Alice Springs
Beanie Festival
20-23 June 2025
Araluen Arts Centre
Larapinta drive
We need your stories...just a few paragraphs... your favourite beanie moment as a maker, as a volunteer, as a wearer..please email your story to [email protected]
Well that's a wrap folks for 2024, we had 7228 beanies entered from 520 beanie makers from around the world, with 125 volunteers. We sold 5441 beanies for $243455 -smashing all previous records! Well done to you ALL! Stand proud!
Our 2025 Program will ready in April 2025. Please have a look at the 2024 program to get an idea of what will have! To book the free bus to pick up/drop off call
0410 806 825
Araluen Arts Centre
61 Larapinta Drive
Beanie Makers click here
Sporting Headgear
Celebrating 29 years of the Alice Springs Beanie Festival.
How to participate
Become a beanie maker
We love our beanie makers. Anyone is welcome to make beanies for the Beanie Festival. There are 2 sections to enter, Beanie Central and the National Beanie Competition. Read on to find out what you need to do!!
Volunteer
To be a volunteer at the Alice Springs Beanie Festival is to be part of the team that produces the world’s finest beanie celebration and (arguably) Australia’s favourite craft festival.
Ticketing
- Entry into Beanie Central is by gold coin donation -no tickets required.
- Entry into The National Beanie Exhibition is FREE for the Festival weekend.
- Children's Corner Workshops are free and you can drop in anytime.
- Entry into workshops have varying prices prices and booking sites - check out the program
The Alice Springs Beanie Festival is a community- based event that began in 1997 with a ‘beanie party’, organised by Adi Dunlop.
In the early years, the festival was run by a group of friends including Pamela Bladon, Merran Hughes and Jo Nixon on a volunteer basis. The core group has slowly grown into a committed band of beanie-ologists.
We know our beanies!
The festival was organised to sell beanies crocheted by Aboriginal women in remote communities. It has grown into a fun event where Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal artists share their culture and exhibit together. The festival is unique because of the incredible amount of community participation and our unique ties with local Aboriginal organisations.
The festival’s aims have always been to develop Aboriginal women’s textiles, promote womens’ culture and the beanie as a regional art form, as well as promote handmade textile arts.
Our Major Partners
The Alice Springs Beanie Festival thanks the following Sponsors:
Info
Entry into Beanie Central is by gold coin donation.
No need to book tickets.
The beanie festival is a non profit organisation.