FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY: From the salt-rimmed celebrations of International Margarita Day to the opening night of an exclusive Oscar-nominated film festival, Jervis Bay is buzzing with fresh energy this week. Whether you’re chasing live beats at a local brewery or planning ahead for next Saturday’s massive Spirits of Jervis Bay festival, we’ve rounded up the very best experiences to make your week unforgettable.
Friday 20 February, Portraits at the Brewery: The 24 portraits in the inaugural Jervis Bay Portrait Prize have been on display at the Jervis Bay Brewing Co for a week, but if you haven’t managed to get down there yet, don’t stress, they will stay up for another month or so. Congratulations to the winner, Alana Valentine who created a textile portrait of Dr Cecilia Cmielewski and took home the top prize of $1000 cash. Special mention to 2nd prize, Sarah Yee for “Cuteness Agression” portait of Theodore and 3rd prize to Catherine Woods for her portrait of Laura., Oisín Sweeney’s Brewer’s Choice award went to a younger entrant, Alfie Campion who painted his pop. The prize and event, organised by Randall Sinnamon and Vanessa Harries, was a huge success and we are all looking forward to doing it again in two years’ time.
Saturday 21 February, Local Food Markets: The Tomerong Food Hall & Markets are on from 8am till 1pm celebrating local produce and keeping our footprints minimal. The organisers are tempting us with what’s on offer such as chocolate salami, pickles, fruit curd and fresh eggs.
Saturday 21 February, New Exhibitions at Nowra Gallery: Three new shows will open at the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, including a Beyond Empathy exhibition, Balding is Easier than Being Bald. This show presented multidisciplinary work from young people across the Shoalhaven and Illawarra regions, exploring how they’re navigating the unknown, the in-between, and a world of questions.
Saturday 21 February, Comedy at the Brewery: The Wollongong Comedy Festival is touring two funny fellows to the Jervis Bay Brewing Co for a night of hilarity for $25. From 7pm, Cam Knight, whose familiar face has hosted many a TV show and Chris Radburn, a former lawyer-turned-comedian, will be bringing the laughs.
Saturday 21 February, Concert Band Workshops: Join the Shoalhaven City Concert Band for a combined band workshop, featuring sectional rehearsals with guest tutors, concluding with a free full band concert for family, friends and the general public at 4pm. All woodwind, brass, string bass and percussion players invited. Register for Summer Sounds, $20 before 14 February.
Saturday, 21 February, LGBTQIA Memoir: Join LGBTQIA+ activist and musician Kate Rowe for an unforgettable evening as she shares her remarkable life story, music, and the lessons learned along the way. This is a free 18+ event at the Nowra branch of Shoalhaven Library at 10am, book your spot online.
Saturday 21 February, Sunrise Yoga: Start your day greeting the sun at the new Melaleuca yoga studio at Worrowing, which holds early morning Vinyasa Flow yoga classes on the first and third Saturdays, $25. Friday and Sunday classes are also on the schedule.
Sunday 22 February, International Margarita Day: Read our story from hospitality editor, Narrell Tabone about how to celebrate this day of classic cocktails right here in Huskisson.
Sunday 22 February, Drag High Tea in Husky: Celebrated cabaret drag star, Dolly Diamond is bringing her signature charisma and comedy to the Huskisson Community Centre for a high tea that promises to be OTT. For a few hours from 2.30pm, enjoy a banquet-style high tea with either mocktails or cocktails served by the boutique mixologist behind the vintage Ansett trolley along with a captivating show. Earlybird tickets are currently available for $79+bf for the mocktail version and $115+bf for the alcoholic option.
Sunday 22 February, Local Markets: The Pyree Village Art & Handmade Market is on from 9am-1.30pm on Greenwell Point Road in conjunction with the Shoalhaven Potters, next to the village hall. Local artists and creators will be selling ceramics, woodwork, embroidery, jewellery, plants, stone carving, cards, jams, preserves, soaps, lavender, scarves, baby wear and more.
The Berry Village Market is on at the Bowlo, 9am-2pm offering great coffee, Italian gelato, live music and outdoor seating areas as well as a boutique range of stalls.
Sunday 22 February, Sunday Sessions Live Music: The sounds of The Specialities will fill the air at Cupitt’s Estate in Ulladulla from 12.30pm. This five-piece band mixes blues, jazz, alt-country, and funk, led by award-winning saxophonist Wayne Rigby.
Vanessa Jade is a local favourite with a soulful voice that creates the perfect Sunday afternoon atmosphere from 3pm at Flamin Galah brew-pub in Woollamia industrial zone. As luck would have it, happy hour is 3-4pm.
From 4pm, head to the Jervis Bay Brewing Co nearby to hear singer/songwriter Jeremy Butterworth, with a great mix of soulful and joyous music.
Sunset cocktails will taste even sweeter to the sounds of The Castaways, one of the South Coast’s most admired country/folk duos at Bannisters Pavilion Rooftop bar from 5pm.
Sunday 22 February, Sound Bathing: Reset your nervous system on Sunday afternoon at 4pm with a Sound Bath by Jen at the Bay & Bush nature retreat’s new wellness studio, The Nest, $29. See what else is on the wellness schedule at this 27 acre bushland gem in Woollamia, with different modalities on offer through the week including qigong.
Tuesday 24 February, Clogging Classes: Join the Amethyst Park Stompers on Tuesday nights for beginner clogging classes at Tomerong Hall. Class is $15 and starts at 6pm. Check out their Facebook page for some inspirational video from this class!
Wednesday 25 February, Art to Rediscover Your Inner Child: Join an adult art class with artist Anna Nangle in a colourfultwo-hour art workshop, inspired by her Exhibition, 1000 Colours for Lalita, at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum. Create a small, colour, abstract, geometric A5 sized artwork while you remember and access the intuitive and spontaneous feeling of joy that children experience when working with colour. Book online for the 10am session, $30.
Thursday 26 February, Bay & Basin Networking Drinks: All small businesses from the Bay & Basin are invited to a free networking evening, Bubbles Beers & Business at the Greenhouse co-working space in Huskisson, at 5.30pm. Register your attendance online and feel free to bring a plate and/or beverage to share. Meet your working neighbours in a casual and friendly setting with amazing views over the Bay, upstairs from the 5 Little Pigs café on Owen Street.
Thursday 26 February – Wednesday 11 March, Academy Awards Film Fest: Husky Pictures is helping movie lovers get in the Oscars spirit with a screening of six films in the running for an Academy Award. Vote for the local people’s favourite for your chance to win a year’s membership to the iconic local movie house. Pick up a voting form when you come to see one of the six films including The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value, with ticket prices at $12.50 for one movie and $57 for 5 movies. Find session times online and reserve your tickets now at the box office or via email. Find out more in our story.
Plan Ahead – get out your diary!
Saturday 28 February, Get in the Spirit: The Spirits of Jervis Bay Festival is on again at the Husky Pub and White Sands Park, starting at midday and showcasing the South Coast’s finest distillers, food trucks serving up delicious snacks, and live music by the Bay. Tickets are now on sale, $22.49 includes bf.
Saturday 28 February, Gluten Free High Tea: This is one for the dietary-challenged people in our lives, a completely gluten free Summer High Tea at Nowra’s Farmgate Restaurant. Book now for this two-hour sitting from 11.30am of delicacies served on vintage crockery with your choice of tea from Tea Journeys Nowra or coffee from Rush Coffee Bowral $75 or choose the option for free-flowing Australian sparkling wine $95. Book me in!
Saturday 28 February, Painted Colour: Birrang is an exhibition of painted colour by Wiradjuri man Moth Yamnaha, in Milton. inspired by the beauty of Yuin Country; from the dense bushlands that stretch from the mountains to the sea, to the abundance of wildlife that never ceases to amaze, each piece is a depiction of the wonderful colours seen within the flora and fauna that surround us. RSVP to the opening night of art installation hosted at Wyld Spaces (yoga studio) in Milton, 5pm-8pm.
Saturday 28 February – Sunday 1 March, Sow Good Ulladulla: The Yumaro Nursery & Garden Centre is hosting a 2-day festival of workshops, music, art and nature at their Ulladulla location, 10am-2pm each day. Sow Good is a free event for the community that is a collaboration with other local businesses, including GWYLO, Our Town and Community Connects.
Sunday 1 March, Clean Up Australia Day: Check out the online guide to join a cleaning crew on the South Coast at this annual event that aims to encourage people to be responsible with their waste every day of the year and help protect our natural resources. Enter your postcode on the Cleanup Australia site to find a clean up near you, or if you are very motivated, you can use the site to register a clean up.
Thursday 5 March-Saturday 7 March, Live Arts Event: Improbable Solace is a live arts event offering calm, contemplative care and attention for your mind and heart. This immersive art installation and original music come to you as a gift from artist Dr Natalie McDonagh and musician Deborah Grahame. Come, dwell a while in this intimate, tactile, sensory space, attended by the artist. The five part installation—Arrive . Inhabit . Navigate . Mend . Relinquish—and its serene accompanying music invite you to follow a carefully considered line of self-inquiry. At Artfulmind Studio, Erowal Bay, free entry, 11am-4pm. Email natalie@mcdonaghdesign.com for the full street address. Also on Thursday 12 March-Saturday 14 March.
Thursday 5 March – Sunday 8 March, Long Swim Jervis Bay: See Jervis Bay from a unique perspective on an 18km swim hugging the coastline from Murrays Beach all the way to Huskisson over three days, with a point-to-point swim each morning and culminating in a sausage sizzle at Plantation Point on Saturday 9.30-11.30am with Marine Rescue Jervis Bay. Find out about this unique ocean swimming event, Long Swim Jervis Bay on the Ocean Fit website, including how to register.
Friday 6 March – Sunday 8 March, Milton Show: Another fantastic regional agricultural show, the 3-day Milton Show this year has the theme of ‘Life in the Garden’. The organisers also promise you will be in for a treat on the Sunday, with the Championship Dog Show and Ute & Auto Show both on that day.
Saturday 7 March – Sunday 8 March, New Exhibition at Bundanon: The opening weekend of Sky, Earth Water by Rosalie Gascoigne exploring her deep connection to the material landscape, alongside significant new commissions by leading First Nations artists Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Janet Fieldhouse and Glenda Nicholls is on at the Bundanon Art Museum in Illaroo (about an hour’s drive from Huskisson). There will be live music, artist talks, and free entry to the museum across the weekend, and you can rsvp online.
Friday 13 March, More Speed Dating: Flamin Galah brew-pub in the Woollamia industrial zone is inviting 45-60s to a night of speed dating. Tickets are $28 for a round of 16 mini dates and a drink on arrival, starting at 6.30pm.
Saturday 14 March, St Paddy’s Day In Jervis Bay: The rousing fiddle and lyrical voices of Lindsay Martin and Victoria Vigenser will make this a St Paddy’s Day eve to rejoice at Jervis Bay Brewing Co from 2pm. To aid the celebrations, the Taproom will be serving $7 schooners of a new Irish stout. Wear something green and head out to the Woollamia industrial zone.
Friday 20 March, Bach in the Museum: Music in the Regions is touring another internationally acclaimed classical performance, by Bach Akademie Australia who bring the musical story of J.S. Bach to life, including his famous Concerto for two violins in D minor and some special arias for soprano. Tickets are $40 (under 18s are free but need to reserve a seat) for this performance at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum, starting at 6.30pm. There will also be performances in Berry and Ulladulla on this tour.
Saturday 21 March, Jazz in KV: Hear the swing sounds and slow ballads of Sydney jazz vocalist Kate Wadey, supported by some of Australia’s top jazz musicians, performing at Kangaroo Valley Hall from 5pm, tickets $40/$30/$20. Kate will perform some well-known jazz standards alongside original compositions. Doors open 4.30pm and drinks and light refreshments will be available.
Friday 3 April – Monday 6 April, Bands on the Bay: The twice-annual collab between Vincentia Sailing Club and Jervis Bay Brewing Co is on again for the Easter weekend at Plantation Point, 12pm-8pm daily. Check the full schedule for live music and food trucks and prepare for a cruisy weekend kicking back by the Bay.
Sunday 10 May, Mother’s Day Classic: One for your diary: the annual Mother’s Day Classic, the nationwide event that raises funds for breast and ovarian cancer research, is turning 10 in Huskisson this year. There will be 3km, 5km or 10km walks/ runs as well as family-friendly events in and around White Sands Park. Get in early, register your participation and start hitting up your family and friends for support.
