Immerse yourself in the culture of Australia’s first people, with a packed program of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events. Celebrate water and its life-giving properties with Weaving Water Stories. Learn from local weavers as they create a giant installation through the trees in Kurrawa Park and add your own creation to the evolving work. Nearby in the park, the Festival’s youngest visitors and their carers love moving to the beat of Our Corka Bubs, the world’s first Aboriginal contemporary dance work written especially for babies.

Jarjums Learning Space is an interactive visual art installation built by jarjums for jarjums (children). See how Indigenous kids see themselves and the world around them and get ready to be drawn into the world’s most ancient culture.

Kids also take the lead in the nearby Lost Lending Library (above) where adults must be accompanied by a child to enter a hidden world where stories jump off the page and into reality in a range of surprising ways.

On Surfers Paradise Beach the little ones will lap up The Owl and the Pussycat – a musical version of the children’s poem performed with the help of puppetry and interactive theatre. Back at Kurrawa Park, gather around the Sand Circle, a traditional performance area and experience an ancient Dreamtime story brought to life through dance, song and traditional bush elements.

Lovers of dance, circus and acrobatics can see the artforms combine in RITE – performed in the round on the Roundabout Stage at Broadbeach. The contemporary work by world-famous circus company Circa puts a high-octane aerial spin on Stravinsky’s classical work the Rite of Spring.

At 3pm Winders Park, Currumbin, will take on a Fijian flavour through dance work Vou. Translated as “new”, Vou is brought to life by a collective of Fijian performers who blend traditional dance with modern urban styles to deliver a truly unique experience.

Just across the river at Palm Beach, local artist Byron Coathup will park the Super Souvenir caravan to examine holiday knick-knackery old and new. While the Gold Coast was once known for its tacky keepsakes an eclectic group of artists has created Super Souvenir to reimagine what the Gold Coast souvenir could be, while celebrating the gaudy versions from yesteryear.

For music-lovers, Indie-folk darlings Busby Marou will headline the Queensland Music Stage, supported by Leanne Tennant and Alexander William, while the vibe on the Surfers Paradise Main Stage will be decidedly poppier. Bleach* Electrified, a selection of Australia’s finest emerging pop acts, will take over the Festival’s largest stage, and there’ll be no holding back. Festival regulars Confidence Man (above) will headline a strong art/pop lineup that will make it a Saturday night to remember.