SEASON 10 OF SPORTSBET MILLION DOLLAR FISH
1 October 2024 – 31 March 2025
Top End
Australia’s richest fishing competition, Million Dollar Fish (MDF), is back for its 10th season, running until 31 March 2025. Unique to the Northern Territory, anglers can catch a Million Dollar Fish or one of many $10,000 red-tagged barramundi across five key fishing regions: Tiwi Islands, Darwin, Katherine, Kakadu and Arnhem Land. Last season, 19-year-old Keegan Payne landed the prized Million Dollar Fish. Since its 2015 launch, MDF has released hundreds of tagged barramundi into Top End waterways, awarding more than $2 million in prizes. Registrations for this season are now open and free.
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DARWIN COMEDY FESTIVAL
6-8 March 2025
Darwin
The inaugural Darwin Comedy Festival will bring the Top End alive with laughter from 6-8 March 2025 with a stellar lineup of comedy heavyweights including Celeste Barber, Nazeem Hussain, Reuben Kaye and more. The festival, held at Darwin Entertainment Centre, will also feature emerging comedians, local Territory talents and a range of family-friendly activities to put the whole family in stitches.
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FABALICE
27-30 March 2025
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
Inspired by the classic cult movie The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, fabALICE is set to extend Mardi Gras celebrations to Alice Springs (Mparntwe). Expect a unique showcase of drag, glitter, comedy, cabaret, entertainment, markets and community events – all in celebration of the inclusivity and diversity of the Red Centre!
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PARRTJIMA – A FESTIVAL IN LIGHT
4-13 April 2025
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
Parrtjima – A Festival in Light will illuminate Alice Springs (Mparntwe) from 4-13 April 2025, celebrating its 10th anniversary with a stunning program of light installations, performances, workshops, talks, and nightly projections on the MacDonnell Ranges. As the only Aboriginal light festival of its kind in the world, Parrtjima’s 2025 theme, Timelessness, honours the enduring connection between generations through music, song, and storytelling. Musical highlights will include open-air performances by the Darwin Symphony Orchestra and Troy Cassar-Daley.
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BASSINTHEGRASS
17 May 2025
Darwin
The Territory’s largest and longest running music festival, BASSINTHEGRASS, is set to return to Darwin’s iconic Mindil Beach on 17 May 2025. Renowned for bringing beachside vibes under palm trees in perfect weather, BASS 2025 promises to deliver another brilliant lineup of world-class acts in one of Australia’s most unique festival settings. BASS 2025 tickets and lineup details will be released in the coming weeks.
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KARRIMANJBEKKAN AN-ME KAKADU – TASTE OF KAKADU
23-25 May 2025
Kakadu National Park
Karrimanjbekkan An-me Kakadu – Taste of Kakadu, a cultural food festival 65,000 years in the making, returns from 23-25 May 2025 with an extraordinary native-infused food program that promises an unforgettable sensory journey. Guests can expect unique culinary and cultural experiences including traditional ground oven feasts, forage walks with Traditional Owners, canapé cruises, workshops and more.
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DARWIN STREET ART FESTIVAL
24 May-15 June 2025
Darwin
Since its launch in 2017, the Darwin Street Art Festival (DSAF) has turned Australia’s northernmost city into a vibrant outdoor gallery, drawing thousands of visitors each year. From 24 May – 15 June 2025, the festival returns with artists from across Australia and beyond adding to Darwin’s impressive collection of more than 100 street art murals. DSAF 2025 will also feature exhibitions, a graffiti writing masterclass, film screenings, music events, and a lively Block Party. The festival has cemented Darwin’s reputation as the only city in Australia where every CBD street showcases a piece of street art.
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BARUNGA FESTIVAL
6-9 June 2025
Katherine and Surrounds
Barunga Festival celebrates a long and proud tradition of sharing the culture of remote Aboriginal Australia, as communities come together to camp and take part in a jam-packed program spanning music, sport, culture, art and dance. Highlights include traditional dances, an art and fabric fair, a fashion show, bush medicine, cooking demonstrations, weaving, AFL games and more.
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BETR DARWIN TRIPLE CROWN
20-22 June 2025
Darwin
The highly anticipated motorsport weekend returns to Darwin’s Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex with an incredible weekend of family entertainment and adrenaline-pumping racing featuring the ever-popular Supercars, the fourth annual Supercars Indigenous Round, and much more.
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ALICE SPRINGS BEANIE FESTIVAL
20-23 June 2025
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
Since 1997, this quirky Red Centre festival has brought together beanie-makers, artists and Aboriginal communities to celebrate the colourful handmade head pieces and to share stories and knowledge. The festival aims to develop Aboriginal women’s textiles, promote women’s culture and the beanie as a regional art form. Festivalgoers will see more than 6,600 beanies hang at ‘Beanie Central’, and can expect a vibrant program of exhibitions, bush tucker, live music and Aboriginal craft workshops.
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DARWIN FRINGE
Darwin
11-20 July 2025
The Darwin Fringe has been a part of the Darwin creative ecosystem since the 80’s when it was a club space within the Bougainvillea Festival. 2025 will be the 10th year as it’s own festival and it’s the biggest platform for emerging, independent and experimental artists in the NT. The community arts Festival with bite 🐊
GARMA FESTIVAL
Arnhem Land
1-4 August 2025
One of Australia’s largest First Nations gatherings, Garma Festival, features a four-day celebration of Yolngu life and culture held in remote Arnhem Land. Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Garma showcases traditional miny’tji (art), manikay (song), bunggul (dance) and storytelling, and is an important meeting point for the clans and families of the region. The Key Forum Policy Conference also hosts discussions and debates on major issues.
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COUNTRY TO COUTURE
Darwin
5 August 2025
Country to Couture showcases the best of Aboriginal fashion and textiles in a colourful showcase of wearable art. The high-energy runway presents collections from emerging Aboriginal designers and artists, and unique collaborations between First Nations communities and well-known Australian labels.
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NATIONAL INDIGENOUS FASHION AWARDS
Darwin
6 August 2025
The National Indigenous Fashion Awards provides a vibrant and exciting platform to celebrate the innovation, diversity and ethical practices of Australia’s First Nations peoples in fashion and textiles, while contributing to the capacity building of the sector. First Nations artists are recognised across six award categories, providing an opportunity for the Australian and international fashion community to connect to the world’s oldest living cultures.
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DARWIN ABORIGINAL ART FAIR
Darwin
7-10 August 2025
Returning for its 19th year, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair is one of Australia’s most significant and internationally recognised art events. Visitors have the chance to ethically purchase Aboriginal art from more than 70 Aboriginal-owned art centres across Australia and enjoy a vibrant program of traditional dance, workshops, talks and fashion events, including Country to Couture and the National Indigenous Fashion Awards.
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DARWIN FESTIVAL
Darwin
7-24 August 2025
Australia’s hottest winter arts festival combines the quintessential multicultural spirit and energy of Darwin with diverse outdoor festivities and a vibrant program of world-class events for an unforgettable good time. Over 18 jam-packed nights, experience theatre, music, comedy, circus, cabaret, dance, visual arts, unique food and beverage experiences and awe-inspiring storytelling. Loved by locals and adored by visitors, the award-winning Darwin Festival is the centrepiece of the Top End’s dry season, making August the perfect time to visit.
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TELSTRA NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ART AWARDS
Darwin
Awards Ceremony: 8 August 2025
Exhibition Period: 21 June 2025 – January 2026
Australia’s longest running, most prestigious and richest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art awards showcase the very best contemporary art from Australia’s leading emerging and established First Nations artists. The awards ceremony will take place on 8 August 2025, followed by an exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT).
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THE ROTARY HENLEY-ON-TODD REGATTA
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
16 August 2025
The Rotary Henley-on-Todd Regatta is the world’s only land-based boat race, set on the dry Todd River in the Red Centre. Competitors race along the riverbed ‘Flintstones-style’, using pedal power to make it over the finish line with their home-made boats, dinghies, yachts and canoes. Next year’s edition will be the 63rd Henley-on-Todd Regatta.
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NATIONAL INDIGENOUS MUSIC AWARDS
Darwin
August 2025
Celebrate First Nations musical brilliance at the 21st edition of the National Indigenous Music Awards. Held annually on the traditional lands of the Larrakia people in Darwin, the awards shine a spotlight on the rich diversity of Indigenous music from across Australia – from emerging talents to international sensations like Gurrumul and Jessica Mauboy.
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TIWI ISLANDS GRAND FINAL AND ART SALE
Tiwi Islands
August 2025
In a place where AFL and art are the lifeblood of the community, it makes sense to combine the two in an annual event that celebrates the very best of Tiwi Islands culture. Held each year in August, the Tiwi Islands Grand Final and Art Sale attracts visitors from across the Top End to cheer their favourite Tiwi Islands AFL team and purchase traditional Tiwi art including ironwood carvings, ochre paintings on bark, canvas, linen and paper, original prints and screen-printed textiles.
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EAST ARNHEM LIVE
Arnhem Land
August 2025
East Arnhem Live is a community festival featuring free concerts on the lands of the Yolŋu Nation, celebrating both Yolŋu (Indigenous) and Balanda (non-Indigenous) music and culture. Originally launched as an online concert series during the early 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, the festival shared the culture, history, and beauty of East Arnhem Land with a global audience. Since then, it has grown into Arnhem Land’s largest music event.
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RED CENTRENATS
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
5-7 September 2025
The ultimate festival of wheels returns to the Red Centre! Showcasing top-of-the-range street machines, elite show cars, hot rods, classics and exotics, Red CentreNATS promises an action-packed program to keep the whole family entertained.
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DARWIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (DIFF)
11-21 September 2025
Darwin
Darwin’s premier annual film festival showcases an exceptional selection of international and Australian feature films, documentaries, and shorts, including iconic classics. Over 11 nights, the festival unfolds primarily under the stars at the open-air Deckchair Cinema, celebrating global cinema and the rich cultural diversity of Darwin’s diaspora. With a spotlight on South-East Asian films, Northern Australia, and Indigenous storytelling, DIFF offers a distinctive program that highlights the remarkable talent emerging from the region.
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MXGP OF AUSTRALIA – WORLD MOTORCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS
19-21 September 2025
Darwin
After a 25-year absence, the world motocross championships will return to Australia at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex from 19-21 September 2025. The high-octane event will take place on a purpose-built track, hosting the MXGP and MX2 classes, the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship, and a national support class. The MXGP of Australia also marks a significant milestone for Australian motorsport, offering Australian riders the chance to compete as wildcards in all three world championship classes, racing against the sport’s elite.
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DESERT MOB
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
September 2025
Desert Mob showcases the most comprehensive survey of contemporary Aboriginal art by artists from the Desart art centres of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia, and is an important cultural gathering for artists, families and visitors. The program features an exhibition and marketplace where visitors can ethically purchase diverse Aboriginal arts and crafts, plus artist and curator talks.
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KAKADU BIRD WEEK
24-28 September 2025
Kakadu National Park
Kakadu Bird Week, held in the dual World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, coincides with the mass migration of magpie geese and celebrates the park’s rich birdlife, which includes more than a third of Australia’s bird species. The annual festival offers a variety of events for bird enthusiasts and nature lovers, showcasing the park’s stunning wildlife, from crocodiles to wallabies. Highlights include sunrise and sunset cruises on the Yellow Water Billabong, guided by renowned twitcher Luke ‘Hawk Eye’ Paterson of NT Bird Specialists. Visitors can also immerse themselves in Kakadu’s vibrant Aboriginal culture and enjoy a special bird and science program designed for children.
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DESERT FESTIVAL
September 2025
Alice Springs (Mparntwe)
Desert Festival is Central Australia’s leading annual arts event, showcasing culture, community, and diversity across various art forms. Since its inception in 2001, this award-winning festival has brought desert stories to life through live music, dance, theatre, immersive experiences, light installations, workshops, and thought-provoking panel discussions, all set amidst the stunning backdrop of the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens.
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DARWIN INTERNATIONAL LAKSA FESTIVAL
1-31 October 2025
Darwin
In its eighth year, Darwin’s month-long laksa festival celebrates the Top End’s vibrant Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian community and a shared love of this spicy Asian soup. Foodies can eat their way through hundreds of laksas from more than 50 restaurants and market stalls, and vote on the deserving Golden Bowl winner of this famed noodle soup.
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And don’t forget the Darwin Fringe in July from 11-20 for our 10th annual event – your community arts Festival with bite 🐊