DANCE: MOVE YOUR FEET, LOSE YOUR INHIBITIONS
ESCAPE INTO ANOTHER WORLD
Some festival moments pull you into the crowd. Others lift you completely out of the everyday. Cairns Festival is serving up 10 days, 10 ways to experience it all and ESCAPE is your invitation to be swept away into another world, just for a while.
Welcome to ESCAPE. Where the music rises into the night sky, stories travel across genres and familiar places become portals to something bigger. This is your chance to pause, breathe, listen and let the festival carry you away. WANDER, GATHER, IMAGINE, LAUGH, PLAY, ESCAPE, HONOUR, DISCOVER, DANCE and CONNECT your way through Cairns Festival with us.
Let The Night Carry The Music
Symphony Under the Stars brings Queensland Symphony Orchestra to Munro Martin Parklands for an opening night made to feel bigger than real life. As evening settles over Cairns, live orchestral music rises from beneath the leaves, filling the tropical night with passion, power and goosebump moments. Conducted by Nil Venditti, the program moves through bold contrasts and beautiful textures, with works by Copland, Bernstein, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky and more, including a world premiere from QSO Compose alumnus (and Atherton local) Jonathan Platz. Pack a picnic, bring your favourite people and let the music do what music does best — transport you to a brand new space.
When: Friday 28 August. 7.30pm.
Where: Munro Martin Parklands.
Tickets: Adult $59. Concession/Senior $54. Youth (12–17 years) $35. Child (5–11 years) $20.
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When Opera Meets Country
Are You Lonesome Tonight brings country music and opera together in a way that feels bold, surprising and full of heart. Expect soaring arias, country favourites and songs made famous by the likes of Puccini, Verdi, Slim Dusty, Troy Cassar-Daley and Dolly Parton, all performed by Opera Queensland's cast of young Australian singers. With big voices, beautiful harmonies and irresistible energy, this is a foot-stomping, heart-stirring night that proves two very different musical worlds can make magic together. Opera Queensland's most successful regional tour in 40 years comes to Cairns Festival for two performances only. Dress code Cairns — denim, sequins, tuxedos or boots, everything belongs here.
When: Sunday 6 September. 2pm and 7pm.
Where: Cairns Performing Arts Centre.
Tickets: $45.
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Sometimes the festival is not about rushing from one thing to the next. Sometimes it is about letting a song stop you in your tracks, sitting under the stars, hearing a familiar lyric in a completely new way, or feeling the whole night shift around you. That is the beauty of ESCAPE.
Cairns Festival 2026 is calling. Pack the picnic rug. Dress for the moment. Bring someone who loves a big night of music and let yourself escape into another world, even if just for a while.
The Fun Doesn't Stop Here
Cairns Fest isn't here for a long time, but it's here for a good time! Here's some more inspo to help you make the most of the 10 days.
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