FAQs

What are the Festival dates?

The first weekend of May is always Festival weekend!

In 2024, festival dates are the evening of Friday, May 3 and all day Saturday, May 4.

Bring a hat, suncream for daylight hours and warm clothing for after dark.

You can also bring a picnic blanket. We have provided a range of undercover and open seating, however you may like to sit on the grass or sand too.

If you have dietary requirements you may bring your own food, however we encourage you to explore our local producers and food stalls to see what is on offer. When packing, remember that glass is prohibited.

Remember:

  • No BYO Alcohol
  • No glass. The festival site is a public park where children and animals play.
  • No dogs or pets are prohibited. Guide dogs are permitted.
  • No gazebos

Entry: Narooma Oyster Festival have free tickets for children aged 16 who are accompanied by a paying adult. Be sure to grab a free ticket for the kids when purchasing your own.

Festival transport: Children aged three years and under can travel free on ticketed coach services and the local shuttle bus is free for everyone.

Premium experiences: The Festival’s premium experiences are designed with adults in mind and are not suitable for children under 18 years of age.

Friday evening fireworks will take place at 8.30pm following a countdown at the Main Stage.

Festival parking is in Barker Parade, at the Field Street end. Consider leaving the car at home and catching the free shuttle bus around Narooma, or a ticketed coach if you are coming from north or south of Narooma. See our Transport information for timetables, routes and tickets.

There is high demand for accommodation in Narooma for three nights over the festival weekend. We recommend festival partner Whale Coast Realty for all your accommodation needs. Festival accommodation sponsors Apollo Holiday UnitsAmooran OceansideThe FarnboroHorizon Holiday Apartments, and Easts Holiday Parks are also happy to assist you. There will be a shuttle bus in operation around the township.

More accommodation is available a little further afield at places like Batemans Bay, Tilba, Bodalla and Moruya and coach services will travel from Batemans Bay.

Discover more on our Stay & Play page

See our Transport page for timetables, routes and coach tickets.

In Narooma, catch the free Shuttle Bus on Friday evening and all day Saturday. 

If you are travelling from outside Narooma on Saturday, a ticketed coach service will operate between Batemans Bay and Bermagui, via Cobargo. The northern coach service will stop at Batemans Bay, Tuross Head turnoff, Moruya, Broulee Road turnoff and Bodalla. The southern service will stop at Bermagui, Cobargo and Tilba.

We’ve been known to eat 70,000 oysters in one festival, but we also ensure other quality foods are available.

The Friday night Warm-up will have oyster bars, liquor bars and selected food vendors.

On Saturday, there will be 30 to 50 food and beverage market stallholders selling a range of wonderful dishes including vegetarian, meat, seafood and dairy options.

No.

Pets are not permitted. Assistance animals are welcome, please ensure you have identification such as a harness or qualification so our staff and volunteers know your companion has an important job to do.

We would love to hear from you! Please see our Musicians and Performers page and our Stallholders page for more information.

We’d love to hear from you! We have a special area for buskers that is always popular. Please submit an Expression of Interest to receive more information in the lead up to the festival.

At checkout you can choose to add the Festival to your calendar, this will include a link to your tickets, keeping them nice and handy. Your tickets and invoice will also be emailed to you at the time of purchase and will come from order@humanitix.com.

You will also receive a reminder email on the day of the event with a link to your tickets.

See all our accessibility and inclusivity information on this webpage www.naroomaoysterfestival.com/accessibility-inclusion.

We welcome enquiries to discuss your personal needs, or the needs of your group. Email us at info@naroomaoysterfestival.com, and we can chat online, or arrange phone call or video call.

The festival site is at Quota Park, Narooma on the shores of Wagonga Inlet. The flat grounds are a combination of well maintained lawn and bitumen road. Marquees have a variety of grass or hard floors. Assisted parking will be available close to the front gate. There will be accessible porta-loos on site and an accessible toilet is located in the amenities block at the southern end of Quota Park, however this does not include an adult change station.

This information will be updated as festival planning progresses and will include a site map.

You may also wish to subscribe to our newsletter here, we use MailChimp.

Tickets will be available from our website from February 6, 2024.

We cannot guarantee that tickets will be available at the gate on Friday and Saturday. If tickets are not sold out prior to the festival, tickets will be available at the gate on Friday and Saturday.

Depending on sales and capacity, tickets may be available at the gates, however we urge you to pre-purchase tickets to avoid disappointment.

The festival and our stallholders are legally required to comply with any government regulations. Check the current NSW Government advice here. Please note festival events are cashless to reduce handling, stallholders may accept cash at their discretion.

The main entrance is located on the northern side of Quota Park on Riverside Drive. There is a secondary, smaller entrance at the southern end of the festival for pedestrian traffic, there is little parking available here and it will fill quickly. A site map and parking information will be published prior to the festival on the program page. When you get to the gate, please have your printed ticket(s) ready for our treasured volunteers to scan.

No BYO. There will be a festival bar in operation during festival hours and premium experiences include matched beer, wine and champagne.  The Narooma Oyster Festival takes the responsible service of alcohol seriously and is bound by the NSW Liquor Act 2007. You won’t miss a thing if you pace yourself and drink responsibly, drink plenty of water and take advantage of buses and shuttle to get home. More information can be found at www.drinkwise.com.

Like us, Humanitix is an Australian non-profit. Rather than keeping booking fees they reinvest 100% of profits back into humanity.

In partnership with a network of carefully vetted children’s charities, and thanks to an amazing community of event hosts who have switched to Humanitix, they have transformed over $1 MILLION of booking fees into funding a brighter future for disadvantaged kids around the world. Read more here.

Looking for more information? See our Terms & Conditions.

Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier will no longer be performing as originally planned. However, we are excited to announce that the show will go on with an incredible lineup, including performances by Benji and the Saltwater Sound System,  Robyn Martin, Guru Dudu Silent Disco Walking Tour and other talented local acts, culminating with a spectacular fireworks display over Wagonga Inlet.

 

This decision was not made lightly. Unfortunately, as a not-for-profit event, commercial considerations and the need to ensure the festival’s financial sustainability are paramount.

The Australian event landscape has drastically changed in recent months with many high-profile event cancellations. The Narooma Oyster Festival is not immune to the economic challenges faced by the industry. However, we remain committed to supporting farmers and our community by continuing to host this iconic event.