What’s on in September? 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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Our Bushland Festival
Celebrate the Cessnock Region’s unique natural environment this September with Our Bushland Festival – a month-long program of free and accessible community events being held as part of Biodiversity Month. The festival features a diverse range of activities, including tree planting, ecology walks, library storytime sessions, hands-on workshops, pub trivia nights, and evening spotlighting events.
Date: Throughout September 2025
Time: Various
Location: Various locations around Cessnock
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Lake Mac Run
This well known running festival has been in action since 1984 and is one of the longest-running events in New South Wales. It is a fantastic scenic road course along our beautiful lake, mostly flat and perfect for PB times. Register for the Pure Performance 21.1km Half Marathon, the Coal Services 10.5km Fun Run or the 4km Family Scamper.
Date: Sunday 14 September 2025
Time: 7am – 12pm
Location: Lake Macquarie Foreshore, The Esplanade Warners Bay
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Tickets from $30 (4K Family Scamper)
Website
Broke Village Fair & Vintage Car Display
Experience the magic of family fun and vintage cars. With a fantastic line-up of activities and entertainment for the whole family including car show, woodchopping, best dressed dog competition, whip cracking, mine tours, pig races, medieval combat display, jumping castle, kids entertainment, roaming magic show, food, wine and market stalls, live music and more.
Date: Sunday 14 September 2025
Time: 9am – 2pm
Location: McNamara Park, Broke
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Gold coin donation
Website
Living Smart Festival
One of Australia’s largest sustainability festivals, the day features free workshops, market stalls, live music and hands-on activities. Dr Karl will be debunking myths about climate change and sharing his wisdom on all things sustainable living. From local food trucks to inspiring eco ideas, it’s a fun, family-friendly event all about living smarter and greener every day.
Date: Saturday 20 September 2025
Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: Speers Point Park
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Ted Prior’s Grug Exhibition
The ‘Grug Retrospective’ exhibition celebrates the enduring legacy of Ted Prior’s beloved children’s character, Grug, who has captivated audiences since his creation in 1979. The exhibition features original illustrations, manuscripts, and a selection of puppets used in Windmill’s productions, offering insight into the creative processes behind both the books and the plays.
Date: Saturday 20 September – Saturday 15 November 2025
Time: Monday to Friday 9am – 4.30pm, Saturday 10am – 2.30pm
Location: PACC Cessnock
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Singleton Show
Head to the Singleton Show in September to enjoy pavilion displays of cooking, handcraft, lego, fine art, photography, woodwork, horticulture and poultry. The Singleton Show is held over three consecutive days and includes live music and entertainment for the whole family on Friday and Saturday with a horse show on Sunday. It’s also home of the Australian Wife Carrying Titles!
Date: Friday 26 September – Sunday 28 September 2025
Time: Friday 8am – 11pm, Saturday 8am – 10pm
Location: Singleton Showground
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Adults $21, Students 5-16 $11, Pensioner $11, Children under 5 FREE
Website
New Annual Festival
New Annual, Newcastle’s flagship festival of arts, culture and creativity is back! Experience 10 days of art, culture and creativity in the heart of Newcastle from 26 September – 5 October. With an exciting lineup of family-friendly events and activities, don’t miss New Annual during the September – October school holidays. Find out more about New Annual family-friendly events here.
Date: Friday 26 September to Sunday 5 October 2025
Location: Newcastle CBD
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Mix of free, low-cost and ticketed events
Website
First Night Art Party
New Annual kicks off with a free night of music, movement and art on Laman Street, featuring high-energy pop sets from Haiku Hands, Kira Puru and Devaura, roving performances, and stunning art projections. For one night only, Newcastle Art Gallery’s façade become a canvas for shared storytelling. Celebrating new commissions by First Nations artists, this unique experience showcases projected animations co-created by Art Thinking with local children — lighting up the building with community, culture and creativity. This is a street party you won’t want to miss!
Date: Friday 26 September
Time: 5pm – 9pm
Cost: Free
Location: Laman Street in front of Newcastle Art Gallery and Library
Website
Street Eats
Street Eats is back for spring, bringing together mobile food trucks and live music across Maitland. The program has been running successfully since 2017, offering a lively atmosphere where families and friends can enjoy delicious food, live music by local artists and fun-themed activities.
Date: Friday 26 September
Time: 5pm – 8pm
Location: Aberglasslyn
Age group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Wicked Sing-Along
Sing to your heart’s content, unleashing your inner Elphaba or Glinda in this special sing-along screening. Wicked-inspired looks encouraged!
Date: Friday 26 September
Time: From 6pm
Location: Civic Theatre, Newcastle
Age group: 8+ years (This film contains mild themes, mild violence and some scenes which may be frightening for young children.)
Cost: $15 (Standard), $12 (Under 18)
Website
Tuff Nutterz
Tuff Nutterz – Australia’s BIGGEST inflatable obstacle course – is coming to town! At a massive 300m long, it’s packed with slides, climbing walls, tunnels and plenty of bouncy fun. Best bit? Parents can join in too, so it’s fun for the whole family.
Date: 27 September to 5 October 2025
Time: 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm
Location: Griffith Park Stockton
Age Group: All ages
Cost: From $30
Website
Civic Theatre – Behind the Curtain Backstage Tours
Take a peak Behind the Curtain at the Civic Theatre and discover the secrets of one the most iconic Theatres in Australia. Led by a Team Leader, this 60-minute tour is a rare opportunity that takes you to the heart of the Theatre.
Date: Saturday 27 September – Thursday 2 October 2025
Time: 10am, 1pm & 6pm timeslots available
Location: Civic Theatre, Newcastle
Age Group: All ages
Cost: All tickets $25
Website
Heartbeat of the Hunter
Saddle up! Heartbeat of the Hunter is back in 2025, bigger and better than ever! The scenic grounds of Tocal Agricultural College in Paterson will come alive with some of the hottest names in Australian Country Music. Complemented by great food, wine and beer, this promises to be an epic day and country music party of the year.
Date: Saturday 27 September
Time: 2pm – 9:30pm
Location: Tocal Agricultural College
Age group: All ages
Cost: Adult from $99, Child from $75
Website
Maitland Roller Disco
Get ready to roll into a night of fun with the Maitland Roller Disco at the Harold Gregson Reserve, Basketball Court. Maitland Roller Disco invites skaters of all levels to join in for an evening of music and community fun. Glide along to tunes spun by a live DJ and take a break to enjoy the offerings from a selection of food trucks. No bookings are needed, just bring your skates, and your energy, and be ready to boogie at Maitland Roller Disco.
Date: Saturday 27 September 2025
Time: 5 – 8pm
Location: Harold Gregson Park, High Street, Maitland
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Free
Website
Midnight Dreaming: The Power of Movement – MAP mima
Join Midnight Dreaming for a dance performance at the Multi-Arts Pavilion, mima. Performers from the Midnight Dreaming studio present an evening of contemporary Aboriginal dance.
Date: Saturday 27 September 2025
Time: 6 – 7:30pm
Location: Multi-Arts Pavilion, mima, Speers Point
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Tickets from $17.19
Website
Colour Frenzy Newcastle
Colour Frenzy is a non-competitive fun run that welcomes all ages and all abilities and a great family event, work function or random fun for the weekend warrior. Along the journey, you’ll be showered in colour, dowsed in bubbles, and you’ll take memories that last a lifetime. You can do 1,2,3,4 or all 5 laps, it’s your choice!
Date: Sunday 28 September 2025
Time: 8:30am – 12pm
Location: Foreshore Park, Newcastle East
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Early bird tickets from $5 (under 5), $17.50 (5-12), $30 (12+)
Website
Hunter Wetlands Centre Spring Festival
Hunter Wetlands Centre are flinging open their doors for another fabulous family-friendly and FREE Open Day showing off their beautiful wetlands grounds and the conservation work they do! There’ll be plenty of things to see and do including market stalls, live music, jumping castle, face painting, “Roaming Reptiles”, activities for kids, tours and talks.
Date: Sunday 28 September 2025
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Hunter Wetlands Centre, Shortland
Age Group: All ages
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: Sunday 28 September 2025
Time: Trains running from 12:30pm till 3:30pm (weather permitting). The park is open from around 9:30am.
Location: Velinda Street, Edgeworth
Age Group: All ages
Cost: It costs $2.50 per train ride. Children under 2 years old are free.
Website
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Musical
Presented by Young People’s Theatre – Jeff Kinney’s popular character from the hit book
series takes centre stage as Greg’s cartoon diary becomes a hilarious and heartfelt musical.
Date: Tuesday 30 September – Saturday 18 October 2025
Location: Young People’s Theatre,
Age Group: All ages
Cost: Tickets from $28
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.