Every year, a Queensland family farm opens its gates to the public so they can stroll through a million blooming sunflowers.
Elsewhere in the state, hundreds of historic, classic and performance cars race on the closed streets of a rural town.
Another town takes visitors back to the Middle Ages, complete with re-enactors, jousters, and more.
Best of all, these festivals are just a short drive from Brisbane.
Whether quirky, musical, or just delicious, we’ve rounded up some of the best festivals running this year near Brisbane.
The Kalbar Sunflower Festival features art workshops, tea parties, and sunflower-themed market stalls and food. Credit: Kalbar Sunflower Festival
Kalbar Sunflower Festival The Kalbar Sunflower Festival will be held from May 1 to 3, showcasing a million sunflowers blooming on Kalbar Sunflower Farm in the Scenic Rim.
Visitors can walk through the flowers, attend art workshops and tea parties, and enjoy sunflower-themed market stalls and food, such as the farm’s burnt honey and sunflower seed praline collaboration with Lick Ice Cream.
Starting in 2021, the festival was created by Jenny and Russell Jenner as a way to get through the drought. Following Russell’s death from oesophageal cancer, it now raises money for cancer care.
The 2026 festival will focus on raising funds for cuddle beds in hospitals across south-east Queensland. Tickets go on sale in March.
As well as an abundance of blooms, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers offers live music, food events, and rides. Credit: Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers
Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Now in its 77th year, Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a Queensland institution, and Australia’s longest-running floral event.
The festival, from late September through to early October, will celebrate the spring flowers with more than 15
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