What’s on in June? Here’s the month’s top events in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & The Hunter specially selected for families. Although the weather is starting to get cooler, there are still outdoor events to enjoy or escape the winter cold at indoor events. There is a mix of ticketed and free events for parents, grandparents and carers to enjoy some family fun in June.
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Young Dobell Exhibition
Part of the Lake Macquarie Dobell Festival, the Young Dobell Festival is a celebration of young Australian talent. Individuals between the ages of 5 and 18 were encouraged to create either a portrait of a person or pet who plays a significant role in their life, or a landscape artwork of a place that is special to them. Finalists are on display in the Art in Your Community space at MAC yapang.
Date: Until 3 August 2025
Location: MAC yapang, Lake Macquarie
Cost: Free
Website
Maitland Running Festival
For a fun family walk/run, complete one lap (4km), two laps (8km) or three laps (12km) of the Maitland Running Festival.
Date: 1 June 2025
Location: Maitland Regional Athletics Centre
Cost: From $45 adult, $35 child (plus processing fee)
Website
You’re Kidding Me Family Expo
You’re Kidding Me, the Hunter’s largest parenting expo connects families with local services, programs and resources. Perfect for families with children from 0-8 years old, the You’re Kidding Me Expo is a great opportunity to connect with local services and childhood experts from our community.
Date: Monday 2 – Friday 6 June 2025
Location: Charlestown Square Centre Court
Cost: Free
Website
Newcastle’s Samoa Independence Day
Newcastle’s Samoa Independence Family Fun Day is a vibrant celebration of Samoan culture, bringing together the community for a day filled with joy, tradition, and connection. Held annually this event showcases the rich heritage of Samoa.
Date: Saturday 7 June 2025
Location: The Station Newcastle
Cost: Free
Website
World Environment Day
Hunter Wetlands Centre is celebrating World Environment Day this Long Weekend with additional activities on Saturday! Kids will love the FREE Guided Dipnetting. Just drop in anytime between 10.00-12pm. There’s also the daily Magpie Geese Feeding & Talk at 10.30am and the regular Saturday Reptile Encounter at 11am.
Date: Saturday 7 June 2025
Location: Hunter Wetlands Centre Shortland.
Cost: 4 to 15 years: $6. 16 years and over: $9.50
Website
Wangi Art & Craft Weekend
Join Lake Macquarie City Council for the Wangi art & craft weekend, a vibrant celebration of local art, performance, and community spirit set in the heart of Wangi Wangi. As part of the Lake Macquarie Dobell Festival, this lively street activation transforms the spaces between the Wangi Workers Club, Dobell House, and the Wangi Library Creative Hub into a hive of artistic activity.
Date: Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 June 2025
Location: Wangi Wangi
Cost: Free
Website
Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces
Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces is on the June long weekend each year and celebrates the rich history of agriculture and sheep farming in Merriwa. This year’s theme is The Magic of Wool. It’s a fun family-friendly event with markets stalls, petting zoo, free kids rides, dog high jump, working sheep dog demonstrations, shearing demonstrations, gumboot throwing and fireworks and the famous Running of the Sheep parade.
Date: 6 – 8 June 2025
Location: Golden Highway, Merriwa
Cost: Free Entry Sat & Sun, Friday Night Opening Night $15/pp
Website
Harvest Festival
Take a farm tour, feed adorable farm animals, pick your own pecans, mandarins and oranges, give archery a go, enjoy CWA scones, and learn all about platypuses! These are just a few of the family-friendly experiences waiting for you at the Harvest Festival presented by Central Coast Council.
Date: 7 & 8 June 2025
Location: Central Coast
Cost: Combination of free and paid events and activities
Website
CPR and First Aid Awareness for Parents of Infants and Children
Lake Mac Lifeguards will be running free CPR and first-aid presentations for parents at Lake Mac Libraries this winter. These sessions will cover the latest first-aid techniques and how to respond in an emergency. All sessions are free and bookings are not required.
Date: Thursday 12 June 2025
Location: Belmont Library
Cost: Free
Website
The Butterfly Effect Presented by Hunter Drama
Get ready for a thrilling ride through time, chance, and consequence with The Butterfly Effect, Hunter Drama’s latest original production! This bold and imaginative show weaves together an electrifying series of scenes and musical numbers, each exploring how a single moment can change the course of everything.
Date: 13 June 2025
Location: Performing Arts Culture Cessnock
Cost: All tickets $35
Website
Star Struck 2025: Remixed Volume 33
Prepare to be mesmerised by this year’s spectacular showcase, Star Struck: Remixed Volume 33! Held annually at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Star Struck is the ultimate performing arts extravaganza, featuring over 3500 talented public school students from Newcastle, the Hunter, and Central Coast regions.
Date: 13 & 14 June 2025
Location: Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Cost: Tickets from $41.90
Website
Newcastle Repair Cafe
Bring your much-loved broken items back to life at the Newcastle Repair Café. Held on the first Saturday of every second month at library and community locations across Newcastle.
Date: 14 June 2025
Location: The Hamilton Community Hive, 152 Beaumont Street, Hamilton
Cost: Free
Website
Illuminate Raymond Terrace
llluminate is a vibrant fire and light community festival in the heart of Raymond Terrace! This year the festival will be held in Boomerang Park from 4pm to 8pm. There’ll be lots to do for the whole family including live music and entertainment, interactive art installations, food zone and a fireworks display at 7:30pm.
Date: 14 June 2025
Location: Boomerang Park, Raymond Terrace
Cost: Free entry
Website
Maitland Heritage Fest – Free Family Day
The Church Street, Maitland precinct will be full of family activities and historical entertainment for Maitland Heritage Fest. There’ll be historic games, local history, family fun, artisans and craft, live music plus food and coffee.
Date: 15 June 2025
Location: Church Street, Maitland (opposite Pender Place)
Cost: Free
Website
Float Your Boat
Get your friends and family together and gather on the shores of Lake Macquarie to see a flotilla of boats pass by in the Float Your Boat event organised by Lake Macquarie City Council.
Friday 20 June – Visit the FYB live site located at Toronto Foreshore. The flotilla will travel from Empire Marina Lake Macquarie to Toronto, Coal Point and Wangi Wangi.
Saturday 21 June – Choose between two FYB live sites located at Warners Bay Foreshore and Brooks Parade Belmont. The flotilla will travel from Belmont to Valentine, Eleebana, Warners Bay, and finish at Empire Marina. Read more about Float Your Boat 2025.
Date: 20 & 21 June 2025
Location: Various locations in Lake Macquarie
Cost: Free
Website
Viral Food Festival Newcastle
The Viral Food Festival is bringing internet-famous eats and a full festival experience to Newcastle for the first time. Think Big Mac Tacos, Dubai Bubble Waffles, Mac & Cheese Everything, and loads more. Plus, enjoy carnival rides, live music, roving performers and even live wrestling. It’s set to be a huge weekend for foodies and families.
Date: 20 – 22 June 2025
Location: Newcastle Racecourse, 100 Darling St, Broadmeadow
Cost: $5 entry
Website
Luminous
As the longest night of the year falls, experience of dazzling lighting installations, fiery displays, and enjoy a tasty beverage in a cosy space that warms the soul on these chilly nights. Featuring live performances and demonstrations, a fireworks display, interactive experiences, and a touch of mystery, rug up, embrace the glow, and make this solstice a night to remember.
Date: 20 & 21 June 2025
Location: The Levee, Central Maitland
Cost: Free entry
Website
Community Fun Day at Blackbutt Reserve
The community is invited to celebrate the opening of the community space and cafe facility at a community fun day from 10am-1pm on Saturday 21 June, featuring live music, Ranger-hosted critter encounters, family entertainment, face painting as well as special offers at the new cafe.
Date: Saturday 21 June 2025
Time: 10am – 1pm
Location: Blackbutt Reserve, Carnley Avenue
Cost: Free
Website
Zara’s House Food Festival
Come to a welcoming celebration of culture and community in the heart of Newcastle. The Zara’s House Food Festival will feature unique food stalls offering authentic dishes from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. Prepared by refugee and migrant community members who are passionate about sharing their culture. Alongside the food, enjoy live drumming and dance performances in an open, family-friendly setting at The Station.
Every dollar raised goes directly to Zara’s House, a Newcastle-based community centre supporting refugee and asylum-seeking women and their families through education, childcare, financial literacy, and essential support services.
Date: 21 June 2025
Location: The Station, Newcastle
Cost: $5 per person, $15 per family
Website
Street Paws Dog Festival
Street paws is heading back to Newcastle sponsored by Divine Stream radio. Expect pet stalls, food trucks and coffee van, competitions and giveaways. Competition Schedule: 11am – Best rescue, 12pm – Special dogs, old timer, best trick, best dressed, dancing dogs, waggiest tail, 1pm – Cutest pooch.
Date: 21 June 2025
Location: The Station, Newcastle
Cost: Free entry
Website
Snow Time in the Garden at Hunter Valley Gardens
Enjoy a fun-filled day of icy activities at Hunter Valley Garden’s winter festival Snow Time in the Garden. Create a snow angel or build a snowman in the Mega Snow Play Zone, race down the Giant Ice Toboggan and glide across the massive Ice Skating Rink. Plus there’s amazing amusement rides, roving entertainment, hearty food and warm beverages. Read more about Snow Time in the Garden.
Date: 28 June to 27 July 2025
Location: Hunter Valley Gardens
Cost: Tickets from $31 (Child 4-15), $41 (Adult 16+), Family Passes available
Website
Pick Your Own Oranges Season Start
Orange picking season starts soon! You can pick oranges straight off the trees at Dooralong – less than an hour’s drive from Newcastle. Orange picking kicks off early this year due to a bumper harvest. Cedar Farm will open for the season on the weekend of 28 & 29 June and is open every day during the July school holidays before switching back to weekend hours.
Date: 28 & 29 June 2025
Location: Cedar Farm, Dooralong
Cost: Free 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: 29 June 2025
Time: Trains running from 12:15pm till 3:30pm (weather permitting). The park is open from around 9:30am.
Location: Velinda Street, Edgeworth
Cost: It costs $2.50 per train ride. Children under 2 years old are free.
Website
One Song Sing – Lake Macquarie
One Song Sing is the Hunter’s very own pop up choir in fabulous places. One song learned, sung and performed within an hour(ish). Arranged for you by The Sum of the Parts and proudly sponsored and produced by Lake Macquarie City Council. This year, participants will learn and perform the popular song Halo by Beyonce. Open to all ages (children must be accompanied by an adult)
Date: 29 June 2025
Location: Charlestown Square
Cost: General admission – $10 per person + booking fee
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.