By arts editor HELEN MUSA

Every so often, Canberra is touted as the place to be with a new winter festival, and it’s happening again.

Back in 1990 Gorman House Arts Centre (now Gorman Arts Centre) staged a Winterfest full of arts activities, then in 2023, following Covid, Uncharted Territory presented over 50 events around town.

Now an announcement from the ACT chief Minister Andrew Barr tells us that the inaugural Winter in the Woods festival will run at the National Arboretum from June to August, complete with ”firelight, food and forest adventure”.

It will feature Warm Trees and a family-friendly Winter Wildlife Quest, a program of bookable workshops, guided tours and First Nations-led experiences alongside school holiday and evening activities.

Winter in the Woods, Mr Barr says, will complement Canberra’s ten-day Winter in the City in July which will feature 40 circus and fire performances on a purpose-built stage on City Walk next to the Civic merry-go-round.

Winter in the City, July 8-18 and Winter in the Woods festival, at the National Arboretum June 26 – August 9. All details at National Arboretum Canberra