Entertainment
30 August, 2026
Festival a spice of life
CAIRNS Indian Festival 2026 will return from 5 to 12 September, bringing a week of cultural, dining and entertainment events to venues across Cairns.
Organised by GOPIO Cairns Inc., the festival will bring together Indian and multicultural communities, local businesses, families, students and visitors, culminating in the ticketed Cairns Indian Festival Main Event at Fogarty Park on Saturday 12 September, from 11am-9pm.
Five festival experiences will be held throughout the week, beginning with the Bollywood Sunset Social at Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort on Saturday 5 September, from 6pm-10pm.
Chaat Bazaar will follow Delhi Xpress on Sunday 6 September, while the Southern Spice Table will be held at SpicyBite Smithfield on Wednesday 9 September. The week will conclude with the Main Event at Fogarty Park and Bollywood After Dark at The Woolshed on Saturday 12 September.
The Main Event will feature performers travelling from Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, alongside local Indian and multicultural performers. The program includes DJ Uri from Melbourne, Rich Virsa Bhangra and Tapori Squad from Brisbane, Sopanam Chenda Drummers from Melbourne, and Shivagarjana Drummers from Adelaide.
GOPIO Cairns President Subash Chetry said the festival was intended to bring the wider community together.
“Cairns Indian Festival is not only for the Indian community—it belongs to everyone. It provides an opportunity for people from every cultural background to experience Indian food, music, dance and hospitality while celebrating the diversity that makes Cairns such a special place.”
The Main Event will also feature cultural workshops, sari-draping demonstrations, cooking presentations, family games, the GOPIO Cairns Awards, community recognition presentations and raffle draws.
GOPIO Cairns Inc. secretary Aju Mathew said the festival would feature performers from across Australia and overseas.
“We have almost 50 performers coming from interstate, which includes Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. And the sitar player has come all the way from India.”
He also highlighted the range of traditional music planned for the Main Event.
“We’ll have some traditional sitar playing and Chenda Melam, which is the drumming from down south Kerala, and there is some drumming from Maharashtra.”
Festival supporters can purchase raffle tickets via RaffleTix for a chance to win a trip from Cairns to Bali, with profits from the event shared with the Cairns Barrier Reef Lions Club.
Tickets are required for the Main Event and other festival experiences, and festival tickets and full event information are available through GOPIO Cairns Inc.
