Sugar Fest Oceanic Culture History & Music 2026

Stay for an hour or make a day of it!

Find a spot on the grounds and chill to the music, wander through the remarkable Chau Chak Wing Museum collections, grab something delicious from the festival food stalls, sit down for a weaving workshop, join the dancing—or simply soak up the atmosphere with family and friends.

And when you're ready for a break, there's always the museum café on the scenic balcony—a beautiful spot for a classic Sunday lunch, good coffee and eats while overlooking the university grounds.

GET INVOLVED – CULTURE IN YOUR HANDS

Start your Sunday with a taste of the Pacific and pull up a chair at one of our cultural workshops.

🌺 Cook Islands Lei & Headdress Making

Learn alongside Cook Islands cultural practitioners and create a traditional lei or beautiful headdress to wear throughout the festival.

🧺 Kastom Aboriginal Weaving

Sit, yarn and learn traditional weaving techniques while creating your own wristband or bracelet.

These relaxed, hands-on spaces are for everyone—young people, Elders, families, first-timers and experienced makers alike.

THEN TURN UP THE MUSIC!

Feel the energy of African drumming and dance, followed by interactive workshops where the kids—and adventurous adults—can have a go.

Catch an exciting line-up of Hip Hop, Soul & Dance with Heshy, Nia, Temeeka and Tessarna.

Experience the strength, rhythm and storytelling of traditional Torres Strait Islander dance.

Then settle in—or get up and dance—as The Lady Beans bring their infectious blend of Funk, Soul and Reggae to SugarFest.

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BLACKBIRDING SYMPOSIUM

History • Lived Experience • Climate • Our Shared Pacific Story

SugarFest creates space not only to celebrate culture, but to have important conversations about the histories connecting Australia and the Pacific.

Join a special Blackbirding Symposium bringing together history, lived experience and contemporary Pacific voices.

In Conversation with Ryan Butta — acclaimed author and storyteller, uncovering Australia’s Blackbirding history and the powerful stories from his bestselling work that challenge us to see our nation’s past—and its enduring legacy—with new eyes.

Lily Roberts – President of the Tuvalu Association, speaking to Tuvalu's shared Blackbirding history and the urgent realities of the Pacific climate emergency, displacement, culture and connection to homeland.

Aunty Raechel Togo – Australian South Sea Islander descendant and living witness to an extraordinary family history carried across generations, sharing an ASSI descendant perspective on survival, memory, identity and the enduring legacy of Blackbirding.

Together, these voices invite audiences into a powerful conversation connecting past and present, Australia and Oceania, history and lived experience.