Time for the grown ups to party. Date night? Time away from the fam? There's something for everyone at the Wonderful World festival.
The events below are just for the grown ups [aka - not appropriate for kids!]
Smiths Alternative and Blank is where it's at this April as local businesses bring the festival to life across Canberra's City Centre.
16+
Sound and Fury
Canberra's infamous Sound and Fury returns for her 24th performance art party. If you haven't joined before, now is the time. Presented and directed by Chenoeh Miller of Little Dove Theatre Art, with support from The Blank Corporation and You Are Here. A sister event to the Wonderful World Festival. The theme is Rapture. Indulge your senses in a collision of live music, contemporary performance, physical theatre and immersive installation. It's not a nightclub. It's not a sit-down-and-be-quiet show. It's a curated eruption, a living artwork — part performance, part party, part strange dream to explore.
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16+
The Queer Variety Show
The Queer Variety Show features queer/SBLGBTIQA+ and Disabled (chronic illness, mental illness, neurodivergent) performers and the occasional ally. Come along to this relaxed, low sensory, very chilled show that features drag, burlesque, poetry, spoken word and various kinds of music.
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16+
Honey Boom - Executive Dysfunction
Singer/Songwriter Honey Boom brings a mix of bluesy rock and stadium pop to craft queer anthems and soulful ballads. Her powerful vocals and vulnerable lyrics pierce beyond the veil to reveal truths about life, love, loss, queerness, art, living with disability and the swirling mosaic that combines them all.
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16+
Anushka in the Woods with Mikelangelo
Mikelangelo and Anushka come together for an unmissable performance as part of Smith’s Cabaret Cabal. Growing up in Canberra, siblings Anna and Michael Simic first performed together as school kids, sharing a mutual love of the poetic and the absurd. While they have gone on to have their own very different creative journeys, the deep bond remains and they love to perform together whenever they can.
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16+
An Evening with Amy Bodossian
Join award-winning Melbourne performer Amy Bodissian for an entrancing evening of original songs, spoken word, rap, unfiltered storytelling and wild anecdotes.
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18+
Amita and Anita Presents
Direct from Japan, and dressed in his trademark full body fishnet stocking Amita Hachidori, will wow you with his Dark Cabaret Chanson singing. Accompanied by the accomplished button accordion player Kentaro Tamura. Washed up showbiz star and MC for the evening, Anita Douche will humour and disgust you in equal parts with her comedy and wrong songs.
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16+
Open Mic Comedy
2026 is the funniest year in human history. Come get your monthly laugh inoculation with Canberra's hilarious comedy scene working on new material at the Smith's Open Mic. The longest running open mic comedy night in Canberra. MC for April will be Cam Ribbons.
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16+
Amita Hachidori & Kentaro Tamura
AMITA HACHIDORI "Amita the Fishnet" Ami means fishnet in Japanese. He is a unique Dark Cabaret Chanson singer known for his full fishnet bodystocking. Since his 2009 debut, he has enchanted audiences throughout Japan, performing at diverse venues such as live houses, cafes, concert halls, and outdoor festivals.
Book ticketsWhile you're here...
Stories of Wonder
Jerikye Williams
Otto and Astrid
Chameleon Collective
Project Dust
Angie Who
Big Boss Groove
Zambezi Sounds
Linsey Pollak
Alias the Faerie’s Bubble Show
Dandy Man – Ding Dilemmas at Smiths
Miles Brown – Electro-Magnetism
Screenings at the NFSA
Giggly Wiggly Balloons – The Twisty Science Show
Prodikal-1
Dandy Man
Mal Webb and Kylie Morrigan
Bloom Stack Wonderland
Smiths Cabaret Cabal
Special Offer at Peppers Gallery Hotel
Special Offer at BreakFree Capital Tower
Lunch Time Special
Hallyu! Family Escape
Special Offer at Mantra on Northbourne
20% off Renew Spa Package
Suite Staycation
Stay Longer and Save
The fun is just getting started
Imagine a world where loved ones embrace the wonders of our lives.
Wonderful World is a festival of families, local businesses, institutions and artists on a journey to make the world more wonderful. Wonderful World is a challenge for parents, carers and grandparents to rediscover their wonders, and for kids to fall in love with the world, again and again.
For one week, in Canberra.