7 free ways to celebrate Easter in 2023

The Easter long weekend is the perfect bite-sized break: two public holidays either side of a weekend, time with family and guilt-free chocolate indulgence. However, if you’re keen to keep your budget in line and your family happy, take advantage of these free and fabulous Easter events.

Held over the Easter long weekend, the Bendigo Easter Festival

 celebrates Bendigo’s diverse culture and incredible Chinese heritage with a four-day festival held in and around Rosalind Park.

On Good Friday, there’s an Easter egg hunt with 85,000 eggs, while on Easter Saturday you can admire the annual ‘Awakening of the Dragon’ dance featuring the lighting of 100,000 firecrackers.

Amidst the fun there’s also a twilight convoy of illuminated floats, a torchlight procession, and the Gala Parade through the streets of Bendigo featuring the world’s longest Imperial dragon.

Meelup Farmhouse in Eagle Bay in the south western region of Cape Naturaliste in Western Australia is quite the venue. It is home to a family of Alpacas, chooks, Mila the Farmhouse dog, and a pair of cheeky twin goats.

On Easter Sunday, the farmhouse will host a free Easter egg hunt kicking off bright and early at 8am. The event is perfect for kids aged 12 and under, and it’s recommended to bring your own picnic basket for breakfast. Alternatively, there is a restaurant onsite, making this venue the perfect place to enjoy a lovely family friendly Easter Sunday.

Bookings for the free Easter egg hunt are essential; you can secure your spot here

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A harbour full of vessels adorned with flags, crowned princesses in a street parade… and a group of people racing up a greased pole: Ulladulla’s Blessing of the Fleet is an Easter festival like no other.

Located on the south coast of NSW, the festival began in 1956 and is the legacy of the local Italian community. On Easter Sunday, a local priest climbs aboard marine rescue and blesses each vessel in the fleet. However, most popular with crowds is the “greasy pole” competition, where teams climb on each other’s shoulders in a race to the top.

Ready to fly a kite up to the highest height? Look to the skies over Adelaide this Easter with the return to the Adelaide International Kite Festival. Established in 1997, the free three-day event starts on Easter Saturday and takes place on the foreshore of Semaphore Beach, around twenty minutes north-west of the Adelaide CBD.

Along with simple delta and diamond kites, be ready to see big cellular kites in magnificent shapes, as well as stunt kites or parafoil kites in a kaleidoscope of colours, shapes and sizes in the sky above the pier and beach.

Get your family’s chocolate fix a little early this year on Sunday April 2 at Eynesbury Homestead for an Easter celebration like no other. Located forty minutes’ drive from Melbourne, the estate is hosting a free, 10,000 Easter egg hunt kicking off at 1pm (pre-registration essential), as well as an egg-and-spoon race and an egg-throwing competition.

After all the excitement, families can settle in on the lawn with picnic blankets to enjoy a free outdoor screening of the film Hop with free popcorn and bean bags.

There’s nothing like throwing a picnic rug down, unpacking a basket full of treats and stretching out to watch the silver screen light up under the stars. Brisbane City Council

 runs a popular free and fabulous rotating cinema under the stars program in the outer suburbs during the warmer months.

Come Easter Saturday, the council hosts a double feature in Victoria Park in Barrambin, showing two kids films at 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Expect market stalls, food trucks and entertainment.

Head west for a taste of country life at the Back O’ Bourke Easter Festival

. Located in north-west New South Wales, the festival kicks off on Good Friday, and includes a colour run, live acoustic music, a street parade with floats and classic cars, and markets.

Pick of the free events include both the team and individual wool bale rolling competitions on Easter Saturday, while on Easter Sunday there is a country racing meet.

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^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}