Canberra’s annual LGBTQIA+ pride celebration is back, running from October 23 to December 1, 2026, with the theme of “Be Yourself in Canberra”.
Images: SpringOUT.com.au / Instagram
By Thea Swinfield
Attention Canberrans and queers ready to take a road trip: the nation’s capital is hosting over a month of free and paid queer-focused events organised as part of the SpringOUT festival — from sports, comedy, dance and drag events to Fair Day.
The best part of all? It’s already kicked off and the events are waiting!
What is SpringOUT?
The pride festival celebrates Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community in all its forms, in the country’s most queer-friendly city.
SpringOUT 2026 features queer-friendly sports action including rugby, soccer, hockey, water polo, roller derby and gridiron, as well as a comedy gala and numerous music and dance events.
As part of the festival, Paul Yore’s large mosaic artwork of drag icon Courtney Act (who’s participating in a drag story time, a Q&A hosted by Yore) is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
Topping off the festival will be SpringOUT Fair Day, on the 31st of October, featuring over 60 community, food, and artisan stalls with live stage entertainment.
But don’t worry if the choice is overwhelming — to make things easier for you, here’s a curated list of some of our most highly anticipated SpringOUT 2026 events!
Fair Day
Perhaps the biggest event of the month in terms of scale, Fair Day has a serious range of activities and performances from 11am to 5pm, on Saturday the 31st of October.
On-stage entertainment includes performances from drag artist EtceteraEtcetera, singer Mary Kiani, and Canberra local Stella Eve. The Kids Zone offers free face painting and shows from children’s entertainers Guy Alias and the Wonderful Which of the What and Bambi Bubbles from 12pm to 5pm.
Marion Quiet Queers will offer a quiet, low-sensory space to sit, read, draw, and spend time in community with other queers.
You can find the full program here.
Source: https://qnews.com.au/springout-pride-festival-in-canberra-has-officially-kicked-off/
