Pride events and festivals in Canberra

Updated 18 Mar 2024

Celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride with an exciting line-up of festivals and activities.

Join the festivities at Enlighten Festival where the long weekend will be dedicated to celebrating creativity, culture, and pride. Don't miss the first ever Fresh OUT, or join a tour with She Shapes History to learn about the badass women behind Australia's capital city.

Pride weekend at Enlighten Festival

Enlighten Festival (3 - 19 March) is back for 2023 and will once again light up Canberra over 17 days of culture and creativity. This annual autumn festival features stunning architectural projections of light, sound and movement during the Enlighten Illuminations, a sky full of hot air balloons at the Canberra Balloon Spectacular, and a program bursting with events for music, film, and art fans.

This year, in addition to the event’s popular programming, the second weekend of the festival (10 - 12 March) will celebrate LGBTIQ+ pride. See the capital’s iconic buildings become canvases for a specially designed pride themed projection at the Enlighten Illuminations. Vote for your favourite finalists of Lights! Canberra! Action!(10 March), a short film competition with a twist where contestants have ten days to create a mini movie exploring pride and featuring ten specific items.

See hot air balloons sporting pride flags float above the capital on the first day of the Canberra Balloon Spectacular (11 March). Hear an epic musical collaboration when Electric Fields join the Canberra Symphony Orchestra at Symphony in the Park(12 March).

To top it off, these events celebrating pride are all free to attend.

Night at the Museum: Queer

Join the National Museum of Australia to explore and celebrate rich queer cultures and histories.

Enjoy an evening of dazzling drag shows, curious collection stories, a pop-up queer exhibition, dance workshops and more at Night at the Museum: Queer (10 February).

GLAM goes glam: join co-authors of Queering the Museum, Nikki Sullivan and Craig Middleton, for a conversation about finding queerness in galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Then round out the night with a fabulous dance party.

FreshOut Fair Day

More than 60 market stalls are preparing to pop up for Fresh Out Fair Day (11 March) at Glebe Park. The one-day outdoor event will boast entertainment from Australia’s finest performing artists and a village of market stalls representing the city’s diverse community organisations and local businesses.

Keep an eye out for some of Canberra’s finest food and wine producers. Non-stop entertainment from the city’s LGBTIQA+ performing artists will take the stage duing this fair day.

She Shapes History Tours

See Canberra in a new light on an entertaining and educational walking tour with She Shapes History. Discover the trailblazing and scandal-making women behind the capital with this queer-led tour.

Experiences include the Badass Women of Canberra: National Triangle Walking Tour taking visitors on a three hour tour discovering the politicians, housewives, architects, judges and activists who shaped Australia’s capital city.