Whether you’re into jamming out, speeding cars, deep reads or chowing down on amazing food, Mad March has you covered. Expect a mash-up of arts, culture and thrills that’ll light up your Insta feed with stories for weeks. You’d be mad to miss out!
Adelaide Festival
1-17 March
This year’s Adelaide Festival boasts 64 events, 16 world premieres, 12 Australian premieres and 23 exclusives – an outstanding mix of internationally-acclaimed live theatre, music, dance, opera, experimental art and more. From creative visionary Stephen Page’s opening ceremony, “Baleen Moondjan” to the flagship operatic centrepiece, Stravinsky’s “The Nightingale and Other Fables”, there’s something for every arts lover. Plus, check out the Adelaide Festival Hub ( located at Lot Fourteen’s Community Café & Bar) for delicious food, refreshing drinks, live music and sprawling conversations around the arts.
Adelaide Writers’ Week
2-7 March
Adelaide Writers’ Week is Australia’s largest free literary festival, offering bookworms a unique opportunity to spend quality time with their literary heroes in a shady garden by the Torrens. More than 100 local and international writers will give readings and insights into their works during free panel discussions, including Édouard Louis, Richard Ford, Ted Chiang, Yanis Varoufakis, Trent Dalton, Anna Funder, David Marr, Patrick deWitt and Alexis Wright. For BookTok fans, there’s a dedicated YA Evening and Hear Me Roar poetry slam – both free!
Beachport Crayfish Festival
2 March
The idyllic town of Beachport has a fleet of 18 crayfish boats in its harbour, and this is your chance to enjoy their iconic catch! Round up your mates for an amazing day of crayfish ceviche, Thai-inspired green mango cray salad and the timeless fave, barbeque cray. If crayfish isn’t your thing, baked spuds, donuts and other smashable snacks should do the trick! Expect seriously good local wines, spirits and beers, live music, markets and entertainment to keep all ages happy.
2024 Ocean Film Festival World Tour – Adelaide
2 March
Whether you’re into boating, freediving, surfing, snorkelling or just enjoy inspiring ocean stories, this is the perfect event for you. Its unique selection of films cover topics from ocean adventure and exploration to the oceanic environment and marine creatures, plus ocean-related sports and coastal cultures. You’ll finish the festival with even more love and respect for the world’s oceans, and the tour supports the work of ocean charities in their crucial conservation work.
Adelaide International Women’s Day Breakfast
8 March
Established in 1993, this is the largest International Women’s Day celebration in Australia, and the speakers are always guaranteed to be stellar. This year is no exception, with Senator the Hon Penny Wong as host and Annabel Crabb as guest speaker. The theme of the day is Count her in: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress, and all funds raised will support UN Women Australia. While in-person tickets have sold out, you can still join the conversation and camaraderie with a virtual ticket.
WOMADelaide
8-11 March
Much more than just a music festival, WOMADelaide is an eco-friendly wonderland of global discovery in the green heart of Adelaide’s Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla. Join the WOMADelaide community as it celebrates the best, most essential and inspiring music, arts, dance and ideas from around the world – with more than 100 performances across seven stages. 2024 headliners include Ziggy Marley, Morcheeba, Corinne Bailey Rae and Arooj Aftab. Off stage there’s a village of international food to enjoy, plus markets, roving circus performers and workshops to experience.
South East Beer & BBQ Fest
9-10 March
This epic event in Mount Gambier features a massive amount of Aussie icons: music, beer, and barbeque (including the vegan-friendly kind). Just some of the bands playing include The Smith Street Band, Bad//Dreems, The Pretty Littles, Regurgitator and Magic Dirt. Between the eating, drinking and moshing, enjoy BMX and skating demos, the ‘southern steak showdown’ and the ‘backyard BBQ championships’. There’s also a hot dog eating contest, axe throwing, a tattoo parlour, markets, a silent disco, and a beer bod wet t-shirt competition!
2024 TAB Adelaide Cup
10 March
This is one of SA’s biggest cup days, so grab a group of friends, get dolled up in your hottest fit, and prepare to enjoy! This year’s event promises more fun, style and musical beats: Croser Fashions on the Field will be rewarding the stylish race-goers, and the Heineken Garden in Flourish will be the place to get your groove on with live DJs while sipping a few cheeky champers. If you’re feeling bougie, ramp up the luxe by indulging in the First Class Piper Champagne Lounge package.
Little Amal in Adelaide
15-17 March
Little Amal is a 3.5-metre puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl who has become a global symbol of human rights. Since her walk started in 2021, she’s visited 15 countries and been welcomed by two million people on the streets and tens of millions online, raising $2 million for refugee children. Join Amal’s first Australian walk – and help draw attention to the millions of children fleeing war, violence and persecution around the world.
2024 Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival
16-17 March
Calling all motorheads! This is the place to be for racing action of all sorts. As well as Formula 1 cars of several eras, there’ll be Group A touring cars and V8 Supercars exotic sportscars, all competing on a section of the historic Adelaide Grand Prix circuit. Off track expect fine food and a bar, live music at the opening night party, plus trade stalls, an AMF junior section and an E-motion zone showcasing the latest electric vehicle technology.
A Taste of The Hills Festival
23-24 March
Come and immerse yourself in the flavours of the Adelaide Hills in one spectacular location, Heysen – The Cedars, Hahndorf! All the region’s best wineries, distilleries, breweries and food producers will be there to tempt you with everything from farm-fresh dairy delights and award-winning wines to artisanal pizzas and hand-made chocolates.
Goodness Me Festival
23 March
This is the ultimate wellness festival, with a program of more than 30 new age activities, classes and workshops. Enjoy and experience yoga, sound healing, breathwork, live music, market stalls, education, empowerment, community and connection. Enter the ‘Zen Den’ for tarot and palm readings, Ayurvedic, remedial and Zen Thai shiatsu massage therapy, plus energy healing including Reiki and SoulNar. If you want to make the most of it, you can even camp overnight this year.
