CityMag’s guide to a free festival month
Yes, it is possible to get in on the fun of Mad March, without your wallet going ‘mad’ too. CityMag has compiled some of the free offerings to visit this festival season.
Community events
This picture: Twilight Sessions at the Prospect Memorial Gardens.
To get a taste of Fringe for free, you may not even have to travel far.
Every year, local councils and community groups get in on the action to bring the Fringe outside of the CBD and into local suburbs across South Australia. With live and roaming music and acts, amusement rides, kids’ activities, and giveaways, as well as food stalls, markets and vendors if you do want to splurge, there’s bound to be something for everyone. Here are some of the council events happening around SA:
Adelaide Hills: Discover Play Pathway! on Sunday, March 2
Bowden: Fringe for Brunch on Sunday, March 2
Murray Bridge: Murraylands Multicultural (Yuntu Walun) Festival on Sunday, March 9
Naracoorte: Naracoorte Fringe Street Party on Saturday, March 1
Playford: Fringe Fridays from Friday, February 21 ’til Friday, March 21
You might like
Port Augusta: Umeewarra Downtown Aboriginal Music Festival on Saturday, March 15
Prospect: Twilight Sessions ’til Friday, February 28 and Prospect Road Autumn Fair on Sunday, March 2
Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition
When: Friday February 14 – Saturday March 22 | Wednesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm
Where: SASA Gallery, Level 2, Fenn Place, Adelaide
This world premiere exhibition is set to spotlight 18 of the newest creatives emerging from the South Australian contemporary art scene, showcasing their works across a range of disciplines —everything from ceramics and glass to photography and moving images.
No tickets are needed, just head to the UniSA City West Campus via Hindley Street and locate the gallery on level 2 of the Kaurna Building on Fenn Place.
Sovereign Acts | Love Praxis
Performance still from Sovereign Acts – Act III I REFUSE at Vitalstatistix. This picture: Tony Kearney.
When: Monday February 17 – Friday March 21 | Monday-Wednesday: 10am-5pm | Thursday: 10am-7pm | Friday: 10am-7pm
Where: FUMA Gallery, Flinders University Museum of Art
Subscribe for updates
Celebrating 10 years of the nationally acclaimed Unbound Collective, this landmark exhibition explores complex ideas about sovereign identity and representation, all while highlighting First Nations perspectives through a dynamic, multimedia showcase.
The Unbound Collective is an alliance of four female First Nations artists and academics, who use compelling storytelling and ethical practices to confront what it means to exist within and outside of Australian colonial institutions. “What are the ideas that we can collectively bind ourselves to and what are the ideas that can set us free?
With the group’s offering of new ways of interrogating, resisting and speaking back to the hegemonic hold of colonialism in Australia, come prepared to consider and confront the past, the present and the future.
Live music at Fool’s Paradise
When: Every Sunday from 2pm ’til 5pm during the Fringe
Where: Fool’s Paradise, Victoria Square
Each Sunday during Fringe Fool’s Paradise are hosting Yacht Rock sessions with breezy beats and tropical cocktails. Their DJs will be spinning the hits of the 70s and 80s – think Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and Toto among a nautical-themed set-up.
They’ll also have a multicultural music programme on Saturdays, with DJ Dood mixing Indian tracks and commercial hits to kickstart Saturday night from 8pm.
And while you’re there, they’ve also got free mini golf and trapeze throughout the Fringe hub.
This is All Human Made
When: Monday, February 17 – Friday, March 21 | Monday – Friday, 9am-6pm
Where: Kerry Packer Civic Gallery, The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, UniSA’s City West Campus
Against the backdrop of a creative arts scene that is simultaneously threatened and shaped by the evolution of AI, this insightful exhibition celebrates the essential role of human creativity in developing visual art.
Spanning a wide range of mediums from animations to traditional paintings, this showcase aims to provide visitors with a glimpse into the intricate human processes that result in the very creative works that are being showcased.
Team Squish Squash (a community of Australian illustrators and animators, and recipient of the 2025 Adelaide Fringe Fund) will ignite topical conversations about the impact of AI on the creative arts landscape, and the importance of creations crafted with human hands.
Held on the UniSA City West campus, the venue is just a short walk from the City West Tram stop (which — like everything else on this list — is free!).
Check out the Adelaide Fringe Website to see the list of 120 free events taking place this season.