GABS Summer Craft Beer Festival at Broadwater Parklands
If you’ve been on the coast a while, you know that the first few months of the year are generally hotter than the surface of the sun but January 2021 is set to get a whole lot hotter (or cooler, depending on which way you want to look at it) following the announcement that GABS Summer Craft Beer Festival is rolling into town on Saturday January 9. Yes, froth fiends, the team that brings you one of the world’s biggest craft-beer polls is amalgamating some of the best breweries from Australia and New Zealand for a whirlwind celebration of suds at Broadwater Parklands. There will be two massive GABS Invitational Bars – 40-foot container bars with 120 serving taps on each, so suffice to say you’ll be sufficiently spoilt for choice. The Summer Festival Tour comes complete with a giant Ferris wheel, jazz and soul performers, panel discussions with industry leaders, a champagne and wine lawn, fun activations and local foodies serving up tasty treats. Jump over here to nab tickets.

Riviera on The Lawn at The Star Gold Coast
While you might not be jetting off to Saint-Tropez this summer, we’ve found the next best thing – Riviera on The Lawn. The sizzling new summer pop-up is bringing a dose of the famous French coastline to our shores, offering an experience that is every bit as chic, sun-soaked and charming as its European counterpart. Saunter into the beach club for deluxe champagne cocktails (Grey Goose and Veuve Clicquot together at last!), fresh woodfired pissaladiere and breezy vacation vibes. Riviera on The Lawn kicks off on Thursday December 17 and runs through to Sunday January 17. The lavish soiree rolls out from Thursday to Saturday, 5:00 pm to late and Sundays from 3:00 pm.

SCOOP! at HOTA
Love ice-cream? Obviously that’s a trick question because everybody loves ice-cream. What about cabaret and circus? If you are still nodding, you’re going to love SCOOP! because it’s a celebration of all of those things. For three jam-packed days (January 15–17) Home of The Arts is dishing up a jam-packed program of circus, cabaret and acrobatic performances and serving them up with a sprinkling of decadent desserts, pop-up bars, live music and more. Read all of the delicious details here or just jump over here to grab tickets.

Double Baked at Mo’s Desert Clubhouse
Ain’t nothing like getting Double Baked (we’re told). Now in its third incarnation, the Double Baked event cooks up a smorgasbord of musical awesomeness with an indoor/outdoor double stage, food trucks and a cocktail bar thrown in for fun. The 2021 Bake features two-days of entertainment with the first night focusing on blues, barbecue and women in music, rolling into the Main Bake on the Saturday that will feature live sets from Seaside, Boing Boing, Hammers, Being Jane Lane, The Wrath, Feels Club, Catchpole, Victor Bravo, Thee End Less, Pasiflorez, Local Safari and Zooid. It’s an 18+ event and you can purchase separate day tickets or get Double Baked with an all-in pass! Nab your tickets to Double Baked Barbecue Bake here or Double Baked The Main Bake here.

Save the Date
Contemporary Masters from New York: Art from the Mugrabi Collection at HOTA Gallery
Okay so this is technically isn’t a summer 2021 event but rather a summer 2022 event (forward-planning, we love to see it!) but it would be remiss not to mention the world-premiere exhibition of Contemporary Masters from New York: Art from the Mugrabi Collection because, well, it’s not every day we get a world-premiere event here on the coast. Let alone one that features approximately 70 works from some of the world’s most influential contemporary artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Richard Prince, and Jeff Koons! The exhibition is part of HOTA Gallery’s inaugural exhibition program and will run from November 13, 2021 to February 27, 2022. Read more about the incredible program here.

Image credit: GABS Facebook Page