Enjoy the best of winter in Wagga Wagga with Festival of W
Published: 09 Jul 2025 11:44am
City of Wagga Wagga’s largest winter celebration, Festival of W, made its return this past weekend, with thousands of winter explorers turning out to launch the 2025 event under glowing lights and misty skies.
Locals and visitors alike embraced the opening weekend (5 and 6 July), enjoying the return of ‘Lightvision: A Wagga Wagga light journey’ illuminating the Wollundry Lagoon Precinct, alongside other immersive light-art installations.
Fan favourites also made a welcome return, including the Skate Wagga Wagga outdoor ice rink and the popular House of FoW – a pop-up dining experience serving up warming winter bites from local and regional businesses.
Council’s Destination and Events Coordinator Kim Parker said the strong turnout on opening weekend showed just how much Wagga Wagga embraces winter.
“It’s been amazing to see the community and visitors out in full force, rugged up and ready to experience the festival,” Ms Parker said.
“We’ve seen strong attendance so far, with many people travelling from across the region to take part.
“Early data shows that many attendees are returning Festival of W visitors from previous years, which is a great testament to how the festival continues to grow in both impact and reputation.
“It’s clearly becoming a winter tradition for many.”
The light shows are playing from 5pm to 10pm each evening throughout the festival, while House of FoW is open for dinner Monday to Thursday from 5pm to 10pm, with lunch and dinner between 12 noon to 10pm from Friday to Sunday.
The festival has transformed Wagga Wagga’s CBD into a winter playground, with installations, dining and entertainment spilling out onto the city’s streets.
“Having the festival spill out onto the streets really adds something special,” Ms Parker said.
“The road closures create a vibrant, safe and walkable atmosphere where people can flow between the activations, soak up the sights and experience the festival at their own pace.
“We’ve received valuable feedback from the community already, highlighting their positive sentiment towards activations on roadways and the new location for the ice-skating rink.”
With the 16-day festival running until 20 July, there’s still plenty of time to get amongst it all and enjoy the best of winter in Wagga Wagga.
Festival of W is a City of Wagga Wagga owned and managed event and this year has been supported by funding through the NSW Government.
To download the full festival program and book your Skate Wagga Wagga session, head to Visit Wagga Wagga's Festival of W page.
What’s on this weekend – 12 July to 13 July
FoW sessions | Saturday only
- 5pm to 5.45pm: Cooper & Jenna
- 6pm to 6.45pm: Olivia Coggan
- 7pm to 7.45pm: Jez Swan
- 8pm to 9.45pm: Vino & Vinyl
House of FoW vendors
- Pota Pasta
- Birdy Bar
- 3Dutchies
- The Press
- Wafflo
- OMG Donuts
Balgarra
A NAIDOC Week celebration at the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, featuring performances by rising First Nations talent. Free tickets and further event information available here.
Ongoing festival favourites:
- Lightvision’ – a large-scale light and sound show lighting up the Wollundry Lagoon precinct each night from 5pm to 10pm.
- Skate Wagga Wagga – open daily from 10am-10pm on Morrow Street.
- House of FoW – open for dinner Monday to Thursday, and for lunch and dinner Friday to Sunday.
- Nura – wander the outdoor gallery of illuminated First Nations art.
- Ignite – a towering installation inspired by the communal bonfire, inviting visitors to engage and play on the seesaws.
- Light-art projection – projection art by Sarah Levett and Alice Peacock, with contributions from local youth.
