It’s frosty – there’s no doubt about it. And while curling up in bed with a wheat pack and a hot choccy may seem like the sensible winter in Adelaide option, there’s plenty of things to do in the great, wet outdoors. From sensational festival of light and art to vegan foodie fests and live music, there’s heaps of things to do in Adelaide this July. Check them out – but stay toasty!
1. Beer & BBQ Festival
Come July, the annual Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival will be in fully swing at the Adelaide Showgrounds; with schooners all ’round and plates aplenty, as well as three days of live music, niche market stalls, competitions, tattooing, and a whole heap more of whacky goodness. The hoppy affair has grown to become the biggest festival celebrating all things beer south of the equator – a testament to our love for craft beer Down Under. Nab tickets and find out more about Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival here.
2. Illuminate Adelaide
Since its inception in 2021, Illuminate Adelaide has been wowing audiences with stunning light installations in spectacular collisions of technology, music and art, and this year a range of new experiences are set to dazzle gazers. The innovative 2023 program boasts immersive affairs, world premieres, and shows exclusive to Adelaide in a variety of ticketed and free events across the city from Wednesday 28 June. Check out Illuminate Adelaide’s festival highlights here!
3. Mary Poppins Musical
Everyone’s favourite nanny is making her way to the Adelaide Festival Centre this July in the Mary Poppins Musical. The musical has already wowed crowds at the Australian-premiere Sydney season, and now it’s our turn to experience the magic. Adelaideians can look forward to an unforgettable stage production, some breath-taking music, and remarkable dance numbers. Read more about Mary Poppins Musical and nab tickets here.
4. Adelaide Guitar Festival
From Saturday 1 until Sunday 16 July, the Adelaide Festival Centre will once again welcome the Adelaide Guitar Festival to the grounds. This year’s festival includes a myriad of events featuring some of the world’s finest guitar players playing across a number of musical genres, including both local and international acts. A few highlights of the Adelaide Guitar Festival include: The Milk Carton Kids, The Music of Jeff Beck, Colours of Spain, and Joseph Tawadros.
5. Glenelg Winter Arts Festival
Brought to us by the one and only Gluttony – the Adelaide Fringe’s biggest venue – Glenelg Winter Arts Festival is set to welcome some of Australia’s top comedians to the Bay, as well as a number of Fringe favourites taking to the stage with brand-new music, magic, circus, and cabaret shows. Cosy up whilst listening to live acoustic music on the weekends, along with a beaut marketplace up to satisfy your browsing needs, plus enjoy a number of bars and food vendors. Read all about the Glenelg Winter Arts Festival here.
6. Vegan Palooza
On Saturday 1 July from 12pm through to 6pm at the Tonsley Innovation District, the Vegan Palooza is back for another year celebrating all things cruelty-free. The marketplace is set to showcase 30 stalls slinging delectable plant-based foods from donuts and burgers to yiros and ice-cream. If you’ve always been a little curious about some of the tastiest vegan food that Adelaide has to offer, best check out this year’s Vegan Palooza! Mock the booze and mock the meat, and you’ve got yourself a mighty fine Saturday afternoon.
7. Wheaty Brewing Corps Ninth Birthday
On Sunday 9 July from 4pm, join the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Thebarton for Wheaty Brewing Corps ninth birthday. The no frills, yesteryear pub is a fab spot to pull up and enjoy live tunes by Bromham, and Lucinda Grace – and with free entry and all your favourite Wheaty beers, there’s no reason not to head along and support a magnificent local pub. The Wheatsheaf Hotel is a South Australian treasure, as featured in our women-led and owned businesses in Adelaide guide.
8. AVCon 2023
From Friday 21 through to Sunday 23 July the AVCon is making a return to the Adelaide Convention Centre. The festival celebrates all things anime and video games, and you can expect to get into everything from video game challenges, esports, Cosplay, local artists and vendors, and a whole lot more. Gather your gaming-loving mate for the vibrant, three-day affair.
9. Stirling Market
On Sunday 23 July from 10am until 4pm, head into the Adelaide Hills for the monthly Stirling Market. Mosey around the local artisan’s stalls where you can find everything from dried fruit, fashion, plants, ceramics, olive oil, jewellery, and crafts, while listening to live music and breathing in that fresh hill’s air. There’ll be heaps of tasty food to enjoy too, not to mention the remnants of the beautiful autumn colours.
10. FIFA Women’s World Cup: Australia and New Zealand
In huge new, Adelaide was drawn to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup: Australia and New Zealand from Monday 24 July until Tuesday 8 August at Hindmarsh Stadium. Our state will welcome England, Brazil, China PR, Korea Republic, and Morocco for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Adelaide this year.
11. Willunga Almond Blossom Festival
On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July between 11am to 9pm and 10am to 4pm, respectively, head on down to Willunga Recreation Park for the annual Willunga Almond Blossom Festival. Here, you’ll find plenty of food, Saturday night fireworks, market stalls, camel and show rides, circus performers, an animal nursery, live music, and an Almond Hub where you can explore all things almond. There’ll even be an almond cookery competition and an almond cracking competition too. With over 50 years in the Almond Festival biz, the celebration is a fab event for all ages.
12. An Evening With Peter Singer
On Sunday 23 July from 7pm, head to the Adelaide Town Hall for An Evening With Peter Singer – one of the world’s leading thinkers on ethics and social justice. The philosopher is said to be one of the most influential of our time, and he’ll be sharing his latest insights on topics such as animal welfare, effective altruism, and global poverty. You’ll be able to engage in thought-provoking conversation throughout the evening and leave with a new perspective on the world around us.
13. Gilles At The Grounds
On Sunday 2 and 23 July from a crisp 9am until 3pm, Gilles At The Grounds is returning to the historic Brick Dairy at the Wayville Showgrounds. There’s going to be over 100 market stalls for all your browsing needs from vintage clothes to retro homewares and eco products, delicious foods like plant-based lamb yiros and delicate cupcakes, and live music by local musicians. It’s free entry for both you and your dog too.
14. Moseley Igloos
The Moseley Igloos have made a grand return to Glenelg this year, and you can experience the wintery feature from now all the way through to September 2023. Cosy up inside one of the two see-through domes all whilst feasting on a hearty meal and sipping a warming wine – complete with a fireplace and blankets. Read all about the Moseley Igloos here.
15. The General Havelock’s Refurbishment
After a mammoth restoration, The General Havelock has swung its doors back open to the public which is bound to revitalise Hutt Street as a hospitality hotspot. Maxo relaxo atop the newly renovated heritage balcony that boasts 270-degree views of leafy Hutt Street and the partial, distant city skyline. And soak up some yesteryear vibes at the front bar which has been restored to its classic facade which amps up that old-school pub feel, reminiscent of its 1873 prime. Read all about the refurbishment here.
16. Cellar Door Fest Winter Edit
On both Friday 7 and Saturday 8 July the Cellar Door Fest Winter Edit is returning for another year at the Adelaide Convention Centre. The winter edit is set to be a smaller take on the award-winning summer edit of Cellar Door Fest, and will see a hand-picked selection of SA’s fab food, wine, and spirits in one central city location. Along with the taste bud sensations, enjoy a line-up of folk, indie, disco and soul music performed live.
17. The Spooky Men’s Chorale
On Sunday 30 July from 7pm until 9:15pm, head to the Adelaide Town Hall for The Spooky Men’s Chorale. Formed in 2001, The Chorale is a ‘vast, rumbling, steam powered and black clad behemoth’, where the Spooky Men will ‘dig deeply into their multifarious themes: Georgian male polyphony, a running joke on man as a vast, oblivious useless object, whispers of clown, bouffon and Monty Python, and forays into massively pleasurable grunting tribalism’.
18. Spin Off Festival
On Friday 21 July from 11am until 11pm, head to the Adelaide Showgrounds for the annual Spin Off Festival. Here you’ll find a slew of live music and the youth of Adelaide gathering for some top picks from Splendour In The Grass music festival in Byron Bay. This year the line-up includes: Hilltop Hoods, Pnau, Tove Lo, Benee, Iann Dior, Hockey Dad, Thelma Plum, Noah Cyrus, Sly Withers, and The Rions. Think: hip-hop, dance, indie rock, international pop, alongside with homegrown talent that are no stranger to the stages of Adelaide.
19. NAIDOC SA March And Family Fun Day
National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week is a national celebration held across the first week of July each year. It’s an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This year, the NAIDOC SA March and Family Fun Day will be held on Friday 7 July, with the march taking place at 11am from Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square to Parliament House. The free community event will follow at Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square from 11:30am until 3:30pm which will see over 50 stalls including government and non-government organisations, the Men’s Zone, Women’s Zone, Elders Zone, Be Active Zone, Small Business Zone, and Children’s Zone, plus a heap of food and a free concert too. Check out our guide to the best NAIDOC Week activities here in SA.
20. Chalk Hill Wine And Dessert Tasting Cruise
On Saturday 22 July, hop aboard the River Torrens’ Popeye for the Chalk Hill Wine & Dessert Tasting Cruise. See the city lights or the arvo sunbeams from a different perspective all while sipping on wines from one of Australia’s most revered wine regions, and learning a little during a guided seminar about the best way to enjoy the organic wines.
21. CraftAlive
From Friday 7 through to Sunday 9 July between 9am until 3:30pm, the Adelaide Showgrounds will transform into a hub for creativity with CraftAlive Adelaide. Here, you can mosey around and get your hands on craft supplies, equipment, and kits, as well as get your hands ‘dirty’ while learning from world-class specialists in a number of dedicated, interactive classes. There’s also a massive competition going down where you can win your dream quilting and crafting room valued at $33,000!
22. Libraries SA Firstival
Kicking off from Saturday 1 July, Libraries SA will launch the inaugural Firstival – a month-long celebration with over 300 experiences set to be rolled out across the State’s network of over 130 public libraries. From learning about virtual reality to a literacy experience with live celloists, the festival program includes experiences for those of all ages, and provides a huge range of activities for families this winter.
23. Brighton Sunday Market
On Sunday 9 and Sunday 23 July, get on over to Brighton Secondary School for the Brighton Sunday Market. This particular market is said to be one of South Australia’s biggest open-air markets where you can find fresh produce, food stalls, snack bars, local arts and crafts, antiques, collectables, and secondhand gems in all forms of the word. All funds raised by the non-for-profit market go towards supporting students during their musical studies.
24. Exhibition of Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were two artists that dominated the scene of post-revolution Mexico from the 1920s to the 1950s with love, passion, and politics at the forefront heart of their public lives. The pair grew to become two of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and they are featuring at the Art Gallery of South Australia in Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution from Friday 23 June until Sunday 17 September.
The exhibition will feature over 150 works including paintings, works on paper, photographs and period clothing, this major exhibition from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. It also includes works by Mexican contemporaries, Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, David Alfaro Siqueiros and others.
25. Relics: A New World Rises
From now until July 2023, the South Australian Museum is host to 11 large-scale LEGO models which creates a journey through an imagined future. Relics: A New World Rises exhibition is set in the year 2530, long after the world has been abandoned by humans, and takes you to a world where LEGO minifigures have risen from the debris to build intricate civilisations in discarded and forgotten objects once inhabited or used by humans. Find out more about Relics: A New World Rises here.
26. Salsa Sundays at Plant 4 Bowden
On Sunday 2 July, the warehouse-style venue, Plant 4 Bowden will clear the ground floor of its tables and chairs and make way for a big old dance floor. Salsa Sundays are designed to entertain people from all walks of life and of all ages – whether you’re an experienced dancer or a beginner who is willing to learn the ropes and feel the contagious energy of salsa, bachata and kizomba. Find out more about Salsa Sundays here.
27. Seeing The Invisible
Open every day from now until Saturday 30 September 2023, Seeing The Invisible brings a free augmented reality (AR) contemporary art exhibition to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Once you’ve downloaded the Seeing The Invisible app, roam around the gardens, scan the QR codes and immerse yourself in the interactive exhibition with works addressing themes around nature, the environment and sustainability. Find out more information here.
28. South Australian Road Trips
Mitsubishi Motors Australia’s recently carried out a mammoth study, Secret Road Trip Hotspots that analysed over 38,000 Trip Advisor attractions to reveal a final list of 141 nature-based spots in Australia. And they’ve revealed the best places to visit to avoid the crowds and inspire different road trip and destination planning. Find out which 10 South Australian road trip hotspots are on the list here.
29. Markets In Adelaide
There’s nothing quite like waking up early and heading out for a rummage through someone else’s trash which is waiting patiently to become your treasure, or picking up the freshest, quality ingredients from a local farmer. We’ve put together a list of 14 of the best markets in Adelaide to make your moseying and browsing decision a little easier. Whether you’re on the hunt for fresh produce, secondhand treasures, or antiquated gems, there’s a market in Adelaide fit for your needs – take a look at our full guide here.
30. Discover Hahndorf
Just a mere 25-minute drive up the South Eastern Freeway from Adelaide’s city centre, you’ll find yourself in the otherworldly German village of Hahndorf/Bukartilla in the Adelaide Hills. The quaint town is famous for its tree-lined main street, German-style architecture, as well as home to niche stores and artisan eateries, to name a few qualities.
Hahndorf is the place to be for German specialty stores and bakeries galore, galleries and olde leatherworks, impressive wineries and cellar doors, as well as yesteryear pubs and unique retail, amongst the slew of Hahndorf to-see and dos. We’ve put together a list of 10 of the best things to do in Hahndorf while you’re visiting the hillside destination – check out our full guide to Hahndorf here.
31. Storytellers Distillery at The Mortlock
The State Library of South Australia’s Mortlock Chamber will be transformed into a pop-up, craft gin bar and entertainment hub in a first of its kind this July. Storytellers Distillery of Thebarton is set to take over the antiquated space, where you can sip on a curated selection of award-winning gins, browse an archival display of gin related material, and witness some award-winning entertainment. Read all about the collaboration here.
32. Full Circle Spirits at Adelaide Central Market
During July, the Adelaide Central Market welcomes its newest Producer in Residence, Full Circle Spirits – a remarkable small batch distillery. Across the three-week residency, you will be able to experience Full Circle’s exceptional range of sustainable and handcrafted products that are made in the heart of the picturesque Adelaide Hills. Find out all the details here.
33. Red Cacao’s Anniversary Giveaway
The town of Stirling in the picturesque Adelaide Hills is home to Red Cacao – an award-winning artisan chocolatier and leafy cafe – and they’re about to give away a year’s worth of choccies. The sweet affair marks Red Cacao’s 10-year anniversary in the hospitality biz – and in true chocolatey fashion, you’re going to have to look out for a Golden Cacao Ticket. Read all about Red Cacao’s giveaway here.
34. Resonate at Illuminate Adelaide
Since Illuminate’s inception in 2021, Light Cycles by Montreal-based Moment Factory has taken over the Adelaide Botanic Gardens with a cutting-edge, walking trail exhibition which left gazers awe-inspired year after year. And in a major announcement, the same team are bringing a brand-new experience to the Gardens for this year’s Illuminate which is said to be brighter, bolder and more immersive than the sell-out Light Cycles of previous years. Read all about Resonate here.