Mooloolaba Christmas Boat Parade

Mooloolaba's Christmas Boat Parade is fun for everyone! Bring your family, bring your friends. Pack a picnic. Get yourselves ready for a magical, floating light spectacular! Imagine - loads of colour, pretty Christmas lights, entertainment and more. 

Houses and apartments all around Mooloolah River are encouraged to dress-up on the night. This is the perfect chance for families, friends, visitors, adults and children to come together to enjoy a free and fun community event.

Caloundra Arts and Crafts Fair

Caloundra Arts Centre Association's Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair is on again with a wonderful array of quality handcrafted goods for sale. 

This is a marvellous opportunity to support your local community and pick up some authentic hand-made Australian products for yourself or family and friends. All rooms will be filled with an interesting and exciting selection of handicrafts including Pottery, Woodwork, original Art and Pastels to Handmade Lace, Quilting, Embroidery, Jewellery and Silk Painting. Christmas goods available also.

Hinterland Festival 2014

Once again the Sunshine Coast Hinterland region is coming alive for six weeks of music festivals, workshops, art exhibitions, street performances and more; and the level of anticipation is only matched by the beauty of the surroundings.

There is something for the whole family. From the orchestral concert, to art workshops, a poet’s breakfast, markets, free art exhibitions, and street entertainment, it is not to be missed.

For those desperate to unleash their inner artist, the Hinterland event favourite ‘Open Studios’ is for you. Artists across the region will open their doors and you will be able to step inside their worlds, view their work and chat about all things painting, sculpting and multi-media art. Running for two weekends over 11-12 and 18-19 October, they are a must for all budding artists.

Festuri Multicultural Festival 2014

Festuri Multicultural Festival is a free community celebration of cultural diversity starting at 10:30am, at Lions Park Ormond Terrace, Kings Beach Caloundra, with a Welcome to Country followed by music on both the Global and Harmony stages. 

From the Andes to Trinidad, dancer's from Hawaii to Colombia, global voices, the Festuri Peoples Orchestra, storytelling, art and craft workshops in traditional woven fibre techniques from Papua New Guinea, henna tattooing, batik, Bollywood dance workshops, an Angklung orchestra from Indonesia, a Sacred Rhythms concert featuring Linsey Pollak, Tunji Beier, Ravi Singh and Sudha Manian. 

Children's Festival launches at 11am with (Hula) Hoop Jam, Singing for Kids, Pantastic Steelpan workshops, Mask and Juggling Ball Making, craft corner, face painting and more.

Tough Mudder Sunshine Coast 2014

Held in Caloundra 16 - 17 August, and stretched out over nearly 10,000 (yes, 10,000) acres of flat, wide open Australian wilderness, Tough Mudder Sunshine Coast is the biggest Tough Mudder course on the planet. Serving up a blank geographical canvas for our mad-minded Course Designers, the surprises lurking in this mega Mudder will blow your mind.

Maleny Wood Expo

Two days of clean country family fun hosted by Barung Landcare, the Wood Expo showcases sustainable timber production and our beautiful native timbers through the work of local and regional wood artisans.

The Expo has everything timber from mobile milling and slabs to fine furniture and sculpture, local Maleny produce, sustainable alternatives for the home, natural resource management displays and much more.

Smell the distinctive spicy aroma of newly milled timber and watch live demos of chainsaws, woodworking, trade tools and more.

Join in a WoodShed Workshops or take a Know Your Timber Tree Tour. There’s Woodwork for Women and a creative space for kids to taste the delights of woodworking – it’s wood for the whole family.

Pull up a hay bale and enjoy great food and fabulous local music. Have a great day! 

Opera at The Castle

The Underground Opera Company returns to the Sunshine Castle, Bli Bli, (just a five minute drive from Maroochydore) for their next "Opera in the Castle" concerts from 21 - 23 March.

Resonating through the magnificent Banquet Hall, some of Australia's finest voices will perform a selection of pieces from popular operas and musical theatre showstoppers! This production makes for a wonderful experience and is recommended to anyone who loves music. 

With complimentary canapes served during interval in the Castle Courtyard and an audience limited to 100, Opera in the Castle will set the standard for an intimate evening of beautiful music and extraordinary voices in a wonderful setting.

Air New Zealand flights to continue in 2014

The success of international Air New Zealand flights to and from Auckland in 2012 and 2013 has resulted in a strong commitment from the airline for future direct services.  Over the next three years, the length of seasonal services will be extended and frequency increased.

The 2014 season will again run from June to October, with three flights a week during the peak period on Sundays, Tuesdays and a new Friday service added. The remainder of the season offers twice weekly flights on Sundays and Fridays.

Next year will involve 42 return trips over 17 weeks, with the 2015/16 season extending to 28 weeks and the 2016/17 season at 30 weeks from June to January.

The 2014 season commences on Friday 27 June.