What’s on in February? Here’s the month’s top events in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & The Hunter specially selected for families. There is a mix of ticketed and free events for parents, grandparents and carers to enjoy some family fun.
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Ocean of Stories from Down Under
This summer, The Lovett Gallery at Newcastle City Library has been transformed into a magical world of underwater stories and adventures. Discover the art of five award-winning Australian illustrators, Cindy Lane, Sami Bayly, Matt Ottley, Jenni Goodwin and Kim Mischelle Toft and get hands-on with sensory materials and activities for children and be inspired by the art and stories of our precious oceans.
Date: Until March 2026
Time: During Newcastle City Library opening hours
Location: Lovett Gallery, above Newcastle City Library
Age Group: 12 and under
Cost: Free entry
Website
World Wetlands Day
Hunter Wetlands Centre is inviting the community to celebrate World Wetlands Day with a vibrant, family-friendly day of culture, nature and discovery on Sunday, 1 February with free entry, activities and special events for all ages.
Date: Sunday 1 February
Time: 9am to 4pm
Location: Hunter Wetlands Centre, Shortland
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free entry with mix of free and paid activities
Website
Music in the Podium
Music in the Podium returns to Warners Bay Foreshore and runs until March 2026. The program, hosted by Lake Macquarie City Council will feature popular local musicians every Friday evening.
Date: 6, 13, 20 & 27 February 2026
Time: 6 – 9pm
Location: Warners Bay Foreshore
Age Group: All ages welcome
Cost: Free
Website
Friday Chill
On Friday nights through summer Soul engages local artists to perform chilled out tunes in a family-friendly setting. Food trucks and kids’ performers/activities add to the festival environment. Soul Hub would like to invite their friends and community to come along and join them for a picnic in the park! BYO picnic food and beverages or take advantage of the gourmet food served by a selection of local food vendors.
Date: 6, 13, 20 & 27 February 2026
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Location: Pacific Park, Newcastle East
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free entry
Website
Press Play Program at MAP Mima
Kick off an unforgettable weekend at the Multi-Arts Pavilion mima (MAP mima) with the Silent Kids’ Disco, part of the vibrant Press Play program. This family-friendly celebration is the perfect way to start a weekend of art activities and games, packed with music, art, and fun for all ages. On Saturday, enjoy Wonder Through the Senses: A Sensory Day and on Sunday enjoy Sensory Art for the whole family.
Date: Friday 13 – Sunday 15 February 2026
Time: 10 – 11.30am
Location: Multi Arts Pavilion (MAP) mima, Speers Point
Age Group: Silent Kids’ Disco suitable for ages 5-12 years, Wonder Through the Senses: A Sensory Day most suitable for children aged 3–12 years, Sensory Art suitable for all ages.
Cost: Free, but bookings essential
Website
Maitland Show & Rodeo
The 164th Maitland Show will be held on Friday 13, Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 February 2026. Get along to see cattle, colouring-in, cooking, dogs, donkeys, goats, handicraft, honey, horses, horticulture, flora & produce, photography, poultry, rodeo, scarecrow, woodchopping and woodwork. There’ll be lots of live entertainment, attractions and educational activities for the whole family.
Date: Friday 13 – Sunday 15 February 2026
Location: Maitland Showground
Age Group: All ages
Cost: $20 adult, kids (5 – 15) $11. Under 5 free. Family (2A+2C) – $59
Website
Cessnock Show
Cessnock Show 2026 is back and bigger than ever! The 2-day events includes a free circus and circus workshop, Animal nursery & reptile show, demo derby action, gravity FMX thrills, camel races, bushies obstacle race and fireworks.
Date: 20 & 21 February 2026
Location: Cessnock Showground
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Adults $15, child (5-16) – $10, family $30. Entry tickets include the FREE circus and circus workshops!
Website
Foreshore Park Kiosk & Amenities Building Opening Event
Join Newcastle City Council for a fun-filled morning as they celebrate the opening of the new kiosk and amenities building at Foreshore Park. There’ll be hands-on building and craft activities (presented by Newy with Kids), along with face painting, half-price coffee from the new kiosk partner, Sunnyboy Park, and a live DJ setting the scene. The new play space is still on the way (scheduled for completion in late 2026), but there will be plenty to explore and enjoy on the day.
Date: Saturday 21 February 2026
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Foreshore Park, Newcastle
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Newcastle Pools Inflatable Day at Mayfield Swimming Pool
This February and March, Newcastle Pools are hosting a series of inflatable days. The perfect way for the community to cool off and level up their pool day. Three hours of inflatable fun, included in your normal pool entry.
Date: Sunday 22 February 2026
Time: 11am – 2pm
Location: Mayfield Pool
Age Group: All ages
Cost: $2 entry
Website
Edgeworth Trains
Ride on a miniature train. Lake Macquarie Live Steam Locomotive Society hosts monthly public ride days. There’s a variety of miniature trains such as steam and diesel and different rail routes (both elevated and ground-level) so you can easily spend a couple of hours watching and riding trains. Their public ride days run on the last Sunday of each month excluding December.
Date: Sunday 22 February 2026
Time: Trains running from 12:15pm till 3:30pm (weather permitting). The park is open from around 9:30am.
Location: Velinda Street, Edgeworth
Age Group: All ages
Cost: It costs $3 per train ride. Children under 2 years old are free.
Website
Newcastle Show
The Newcastle Show is the Hunter’s largest annual ticketed event, happening across three days. The theme of this year’s Newcastle Show is ‘It’s Newcastle, On Show’. In 2026, Newcastle’s first-ever Comic-Con, Newy-Con, is landing at the Newcastle Show, and it is going to be EPIC! Also expect rodeo, fireworks and events and activities for the whole family including carnival games, rides, petting zoo, equestrian events, showbags and much, much more!
Date: Friday 27 February – Sunday 1 March 2026
Time: Fri & Sat 9 – 10pm, Sunday 9 – 3pm
Location: Newcastle Showground
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Tickets from $15 (child 5-17, concession), $25 (adults 17+), FREE (Under 4), Family passes available
Website
Newcastle Art Gallery Grand Reopening
Following its landmark extension, Newcastle Art Gallery will officially reopen on Saturday 28 February 2026. A three-day celebration will begin with a ‘Friday Night Sounds’ street party on Friday February 27. The opening weekend will feature a vibrant program of live performances, artist talks, and community artmaking, headlined by the major inaugural exhibition Iconic Loved Unexpected. This huge exhibition fills two floors with more than 500 artworks.
Date: Friday 27 February – Sunday 1 March 2026
Time: Friday 5 – 9pm, Saturday 10am – 4pm, Sunday 10am – 4pm
Location: Newcastle Art Gallery, 1 Laman Street, Newcastle
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free admission
Website
Pop-Up Repair Cafe – Hunter Multicultural Communities
The team from The Full Circle Collective are setting up at HMC in Waratah to help you repair your clothing, small household items, and bikes for FREE! The Repair Café will be running from 10am-12:30pm. Ticket bookings are just to give them an idea of numbers, so if you don’t have a ticket no worries, just bring along your item for repair by 12pm!
Date: Saturday 28 February 2026
Time: 10am – 12.30pm
Location: Hunter Multicultural Communities, Waratah
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Maitland Roller Disco
Roll into a night of music, food and fun at the Maitland Roller Disco. Groove to live DJ tunes, enjoy tasty treats from food trucks. BYO skates. No bookings required – just bring your skates, your energy and your best moves!
Date: Saturday 28 February 2026
Time: 5 – 8pm
Location: Harold Gregson Reserve
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Cinema Under the Stars – Lake Macquarie
Prepare to unplug from reality and rewire your imagination as Newcastle Permanent’s iconic Cinema Under the Stars program returns to Lake Macquarie this February.
The event will feature the Oscar-nominated animation film, The Wild Robot (PG, 2024) and is free for the whole family to attend.
There will be plenty of free activities for the kids to enjoy, featuring a circus workshop, a sustainable surfboard painting workshop, inflatable soccer target, lawn games, facepainting and of course live entertainment to bring the good vibes.
Date: Saturday 28 February 2026
Time: Live entertainment from 5:30, with film to commence at sundown
Location: Speers Point Park
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
ARTEXPRESS
ARTEXPRESS is an annual exhibition celebrating exceptional HSC Visual Arts projects from students across NSW. The showcase gives these talented young creators a chance to share their skills and unique ideas with the public.
Date: Runs until Sunday 19 April 2026
Time: 9am – 4pm (Tuesday to Sunday, closed public holidays)
Location: Maitland Regional Art Gallery
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free entry
Website
What’s On Next Month?
Looking for more events in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Hunter? Check out our What’s On Guide with information about events all year long. The guide provides a list of local family-friendly events organised by month.