Get your groove on in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane this summer
By Rachel Pinder
Planning a trip to Australia over the summer holidays? It's a great time to go as the weather is at its best and you'll find heaps of awesome events and festivals going on to keep you and your family amused long into January and February
So whether you're heading to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, take a look at our pick of what's on.
SYDNEY
Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Sydney Harbour, 26 December
Covering 628 nautical miles along the south-east coast of Australia, crossing eastern Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasmania, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has become the event that crowns Boxing Day and sees Sydneysiders converge on the harbour.
NYE 2011, Sydney Harbour, 31 December
Head down to Sydney Harbour to watch the amazing New Year fireworks display in front of one of the most sensational backdrops in the world.
 Head down to Sydney's waterfront on New Year's Eve and be part of the celebrations |
Sydney Festival, 7-29 January 2012
Every January, Sydney Festival brings Sydney alive with a cultural celebration based on high quality art and big ideas. The Festival opens each year with the unique Festival First Night - a feast of music and dance on the streets and in the parks of central Sydney, attracting over 200,000 people. This free event is the curtain raiser to a three week ticketed and free program that reaches an audience of around 1 million.
Sydney Festival in Parramatta, Parramatta, 13-22 January
This is a new 10 day Festival. The aim of the event is to show the city as its best with a whole range of free and ticketed events. Parramatta is home to a wide range of festival events, from music to theatre to spectacular free outdoor events.
Sydney Chinese New Year Festival, 20 January – 5 February
Sydney's annual Chinese New Year Festival is the largest Lunar New Year celebration outside Asia. Anchored by a major street parade, the festival includes more than 60 associated events, museums and community groups celebrating the Lunar New Year. Major festival events include the Launch Celebrations, Chinese New Year Markets, Chinese New Year Twilight Parade and the largest Dragon Boat Races in the Southern Hemisphere.
MELBOURNE
Festival of Sails, 26-29 January
The Festival of sails is Australia's largest keel boat regatta. First held in 1844, it's the oldest sporting event in Victoria. The event attracts up to 450 yachts and over 4,500 competitors, with thousands of spectators coming along to enjoy the festivities. Held annually over the Australia Day long weekend at Docklands and Geelong Waterfront, this is a 'must do' event.
Sand Sculpting Australia – Frankston Waterfront – 26 December – 25 April
Sculptors from Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Singapore, Ireland, the UK, Canada and the USA will once again join with their Aussie workmates to carve 3,500 tonnes of sand to 'life' for this sand sculpting exhibition themed around toys.
The Frankston Waterfront will be transformed as the team create giant sand sculptures depicting toys from years gone by through to today.
This fascinating display on the Mornington Peninsula is well worth a look.
 Chefs prepare food for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival |
Melbourne Food and Wine Festival – 2-21 March
Australia's internationally acclaimed celebration of food and wine.
The Festival features more than 250 events which spill through restaurant doors, down laneways, up onto rooftops, into bustling foodie precincts and deep into picturesque wine country.
Entering its 20th year, the Festival's reputation attracts international culinary and wine personalities to its door to take part in a program that also showcases Victoria's own celebrated chefs, restaurateurs, winemakers, sommeliers, producers and artisans.
The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show – 28 March-1 April
The 2012 Show will be held at the World Heritage Listed Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, and is still the biggest annual flower and garden show in the Southern Hemisphere. Check out the creativity and passion of Australia's top floral and landscape designers in stunning displays, along with an extensive range of garden and floral products from rare and unusual plants to old favourites, as well as gardening tools, outdoor furniture, and floral art plus many new and innovative ideas for your garden.
BRISBANE
New Year’s Eve at Portside Wharf - 31 December
Bring in the New Year at Portside Wharf, one of the hottest spots in Brisbane. Watch the sky light up over the trendy riverfront precinct with two fireworks displays as you count down to 2012.
Watch the fireworks at 9pm and again at midnight on December 31. For the keen party animals, there will be a free shuttle bus into the Valley from 12.30am.
Restaurants and function venues across the precinct are also offering themed parties, special dinners and live entertainment, so there will be plenty of great ways to see in the New Year.
 Celebrate New Year at Brisbane's Portside Wharf |
Music By the Sea Festival – 6-8 January
Come and join the fun at the Sangate Town Hall when the Music By The Sea Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary. Kick off summer with three days of music and entertainment including a great selection of classical, folk, jazz, popular and world music as well as theatre.
2012 Valley Chinese New Year Festival - 20-22 January
Presented by Brisbane City Council, the annual street festival of music, dance, song and cuisine is one of the most important celebrations in the Lunar Chinese Calendar.
Brisbane’s Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley will be full of fabulous activities featuring Chinese culture and beliefs throughout three days of street celebration.
There will be a Chinese lion dance, dragon parade complemented with the drum music and firecracker; and also Chinese cuisine, cultural dance and song, Chinese Opera, Kung Fu, competition and many more activities.
World Theatre Festival 2012 – 16-26 February
The best of the world's theatre will be coming to Brisbane’s Powerhouse in February. Embracing the new, the risky and the independent from around the world, World Theatre Festival (WTF) is set to seriously shake up the face of theatre in Australia.
