Australia celebrates a large number of festivals each year, ranging from small, community based festivals like Apollo Bay music festival to the larger ones like, Darwin festival or the Adelaide festival of arts. The peak period of Australian merry-making is during December-January, when the holiday mood is predominant. During this season, accommodation gets really scarce.
The connoisseurs of arts and crafts in Australia get together to savor the taste of some of the best international and contemporary drama, theatre, music and opera, in the events like Festival of Perth, Adelaide Festival of Arts, etc. The Adelaide art festival takes place at the beginning of March in the even-numbered years and in the odd-numbered years; it is the Womadelaide, the Adelaide's outdoor festival of music and arts.
For the movie buffs, there are number of events hosted each year. Revelation Independent Film Festival, the Adelaide Film Festival held in February and Sydney Film Festival in the month of June are, to name a few. Melbourne hosts a Comedy Festival in April, the world's largest Writers' Festival in the month of September and the gorgeous Melbourne International Festival in October.
For the sports loving visitors, this country holds a lot of promises. One of the most fascinating sports events of the year is the Darwin's beer can regatta, held in the month of August. In this, a series of boat races are held, with crafts constructed entirely of beer cans. Another boat race event is the Henley-on-Todd, held on a dry riverbed. Some other important events are the Australian Open Tennis Championship (in January), the Australian Grand Prix (in March), the Melbourne Cup and the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Among these four, all the former three are held in Melbourne.
Gay festivals include Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras (in February/March) and the Melbourne's Midsumma festival (in January/February).
Last but not the least is the Australia Day Celebration on January 26th. It is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.