SAT 20th JUNE, 2026
5pm - 9pm

As darkness falls over Queenscliff, Nightide rises with it.

On the longest night of the year, Nightide - Creatures of the Deep draws the festival into darker waters, where myth, menace and mystery stir just beneath the surface. Firelight flickers against black water, strange beauty emerges from the shadows, and the foreshore becomes a place of spectacle, ritual and winter revelry.

Running from 5pm to 9pm as an outdoor event, Nightide’s main celebration invites you into an immersive solstice atmosphere shaped by sound, flame, movement and the wild edge of the sea. It is a night of shifting light, roaming encounters and moments that feel both ancient and alive, where the cold air, the dark horizon and the energy of the crowd all become part of the experience.

This is the heart of Nightide. A place to gather by the fire, lose yourself in the spectacle, and surrender to the mood of a winter night that feels just a little untamed.

Purchase Tickets - $10

A winter night of fire, food and spectacle — only $10

For just $10, Nightide invites you into a winter night of fire, flavour and spectacle on the dark edge of the bay. Across the site, expect food trucks, bars, live music, aerial performers, fire twirlers, tarot card readers, bonfires and immersive activations woven through the night, creating an atmosphere that feels wild, moody and a little untamed.

Some moments will stop you in your tracks. Others you’ll find by wandering further into the festival, following the pull of firelight, sound and movement through the dark. As the night builds, so does the energy, leading toward Nightide’s signature burn sculpture and fireworks finale.

Purchase a Tickets - $10

$35

PER PERSON

Leura Park Estate presents: Sirens’ Grotto

Upgrade to a VIP experience, early bird price!

Early Bird price - $35 (Normally $45)

Leura Park Estate presents: Sirens’ Grotto

Step out of the cold and into something darker, warmer and more decadent.

Held inside the first floor lounge of the Queenscliff Terminal, Leura Park Estate Sirens’ Grotto is Nightide’s exclusive VIP experience, running from 6pm to 10pm.

Part sanctuary, part spectacle, Sirens’ Grotto offers a more intimate way to experience Nightide, with warmth, an exclusive bar, free-flowing champagne for the first two hours, and a program of exclusive music and performances curated especially for the space. It is a place to retreat, indulge and lean further into the mood of the night, with a slightly darker, more seductive energy than the festival outside.

6pm - 10pm
This is Nightide from another angle. Strictly 18+

Purchase Tickets $35

NIGHTIDE PROGRAM - More announcements soon

Food & Drink

Pop up bars

Main Event

Pop Up Bars, where the local brews, wines, and spirits mingle perfectly with the spirited vibe of the night.

Entertainment

Uptown Brown

Main Event

Uptown Brown is a roving one-man band blending primitive 1920s–30s jazz and blues with vaudeville flair, fingerpicked ukulele, old megaphones and a beautifully strange handmade contraption.

Entertainment

Fire Twirlers

Main Event

Flames cut through the dark as fire twirlers bring heat, danger and raw energy to the night in a performance that is both hypnotic and untamed.

Activities

Fire Burn

Main Event

As night deepens, a wood sclupted creature of the deep is set alight in an epic burning ritual, igniting the sky and marking the winter solstice evening.

Entertainment

Stilt Walkers

Main Event

Towering above the crowd, this roving performer brings a looming, theatrical presence to the strange pulse of the night, engaging with guests as they roam the event.

Food & Drink

Food Truck Alley

Main Event

In order to sustain the cold chill of the solstice, Food truck alley will be lines with the right stuff, to keep you sated, warm and ready to see in the shortest day of the year!

Activities

Fireworks

Main Event

As fire meets water, fireworks erupt over the bay in a striking display of light, colour and spectacle, illuminating the dark winter sky above Queenscliff’s shoreline.

Entertainment

Lollipop Lyra

Exclusive to Sirens Grotto

Look up and you’ll find a body suspended in the dark, pouring free-flowing champagne with equal parts elegance, danger and after-hours glamour.