Woodend Winter Arts Festival unveil huge festival program

Winter in the Macedon Ranges is about to get a whole lot warmer.

Australia’s longest-running winter arts festival, the Woodend Winter Arts Festival (WWAF), returns from 5–8 June, celebrating its 21st year with a sparkling program of music, theatre, words, and ideas that promises to turn the charming village of Woodend into a buzzing cultural hub.

Woodend Winter Arts Festival (WWAF)

When: 5 – 8 June 2026

Where: Various venues in the Woodend township

Keep up to date with all things arts, exhibitions and stage here.

 

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Over four days, more than 90 artists will fill venues across the town—from the soaring acoustics of St Ambrose Church to the intimate St Ambrose Hall next door—offering festival-goers an up-close encounter with world-class talent.

The festival kicks off with an electrifying jazz concert by the Chris Johnstone / Mat Jodrell Quartet, setting a playful, inventive tone for a weekend that will see classical and contemporary music collide, opera resurface in grand fashion, and theatre and family events sprinkle the program with magic and mischief.

Highlights include Coady Green’s dramatic pairing of Liszt and Linda Kouvaras sonatas, the Australian premiere of Paul Wiancko’s acclaimed LIFT by Affinity Quartet, and the triumphant return of Monteverdi’s monumental 1610 Vespers, alongside Bach’s Musical Offering under the masterful direction of John O’Donnell.

ARIA Award-winning pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska joins forces with celebrated composer Elena Kats-Chernin for a musical journey through Kats-Chernin’s whimsical and wondrous catalogue, while families can get swept away by Inventi Ensemble’s Scheherazade and the 1001 Nights. The Seraphim Trio promises a feast for chamber music lovers with four Australian variations on a Schubert waltz alongside Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor, and festival director Jacqueline Ogeil will shine a light on the forgotten brilliance of 18th-century composer Sebastián de Albero.

From accordion virtuoso James Crabb spanning five centuries of music, to the sleek harmonies of the Melbourne Octet, to the playful Opera Unmasked dinner theatre by the T-Shirt Opera Company, to the absurdist hilarity of The Highly Strung Players, there’s no shortage of performance surprises.

WWAF’s Words & Ideas sessions bring big voices to the village, including social psychologist Hugh Mackay on belonging and kindness, former Chief Scientist Alan Finkel on AI and creativity, writer Anna Goldsworthy exploring AI’s cultural impact, and commentator David Marr on the enduring truths of our time. Fans of humour and heart will enjoy Rosalie Ham chatting about ageing with joy, and families will delight in Maxine Beneba Clarke’s storytelling magic for young readers.

Tickets are on sale now. For the full program and bookings, visit here.