Donkeys and Grenache, a human cannonball, fast cars and Rundle Mall’s 50th birthday party: spring has sprung in style across SA.
Rundle Mall 50th Birthday Week
1-6 September
Rundle Mall is turning 50, and apparently that calls for a carousel. The free Merry-Go-Mall will run throughout birthday week, alongside a Memory Lane display tracing half a century of Mall history. Celebrations peak on Friday with a 50th Birthday Parade featuring music, dancers and performers.
The Great Gatsby: A Jazz Ballet Odyssey
2-6 September
Gatsby, but make it ballet. And tap. And jazz. This world-premiere production at Her Majesty’s Theatre reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age classic with live music, towering sets and a score spanning Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, James P. Johnson’s The Charleston and new compositions.
Monet to Matisse Spring Friday Nights
4 September – 30 October
See Monet to Matisse after dark, with a champagne bar and live music taking over AGSA on Friday nights through spring. September brings vinyl DJ sets from Honeydripper favourites including DJ Cruise, DJ Sharni, DJ Mehdi and DJ Lenin; October shifts into live performance, with violinist Anna Freer, shamisen virtuoso Noriko Tadano, Ms Chipeta and neo-soul singer-songwriter Kara Manansala.
Spend Friday night at the Gallery
Flinders Ranges – A Brush With Art
5 September – 11 October
Turn an outback road trip into an art trail with 34 exhibitions spread across 17 towns, from Crystal Brook and Laura to Hawker, Blinman and Coober Pedy. The five-week event showcases work by regional, rural and remote artists throughout the Flinders and Southern Flinders Ranges.
Royal Adelaide Show
5-13 September
The Dagwood dogs, showbags, livestock and rides are back – but this year the Main Arena is going bigger on stunts. There’s a Human Cannonball, Hot Wheels Father vs Son Super Truck battles and freestyle motocross riders launching their bikes 15 metres into the air, alongside Show staples such as the Grand Parade, sheepdog trials plus everyone’s favourite – the wood-chopping.
Zerial
9-13 September
Circus meets live vocals at the Space Theatre as Aerial Artists Australia combines aerial performance with musical theatre singer Teagan Wouters and opera singer Mark Oates. The cabaret-style show mixes new acts with favourites from the company behind Le Aerial.
AirTouch 500 at The Bend
11-13 September
Supercars take a different turn at Tailem Bend this year – literally. The 500km enduro moves onto the new West Circuit, with new in-field camping on Pit Straight, free paddock access and a Sunset Pit Lane Party. There’s also Micro Speedway, passenger Superlaps and X-Karts when you need a break from watching other people drive fast.
St. ALi Italian Film Festival
16 September – 13 October
Your annual cinematic trip around Italy is back at Palace Nova. This year’s Australian premieres include Three Goodbyes, a bittersweet romantic drama starring Alba Rohrwacher and Elio Germano, and The Greater Good, a darkly comic hiking story set in Pollino National Park. There’s also a prosecco preview of Italian box-office hit Life is Life.
Grenache & Gourmet
18 September – 5 October
Grenache is the star here, but this McLaren Vale festival gets surprisingly creative with its supporting cast. One event combines a vineyard donkey walk with Grenache, warm soup, cheese and crusty bread; elsewhere, pair the region’s star wine with Sri Lankan street food, tackle a blind-tasting challenge or explore the science of taste with an actual sensory scientist.
MOSAIC Festival
19 September
Come hungry: your ticket to this youth-led intercultural festival includes a ‘passport’ for three servings of traditional food from different communities. Between courses there’s speed friending, a multicultural Bazaar and the Intercultural Fashion Show, plus a new Living Library where people share stories about migration, cultural identity and discrimination.
Clare Valley Festival of the Lamb
23-27 September
The Clare Valley’s spring festival goes well beyond putting lamb on a plate. Learn to smoke it at a barbecue masterclass, size up the competition for SA’s best lamb sausage roll and pasty, then explore the wool side with a designer exhibition, fibre fair and the wonderfully-named Flocking of the Woollen Sheep.
2026 Hockey Australia Women’s Masters Championships
24 September – 3 October
Around 50 teams from across Australia are heading to Adelaide as some of the country’s most experienced female hockey players compete for national honours. Matches span a range of age groups and will be played at the State Hockey Centre in Gepps Cross and Port Adelaide District Hockey Club in Semaphore.
Barossa Sessions
25-27 September and 2-5 October
Forget one festival site: Barossa Sessions spreads the music across 10 wineries, breweries, bars, restaurants and other venues over two weekends. Each puts on its own mix of live music, food and drinks, with both free and ticketed events – so you can build your perfect Barossa crawl.
Nature Festival
25 September – 11 October
More than 350 events will pop up across South Australia for this year’s Nature Festival, built around the theme SEED and the idea of growth, connection and new beginnings. Expect nature mixed with art, adventure, food, wine, gardens, wellbeing and Aboriginal culture – with plenty of free and family-friendly options.
Death of a Salesman
26 September – 4 October
Adelaide-born Anthony LaPaglia is coming home – and stepping onto a South Australian stage for the first time. The Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony winner stars as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about an ageing salesman confronting the gap between his dreams of success and the reality of his life. He’ll be joined at Festival Theatre by fellow SA actors Mark Saturno, James Smith and Luca Sardelis. Attention must be paid!
BIGGEST MOB Family Day
27 September
Adelaide Festival Centre is wrapping up the 20th anniversary of OUR MOB with a free First Nations family day. Headliners Mulga Bore Hard Rock is a six-piece family band from Akaye in the NT that opened for KISS in 2022. They’ll be joined by DJ Angel, kids’ workshops, face painting and a market showcasing work by young First Nations artists and makers.
