HAY THERE!
SCARECROWS, GIANT HAY BALES & SPRING FLINGS:
THE SCENIC RIM’S QUIRKIEST SEASON IS HERE
From Kalbar’s famous Hay Bale Trail and carrot-throwing contests to the Scarecrow Festival on Tamborine Mountain, country shows, spring markets, food, flowers and festivals, the Scenic Rim celebrates Spring differently!
As the landscape greens up and paddocks pop with colour and harvests, two of the region’s most wonderfully quirky traditions return: Kalbar’s famous Hay Bale Trail, when enormous hay bales are transformed into extraordinary roadside creations, and the Scarecrow Trail and Festival, bringing another army of wonderfully weird and whimsical country characters.
These events are truly unique, and they’re just the beginning. Across Spring, the Scenic Rim’s farms, villages, main streets, wineries and gathering places come alive with country shows, markets, food and wine, live music, family fun and fabulous festivals, all served with a generous helping of country hospitality, and an ongoing celebration of supporting local produce growers and creators.
And just an hour from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the hardest part is deciding what to squeeze into the diary.
So round up your favourite humans, hit the country roads and make a day, or a weekend, of it. Here’s what’s happening across the Scenic Rim in Spring and into Summer.
SEPTEMBER
SUMMER LAND CAMELS SPRING MARKETS: THIS SUNDAY 19 September 2026 | Harrisville
A boutique country market at Australia’s largest commercial camel dairy, with local Scenic Rim and South East Queensland producers, market stalls, food trucks, live music, kids’ activities, camel rides, farm tours and tastings, plus those glorious views across the property. Admission is free. Summer Land Camels
THEN IN NOVEMBER - SUMMER LAND CAMELS CHRISTMAS MARKETS: 7 November 2026 | Harrisville
Christmas shopping gets a distinctly Scenic Rim twist at Summer Land Camels, with its popular country market returning for a festive day at the camel farm. Summer Land Camels
OCTOBER
KALBAR COUNTRY DAY & THE FAMOUS HAY BALE TRAIL
17 October 2026 | George Street, Kalbar | 7am–2pm
The famous Hay Bale Trail sees locals unleash their creativity, and their worst hay puns, on enormous hay bales dotted around the district. Star creations include Mick-hay and Min-hay Mouse, Slink-hay and even the Kalbar J-hay-l, a jail constructed from hay bales. The challenge is part sculpture, part community competition and entirely country. It culminates in the Kalbar Country Day on Saturday 17 October, with more than 140 market stalls, music and bush poets, food and drinks, vintage tractors and cars, face painting and balloon twisting, a People Mover Train between the Showgrounds and Main Street, and, because this is the Carrot Capital of Australia, the fiercely contested Junior and Senior Carrot Throwing Competitions. Early birds can even score the famous gold coin breakfast, available to the first 350 people.
TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN SCARECROW TRAIL & FESTIVAL
30 October–1 November 2026 | Tamborine Mountain
For one wonderfully weird weekend each spring, Tamborine Mountain is taken over by scarecrows, hundreds of them. It’s one glorious outdoor sculpture show, with locals, families, schools, community groups and businesses creating scarecrows ranging from the traditional to the clever, colourful and completely bonkers. The Spot the Scarecrow Discovery Trail becomes one big scarecrow treasure hunt and there’s a serious-ish competitive streak too, with categories including Creative, Traditional, Business, Family, Child, Celebrity and even First Time in Field, culminating in the coveted Best in Show. Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival
NOVEMBER
SUMMER LAND CAMELS CHRISTMAS MARKETS: 7 November 2026 | Harrisville Summer Land Camels
DECEMBER
KATHERINE OUTBACK EXPERIENCE & TOM CURTAIN TOUR: 5 December |Boonah
Award-winning country artist and horseman Tom Curtain brings the Australian outback to life through horsemanship, working-dog demonstrations, bush stories and live country music in this a family-friendly celebration of life on the land. The Katherine Outback Experience itself centres on real horse training and working dogs. Katherine Outback Experience
LIGHT UP KALBAR: 5 December 2026 | Kalbar
Kalbar gets its Christmas sparkle on as the historic village comes together for a festive community celebration, lighting up the town and bringing locals and visitors together for some country Christmas cheer.
BOONAH CHRISTMAS STREET FESTIVAL & PARADE: 17 December 2026 | Boonah
Boonah celebrates Christmas Scenic Rim-style, with its town centre becoming the setting for a festive community street celebration and Christmas parade. It’s a big, family-friendly finale to the year in the heart of the region.
MAKE A SPRING ESCAPE OF IT
Just an hour from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the Scenic Rim stretches across more than 4,200 square kilometres of ancient mountains, World Heritage-listed rainforest, national parks, productive farmland and historic towns and villages. It’s a region made for lingering — with farmstays, luxury retreats, boutique hotels, glamping, wineries, breweries, distilleries, paddock-to-plate dining and plenty of country roads in between.
And this spring, whether your idea of a great escape involves baby alpacas or breakfast Champagne, a farm basket or a grapefruit martini, an e-bike or a 4WD, a romantic chapel or a rainforest reset, there’s a Scenic Rim stay with your name all over it. VISIT visitscenicrim.com.au
For more information contact, please contact Kath Rose on 0416 291 493 or [email protected]
Contact details:
Kath Rose on 0416 291 493 or [email protected]
