Saturday and Sunday

10.00am – Winterfest opens

10.30am – Official Welcome and Opening

11.00am – The Winterfest mounted Skill-at-Arms display – Watch the Knights and Ladies demonstrate their skills on horseback, and see who has precision and skill to work with their horses, in sword, spear, lance and more. Joust Field

11.30am-12.20pm – Field & Fight displays – Enjoy the spectacle of historic groups and displays of skill in the combat lists, in fighting with arms & armour, or showing skills with swords, fight skills and drills. Field of Arms

12.00 noon – ‘Medieval Kitchen Rules’ – Come and see some of the skills of a cook in ages past, where you’ll see demonstration and preparation of meals, use of herbs and the skills needed to prepare a medieval foods or feasts. Re-enactors Walk – Huscarls

12 noon (start between 12-12.15) – Historical Equestrian Games Australia will be displaying some of the training both horse and rider go through in gaining the skills used on horseback, with sword, spear, lance and mounted archery. Equestrian Arena

12.30pm – Feldergast the Fool Jester Show – Buffoonery and magic with a medieval flavour. Jesters Court

1.00pm -2.15pm – Field & Fight displays – Enjoy the spectacle of historic groups and displays of skill in the combat lists, in fighting with arms & armour, or showing skills with swords, fight skills and drills. Field of Arms

2.15pm-3.00pm – Birds of Prey – Full Flight Conservation Centre will enchant guests with the free flying birds of prey flight display, demonstrating the skills of a Master Falconer. Birds of Prey

3.00pm – Costume & Cosplay competitions – YOU are invited to come in costume and display your medieval finery, and maybe even win a prize! You can also meet some of Australia’s best cosplayers who will be judging our costume and cosplay, all with a medieval theme! Joust Field

3.30pm – The Winterfest Joust – Cheer for your favourite knight and their horses, with some of the best jousters in Australia as they cross lances in the spectacular Winterfest Joust! Joust Field

4.15pm – The Grand Melee – The final battle of battles! Clubs together to test metal and clash in teams and vie to be the best. Field of Arms

5.00pm – Winterfest Close

Saturday and Sunday

Historical re-enactment groups. See what life was like in past times, from Dark Ages and Viking right through to the 1600s, with a special focus on the medieval period. Re-enactors have a passion for history and love to share it with others. Re-enactors Walk

Feldergast the Fool. Winterfest’s resident juggler, trickster, magician and all round festive Jester will be roaming the crowd and entertaining.

Medieval Archery. Visit the target field and try your hand at archery, with guidance from our traditional archers. Small fee, 10 years and over. Archery Range

Kids’ Corner. Visit our child friendly area, where youngsters can join in with Winterfest’s colouring-in competition, or meet Queen Fairy Jen and experience her artistic talents for face-painting. Kids Corner

Knights School. Ever want to learn to wield a sword & shield? Join in the Knights’ School and have at your friends and foes! (small fee) Kids Corner

Merchants’ Row. Browse and enjoy faire from all sorts of quality vendors with a wonderful array of goods, try exotic foods, or maybe enjoy a bit of lunch from our food providores. Artisans and Merchants

Birds of Prey. Visit the birds of prey with Free Flight Conservation Centre’s display. Learn about the birds. Have your photo taken holding an eagle (small fee). Birds of Prey

Winterfest Unicorns. Come and meet the Winterfest Unicorns. They enjoy pats and having their photos taken with their admirers. Unicorns

Medieval Animal Farm. Make friends with farm animals of medieval times. Kids can have a pony ride (small fee). Medieval Animal Farm

Medieval history shows. Crime and Punishment, or Medieval Medicine: join us for a peek into the past with shows both gross and educational! Jesters Court

Artisan Alley. Discover traditional crafts and skills. See how the artisans make their wares, and find something to take home for yourself. Artisans and Merchants

Archery Combat. Play archery tag in a safe and controlled environment. Small fee, 12 years and over. Archery combat

Medieval combat tournament. Watch full contact medieval tournament-style combat, with armour. Armoured combat tournament

Live action fantasy role-play. Ever wanted to mingle with Orcs, go on a wizard’s quest, or hunt for treasures? Scy’Kadia will lead you into your own story-weaving world as part of LARP, a fantasy world of live action role-players. Live Action Roleplay

One of the things that people love about Winterfest is how interactive it is.

For children and for adults, Winterfest offers many opportunities for interaction, whether in conversation with performers, craftspeople and reenactors, or in having a go yourself.

Many people enjoy trying out armour, helmets, and weapons brought by the reenacting groups.

Organised activities include archery, Celtic drumming workshops, and learning to use a rapier. Children (and adults) love to try on helmets and armour and to hold shields, axes and swords. Children have the opportunity to practice their skill with a (safe) sword, to get creative in colouring medieval themed drawings, to sand and decorate swords and shields and other medieval crafts.

Costumes are a feature, and Winterfest is a perfect place to wear something a bit different from the usual. Most people wear some kind of medieval or medieval-inspired outfits, but we welcome all periods, cultures, and styles, including fantasy and interpretative clothing choices. Winterfest also features costume competitions. Cosplay is one category, with other costumes in a different category.

Spontaneous activities can often be seen, when children play with their newly bought toy swords, or follow a performer (who is perhaps on stilts).

Winterfest hosts an annual Cosplay and Costume competition. We hope that we will see more people joining us in costume or character to enjoy the medieval revelry. There are prizes, so come in your best costume and enjoy the weekend.

Costume and Cosplay competition – Medieval theme

Whether you are inspired by Game Of Thrones, Lord Of The Rings, or stories from fantasy or history, getting dressed up in costume and cosplay is a great way to express yourself and get into the spirit of Winterfest.

To enter, all you have to do is to turn up. Entry to the competition is free. Competition entrants will be invited to parade for our visitors and guests. Entrants will assemble just before 3pm, after the Birds of Prey show and before the joust. There will be announcements about the competition during the day. Our judges will base their decisions on creativity, effort, and originality, and encourage anyone to have a go.

Ideas for Winterfest Costumes and Cosplay:

Game of Thrones; Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit; Dragon Age; Forgotten Realms; DanMachi; Sword Art Online; Tudors; Dragonlance; Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Skyrim; Vikings; King Arthur…

Our judges for 2018 are Amber Phillips from Ambion Cosplay, Lj Shulz from Wolf Mask Works, and Dan Axiak from Dan Da Man Cosplay.

Sponsors to be announced.

Winterfest has a wide range of artisans, merchants and stalls for you to browse. Check out the list below to see what’s available.

Artisans and Merchants

Food and beverages