Level up show-day festivities at this Ekka-inspired high tea: One of our favourite times of year, the Ekka, is here. From Saturday August 13 to Sunday August 14, The Lab at Treasury Brisbane is getting in on the action with an Ekka-inspired high tea that’s sure to knock your socks off. This heavenly feast includes bottomless La Maison Du Thé French hand-crafted teas, dainty gourmet ribbon sandwiches, petite quiches and frittatas and even mini dagwood dogs! On the sweet side, you can tempt your taste buds with super-cute cakes and pastries topped with strawberries, fairy floss and popcorn. If you really want to take things to the next level, you can indulge in the Chandon high tea for $70 per person – and personally, we can never say no to bubbles. Prefer cocktails? You’re in luck – The Lab will also be doling out a Showground Spritz for $15, which is a lip-smacking locally themed concoction of Brisbane Gin, creme de framboise, framboise Monin, cream and strawberries – all topped with a delicate bundle of rose-flavoured fairy floss. Treasury Brisbane’s show-stopping high tea is $50 per person and is available from August 13–14 only from 1:00–3:30 pm. There is a limited availability of spots – to make a booking, call 1800 506 889.

Traverse through a 700-sqm mirror maze: Brisbane Powerhouse is set to come alive with colour, creativity and culture this year as part of its new outdoor events program. The first exciting activation set to make waves at the precinct is installation artist Keith Courtney’s mesmerising mirror maze Kaleidoscope, an immersive artwork of glass, steel, mirrors and moving prisms that visitors can traverse through. The eye-popping installation is taking the traditional funfair attraction, a house of mirrors, and turning it on its head. A sparkling crystal palace by day, Kaleidoscope uses a colour field of ever-changing light to both treat and disorientate the senses once the sun sets. Kaleidoscope will take residence on the riverside Performance Lawn at Brisbane Powerhouse from August 12 to October 3, with up to 25 sessions daily. Tickets are $16.50 per person and can be purchased on the Brisbane Powerhouse website.

Enjoy some free live tunes: Sit back, relax and treat your ears to some live tunes at Sounds by Starlight at Westfield Chermside this August. The Dome will be beautifully lit up, while an array of Brisbane’s best classic pop, jazz and swing musicians fill the air with groove-worthy songs. Think Elvis, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Ella Fitzgerald and much more! This weekend will welcome the Jazz Quintet and roaming LED performers on Thursday, The Mood Music Swing Band on Friday and the 10-piece UQ Big Band on Saturday. Plus, Westfield Plus members can get their faces painted for free under the Dome while enjoying the music. Hungry folk can indulge in a delicious dinner from one of Chermside’s many restaurants, including Casa Cibo, El Camino, Gun Shop Café, Kinn+Derm, Little Singapore, Betty’s Burgers, Momo Chicken & Beer, Hong Kong Lane and many more. To learn more, head to the Westfield Chermside website. 

Gather your culture-loving gang and head to the Gold Coast for BLEACH* Festival: The Gold Coast’s much-loved contemporary arts festival is back for its 11th iteration in 2022! Get ready to experience a captivating array of art, live music, dance, performance and culinary events at BLEACH* Festival. Running from Thursday August 11 until Sunday August 21, BLEACH* is bringing more than 233 artists, 94 performers and 36 events to four main hubs across the Gold Coast. Attendees can expect 11 days of pulsating performance, contrasting stories of grand spectacle with the intimate moments that underscore a contemporary Gold Coast. To check out the full program, head to the BLEACH* Festival website.

Check out this nature-inspire exhibition: From August 3–31, art lovers can take their peepers on a cultural journey with help from breathtaking art pop-up The Love of Life. Created by three talented local Brisbane artists, Mabina Alaka, Ken Kikkawa and Hiroaki Eba, the installation was inspired by QAGOMA’s thread-filled exhibition Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles. The exhibition combines a number of dazzling elements including live florals, clay and fabric creations that pay tribute to nature and utilise traditional Japanese techniques – you’ll be able to find man-made orchid trees using sphagnum moss and rainforest frogs crafted from clay. The Love of Life is open to the public Monday to Sunday from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Go have a gander now! If you’re feeling thirsty, head upstairs to Tenya Japanese Restaurant where you can try the limited-edition ‘The Love of Life’ cocktail, available for the month of August.

Catch Queensland Theatre’s newest production: Coming to the Bille Brown Theatre from August 13 to September 3, The Almighty Sometimes follows the story of Anna (played by Melissa Kahraman), a young woman who was diagnosed as a child with mental illness. Now 18, Anna has long been on a cocktail of prescription pills and she wants to know what life is like without medication. Penned by Australian playwright Kendall Feaver, directed by Daniel Evans and starring a super-talented array of actors, this multi-award-winning play will pull at your heartstrings while highlighting the important issue of mental health – especially amongst young people. Seriously captivating and with sprinkles of humour, The Almighty Sometimes is a must-see! To grab a ticket, head to the Queensland Theatre website.

Gobble up strawberry ice-creams at the Ekka: Held over nine days (August 6–14), the Ekka showcases the quintessential Queensland life, bringing visitors from all across the state and Australia to the heart of Brisbane. This year’s Ekka offers up almost 400 showbags in the Showbag Pavilion, a huge range of amusements and attractions down Sideshow Alley, a variety of daily entertainment and performances across the Brisbane Showgrounds. Returning in 2022 is the much-loved night time entertainment program, EkkaNITES, running every night of the show from 6:30–8:30 pm. Whether you’re going for the art, fashion, food, animals, performances, or amusements, you’ll get to experience Queensland’s best on show over two full weekends.

Put on your glass slippers for this magical show: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is taking over QPAC! This huge production features incredible orchestrations, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love – the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more – plus some surprising new twists. Be transported as you rediscover some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including ‘In My Own Little Corner’, ‘Impossible/It’s Possible’ and ‘Ten Minutes Ago’ in this hilarious and romantic experience for anyone who’s ever had a dream. Get your tickets at the QPAC website.

Witness a stunning dance showcase: Want to take the plunge into a truly incredible theatre experience? Bangarra’s award-winning Terrain returns for a tenth anniversary tour of Australia, coming to QPAC in Brisbane this August. Choreographed by Frances Rings, Terrain is a breathtaking exploration of our largest salt lake. The breathtaking nine-part performance, set to David Page’s irrepressible score, evokes the power of body and land converging to bring spirit to place. The textures of Kati Thanda take shape in Jacob Nash’s sets, Jennifer Irwin’s costumes and lighting by Karen Norris. Immerse yourself in this mesmerising performance and get your tickets at the QPAC website now.

Be amazed by this part show, part bar: If you like your cocktails served with a side of enchantment and neon-lit charm, then pull up a seat at the Maho Magic Bar and prepare for a night that will leave you bewitched. Straight from the streets of Tokyo (and with a stop off on the Gold Coast), the Magic Makers from Maho Magic Bar are finally coming to Brisbane for a limited time and are ready to serve up delicious drinks and mystifying magic tricks. From Wednesday to Sunday for a strictly limited season, lovers of magic can settle in for a 60-minute performance session at the bar, sipping on a menu of curated authentic Japanese drinks while being wowed by Japan’s best close-up magicians. Head here to secure your spot at the bar before it disappears before your eyes.

Drink up this champagne-soaked cabaret: Go digging in your wardrobe and free your most sparkly outfit from the dark confines of hardly-ever-wear, as Blanc de Blanc Encore is shimmying its way back into our city as part of Brisbane Festival’s 2022 early event program. You can expect the usual suspects to turn up at its new Northshore home, Twilight Electric, including aerialists, comedians, singers and dancers, all who have performed around the world to adoring crowds. This is one Gatsby-esque party that’s worth your presence. Secure your seat at this hedonistic hub by visiting the Twilight Electric website.

Indulge your senses at this bottomless wine and high cheese experience: Few phrases get us as excited as ‘bottomless wine’ and ‘truffle-infused cheese’. Both are on offer at La Valle this month, as the Fortitude Valley wine bar hosts an indulgent fromage and vino-centric series every Saturday. This weekend, guests will be able to gorge on a tiered cheese tower (loaded with sweet and savoury truffle-infused morsels) while enjoying two hours of bottomless wine for only $55 per person. The High Cheese tower will boast truffle and fontina cheese arancini balls, truffle whipped mascarpone focaccia, house made truffle brie slices, and four-cheese croquettes with truffle aioli. The offer is available every Saturday in July, with seatings from 11:00 am, 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. More details and bookings can be found on the La Valle website.

Head to these mesmerising live shows: A bunch of must-see concerts, gigs and music-soaked soirees are coming to Brisbane this weekend, and we are ready to rock. Valley party palace The Zoo will host South Australian band Colourblind, Brisbane punk locals Bad Neighbour and four-piece table rock band Ethanol Blend on Thursday as part of Burnt Out, while Selfish Sons will take the stage on Friday. Stand-up comedian and viral super star Nigel NG is coming to Fortitude Music Hall on Thursday and Hayden James is bringing his Lifted Tour to the venue on Friday. The Triffid is packed with gigs this weekend with The Smyths performing the best of The Smiths on Thursday, Thirsty Merc bringing the tunes on Friday, Sonic Masala Fest happening on Saturday and Sam Teskey gracing the stage on Sunday. Wannabe: The Spice Girls Show will be taking over the Princess Theatre on Thursday, Adekunle Gold will be bringing the beats on Sunday while Arlo Parks will be bringing the noise over at The Tivoli on Thursday.

Explore a hidden underwater world in this immersive experience: Prepare to deep dive into an enchanting undersea world as a new bucket-list-worthy experience is swimming into our city this month. Love Lust Lost is the latest production from theatre collective Broad Encounters, the same folks who brought the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired theatre experience A Midnight Visit to Brisbane in 2021. Guests can expect to once again be transported to an otherworldly dreamscape, where they can discover 38 different spaces and a cast of seven stellar performers. These rooms will be filled with everything from song and spoken word to dance, circus and film – and a whole lot of skin. Oh, and we’ve heard that there’s a secret bar submerged somewhere in the experience, so keep an eye out on your escapade if you’re feeling thirsty. Want to dip your toes in Love Lust Lost’s water? Tickets are on sale now online, with shows kicking off from July 13.

Experience the magic of Disney coming to Brisbane in this enchanting exhibition: Fans of Mickey, Minnie, Elsa, Anna and everyone in between are sure to adore Queensland Museum’s newest exhibition, Disney: The Magic of Animation. This kid- and adult-friendly exhibition will draw back the curtain on almost 100 years of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, revealing the magic and hard work behind scenes of your favourite animated films. From pencil to paper and now computer-generated wonder, visitors will be able to take a step inside some timeless scenes from their favourite movies and discover how animators use colour to express emotions, and the technical skills of crafting character and storytelling to breathe life into the studio’s memorable stories and characters. To grab your tickets, head to the Queensland Museum website.

Check out this spellbinding solo showcase from Chiharu Shiota: Currently on display at QAGOMA, The Soul Trembles is the largest solo exhibition of thread-weaving artist Chiharu Shiota’s work to date – and it’s an art-filled ‘gram-worthy adventure, to say the least. Best known for her mammoth installations featuring millions of black, white and red threads, Chiharu creates works that express the intangible experiences of life – memories, dreams, anxiety and silence. The exhibition will highlight Chiharu’s practice across large-scale installations, sculptures, video performance, photography and drawing. In other words, this is one immersive exhibition that must be seen to be believed. To purchase a timed ticket, head to the QAGOMA website.

Discover jewellery designer Margot McKinney’s World of Wonder: Currently on at Museum of Brisbane, World of Wonder: Margot McKinney is a mesmerising celebration of the brand that is Margot McKinney, as well as the inspirations behind Margot’s designs – from Queensland’s coral reefs to the rich colours found on safari in Tanzania. You’ll be able to set your eyes upon a treasure chest of jewels – from magnificent opals and eye-catching pearls to rare, exotic gems like blue tanzanite, lilac amethyst and pink tourmalines. To learn more about this eye-catching exhibition, pop over to the Museum of Brisbane website. If you really want to level up your experience, pull up a chair at the World of Wonder High Tea and Tour.  In this exclusive experience, you will be taken on a guided tour of the sparkling exhibition, World of Wonder: Margot McKinney, before returning to MoB’s jewel-toned Dome Lounge for a luxe high-tea experience.

Try out this pop-up immersive experience: Brisbane’s most ‘grammable experience – Imaginaria – has extended its run! This stunning immersive play experience combines audio-visual art, inflatable architecture, light installations and futuristic gamification suitable for all ages. Visitors are invited to step inside, slip off their shoes and engage with AI projections, sensor-triggered LED waves, giant silk parachute canopies, cosmic gardens, an anti-gravity sunset, an electronic hall of mirrors and a digital wishing well that whispers your greatest desires. Ready to step into a world of mind-blowing visual excess? You can grab your tickets to Imaginaria now through Ticketmaster.

Shop up a storm at these weekend markets: If you’re eager to stroll through some stalls and stock up on some fresh fruit and veg, be sure check out these markets happening – Saturday Fresh Market, Riverside Markets, Kelvin Grove Village Market, Jan Powers Farmers Markets, Davies Park Market, Carseldine Markets and the Redcliffe Markets. For delicious dinnertime eats, Eat Street Northshore is on for your snacking pleasure on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.