Tickets for the newly created Equinox – Autumn Celebration of the Senses in the Blue Mountains are now on sale.
Created and managed by Blue Mountains Tourism, the festival highlights and unites all that is great about the Blue Mountains in Autumn.
Blue Mountains Tourism president Jason Cronshaw said: ``After an unsettling past two years, it’s time to emerge and immerse yourself in the wonderful bounty of life here in the Blue Mountains – a convergence of fine food and craft beverages, music, art and entertainment and, of course, the fantastic natural environment we are so blessed to call home.’’
Spanning the entire Blue Mountains region over four weekends between March 18 and April 10, Equinox will feature bespoke free and ticketed food and craft beverages, music, art and entertainment events among one of the most recognised ancient landscapes on Earth.
``Come up for air a few days before or stay on after a weekend adventure to fully immerse yourself in the Blue Mountains,’’ Mr Cronshaw said.
``Expect to discover delightful hidden treasures. Expect sensational flavours and aromas at fantastical feasts. Expect exhilarating activities and mesmerising entertainment. Expect sensory overload.’’
Hear: March 18 – 20 The 25th Blue Mountains Music Festival is back for a weekend of folk, roots and blues music, songwriters’ and instrumentals circles, conversations, poet’s breakfasts and roving performers.
With vibes oozing from numerous Katoomba venues, the bulging talent bag includes local and international artists from local offering Nic Danta to chart-toppers Kasey Chambers, John Butler and Lior and the renowned Mic Conway, Phil Davidson, The Blues Preachers and local favourite Pat Drummond.
Other gigs will be held throughout the region under the Great Southern Nights banner.
Feast at the Hydro Majestic Hotel is an OTT marinade in free-flowing frivolity when the famous party palace transforms into a darkly sophisticated banquet hall brimming with all that is exotic and sensual.
Renowned for its opulent décor, famous friends and mischievous escapades past, the hotel ballroom will host an alluring culinary adventure through a sumptuous four-course dinner accompanied by a live show experience to fire all your senses.
Also soak up delectable tipples at cellar doors embedded in World Heritage landscapes, such as boutique wineries Megalong Creek Estate and Dryridge Estate in the picturesque Megalong Valley and independent small batch output Karu Distillery.
Fill your basket with tree-fresh produce straight from the farm gates along the Bells Line of Road such as apple picking at Shields Orchard and Springwood Growers Market before heading to an outstanding dining option to sample local wares.
See: April 1 – 3 Art and entertainment come alive with stargazing, scavenger hunts, art workshops and light installations on a World Heritage scale.
Unfair Advantage Show at local secret Pigeon Lane features master card handler, pick pocket, mentalist and one of Australia’s best kept secrets, Harrison Milas. He leaves nothing to chance as he lifts the veil on card cheating.
When the sun goes down, the Blue Mountains lights up with mesmerising activities for all ages from the family-friendly Katoomba Falls Reserve Night-Lit Walk past the Three Sisters to Stargazing & Wine at Dryridge Estate with ploughman’s platter and vino.
There’s ghoulish delight on the Woodford Academy Ghost Tour, indigenous art workshops led by National Parks & Wildlife Service Aboriginal rangers, a silver earring workshop, the thrilling Beyond Skyway at Scenic World and much more.
The Great Art Deco Ball at the Carrington Hotel is as famous as the grand old dame of Katoomba itself. It will feature a three-course dinner, entertainment by the evergreen Greg Poppleton, costume prizes and dancing.
Feel: April 8 – 10 Where better to experience forest bathing than surrounded by 1 million square hectares of rugged Blue Mountains bushland.
With more than 140km of bushwalking tracks, numerous expert guides and tours, and lookouts galore, nature is at your fingers in Australia’s most accessible wilderness.
Sunrise/sunset yoga with Jill Day at The Lookout Echo Point overlooking the awe-inspiring Jamison Valley will be held to greet and farewell the day. The Happy Buddha Yoga Studio and Retreat Sessions also help you relax, reconnect and reboot, to surrender to the pause that resets and take the rest you deserve so you can live the rich, full life you deserve.
Equinox – Autumn Celebration of the Senses will also involve Autumn-themed shopfront competition throughout the region, visitors and locals voting for their favourite.
The festival will become an annual tradition.
Click HERE for more details.
This event is made possible by $2.6 million from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, co-funded by the Australian Government and NSW Government. With the grant Blue Mountains Tourism, as the leading tourism authority in the region, will administer and manage the Blue Mountains Visitor Economy Revitalisation Project, a two-year destination management program that will reinstate the Blue Mountains as a key tourist destination in NSW and Australia.