits with people from around the world.
Celebrating the achievements and craft of Tasmanian distillers, Tasmanian Whisky Week is a celebration of the numerous Tasmanian distilleries, their spirits and whisky.
Seven days of events are held in the north and south of the state covering diverse and engaging consumer events.
Over 40 distilleries attending events over 20 events, culminating in the flagship event, The Tasmanian Spirit Showcase will be held at PW1, Hobart on Saturday, 9 August.
Tasmania is the whisky destination of Australia, and Tasmanian Whisky Week is the event to celebrate.
Friday 8 August 2025 - Friday 29 August 2025 (Annual) Hobart
Pink-glowing possums and bandicoots, green-glowing snails and wallabies, blue-glowing spiders and sugar gliders, technicolour owls, flowers, and fungi! Join biologist Dr Lisa Gershwin on this truly unforgettable nature experience, a short walk from Hobart's CBD.
Lisa will share the glowing world through fascinating stories and show you how to get great photos. You might even spot a platypus! Lisa will supply the ultraviolet (UV) torches and the natural history narrative, while nature will supply the wonder and awe.
Saturday 9 August 2025 - Sunday 10 August 2025 (Annual) Oatlands
The Heritage & Bullock Festival, is a two-day celebration that showcases the best of Oatlands' unique culture and history.
The Festival will be held the weekend of the 9 & 10th August, 2025.
The Heritage and Bullock Festival is a must attend event that celebrates and preserves our heritage. Immerse yourself into the rich tapestry of traditions, craft and culture. The street parade brings history and culture to life as it moves down High Street, with dynamic displays of music, dance, steam engines, vintage cars, machinery, trucks and of course the bullock display.
Tuesday 12 August 2025 - Tuesday 19 August 2025 (Annual) Hobart
Imagine a place where scientists grace centre stage, microscopes live on bar tables, and late-night conversations have the potential to change the world. Welcome to Beaker Street Festival, where science brings us together.
Beaker Street Festival is a week-long celebration of science in Lutruwita/Tasmania each August. Now approaching it’s ninth year, Beaker Street Festival promises a mix of wonder, flavour, and scientifically proven fun. The Festival invites adults from all walks of life to delve into today’s hottest topics with a packed program of science-infused entertainment and discussions, while experiencing the best of Tasmanian environments and culture.
Tuesday 12 August 2025 - Tuesday 19 August 2025 (Annual) Hobart
Join Dark Sky Tasmania members for a guided walking tour of Hobart after dark. Learn how the lighting we add to our city impacts the way we use our public spaces and affects the environment at large.
This one-hour walk will offer a unique insight into urban lighting and the problem of light pollution. As you wind your way through the Hobart streets, you will experience various examples, both good and bad, of how artificial light at night influences the way people interact with their city after dark, and the impact this is having on our planet.
Tuesday 12 August 2025 - Tuesday 19 August 2025 (Annual) Hobart
It's a rite of passage and much-loved tradition for workers in Antarctica to plunge themselves into the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean (watch a great video about it here). Of course, it doesn't hurt if you've got a sauna on hand to run straight into after emerging from the icy waters.
Join us at Hobartica to enjoy a series of salt water cold plunges, set at a range of "colds" from positively Antarctic to balmy 2050 predicted sea water temperatures. Then warm up in steamy, wood-fired tent saunas designed by local Finnish artist Nanna Bayer and crafted by Tassie artisans.
Brave the zero-degree plunge, and you'll earn a highly coveted, limited edition badge designed by local artist Kat Scarlet. Book an entire tent sauna for up to seven people, or an individual spot. After your session, spend some time kicking back in the chill-out yurt and then enjoy the rest of what Hobartica has to offer.
PLEASE NOTE: Cold water immersion is not recommended for people with heart or circulatory conditions. If you have any concerns about exposure to cold water or saunas based on your individual conditions or medications, always check with your doctor first.
You know the feeling: You fall in love with a wine at a vineyard, or over a magical night out with friends, and when you open the same bottle at home… something's missing. The wine hasn't changed but it's not quite the same.
Wine is never just about taste. It's about the music, the lighting, the company, the moment. In this immersive workshop, Curly Haslam-Coates, a synaesthetic wine educator who experiences flavours as a multi-sensory journey, will guide you through a different kind of wine tasting. One that explores how memory, environment, and emotion shape what's in your glass.
Learn how to create experiences that elevate the everyday, and turn a simple glass of wine into something unforgettable.
The cult live onstage dating show, straight outta Melbourne (and the '70s), makes its Hobart debut! Three hopeful nerds will vie for the attention of one solo contestant, aiming to capture their heart with personality, wit, and scientific wisdom. Get off the apps and find love — or at least a great night out — in real life.
This session is part of the Beaker Street Main Stage at Hobart City Hall. Your House Band for the evening will be the dangerously well-rehearsed Stevie and the Bunsen Burners. Enter through Market Place, where you'll find drinks, food, fires, and friendly strangers. Come early, stay late to enjoy all the action.
Don your woolly socks and subscribe to the Off Season newsletter to be the first to know about Tasmania’s winter festivals, events and special offers.
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