The 7 Best Things To Do In Brisbane This September
It’s a happy un-birthday for Brisbane in September, when our month-long festival of all things Brisvegas means there’s no excuse to stay inside twiddling your thumbs. Put those thumbs to good use at a variety of sticky events, from a Buffalo Wings festival to a horror-themed camp out in the woods. Thumbs up!
[listicle]Flight of the buffalos
Topping only July’s Goat Festival for niche animal-related merriment, the Australian Buffalo Wings Festival basically flash-mobs the menus of restaurants across Brisbane with Aussie spins on the classic American meal. Local faves such as Shady Palms, Archive and Newstead Brewing Company will compete for your tastebuds, each offering exclusive wings deals. But only one venue can be lord of the wings – it’s up to you to decide. Australian Buffalo Wings Festival takes flight from 30 August till September 3.
Photo: Australian Buffalo Wings Festival/Facebook
Welcome to Camp Nightmare
Pack a spare pair of undies for this spooky camp-out, held in the hills on the outskirts of Brisbane – where anything could happen. The Horror Movie Camp-Out is kind of like an open-air haunted house: an overnight film festival screening the classics (think Bad Taste and Hellraiser) alongside contemporary scares (The Babadook on the big screen? Yass!) Will you be able to tell the roaming immersive-scare actors from real monsters? Will you escape the “death chamber” maze? Will you make it back to the big city alive? The Horror Movie Camp-Out takes place at Sirromet Winery in Mount Cotton on September 3.
Check out our previous feature on the event here.
Photo: Image © Sandra Markovic (@leximphoto)
Festival flare
Brisbane Festival returns with a full month of river-city celebrations, from comedy to cabaret, new music to nostalgic faves. Taking in the best views of Riverfire that Southbank has to offer, festival hub Arcadia hosts pop-up local eateries and two (two!) many-mirrored Spiegeltents this year. Don’t miss Blanc de Blanc — direct from London’s West End, but produced by Australia’s own Strut & Fret — or the reunion of beloved Brissie band George. BrisFest runs from September 3 to 24, with a smorgasbord of events to feast on.
Photo: Blanc de Blanc at Brisbane Festival
Late-night shopping
It’s easy to neglect our home-grown mainstays during festival months — so don’t forget the Brisbane Twilight Markets that fill King George Square with lantern light and indie crafts each week. Wander through over 80 ever-changing artisan stalls in a Friday-night jazz trance, with the help of the city’s jazziest bands. It sure beats late-night shopping in the bright white glare of nearby malls. Twilight Markets take place every Friday from 4-9pm on King George Square in Brisbane’s CBD.
Photo: BrisStyle/Facebook
Button-down
Taking over all six labyrinthine storeys of Metro Arts, Unbuttoned Festival of Gender, Art and You pries open the gender binary in performance, visual art, workshops and parties. Unbuttoned’s artists are here to ask the curly questions, unravelling gender and taking thrill in its possibilities. Indulge your senses in Preaching to the Perverted, in which Anastasia Booth considers the subversive side of desire, sing along to no-scrubs karaoke at Femioke, and — not to be outdone — perfect your self-love technique at the Wank Bank Masterclass. An inclusive and playful space, Unbuttoned Festival runs at Metro Arts from September 15 to 18.
Cultures converge
Touring nationally, Confluence Festival of India reaches Brisbane in September. The festival brings with it Sonam Kalra’s Sufi Gospel Project, exquisite Indian dance theatre, an exhibition of Khadi fabric artworks, and Bollywood dance workshops. Confluence Festival takes place between QPAC and QUT from September 15 to October 24.
Photo: Confluence Festival of India
Giving 110%
A unique and interactive exhibition, 100% Brisbane brings together the stories of 100 diverse Brisbane residents. Museum of Brisbane collaborates with Berlin theatre company Rimini Protokoll to look at the way humans shape Brisbane, and the way Brisbane – its jacarandas, its old share-houses and grand Queenslanders, its possums, and its high rises – shape its people. The exhibition also features a short film written and presented by acclaimed actor William McInnes. 100% Brisbane, open throughout September and beyond, captures our living city under a microscope. Take a free tour of the exhibition with its manager on September 25.
Photo: Museum of Brisbane[/listicle]
(Lead image: Horror Movie Campout)
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