Adelaide’s premier LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural festival will feature 117 events across 67 venues as Feast Festival celebrates 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in South Australia.
Running from 1–23 November 2025, the 28th Feast Festival spans four weekends and will bring together over 1,500 artists, producers, volunteers and community members.
With nearly 60% more venues than last year and a 42% increase in programming – including more than double the number of regional shows – this year’s festival is the largest since 2013 and reflects Feast’s ongoing evolution, reaching more communities, showcasing more artists and building stronger connections across South Australia.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we have created in delivering a program that marks a real turning point for the growth of our organisation,” said Feast CEO Tish Naughton. “Not only have we grown the number of events by over 40 per cent, but we have more free events, more regional reach and more venues than we’ve seen in years.”
“At a time where society appears increasingly fractured and intolerant, Feast’s role in bringing together in a safe and joyful celebration of diversity and individuality is more important than ever.”
Feast continues to be a platform for new work, with around half the 2025 program made up of South Australian premieres, creative developments and works created specifically for the festival.
This includes collaborations with leading local arts organisations, such as new works developed by Vitalstatix, and Me, My Dad and the Holy Ghost – a co-funded development between Feast and Adelaide Festival Centre’s inSPACE program.
Beyond the stage, the diverse program offers something for every curiosity and age, featuring everything from writing workshops, erotic pottery, queer pétanque and Dungeons & Dragons, to trivia nights, film, fashion parades, slam poetry, music, murder mysteries and more.
This year’s festival theme, LIBERATION, marks 50 years since South Australia became the first state to decriminalise homosexuality.
The milestone is explored through exhibitions, community forums, and Don’s Table – a reimagining of the legendary 1997 Feast Festival dinner party Erotic Feast, which was hosted at Don Dunstan’s Don’s Table restaurant. Featuring original Don’s Table chef Steven Cheng – and with only 40 tickets available – this special event will pair fine dining and matched wine with salacious storytelling by prominent Adelaideans in The Attic at The Kitchen, SkyCity on Wednesday 5 November.
The liberation theme is also reflected in this year’s cover art by Oscar Arrais, an emerging South Australian artist working with repurposed materials. At the centre of his piece, a hand holds a megaphone – a symbol of protest, voice and presence. “For me, this piece is the megaphone I never had growing up, a declaration that I’m no longer hiding. It’s my voice, my love, and my joy stitched into form,” said Arrais.
Naughton said while South Australia was a pioneer of same-sex rights 50 years ago, its more recent record, including being the last state to abolish the ‘gay panic’ defence in 2020, shows that true liberation is ongoing.
2025 FEAST FESTIVAL – EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Picnic in the Park
Whitmore Square/Iparrityi: Saturday 22 November (11.00 – 9.00pm)
Feast’s biggest day out returns with extended hours, a fresh new location, and free entry for all. Whitmore Square/Iparrityi will come alive with live music, market stalls, food trucks, games, and the return of the infamous Feast Dog Show. Shady trees, sealed paths and nearby public transport make this year’s site more accessible and more inviting than ever. Taking centre stage in 2025 is Ukulele Death Squad – Australia’s most dangerously delightful uke-powered band, bringing gypsy jazz, R&B and folk-soul flair.
Adelaide Queer Film Festival
The Piccadilly, North Adelaide: 13 – 16 November
A new opening night party and a celebration of 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show will bookend an Adelaide Queer Film Festival brimming with premieres, retrospectives and a new Australian shorts package presented in partnership with emerging SA filmmakers Chronosonder Productions. This year’s festival will feature 10 films curated by University of South Australia’s Lecturer in Creative Studies Dr Jess Pacella and Senior Lecturer in Screen and Cultural Studies Dr Stuart Richards. Highlights include:
- Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (Australian premiere)
- Comedy-horror Queens of the Dead, directed by Tina Romero, daughter of horror legend George A. Romero, and which follows an eclectic group of drag queens and club kids battling a zombie apocalypse (South Australian premiere)
- Enzo, Perro Perro and Outerlands (South Australian premiere)
- Winner of the Queer Palm at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The Little Sister, a coming of-age story of a Muslim woman grappling with her attraction to women
- The 40th anniversary of Desert Hearts, one of the most enduring works in lesbian cinema
- A Body to Live In – selected in partnership with the Documentary Film Society, tracing the history of queer body modification from underground artist Fakir Musafar (Australian premiere)
The Feast Hub
Payinthi, 128 Prospect Road, Prospect: 5 – 9 November
The City of Prospect is hosting the Feast Hub for the first time as Feast expands further into metro Adelaide thanks to the support of the City of Prospect, City of Port Adelaide Enfield, the City of Charles Sturt and the Campbelltown City Council. The Hub program is stacked with talent including Adore Händel, Christopher James and Libby Trainor Parker and will be headlined by:
- Milo Hartill, bringing the South Australian premiere of Black, Fat and F**gy – a fearless cabaret diving into identity, influence and the messiness of the moment
- The return of the Feast Festival Gayla in all its variety-show glory, hosted by AJ Lamarque (as seen on SBS’s Celebrity Letters & Numbers, and heard on ABC Evenings)
The Hub also features immersive visual art installations – including a life-sized, rideable pink pony – plus sensual movement and erotic pottery workshops, creating a full sensory playground of queer creativity.
“Bringing the Hub to Payinthi in Prospect lets us activate a true community meeting place,” said Naughton. “It’s a space where creativity, connection and culture can spill into the street – and it sets us up for future growth, including laneway activations.”
Feast Festival 2025 will also celebrate 10 years of Adelaide as UNESCO City of Music with an eclectic mix of live performance, queer music talent and sound innovation.
Audiences can enjoy an exclusive pre-show event to State Opera’s Romeo & Juliet with fearless baritone Morgan Pearse at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
The Don Dunstan Foundation presents a special evening featuring excerpts from the award winning oratorio Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan performed by Adelaide Chamber Singers, alongside a reflective conversation with journalist Simon Royal.
The Voice 2023 winner Tarryn Stokes, joined by ’03 Australian Idol winner Kate DeAraugo and ’13 Australia’s Got Talent runner-up Greg Gould, brings a powerhouse tribute to Celine Dion and the Bee Gees in a critically acclaimed live show.
And Queer Club takes over The Ed Castle for a post-Picnic in the Park celebration, showcasing queer-fronted bands in a fitting tribute to the venue’s LGBTQIA+ legacy.
The 2025 Feast Festival runs from 1 – 23 November. For more information and full program, visit: www.feast.org.au for details.
Images: Feast Festival Gayla (supplied) | Feast Festival Program Cover 2025 – artwork by Oscar Arrais | Milo Hartill (supplied)