Food & Drink
If beer and music are two things you appreciate over the Australia Day long weekend, be sure to get down to the Hottest 100 Party at Lost Palms Brewing in Miami on Saturday or you can count them down at the Burleigh Brewing Hottest 100 BBQ from midday. There’s also GABS Hottest 100 Day  at Black Hops II in Biggera Waters (streaming the GABS Hottest 100 Beers of 2019) kicking off from 12:00 pm, and a Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown Party at Bine Bar & Dining in Nobby Beach from 12:00 pm. The Deck Creekside at the Currumbin RSL is hosting another instalment of Ales & Tails for an afternoon of beers, pizza and music this Saturday – the event will be aided with brews by Balter Brewing and cocktails courtesy of Husk Distillers, Matty Rogers is providing entertainment from 1:00–4:30 pm before the Mckenzie Duo take over from 4:30–8:00 pm. For a street feast with the fam, there’s also go-to night markets like Miami Marketta, BBQ Bazaar in Burleigh and Carrara’s new(ish) The Night Markets happening this weekend. On Sunday, there’s Bowls, Beats and Brews happening at Burleigh Bowls Club, with DJs on the greens and plenty of fun for all. If you’re keen to let your hair down on Monday, The YOT Club (aka the luxe super yacht complete with a bar and live music) is setting sail from Mariners Cove for a four-hour cruise featuring beat makers Crooked Colours – there will be plenty of tunes and tipples on board, and tickets are still available here. Oh, and in case you missed it earlier – jump here for a list of Australia Day events happening on Sunday January 26.

Live Music, Theatre and Arts
Delicious new cabaret Yummy Deluxe is in town this week and weekend, hitting the stage at HOTA from Wednesday through to Saturday. The feature-length spectacle will feature highly choreographed dance numbers as well as funny, surreal and touchingly raw performances from a who’s-who of widely acclaimed drag artists – it’s a must-see! For some live and local music, soak up the tunes at weekly live-music series Seaside Sounds at Kirra’s Roughton Park this Saturday – this week it’s Katie Who and Felicity Lawless on stage. Down south, there’s the Chisel Revived show happening at Seagulls Club in Tweed Heads – fronted by the searing vocals of Carter Roser, Chisel Revived will have you rocking the night away this Australia Day long weekend … and best of all, it’s free! After a sold out show last year, mini-festival Double Baked returns to Mo’s Desert Clubhouse this Saturday, with another offering of local and interstate bands converging on Burleigh to bring good vibes and sweet tunes over one massive day. On Monday, you can chill out for a long-weekend edition of Deck Acoustics at Currumbin RSL with Matt Collins making the tunes from 1:00 pm.

Community Events
The iconic Burleigh Swim Run event is back on Monday January 27 (the Australia Day public holiday), taking over Justin Park in Burleigh from 6:00 am – if you’re not into swimming and/or running, get down there, grab and a coffee and cheer on those who are! Further north, The Park at Coomera is hosting a Bushfire Appeal Australiana Day on Monday January 27 – there will be wildlife shows, Aussie food, raffles, and Wildlife ABC will be wandering around with some cute native animals from midday. There’s also a massive long-weekend Crystal Expo happening at Burleigh State School from Saturday through to Monday, with hundreds of crystals up for grabs.