- Fam Bam LIVE, the Wyndham Cultural Centre’s children’s festival runs from Monday 21 September to Sunday 4 October and is filled with an amazing array of children’s entertainment and shows to suit all ages from the very young to teenagers right in the heart of Werribee.
- Tuff Nutterz – Australia’s largest inflatable obstacle course – will be in Shepparton until 22 September.
- The Melbourne Festival of Puppetry is on 22-27 September.
- Footy Fest is back bigger than ever before, taking over Yarra Park from Wednesday 23 to Saturday 26 September. Entry is FREE and features entertainment for all ages including Auskick clinics, AFL and AFLW player appearances, giveaways, AFL Play zone, music and some of Melbourne’s best food trucks and bars.
- The Melbourne Royal Show is on from 24 September to 4 October.
- Light up the night with fun, crafts, and colourful lanterns at the Children’s Lantern Festival at the Cairnlea Town Centre on 24 September.
- Celebrate the outstanding talent and creativity of young people thriving in today’s digital world at GamerFest in Highett on 24 September.
- The Picadilly Grand Final Eve Market is on at Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong on 24 September.
- From 25 – 27 September 2026, the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival sees Mallacoota come alive with three days of incredible seafood, live music, family fun and unforgettable experiences celebrating one of Australia’s most spectacular coastal destinations.
- The Colour Terang Festival is on 25 September.
- The Bendigo Chinese Association is hosting their Annual Harvest Moon Festival at the Dai Gum San Chinese Precinct from 12pm on the Grand Final Public Holiday, Friday 25 September 2026.
- The Spring Bendigo Book Fair is on 25-27 September.
- The Anime Music Festival is back for its third year on 25 September at the Leadbeater Hotel in Richmond, bringing another unforgettable rocking night of anime’s greatest hits!
- Tuff Nutterz – Australia’s largest inflatable obstacle course – will be at the Mornington Racecourse from 25-29 September.
- The 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final Parade on 25 September will again showcase both Grand Final teams to their fans the day before the big game.
- Wander through rows of beautiful white cherry blossoms, pack a picnic to enjoy amongst the trees, and spend the day soaking up the magic of blossom season at the Blue Hills Cherry Blossom Show in Silvan from 25-27 September.
- The Terminus Hotel in Abbotsford is hosting its annual AFL Grand Final Block Party on 26 September.
- SG MY Fest on 26 September is a massive day celebrating the best of Singapore and Malaysia — all in one place at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre at Albert Park.
- Fiesta Fair 2026 is a vibrant multicultural family festival bringing together delicious food, exciting entertainment, local businesses and a welcoming community atmosphere in the heart of Ballarat on 26 September.
- The 2026 Horsham Show is on 26-27 September.
- The Goulburn Valley Orchid Club’s Spring Spectacular of Orchids event is on in Mooroopna on 26-27 September.
- PopCon is Ballarat’s biggest celebration of all things pop culture, with something for all ages. Its on at the Civic Hall and Ballarat Library on 27 September.
- The Melbourne Comic and Toy Fair is on in Thornbury on 27 September.
- Birrarung Riverfest returns from 27 September to 18 October with 70+ events from the source to the sea and its tributaries. From walks, talks and paddles to art, music, storytelling, wildlife spotting and tree planting .
- Join The Aquarium Society of Victoria for its 2026 Fish Fair at Clifton Hill on 27 September.
- The Enchanting Realms Melbourne Market is on at Coburg Town Hall on 27 September.
- Melbourne’s winter nights are set to sparkle as National Gallery of Victoria unveils the return of NGV Friday Nights alongside the highly anticipated 2026 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces: CARTIER exhibition. Running every Friday until 2 October at NGV International, the after-hours series will combine late-night exhibition access with live music, film screenings, French-inspired food and immersive performances inspired by the world of Cartier.
- Bloom After Dark returns to Bendigo until 3 October, illuminating tulip beds in Rosalind Park and filling Pall Mall with giant interactive blooms. For the first time, the after-dark trail will also extend to Heathcote and Bridgewater, while the Yi Yuan Gardens at Dai Gum San will glow gold to mark 175 Years of Gold in Bendigo.
- Geelong will transform into a city-wide playground, bursting with creativity, curiosity and unforgettable family fun until 4 October as Geelong Wonder Children’s Festival returns for its fourth consecutive year.
- Silvers Circus will be in Bendigo until 4 October.
- Cherry Hill orchards annual Blossom Festival returns until 4 October.
- Eroni’s Circus will be in Mildura until 4 October.
- A dazzling world-exclusive Cartier exhibition will run at the National Gallery of Victoria until 4 October featuring more than 300 jewels, tiaras, necklaces, brooches, timepieces and design drawings, making the exhibition the largest presentation of the legendary jewellery house ever staged in Australia.
- Melbourne is getting a deep dive into vinyl, sound and music culture, with RISING and ACMI unveiling The Vinyl Factory: Reverb, at ACMI. Running throughout this year’s RISING event and extended until 4 October, the large scale exhibition explores how vinyl and music have shaped art, fashion, film and social movements.
- Until 4 October, explore Port Fairy, Koroit and Mortlake in a whole new way with the Fairy Equinox – Whimsical Fairy House Trail. Wander through the Port Fairy and Koroit Botanic Gardens, around Tea Tree Lake in Mortlake and along the charming streets of each township as you search for handcrafted fairy houses hidden amongst spring blooms and tucked into unexpected corners.
- In a landmark moment for its 130th year, Geelong Gallery, in partnership with Art Exhibitions Australia and ACPA Advising Curating Producing Art, is proud to present Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel, Art Dealer Among the Artists, the most ambitious international exhibition in the Gallery’s history, running until 11 October.
- Fill your world with colour and fun at the Tesselaar Tulip Festival until 11 October. With over a million spring flowers in bloom and live entertainment daily there is something for everyone.
- The Greater Dandenong Children’s Festival returns until Sunday 11 October 2026, bringing a jam packed program of exciting activities, performances, workshops and adventures for children and families to enjoy.
- The Italian Film Festival returns until 15 October, bringing 33 films to cinemas across the city.
- Sketch and Scribe Fest is the fun festival that connects you with children’s publishers. Designed for children’s writers and illustrators of all levels – beginner scribblers to published authors/illustrators – wanting to connect and learn from publishers and award-winning experts. Its on at Jan Juc until 17 October.
- The RESET Festival at Fed Square until 17 October is a free, family-friendly festival about slowing down, finding joy in the hands-on – and discovering creative ways to live more sustainably.
- Still moves: Australian and international animation is on at the Bayside Gallery at Brighton Town Hall until 25 October, celebrating hand-made animation by artists considered leaders in the field.
- Melbourne Museum will open ROME: Empire, Power, People until Sunday 25 October 2026.The Melbourne-exclusive exhibition will bring more than 150 objects from two of Italy’s leading museums to Australia for the first time, offering an in-depth look at the rise and rule of one of history’s most influential civilisations.
- Shepparton Art Museum is the only Victorian venue to host Australia’s most celebrated portrait prize, the Archibald Prize, in 2026. You can see it until 1 November.
- A thought-provoking new exhibition EMERGENCE[Y] at Science Gallery Melbournebrings together artists, researchers, and designers to examine how humanity might adapt to a rapidly changing planet until 5 December 2026.
- Colour at Scienceworks in Spotswood is a vibrant, hands-on exhibition exploring the surprising science behind how we see the world, running until 26 January 2027.
- Home is Football: Belonging in Australian Soccer at the Immigration Museum until 27 January 2027 explores how the world game has shaped identity, migration and community across Australia. Featuring stories from Ange Postecoglou, Lydia Williams and grassroots players, the exhibition celebrates football’s power to connect people both on and off the pitch.
- Plant Life: The Nature of Design explores how plant-based materials could offer alternatives to plastics, synthetic products and other non-renewable materials, bringing together more than 60 works from Australian and international designers at NGV until 7 February 2027.
- Shane Warne’s legacy will take centre stage at a major exhibition presented by the Melbourne Cricket Club of the late cricket icon’s most prized personal items at the Australian Sports Museum until March 2027/. WARNE: Treasures of a Legend will feature 48 pieces from his career, offering rare access to objects that shaped one of Australia’s most celebrated sporting stories.
- Oening at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts until 9 May 2027, ENCORE! 50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. will bring together 50 iconic items spanning theatre, music, opera, dance, television and circus history
- World of the Book returns until 17 May 2027 – State Library Victoria’s largest ever tribute to women writers, alongside hundreds of extraordinary Australian and international works from the State Collection. Now in its 21st year, this beloved exhibition brings together more than 400 rare, remarkable and historically significant items from c. 2000 BCE to today, many on public display for the first time.
- What if the things we remember most aren’t necessarily the things we expect to find in a history book? That is the idea behind You Have a New Memory, a fascinating exhibition at State Library Victoria that digs into the ways we preserve the stories, objects and everyday moments that make up our collective memory open daily until 27 June 2027.
What’s on in Melbourne and regional Victoria this week: 21-28 September 2026
By Melbourning
AFL Fan Fest
