ORANGE REGION IGNITES WITH WINTER MAGIC FOR 10-DAY FIRE FESTIVAL

Ready to swap the big smoke for actual smoke? Rug up and head to Orange this 1–10 August for NSW’s hottest cold-weather experience - the Orange Region Fire Festival.

This ten-day winter extravaganza is serving around 40 blazing events across the region. Sure, Orange is famous for its food and wine (we see you, cellar doors), but this year it’s the artists, musicians, authors and performers bringing the real creative spark.

About 30 cellar doors are getting in on the act, pairing their signature wines with fire-inspired dining, live music, art workshops, film screenings and more across local cultural venues.

Kicking things off with serious style, the Millthorpe Fire Fair on Friday August 1 will transform heritage-listed Pym Street into a fiery wonderland.

Expect roaring fire pits, street performers, marshmallow toasting, wine tastings, tasty local stalls, late-night shopping and live music. Honestly, you might not want to leave.

For the creatively inclined, there’s plenty to stoke your imagination. Highlights include the ‘Weave and Wine’ workshop at ChaLou Wines, ‘Woolly Snowflakes Workshop’ in Carcoar (cosy vibes only), ‘Silversmithing’ workshops with Skye Bragg Designs at Heifer Station Wines, the ‘Blaze of Creativity’ exhibition at Hillside Harvest, live music at the ‘Strawhouse Wines Shindig’, and the Orange Readers and Writers Festival at Hotel Canobolas.

Foodies and drinkers haven’t been forgotten (as if).

Get your primal on at Small Acres Cider’s ancient-pagan-inspired ‘Wassail Winter Fire Festival’, level up your campfire cooking with a ‘Fire Cooking Class with Michael Manners’ at Ross Hill Wines, sip your way through Rowlee Wine’s ‘Sunday Session’, feast on Banksia’s ‘Tajaddud Lebanese Feast’, devour wood-fired pizza at Mayfield Vineyard, and enjoy the fireside collab ‘Food Over Fire’ with Union Bank and Nashdale Lane Wines.

“The elements of fire, warmth and light are threaded throughout the festival, and the region’s growing artistic and cultural talent comes to the fore through a program brimming with new events and collaborations,” said Ned Sweetapple, General Manager of Orange 360.

“And, it wouldn’t be a Fire Festival without the fun and warmth of bonfires, outdoor fire pits and indoor open fires all made more alluring with welcoming Orange Region hospitality,” Ned added.