Visit Oktoberfest Brisbane 2016 to experience authentic German food, drinks, and festivities in Australia. Oktoberfest Brisbane is the largest German cultural and food and drinks festival in Australia.

It will be held over 2 weekends; these are 7th to 9th and 14th to 16th October 2016. It is a fantastic occasion for people to understand German culture first-hand and to enjoy a fun day savouring German food and beverages amidst traditional entertainment, shows, and rides thrown in.

Following age old custom, the festival will open this year as well with the traditional ‘Anzapfen’ on 7th October, 2016. The tradition involves the city’s Lord Mayor to tap the first keg of beer, offer the first stein of beer to the Head of State and announce ‘O’zapft is’, which means ‘It is tapped’.

Beer, Beer & More Beer!

Of course beer will be the main attraction and will flow freely at the festival. However, apart from beer there will be various other beverages on offer, making sure that there is something for everyone at the festival. There will be soft drinks, water, non-alcoholic beer, energy drinks, and coffee and tea.

Travellers will be able to enjoy German and Australian wines, German Sekt (sparkling), champagne, Schnaps mixers, and hand-crafted German beers. There will be supplies from 343-year old Bavarian Brauerei (brewery) Tucher Bräu, offering Lager and Weissbier (wheat beer). Australia’s famous Burleigh Brewing Co. will offer delicious German-style Dunkelbier (dark beer).

Food

At Oktoberfest, enjoy authentic German cuisine as you savour delicious Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle), Bratwurst, Sauerkraut and Schnitzel. Savour many more specialities including baked potato dishes, pretzels, ‘Kaffee und Kuchen’ (coffee and cake), Sacher Torter, and Apple Strudel to complete your German experience.

Some of the notable brands offering delectable delicacies are King of Cakes, Götzinger (sausages), German Sausage Hut, German Potato Hut, Haxen Haus, K&K Schnitzel & Burger Haus, Spaetzle Spectacular, Bald Rock Beef Jerky, the Organic Cotton Candy Company, Bunya Cheese and German Hut Biergarten Imbiss, and many more!

Events

Oktoberfest Brisbane 2016 will see a number of lively and vibrant events. There will be separate, dedicated activities and events for kids. Sundays will be special Family Fun-days, which will include singing, dancing, and yodelling! Participate in the Hat Dance or make merry with the Chicken Dance. Enjoy rides in the festival grounds, pat baby farm animals, and sit down for a German-style puppet show amidst roaming musicians and fashion shows.

There will be plenty of traditional German games, including the action-packed ‘Bavarian Strongmen’ competition. The team-based competition will include Jockey Race, Krapfen (Jam Donut) Eating, and Tug of War etc. Enjoy the Oktoberfest Brisbane Beardmeister competition – a competition looking for the perfect beard and moustache. The Miss Oktoberfest Brisbane is another competition to enjoy. The competition sees women compete through various feats including pretzel eating, stein holding, and milking cows!

Kids

This family festival warmly welcomes children. There will be dedicated areas for their entertainment offering a range of activities, rides, and hands-on workshops for toddlers as well as teens.

Art freaks, just hop into the Brisbane Festival 2016, which is being held from 3rd September to 24th September in Brisbane, to enjoy outstanding art events from around the world.

The amazing city of Brisbane plays host to an audience of around one million people every year in September, who visit the city to attend the popular festival.

Step-in to the Brisbane Festival, a major international event, to celebrate all expressions of arts from around the globe in the form of theatre, music, dance, opera, circus, and public attractions including the Sunsuper Riverfire.

Why Attend The Festival?

The festival has been developed to link artists and audiences, to showcase unconventional ideas, and to draw people to this glittering city. The festival will focus on the themes and ideas of Ireland, the record label, snow white, and the little mermaid this year, with several events showcasing unconventional performances revolving around these themes.

2016 Major Events Line-Up

The festival will showcase events across multiple genres this year, including cabaret, circus, comedy, dance, family, food, music, opera, theatres, visual arts, films, and talk sessions. Check out some of the major events line-up in this year’s festival.

The Game – a bold theatre performance based on sex work in Ireland.

En avant, marche! – Brisbane brass band theatre, music, and dance performance.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – A comedy theatre performance.

Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid – is a musical cabaret theatre performance.

Three prominent Record labels have been invited for talk sessions.

You Should Be Dancing – a free-for-all dance performance.

Symphony for Me – a free-for-all Queensland Performing Arts Centre music performance.

Blanc De Blanc – is a circus featuring music, dance and cabaret.

Troppo – is a family-oriented circus performance.

Brisbane Airport 3d Street Art – is a free-for-all, family-oriented visual arts attraction.
Dave Graney ‘N’ The Coral Snakes – a musical performance.

Souvenir – a theatre performance.

Kaleidoscope Project – a free-for-all visual arts attraction.
Albert Herring – a comedy opera.

Hanako: Desire & Other Secret Weapons – theatre.

Unbuttoned // A Festival Of Gender, Art, And You – a film, theatre performance and talk session.

Sunsuper Riverfire

The Sunsuper Riverfire is a much-awaited public event. It is a massive fireworks display, which is held to mark the end of the Brisbane Festival. An incredible feature of this event is that the fireworks are exploded to the tunes of popular local music. Also, get enthralled by aerobatics performed by the Australian Defence Force with their RAAF Super Hornet and Army helicopters.

Food and Drinks

After witnessing the amazing performances, go straight to any of these six pop-up food stalls to savour sumptuous meals before the next performance.

Pourboy Espresso

Brisbane-based specialty coffee and cafe dining spot.

Fat Noodle

Owned by Vietnamese celebrity chef Luke Nguyen, Fat Noodle serves quick Asian-fusion meals.

Nitrogenie

Nitrogenie is an ice-cream parlour that uses liquid nitrogen to make ice-creams.

Mucho Mexicano

Mucho Mexicano serves contemporary Mexican cuisine with a twist.

Mister Paganini

Mister Paganini serves Italian cuisines in great Italian setting.

Tapas By Zen

Tapas by Zen is a fine dining spot.

The North Stradbroke Island, or Straddie as locals call it, is an island located offshore Brisbane in the Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia.

With stunning and unique scenery, the island is a perfect beach destination, boasting an ideal combination of white sandy beaches, spectacular whale watching sites and wonderful lakes.

Beaches

The Stradbroke Island has the some of the most beautiful sandy white beaches in the world. The beaches stretch for miles and miles and are not much crowded. One can easily find a place to just sit back and relax.

Lakes

This beach island is home to around 100 lakes of various shapes and sizes. However, two exceptionally popular tourist attractions are the Blue Lake and the Brown Lake. The Blue Lake is of cultural importance to the local people and is also a subject of many environmental studies as the spring-fed lake has not been affected by climate change for around 7,500 years. The Brown Lake again is of cultural importance to the local people. A thick layer of leaves on the lake’s surface acts as an impermeable layer. The lake is tea-coloured due to the leaves that keep on falling into it from the surrounding tea trees.

Water Sports

There is a lot of scope for fun water-sports in this pristine beach island. Travellers can enjoy assisted scuba diving to the lovely warm waters of the beaches and the beautiful waves allow exciting water surfing opportunities. Bay kayaking under qualified instructors, is also a popular sport visitors like to experience in these waters. The lovely sand dunes of gentle slope as well as steep slopes offer the perfect opportunity for sand boarding. The ocean also provides a wonderful opportunity for deep sea fishing. One may avail fishing carters for this experience. Travellers can also join the various 4-wheeler safaris at the beaches to see the entire beach and its various attractions.

Whale Watching

The island is very famous for land based Whale Watching opportunities. Choose from among the many whale watching spots in the island and marvel at the thousands of Humpback Whales, dolphins, turtles, Eagle and Manta rays. Enjoy the sight of nature’s beautiful creations against a surreal backdrop and enjoy a wonderful holiday at the North Stradbroke Island.

If you don’t like winters but love the festive spirit of Christmas complete with gifts, food, cakes, eggnog and lots of shopping, then you may want to spend your Christmas holidays in Brisbane.

While going out for Christmas shopping can be a hassle in the teeth-chattering cold of the Northern Hemisphere, in Brisbane you may well wear light cottons and summer shoes. While you are in the city, getting Christmas gifts from the traditional Christmas markets is a great idea. Here are a few popular Christmas markets that are held in Brisbane.

South Bank Christmas Markets

South Bank Christmas markets are probably among the most famous Christmas Markets to be held in Brisbane. These markets are known for a wide range of products made by local artisans. The ambience is brilliant and there are countless cheerful people all around. The stalls feature various gifts such as accessories, clothing for kids and adults, art-pieces, home wares, furniture and candles, to name a few.  Apart from hosting such markets, South Bank also organizes an exciting Christmas event. The highlight of this event is a special gifting lane packed with gift items for families and friends. Products include wooden toys, hand-made candles and jewellery. You can also ask them to hand-wrap the present in exchange for a charity donation.  After buying gifts for everyone, you can treat yourself at the South Bank Beer Garden to some refreshing beverages.

Brisbane Twilight Market

Brisbane Twilight Market is a popular affair in the city, with more than 80 stalls which specialize in locally produced and handmade products.

Enjoy the music by brilliant jazz bands of Queensland while shopping or having food at the on-site eateries and cafés.  Located on the King George Square, this market features an immense variety of gifts for both the old and the young. The local artists provide the best quality products and unique gifts for your loved ones. The whole atmosphere has an exciting and a festive feel to it and you will see many cheerful people all around the place.

The Finders Keepers

The Finders Keepers have been hosting the Christmas Market since 2009 and have taken the shopping experience to the next level. The market features more than 100 stalls selling various products such as jewellery, children’s clothing, handmade ceramics, rope baskets, terrariums and various other handicrafts. After all the shopping, you can visit the various food and beverage stalls to wash down your fatigue. Other highlights include bars, live music and café. You can also get delicious food from the various food trucks.

October does not only mark the commencement of the last quarter of the year but this is the month when German cultural fiesta ‘Oktoberfest’ becomes a rage in several countries. Splendour of this beer festival is spread as far as Australia, and Brisbane flaunts the most extravagant facet of Australian Oktoberfest. This year i.e., in 2014, Brisbane Oktoberfest is scheduled to create a splendid German-styled aura on 10^th-12^th and 17^th-19^th October. Let’s check a few popular highlights of this festival.

German Cultural Impressions

Since this Oktoberfest is a cultural import from Germany, visitors get an opportunity to dance to German beats, wear traditional dresses and gorge on authentic delicacies. Moreover, one can be a part of various competitions that are popular in Germany for years and win prizes. Tickets for the fest are available online however, if you want to take part in competitions, you need to register in person at dedicated counters.

Miss Oktoberfest Brisbane

The competition’s name might sound like a beauty pageant but it is a little different. Besides beauty, contestants also need to prove to their physical strength as well. They need to carry as much steins as they can. On top of it, participants need to wear traditional dress called dirndl. To clinch the coveted title of Miss Oktoberfest you need to be between 18-35 years of age. And to be a winner, you must know about various aspects of Oktoberfest. Want to be a part of this fun-filled contest, mark 11 October 2014 in your calendar!

Bavarian Strongmen

This is one of the most popular competitions taking place in this fiesta of Brisbane. As the name suggests, this competition is for strongmen but in a team of three. Bavaria is the state in Germany where Oktoberfest originated in 19^th century. And teams need to prove their strength in various Bavarian skill tests such as Bavarian-style wheelbarrow race, keg rolling and nailing. Jam doughnut eating competition always remains on the top of lists of spectators.

Other Highlights

Travellers boarding flights to enjoy October holidays in Brisbane must have Oktoberfest on their travel plan not only to catch the action of various competitions but also to indulge in various other activities. Few popular ones are powerful musical performance by Münchner Buam, an Oktoberfest band from Munich. Car lovers must buy tickets for this annual festival and check the collection of spectacular German cars at Autofest.

September is the month when laidback-yet-cosmopolitan charm of Brisbane wears a new attire of cultural celebrations with the annual Brisbane festival. This is one of those art festivals that explicate the cultural affluence of Australia. If you have booked tickets aboard flights to visit Brisbane in September, this event should be there in your priority list. Why? Reasons are many! But in a nutshell, this is your time to laugh your lungs out and dance your heart out! Read on to know more about splendiferous Brisbane Festival.

Schedule

In 2014, this annual festival is scheduled to take place from 6th to 27th September at various venues across the city. Most prominent ones are Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Theatre Republic and Brisbane Powerhouse. Tickets are available online and you can avail discounts on purchase of multiple tickets. The festival also features several free events. One can visit the event’s official website for more details on dates, venues as well as accommodation.

Music and Dance

Music and dance lovers are sure to get baffled by the selection of performances by world class artists and bands. American Ballet Theatre, Deluge – an experimental dance project and Desh by Akram Khan are must for dance enthusiasts. Rap City and Ocean’s Skin are two free events that would allure music as well as dance buffs in large numbers. Fans of Opera can ill afford to miss out on being a part of events named The Perfect American and Floods whereas Limbo and Soap are creating a buzz among those who love cabaret.

Comedy and Circus

If you are boarding flights with family during September in Brisbane, you should not overlook the circus shows. Jaw-dropping acts at Do Do Land and the Physical Impossibility of Disappearing add novelty to the circus. The hilarious comedy at Hurry Up and Wait, Squidboy and Kaput will end up adding smiles to your face.

Theatre and Visual Art

Theatre lovers get numerous opportunities to appreciate magnificent performances of talented actors. Notable theatre acts that are on the menu of Brisbane Festival are The Shadow King, Orlando, The Button Event and Monkey…Journey to the West. Art lovers must consider adding ‘Exxopolis’ and ‘Access Art Camera Wonderer Installation’ to their travel plan.