Nature Festival Returns With jam-packed 400 Event Program

Your spring just got a whole let better…

The fifth iteration of Nature Festival will return to the state this September 28 to October 13 with more than 400 events celebrating the natural awe and splendour of South Australia. The diverse program will include experiences and encounters that tie together arts with music, food, family adventures, conversations and First Nations culture. 

The open-access festival will bloom across South Australia’s dramatic landscapes and thriving regions, promising to deliver gatherings, events and experiences that invite you to take a beat, breathe and escape your screen – a program that’s rooted in chances to reconnect with the world around you.  

Top events this year include Pleasance, an immersive architectural floral installation on exhibit at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) that’s inspired by the nearby Karrawirra Parri/River Torrens. The brainchild of plant practitioner and author Jac Semmler (Superbloom & Fallow), the work asks visitors to pause and reflect as they connect with the rich tactile colour, beauty and awe on display in AGSA’s courtyard. 

This year’s Artist in Residence is Eleanor Noir, who’ll be based out of Wittunga Botanic Garden and creating a public, large-scale, crowd-sourced installation called Our Beating Hearts, Their Beating Wings: An Interspecies Murmuration. It will be focused on bird species loss and community resilience and there’ll be community workshops for children. 

Local artist Hari Koutlakis will also be debuting a new large-scale sculptural work titled Moving Mountains. Two suburban playgrounds will become the canvas for this new work, where people both young and old are invited to release their inner child and explore the transformative space. 

For the foodies, there’ll be a host of events including a Plate-to-Plate immersion at Bird in Hand with a cooking demonstration from acclaimed chef Jacob Davey and a sparkling winemaking demondation at Sinclair Gully Wines. 

Further, there’ll be a series of insightful discussions throughout the program. City-based attendees can check out the 7 x 7 Awe Talks at AGSA where seven key speakers will spend seven minutes responding to nature-based art throughout the gallery. Those in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park can listen to the Social History of the Adnyamathanha People – a chance to hear recorded recollections from Elders about how day-to-day life changed forever.

Other events to know include Our Hidden Marine Garden Revealed, a nocturnal exploration of the Port River at the Port Environment Centre; Waterway Tales: The Floating Tales aboard the iconic Popeye River Cruise; and a concluding sunset concert at Carrick Hill from the Evening Chorus with the Bowerbird Collective. 

Zhao Liang and San Ureshim have also been commissioned to create a work that reflects Adelaide’s Japanese garden, Himeji, blending traditional music with contemporary folk and Japanese, Middle Eastern and Chinese cultures. Local stars Naomi Keyte and LENI will also have standout performances across the program. 

“This year’s theme, ‘Awe’, focuses on moments that captivate us, pulling us out of the rush and disconnection of daily life and into a deeper relationship with nature and the world around us,” says Nature Festival Chair Vicki-Jo Russell. “A relationship that reminds us that we are part of something bigger and magnificent.”

Find out more about Nature Festival 2024 online here. Nature Festival runs from September 28 to October 13.