Cairns Festival 2022
Cairns Calendar has got you covered on all of the 2022 Cairns Festival Events being held to celebrate Cairns Festival’s Diamond Jubilee year!
Held over 10 big days from Friday 26th August to Sunday 4th September the Cairns Festival is the biggest arts and culture event and will be turning on all the glitz and glamour fitting for a 60th birthday bash across multiple venues.
The annual Cairns Festival showcases local, world-class national and international music, theatre, art, film, and comedy, highlighting the rich cultural identity of this vibrant Tropical North Queensland city.
With events including awe-inspiring and fully immersive light shows, a Grand Parade and fireworks display, and a full program of ticketed and free events for the whole family, Cairns Festival is a celebration of the beauty and culture of living where the sun and sand meet the city.
Find out what is happening on each day of the Cairns Festival by visiting Cairns Calendar or click on the links to each of the events below!
Major Events:
Grand Parade & Fireworks – Saturday 27th August
The Cairns Esplanade transforms into a street parade of dazzling entertainment for the young and the young at heart with the Cairns Festival Diamond Jubilee Grand Parade. Dress in your best glitzy, glittered attire with enough sequins and sparkle to be seen from the skies and come join in on the Grand Parade festivities. FREE EVENT!
Fireworks Spectacular | From 7.30pm
Skywhales: Every Heart Sings – Saturday 3rd September
Patricia Piccinini’s colossal artwork, Skywhales: Every Heart Sings, comes to the Tropical North Queensland skies this September. In conjunction with The National Gallery of Australia and the Cairns Art Gallery, the Cairns Festival invites you to bring the whole family to experience first-hand two giant hot air balloon sculptures suspended over our fine city. FREE EVENT!
Carnival on Collins – Sunday 4th September
Join the annual street party celebrating life in the tropics as you wander through the beautiful Tanks Arts Centre and Cairns Botanic Gardens precinct. Be surprised by pop-up dance acts, lively street performers and enjoy the multi-cultural rhythms coming from the main stage.
Over 200 market stalls featuring plants, arts crafts and more will line the streets, together with an extensive array of free workshops that make up Carnival on Collins, a Cairns’ Father’s Day tradition and a Cairns Festival favourite! FREE EVENT!
Ticketed Events:
Queensland Symphony Orchestra – Superfamous – Sunday 28th August
For all those who recognise a tune when they hear it but can’t quite remember what it’s called – this concert is for you. This concert is going to be a nonstop romp through the music that has thrilled audiences for decades. Superfamous is exactly what it says on the tin – excerpts from some of the most famous pieces ever written, all in one show. Don’t miss out on your chance to see Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Cairns.
Amy Shark – Sunday 28th August (rescheduled from Monday 29th August)
No stranger to the big stage, homegrown 8-time ARIA award-winning singer-songwriter Amy Shark is hitting The Tanks for Cairns Festival 2022, as part of her bumper national tour, ‘See U Somewhere Australia’. Don’t miss out as Amy Shark hits Cairns at the Tanks this year!
Judith Lucy & Denise Scott – Wednesday 31st August
Judith Lucy and Denise Scott know what the whole country is wondering… how did they cope with a global pandemic and the endless lockdowns of the last two years? Join Jude and Scotty for what could loosely be called a play – think Waiting for Godot meets Flying High – that is not only full of shameless gags but sees them confronting their greatest fear.
Truth Machine – Thursday 1st September & Friday 2nd September
TRUTHMACHINE is the multi-award winning new social experiment from techno-trouble makers, Counterpilot. Using real biometric sensors and live voting systems, TRUTHMACHINE seeks out truth in a world of fake news and alternative facts. Blurring the line between cutting edge technology and live performance, TRUTHMACHINE is an intimate, playful and intriguing theatre experience for adventurous audiences.
Aftermath – Australasian Dance Collective – Thursday 1st September & Friday 2nd September
Set to a searing new score by the acclaimed producer, vocalist and songwriter behind The Kite String Tangle, Aftermath opens into a haunting world of disquiet, both familiar and unfamiliar. A rousing aural, visual and sensory trip, created by Amy Hollingsworth and Jack Lister, Aftermath is an electric collaboration performed by Australasian Dance Collective to a blistering original score performed live by the award-winning Danny Harley of The Kite String Tangle.
Alex the Astronaut – Friday 2nd September
An unforgettably original lyricist, the music of Australian singer/songwriter Alex the Astronaut cycles through a series of radiantly detailed slices of life. She’s set to tour her latest LP, ‘How to Grow a Sunflower Underwater,’ around the country – including as a headliner at this year’s Cairns Festival.
Jazz Under The Stars – Saturday 3rd September
A date for jazz lovers to note, when the annual Jazz Under The Stars concert is held on the Botanic Gardens’ Flecker lawn. The curated lineup will bring you jazz of all kinds, with musicians hitting up the garden’s stage to keep you entertained under the stars of the tropical night sky. Bring along a picnic and a blanket or chair and sit back and enjoy a night of great jazz.
Le Coup – Saturday 3rd September & Sunday 4th September
Fight Night at the Circus. Wild showmanship meets neo-vaudeville when the daring competitors of Le Coup present their skills: hand-to-hand acrobatics, trapeze, sling and juggling (with bowling balls). Featuring a ferocious live soundtrack by the bluegrass band Father Grant and The Blunt Objects and singer Mary Murderess, the artists fire each other up to the highest level of entertainment.
Remember be sure to book early for the Ticketed Events!
Visual Art Events:
Cairns Festival Turns 60 Exhibition – Wednesday 3rd August to Saturday 10th September
View the soul of our city through curiosity, creativity, and culture. Celebrating 60 years of the Cairns Festival, The Court House is hosting an exhibition highlighting the vibrant history of this creative event through imagery and film. The Court House 60th Exhibition celebrates the Cairns Festival, a journey through the archives and the dynamic soul of our city. FREE EVENT!
City Lights – Friday 26th August to Sunday 4th September
Cairns City Library façade will light up with AGB Events collaborating with local renowned textile designer and artist Francoise Lane. Her gorgeous and compelling artworks are inspired by her connection to the Torres Strait Islands and her exploration of visual storytelling. This exciting projection will light up the library every evening of Cairns Festival from 7pm – 11pm. FREE EVENT!
Reef Light: Illuminate the Tropics – Friday 26th August to Sunday 4th September
The city of Cairns lights up in celebration of the Great Barrier Reef through this magnificent and immersive sensory light experience. Under the creative direction and expertise of light artists, LASERVISION, ‘Reef Light’ is a virtual under-the-sea experience. Guests are immersed in an impressive light journey that harnesses the magic of the reef and washes the city with a kaleidoscope of colour. FREE EVENT!
Pelicans by Dead Poet Society – Saturday 27th August to Sunday 4th September
Inquisitive yet playful; magnificent yet clumsy, these great comics of the bird world endear themselves to any audience. The Pelicans have an insatiable curiosity to investigate people, places and objects; these incredible creatures reveal their full majestic wingspan and explore their environment with their beaks when waddling through a crowd. When not wandering through public spaces, the Pelicans will takes up residence at the top of the Lagoon in the Esplanade Plaza. FREE EVENT!
Free Live Music:
Check the Cairns Festival website for all the FREE live music events happening at
– The Festival HQ Main Stage on The Court House Lawn
– The Cairns Esplanade Main Stage
Download the Cairns Festival Program!
