13 Ways to Get Your Summer Thrills in Tasmania
Make the most of the longer days this summer with adrenaline-fueled adventures and nature-rich experiences, right on your doorstep.
What’s On In Hobart & Around the Island- March 2026
by Stephanie Williams
March
2 Unstable is artist Helen Spencer’s exploration of the impact of trauma and how it shapes perception and memory. At Moonah Arts Centre, 10am-5pm.
3 Mark International Women’s Day by lending a hand to pack birthing kits that help make childbirth safer for women in remote communities. 11:45am-1:15pm at UTAS’ The Forest.
4 Local author Johanna Bell launches her Tasmanian Literary Award-winning novel The Department of the Vanishing in conversation with Danielle Wood at Fullers, 5:30pm.
5 Shambles is hosting casual live sessions – today there’ll be a whole woodwind section plus brass and percussion to go with your pale ale. 6pm-9pm.
6 The Hobart Horticultural Society’s annual Dahlia Show brings colour to the Hobart Town Hall Ballroom, 1pm-5pm today and 10am-4pm tomorrow.
7 Fire up and head to the Regatta Grounds for Flamin’, Tassie’s Barbecue Festival. There’s also something deliciously fishy at Victoria Dock this weekend: it’s the Tasmania Seafood Festival.
8 The food festivities continue with A Taste of The Huon – food, drinks, arts and crafts and more from the Huon and Channel areas at Ranelagh Recreation Grounds.
9 Happy public holiday for Eight Hours Day! We’ve all earnt some rest and time for recreation.
10 & Juliet is a joyous musical version of Shakespeare’s famous love tragedy. On over many nights at the Theatre Royal, including tonight at 7:30pm.
11 Celebrate International Women’s Day with a breakfast with The Hive Collective at Crowne Plaza Hotel or, if you’re in tourism, at the Tourism Collective Luncheon Leigh Sales..
12 The TSO presents Harry Sdraulig’s Icarus at the Federation Concert Hall, 6pm, or see The Smith Street Band at Altar, 7pm.
13 The State Library’s latest exhibition is Semaphore Score. Artist Margaret Woodward gives a floor talk today at 12:30pm.
14 Harvesting Connections is a circular living event celebrating sustainable and waste-free gardening at Kickstart Arts, 10am-4pm. Or check out the Anglesea Barracks Open Day, 11am-4:30pm.
15 The Hobart Horror Society Movie Meetup is a casual catch up to watch the new A24 horror Undertone at the State Cinema, 12pm. Find them on Facebook.
17 Slainte! Happy St Patrick’s Day. Irish Murphy’s, the New Sydney Hotel and the Kingston Beach RSL Club are all celebrating.
18 The annual Hobart Festival of Comedy takes over the Odeon, Altar Bar and In The Hanging Garden precinct for five nights. Full details: festivalofcomedy.com.au
19 At Rethink Waste in the Kitchen, you’ll learn to make the most of your meals with zero-waste recipes and tips and contribute to a community zine full of ideas. Hobart Library, 12-1pm.
20 Fasten the kids’ helmets and pump up the tyres because it’s National Ride to School Day. There’s also a walk against racism today with Councils of Greater Hobart and community members.
21 The annual national comp the Tasmanian Festival of Bridge is on at MyState Arena from the 19th til 22nd. There’s also the Tasmania State Jigsaw Puzzle Competition at Hobart Town Hall.
22 Want to try stand up paddleboarding? Healthy Hobart is presenting a free try session today at Long Beach from 10-11am. Bookings required via hobartcity.com.au
24 Looking for a new job or training? The Hobart and Southern Tasmania Employment and Careers Expo is a free event with lots of local exhibitors. MyState Bank Arena, 10am-4pm.
25 Fighting Spirit: The Art of Boxing is the story of boxing in Australia told through art and screen at The Barn in Rosny, Wed- Sun 11am-5pm til 2 May.
26 It’s the final days of Stephanie Tabram’s solo exhibition of exquisite paintings, The River, at Bett Gallery. Stephanie is one of Tasmania’s most collected artists.
27 Head to St David’s Park Rotunda from 27-28 March – Standing Room Only is doing a takeover. The Kunanyi Mountain Run is back for its fifth year.
28 Cancer Council Tasmania’s Relay For Life! is a new, family friendly 12-hour relay to raise funds for Tasmanian cancer support services. Find the info at relayforlife.org.au.
29 Go, with an empty stomach, to the Domenica Mattina bake sale pop-up at Pitzi Pasta Bar today from 9am-1pm. Later, Pinky Beecroft (from Machine Gun Fellatio) plays Altar Bar at 5pm.
30 The wonderful Michael McWilliams has a new exhibition brewing at Handmark Gallery, but be quick, it’s only on until 6 April.
April
1 Look out, it’s April Fools Day! It’s also April Falls Day and Rotary will be offering free balance tests and community info at New Town Plaza today.
2 In Compound, artist Bec Adamczewski looks at the pressures on Tasmania’s environment and pairs a native creature with a plant species in each work. Opening tonight, 5:30pm.
3 It’s Good Friday and the start of the Easter long weekend.
4 The Spiegeltent is back with new circus/music/comedy show La Ronde at the new location of Salamanca Wharf Carpark. Multiple dates and times.
5 Easter Sunday. Enjoy a completely guilt-free day of stuffing your face with chocolate.
SPOTLIGHT ON…
27 March Get ready to relive the music that defined a generation in The Big Chillout, a joyous, soul-stirring celebration of the legendary Big Chill soundtrack and the Motown revival it sparked. This powerful live show brings to life the timeless classics of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Smokey Robinson, Spencer Davis Group, The Band, Procol Harum, and many more — performed by a world-class band and fronted by two powerhouse vocalists in Judah Kelly, winner of The Voice Australia 2017 and Asabi Goodman, acclaimed star of Chicago and Hairspray. Tickets at www.theatreroyal.com.au.
3 April
Get egg-cited! The Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation’s Easter Egg Hunt is back, but this year it’s in a brand-new location: Kingston Park. Kids can spend the morning following clues around the park which will lead them to a huge bag of Easter eggs. There will also be live music, lawn games, circus workshops, crazy bikes, face painting, train rides and food trucks. 10am-2pm, Kingston Park.
Anytime
Maritime Museum Tasmania has a fresh exhibition by Tasmanian-born artist Sue Pedley. Prevailing Gales reimagines the 1830 meeting between Tasmanian convicts aboard the brig Cyprus and samurai from Japan’s Awa Domain. Pedley uses traditional handmade Awagami paper, indigo dye, inks, cyanotypes, rope, plaster and sound to explore how stories take shape and how they drift and evolve. The museum is open everyday and Prevailing Gales is on until May 24.
AROUND THE ISLAND
March
2 The annual Launceston International tennis tournament, part of the Australian Pro Tour, kicks off today and is on until the 8th. Catch some of Australia’s best in action.
3 Ride a century-old Krauss locomotive from Sheffield railway station (leaving each half-hour from 11am to 4pm, first full weekend of each month). The cafe’s open too!
4 Northern Tasmanian author Jodi Wilson launches her book for busy minds – A Brain That Breathes – at Launceston Library today, 5:30pm-7pm.
5 Take a confectionery factory tour with taste testing, history, and a view of the manufacturing process at Gourley’s Sweet Shop, South Launceston, various times and dates.
6 The Heartlands Autumn Harvest Festival is on, including a bush feast cooked over fire, the Tasmanian Chilli & Cheese Festival, a long table lunch and a growers market. Today til the 9th in Ross.
7 Good Gumnuts music festival is back, bigger than ever, taking over the Agriplex at Romaine with bands like Dope Lemon, The Jungle Giants and Sneaky Sound System from the 6th til 8th.
8 Treasured is a special exhibition of drawings by Richard Klekociuk, opening this afternoon with scones! 2:30pm, Harmony on High St, Campbell Town. 9am- 5pm til April 1.
9 Eight Hours Day public holiday is on today. Enjoy the long weekend.
10 West Tamar Council hosts the International Women’s Day Breakfast, 7:30am- 9am at the Exeter Community Hub.
12 Empower Golf Australia is hosting a Come and Try Golf for the Disabled at Riverside Golf Club, 10-11am. Registration essential.
13 Get the bike ready…and the bathers, and the runners, because the Devonport Triathlon starts today (til the 15th).
14 The Lions Club of Scottsdale Spud Fest is a community festival celebrating all things potato (can’t think of a better theme, tbh).
15 If you love shiny, pretty things you’ll love the Jewellery, Gem & Mineral Fair: this is the second day of demonstrations, gem/ gold panning and more at East Devonport Primary School.
16 It’s Harmony Week, celebrating diversity and bringing together Australians from all different backgrounds. There are loads of activities planned across Tasmania, so check locally.
18 Bold theatre group IO PERFORMANCE presents The Children, a drama about retired nuclear physicists that promises many comic moments. 7:30pm (plus other dates).
19 Comedian Blake Pavey has a long, long list of everything he’s scared of. He’ll tell you during his show A Bit Scared, The Tramsheds Function Centre, Invermay.
20 It’s National Ride to School Day today so get on your bike! Taste of Harmony celebrates cultural community diversity through food, music, performance, Burnie Foreshore.
21 The Northern Tasmania Annual Cactus and Succulent Exhibition and Sales is on for one day only, with vendors coming from across the state. 10am- 4pm at Summerdale Primary School.
22 See award-winning cars, utes, hot rods and bikes at the 20th – and final – SeaRoad Devonport Motor Show, featuring previous winners back to farewell.
23 For a whole week, Lake Barrington International Rowing Course plays host to the Australian Rowing Championships. 8am- 7pm most days, til the 29th.
24 Drag Bingo Midnight Sun Tour is a comedy show built around bingo, including prizes! From 5:30pm at Tatler Lane by Sweetbrew in Launnie.
26 The Western Tiers Distillery Whisky Club meets the last Thursday of each month in Westbury, 6pm-8pm. Mountainfilm comes to Du Cane Brewery tonight 7pm.
27 Billy Missi’n Wakain Thamai is a significant national touring exhibition honouring the late Torres Strait Islander artist Billy Missi (1970-2012). QVMAG, Launceston.
28 The Art Group Longford’s art workshops provide a meeting place for artists and those wanting to learn to draw and paint. Enjoy The Big Chillout, 7:30pm, Albert Hall.
29 World Street Eats, the delicious cultural food and drinks market in Launceston, is back at Civic Square this Sunday (and every last Sunday of the month), 11am-3pm.
30 Head to the library for a fun crochet group in Kinimathatakinta/ George Town. New to crochet or working on your own project, all skill levels. 9:30am.
31 Tuesday Night Trivia at the Sporties Hotel, Launceston runs every Tuesday night – free to play with a meal purchase, otherwise $15 per person.
April
1 Nutopia is a local harvest festival on a small organic hazelnut farm. They’re channeling the 70s, dress ups encouraged but not mandatory! Free entry, 4pm-8pm, Cherry Top Farmstay.
2 Festival favourite Ash Grunwald is back on the road, coming to Du Cane Brewery tonight with local talent Pete Cornelius, 7:30pm.
4 Is there a better place for an easter egg hunt than Grindelwald? Try it out (plus the market that goes with), 11am- 2pm, today.
5 Enjoy scones in the beautifully restored 1857 heritage sandstone Campbell Town church for their inaugural High Tea at The Church, 11:30am-5pm.
MORE AROUND THE ISLAND
7 March-31 May
Billy Missi’n Wakain Thamai is a significant national touring exhibition that honours the late Torres Strait Islander artist Billy Missi (1970-2012), born on Mabuiag Island. This bilingual exhibition features printmaking, film and other presentations of Torres Strait Islander culture and customs. At the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
13-15 March
The East Coast Harvest Odyssey, known as ECHO Festival, is back! ECHO is a boutique ‘festival of the senses’ held each March on a historic farm site in Swansea. This year’s festival features Yirrmal, Flora, Lennon Wells, and a whole lot of food, wine, performance art and the sharing of Tasmanian Aboriginal knowledge and culture. echofestival.com.au
15 March
After 11 years celebrating two hero crops – garlic and tomatoes – the Tasmanian Garlic & Tomato Festival has grown like a tomato plant into the broader Tasmanian Heirloom Festival, celebrating a fuller spectrum of heirloom and heritage products including apples, chillis, pumpkins, potatoes, flowers, seeds, and more. With presentations, workshops, cooking demos, competitions, games and more, spend a day learning (and eating) and Quamby Estate, Hagley.
15 March
Way down south, Dover Seafest is back to celebrate the sea’s bounty and the area’s community spirit. A family-friendly event with music, food and drinks, and of course seafood, Seafest will include a bunch of free kids activities. Kent Beach Road, Dover, 11am-4pm.
22-28 March
It’s the fourth year of Tasmania Reads, an annual week-long celebration fo reading and stories in all forms. Check in with your local library to see how they’re covering it: there are events such as author talks, book launches, children’s storytime, pop-ups at community events and more across the state. Or you can run your own activity. More details at libraries.tas.gov.au/tasmania-reads
