The Orange Winter Fire Festival 2019

The second annual Winter Fire Festival will return on 2–4 August to the picturesque Orange region, one of Australia’s culinary hotspots. This three-day weekend festival showcases Orange and the surrounding villages at their winter best, with a packed, indulgent program of good food, drink and cultural activities.

It also sees the inclusion of the popular Orange Readers and Writers Festival, featuring headline author Meg Keneally (Monsarrat and Fled) – the perfect opportunity for book lovers to head to the Central West for a weekend of fireside reading and feasting!

Some of the Winter Fire Festival highlights include:

Millthorpe Night Markets, Friday 2 August

The hallmark event of the festival, visit the night markets in the historic Millthorpe Village. Vendors this year will include Spilt Milk gelato, beers from Beekeepers Inn and wine from Cumulus, Rikard, Twisted River, Antonio’s and Slow Wine Co. Attendance is free.

Fire it Up, Saturday 3 August

Orange’s cultural centre, The Building, will be transformed into a winter performance and visual arts hub for a night of music, light and art, featuring performances by ARIA-award winning songwriter Mike Carr and local musicians Kyle Manning and Amy Viola. Tickets are $50 per person.

Fires in the Sky Dinner, Saturday 3 August

The Fires in the Sky dinner, held on Saturday 3 August from 4 pm, will take guests on a stargazing journey with Wiradjuri locals, along with Indigenous arts activities and a bush tucker feast. Catered by Indigenous local Gerald Power over fire pits, the feast includes emu, kangaroo, Warrigal greens and Johnny Cakes. Tickets are $70 per adult and $40 per child.

Cooking with Fire at Philip Shaw, Saturday 3 August

Paolo Gatto of Sydney’s Sud restaurant will be cooking an authentic Italian feast inspired by his childhood and his nonna’s cooking, with dishes cooked in a woodfired oven. Starting at 7 pm, the dinner will be paired with wines selected by Philip Shaw winemaker, Daniel Shaw. Tickets are $120 per person.

Rikard at Racine, Sunday 4 August

Indulge in a fireside three-course feast at Racine Restaurant, matched with a selection of Rikard Wines’ pinot noirs and shiraz. William Rikard-Bell, 2019’s Young Gun of Wine Top 50, will explain the vineyard’s hand-made wines. Tickets are $160 per person.

The full festival program is available here. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the festival website.