25 things to do in Brisbane over the Labour Day long weekend
By Nick Dent
NRL fans will pour into Brisbane this weekend for Magic Round 2025, with a record crowd of 200,000 expected.
Caxton Street near Suncorp Stadium will transform into a fan zone, offering a street party experience in the heart of the action from 10am on Friday, May 2, to 3am on Monday, May 5.
This is the last long weekend in Brisbane until October, and to help you make the most of it, we’ve compiled a list of activities to keep you entertained. Events are grouped into the four days (including Friday night), but we’ve indicated where they are happening across multiple dates.
Oh – and don’t forget to vote!
Friday, May 2
A signed first edition of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is for sale at the UQ Rare Book Auction.Credit: University of Queensland
Shopping: UQ Rare Book Auction
A signed first edition of The Handmaid’s Tale and first editions of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels will go under the hammer at this event held during the 2025 UQ Alumni Book Fair, which runs May 2-5. More than 300,000 books are on sale for as little as $1 each during the fair.
UQ Centre, Union Road, University of Queensland St Lucia Campus, 6.30-9pm, free.
Theatre: Carrie: The Musical
Did you know that Stephen King’s blood-soaked chiller about a bullied teenager and her telekinetic revenge was made into a musical? A Broadway flop in 1988, it has developed a cult following, and this updated version starring talented musical theatre students has a strictly limited season at QPAC.
Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, May 2-10, $60.
Movies: Gold Coast Film Festival
The Goldie’s big-screen feast kicks off this week at HOTA. Highlights of the weekend include the red-carpet premiere of Australian comedy Carmen and Bolude, freediving doco 7 Beats per Minute, French drama Funny Birds with Catherine Deneuve, and family animation A Greyhound of a Girl.
HOTA (Home of the Arts), 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise, April 30-May 11, tickets $14-$18.
Saturday, May 3
Comedian Ivan Aristeguieta is performing at the Brisbane Comedy Festival this weekend.
Comedy: Brisbane Comedy Festival
Performing this weekend are South American sensation Ivan Aristeguieta, Mock The Week and QI star Olga Koch, air rage enthusiast Luke Heggie, Brisbane-based Irishman Ciarán Sammon, and many more.
Brisbane Powerhouse, Fortitude Music Hall, Princess Theatre and The Tivoli, until Sunday, May 25 (no shows Monday, May 5).
Markets: Towri Growers Market
The producer community of the Scenic Rim has weathered fire, floods, drought, COVID and even a tornado. Support their endeavours with a visit to Allenview (70 minutes from the Brisbane CBD) to buy fresh produce direct from the local farmers, including dairy, meat, fruit, veg, baked goods and preserves. Book ahead on the website.
206 Saville Road, Allenview, first Saturday of the month, 9am-2pm, $5.
Footy fans will descend on Suncorp Stadium for Magic Round.Credit: Brisbane Economic Development Agency
Sport: NRL Magic Round
Tickets to the three-day footyfest were exhausted at the time of writing, so unless you’ve planned ahead, today you’ll miss out on the Rabbitohs v Knights (3pm), the Warriors v Cowboys (5.30pm) and the Tigers v Dragons (7.45pm). But you can always take in the atmosphere at Caxton Street’s “Magic Mile”.
Suncorp Stadium and Caxton Street, May 1-4.
Family: Bluey’s World
It costs quite a lot of dollarbucks, but true fans can’t miss this interactive guided tour through the Heeler home. Expect cameo appearances from beloved characters and plenty of hidden details from favourite episodes of the Brisbane-made animated phenomenon.
281 MacArthur Avenue, Hamilton, Tuesday to Sunday from 9am, $49.90-$64.90 (bookings essential).
Movies: Thunderbolts
The returns from Marvel superhero movies are diminishing rapidly, but fans will flock to see a dysfunctional, grungy group of antiheroes forced to confront a global threat. Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan star.
In cinemas from May 1.
Margaret Olley’s Coffee Pots, a 1991 oil on board, is in the exhibition at Philip Bacon Galleries, priced at $85,000.Credit: Philip Bacon Galleries
Exhibitions: Margaret Olley
Twenty-six works by the late, beloved Queensland painter have resurfaced onto the market, and Olley’s old friend Philip Bacon is delighted to display them at his gallery.
Philip Bacon Galleries, 2 Arthur St, Fortitude Valley, April 29-May, Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm, free.
Family: Planes, Trains and Autos presents Fully Charged
The Queensland Museum Rail Workshops hosts a day of aeronautics, hot air balloons, skateboarding workshops, food trucks and roving entertainment. Entry to the museum is included.
Queensland Museum Rail Workshops, North Street, North Ipswich, 9am-4pm, $7-$10.
Family: Dig IT Excavator Park
Kids can sit in the driver’s seat of a real CAT 1.7 tonne mini-excavator, with hard hats and high-vis gear supplied onsite. Try digging up the dirt, using a claw to stack and move tyres, or using a hook to catch “crocs”.
Thunderbird Park, Tamborine Mountain, 8.30am-4.30pm, closed public holidays, $60-$65.
Music: Shakespeare’s The Tempest with John Bell
Legendary Shakespearean actor John Bell is joining the Queensland Symphony Orchestra to narrate the story of The Tempest while Umberto Clerici conducts the QSO performing music inspired by the play composed by Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Purcell and Honegger. Arrive early (6.30pm) for Bell and Clerici giving a pre-concert talk.
Concert Hall, QPAC, 7.30pm, $100-$140.
Sunday, May 4
The famous Stones Corner sign at the top of Logan Road, where the Stones Corner Festival takes place.Credit: Courtney Kruk
Festivals: Stones Corner Festival
It’s the 10th anniversary for this popular community festival, promising an afternoon and evening of music, food and beer. Powerhouse duo Busby Marou are headlining, along with Never Ending 90s, Roaring Lion delivering classic roots, A Tribute to Bob Marley and more.
Logan Road, Stones Corner, 12pm-10pm, free.
There’s little love lost between the Lions and the Suns, and you can catch the excitement of AFL’s famed ‘QClash’ at the Gabba.
The Gabba, 7.20pm, $55-$190.
Outdoors: Ipswich Nature Centre
Ipswich residents are spoiled to have a fully fledged zoo they can visit for free (gold coin donations accepted). Pass through the gates and follow the boardwalk to view wallabies, kangaroos, dingoes, bats, an emu, a wombat, bilbies, a spotted tail quoll (so spotty!) and Mirrigin, the majestic wedge-tailed eagle.
Goleby Avenue, Queens Park, Tuesday to Sunday 9.30am-4pm, free. Wheelchair accessible.
Theatre: The Dictionary of Lost Words
Four-year-old Esme looks on as her father compiles the Oxford English Dictionary, and realises that words used by women are often omitted. Australian author Pip Williams’ New York Times bestseller has been adapted for the stage by the State Theatre Company of SA and Sydney Theatre Company.
Playhouse, QPAC, Saturday 1pm & 7pm; Sunday 5pm, $99-$139.
Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhalepapa, 2020 and Skywhale, 2013, will launch into the sky above the Sunny Coast.Credit: Leighsha Cox
Festivals: Horizon
The Sunshine Coast Hinterland is hosting 50 arts events spanning music, art, food, film, comedy and workshops. On Sunday at dawn, see Patricia Piccinini’s awe-inspiring sculptures, The Skywhales, floating majestically in the air above the University of the Sunshine Coast Athletics Track.
Sunshine Coast, May 2-11 (Skywhales Sunday, May 4).
Movies: The Salt Path
A British couple (played by Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs) undertake an epic trek of the Cornish, Devon and Dorset coastline in a film adapted from Raynor Winn’s 2018 memoir. This “sparkling preview” includes a glass of prosecco in the ticket price.
Palace James St, 1.15pm, Palace Barracks, 3.15pm, $25-$30.
Monday, May 5
Rare gig posters in the Precious exhibition at the Museum of Brisbane.Credit: Claudia Baxter
Exhibitions: Precious
Items from Brisbane locals’ private collections have gone into this free show. See wind-up toys, 1980s matchbooks, Melbourne Olympics trading cards and more. There’s also an activity room for kids called the Micro Museum, where they can compile their own collections of objects.
Museum of Brisbane, City Hall, daily 10am-5pm, free.
Kids: Frew Park, Milton
The playground adjoining Roy Emerson Tennis Centre in Milton invites kids to climb their way up an incline over scramble nets and crawl through passages to reach a steep silver tube slide. If they keep going they’ll get into the three-storey-high “Commentary Box”, a cage that overlooks the park from on high.
Frew Street, Milton. Free.
Writers Revealed at HOTA Gallery in Surfers Paradise has portraits from the National Portrait Gallery, London, and artefacts from the British Library.Credit: Experience Gold Coast
Exhibitions: Writers Revealed
Letters from Tolkien, Jane Austen’s writing desk and the oldest-known portrait of Shakespeare find an unlikely home in Surfers Paradise with this world-first exhibition celebrating the grand literary traditions of the UK and Ireland.
HOTA (Home of the Arts), until August 3, Monday to Saturday 10am-4pm; Sunday 9am-4pm, $15-$27.
Exhibitions: 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
It’s the very last day of the triennial, with over 500 works exploring themes of history, crisis, war, empathy, social action, Indigenous peoples and healing. Several kids’ activities will keep young ones occupied.
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, 10am-5pm, free.
Amusements: Escape Hunt
One of the oldest and best escape rooms in Brisbane is open on Labour Day with seven rooms including Bomb in Parliament House, Time Cops, Alice in Puzzleland, Blackbeard’s Treasure and The Jewel Thief.
77 Russell Street, West End. daily, from $32pp.
Former premier Steven Miles – pictured with his daughter and fellow state MPs – led the annual Labour Day march in Brisbane last year.Credit: Courtney Kruk
Events: Brisbane Labour Day march
Proud union members and their families may consider joining the official march, which leaves from Cathedral Square and ends at the Brisbane Showgrounds where there is food, drink, entertainment and kids’ rides until 2pm.
Corner Wharf and Turbot streets, Brisbane, 9.30am, free.
Exhibitions: Sports Car Spectacular
Brisbane Motor Museum’s current show features hot rods such as a 1966 Corvette Stingray, the 1999 Lotus Elise 111S and a 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 491, all meticulously restored in a showroom setting.
Brisbane Motor Museum, 959 Nudgee Road, Banyo, Monday to Sunday 8am-3pm, until Jun 2, $12.50-$25 (kids under 12 free).