Enlighten Festival is back this autumn to light up our lives—and this year will be a banger.

Taking place across 3–19 March in the Parliamentary Triangle, Enlighten Festival favourites the Canberra Balloon Spectacular, Enlighten Illuminations and Canberra Day celebrations are all back, along with a new highlight—Pride Weekend.

Here’s everything you need to know.

The Enlighten Festival Hub will be bigger and better than ever

Credit: Ben Calvert.

Also known as ‘that part of Enlighten with all the bars and stages between Questacon and the Portrait Gallery’, the Enlighten Festival Hub will host even more goodness this year, with up to four acts on-stage every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night and up to two acts each weeknight during the Illuminations (the projections).

These performances include R&B hitmaker Vetta Borne (also performing at Sydney World Pride), First Nations electronic artist Hylander and Canberra’s own Australian-Samoan R&B artist Kirrah Amosa. Sweet.

The Illuminations will be even more Instagrammable than ever

Credit: 5 Foot Photography, Davey Barber for VisitCanberra.

For Enlighten newbies, the ‘enlightenment’ of the festival is courtesy of the Illuminations, projections that bring to life the facades of Canberra’s most iconic buildings.

One of the most jaw-dropping elements of the festival (not to mention the most photogenic), the Illuminations will kick off on 3 March and run until the 13th, with the National Library of Australia, Australian Parliament House, National Portrait Gallery, Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, the National Gallery of Australia, and Questacon all lit up.

We’re getting a new pair of lungs

One of the most eye-catching elements of Enlighten is always the illuminated installations scattered around the Parliamentary Triangle.

This year, they will include a seven-metre-high pair of lungs by artist Clint Hurrell called Reflecting Hope and an “inflatable sculptural production” inspired by the sea named Macrocosm and Ostensorium, a holographic light installation.

Pride Weekend @ Enlighten Festival looks lit

This year we were excited to hear that Pride Weekend @ Enlighten Festival would be established as a local reflection of Sydney World Pride—and the lineup looks amazing.

With a calendar of events across 10–12 March to celebrate Canberra’s LGBTQIA+ community, highlights include the aforementioned Transista Groove as well as performances from local band Nonbinarycode, Lucy Ridge and Canberra icons QWIRE.

FreshOut Fair Day (which we’ve written about here) will be the centrepiece of Pride Weekend, with a massive all-day festival in Glebe Park on Saturday 11 March. This family-friendly day out will feature a village of market stalls representing diverse community organisations and local businesses, an array of delish food and drinks stalls, and live performances, including one from ARIA-nominated children’s group Tip Toe Giants.

Wrapping up Pride Weekend on 12 March will be live-and-free Symphony in the Park, which this year will pair the Canberra Symphony Orchestra with award-winning pop, soul and electronica band Electric Fields, fresh from headlining at WorldPride in Sydney. We can’t wait.

SAFIA will rock Canberra Day

 

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Spruce up that picnic rug because Canberra’s own SAFIA will be headlining the annual (free!) Canberra Day concert at Stage 88.

Kicking off at 12 pm on Monday 13 March, Canberra Day celebrations will feature food and drink stalls and lots of activities for little ones.

Lights! Canberra! Action! is back to serve up a slice of local talent

Centering around the theme of ‘Pride’ (we love to see it), Lights! Canberra! Action!—Canberra’s premier amateur short film festival—is back on Friday 10 March and will see the results of creators being given 10 days and a series of prompts with which to create a short film.

As always, the event is free but it is outside and is therefore BYO camping chair, picnic rug or cushion, so get planning.

The Canberra Balloon Spectacular will take to the skies once more—and this year there’s a special Pride flight

Credit: Matt Witcombe.

Everyone’s favourite aerial extravaganza The Canberra Balloon Spectacular will kick off (take off?) on Saturday 11 March, with a special Pride Flight featuring hot air balloons from Australia and overseas festooned with LGBTIQA+ flags.

Balloons will then lift off from 6.15 am and launch around 7 am each morning from Patrick White Lawns until 19 March—weather permitting, of course.

Keep an eye on enlightencanberra.com and via the Enlighten Festival and EventsACT social channels each morning to see if the balloons will indeed be taking off.

But wait—there’s more

As we all know, Enlighten usually takes place within the Parliamentary Triangle. However, this year will see activations spread across the city for Canberra After Dark.

While details are scarce at the moment, the concept is that Enlighten-adjacent after-hours events will be held at various institutions and locations. Stay tuned.

Feature image: Matt Witcombe.