5 Fun Family Events in Australia

Australia is known to be a great travel destination for all ages and that’s why families travelling with children love this country so much. Here’s a look at 5 family events that you can plan into your travel itinerary if you are looking for family-friendly attractions.

Market Garden

If you are in or around Melbourne, an attractive and unusual option is the Mornington Farmers Market which takes place on the second Saturday of each month. It’s a great family morning event with a chance to get up close to the people and the animals that produce some of the region’s great food. Entry is just charged at $2, there is a delicious communal barbecue, and there is also a children’s playground. As well as nearby Mornington Pier; for Mum, there’s the Mothers’ Beach and the Main Street shopping centre.

Celebrate Aussie

There’s no place like Australia for a great family party and the best example of this is Australia Day on January 26. The country becomes one gigantic BBQ (pronounced as ‘barbie’ in the Australian lingo) and street party. Celebrate on Scarborough Beach just outside Perth with a swim – thousands turn up each year for the 2km event for everyone aged 15 and over. Or join the throngs in Townsville, where the city council organises a complete day’s festivities for everyone, starting with a Fun Run. The first 500 finishers get a free breakfast!

Musical delights

If your family enjoys music – and who doesn’t? – then head for the Festival of Voice in Hobart, Tasmania in July. The opening night at the Salamanca is particularly spectacular: a family friendly, warm and fuzzy fireball of entertainment including a 300-strong children’s choir in a series of lyrical pageants. The festival brings some of the world’s best vocal talent to Hobart, celebrating the best of the spoken word as well as singing, in the middle of winter.

Choppers for Charity

In New South Wales, there’s a cute and fun event called the Choppers for Charity Weekend. Described as “three days of fun filled community activities” this sounds like loads of fun for all the family: golf, food stalls, street entertainers and a parade, cavalcades of everything from motorcycles to wooden boats, barefoot bowls, a trivia night and even a dragon boat display.

Sky’s the Limit

Looking ahead, there is the Australian International Airshow which will take place at Avalon Airport in Victoria (which will likely become Melbourne’s second airport). This promises “thrilling flying displays and the most amazing ground display of aircraft ever seen in Australia” and will combine aerial spectacle with ground-based entertainments including displays of car control and a children’s activity zone. The 2013 event featured a flying display by the F22 Raptor and aerobatics from Tinstix of Dynamite. The next Airshow will take for its theme the ANZAC Centenary, paying homage to a hundred years of Australian international defence forces participation.