How to celebrate NAIDOC Week in Queensland

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair | Redlands Coast Celebration | Indigenous Experiences

NAIDOC Week returns 6 - 13 July 2025 to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This year, NAIDOC Week marks 50 years of celebrating and uplifting Indigenous voices, culture, and resilience. The theme, 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy', honours not just past achievements, but also the promising future ahead, driven by the strength of young leaders, the vision of our communities, and the enduring legacy of our ancestors. There's no better place to connect with Indigenous culture than in Queensland, the only state in Australia where both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures thrive.

Here are some of the best ways to celebrate NAIDOC Week in Queensland.

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef

When: 10 - 13 July 2025

Australia’s biggest Indigenous art fair, CIAF celebrates our vibrant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through visual arts, performance arts, fashion, comedy, music and more. Running from Thursday, 10 July 2025, to Sunday, 13 July 2025, it’s the place to not only discover and purchase art but to meet the artists and connect with culture on a deeper level.

Hang around Cairns a little longer afterwards: the city is known for its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art scene. 

Redlands Coast NAIDOC Cultural Celebration, Brisbane

When: TBC

Brisbane's bayside is proudly hosting the annual Redlands Coast NAIDOC Cultural Celebration in Cleveland to launch NAIDOC Week.

The free celebrations will include live music from First Nations artists, and stallholders, a traditional smoking ceremony, Quandamooka cultural demonstrations, children’s activities, Indigenous face painting, weaving workshops and free giveaways.

The event will also feature performances by Adam James, Suga Cane Mamas, Sachém, Yulu-Burri-Ba dancers, Georgia Corowa, Edgar Conlon, Colesy and the Wagga Torres Strait Island Dance Company.

Indigenous experiences on water

Cruise the Sunshine Coast on a 100-year-old sailboat with Saltwater Eco Tours and hear stories from a local Kabi Kabi man along the way; spend a day island-hopping The Whitsundays through the eyes of the seafaring Ngaro people; or paddle through the Gold Coast’s serene waterways while learning local Dreamtime stories and Indigenous history with Ancestor Gift Canoes.

Holidaying on the Great Barrier Reef? Explore the reef with Traditional Owners when you cruise out with Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel - a truly unique way to experience one of the world’s natural wonders.

Hervey Bay is a popular holiday getaway in winter thanks to humpback whale migration, but NAIDOC Week offers an even better reason to make time for one of the Fraser Coast’s best Indigenous experiences. Hervey Bay Eco Marine Tours’ Turtle Discovery blends culture with a trip out into the bay to spot dugongs, dolphins, sea turtles and more.  

Indigenous food experiences

Getting a taste of Indigenous culture during NAIDOC Week can be as easy as taking a seat at a local restaurant, or as adventurous as spending a day searching for bush tucker and mud crabs in Cape Tribulation. Here are some favourite Indigenous food experiences in Queensland.

Explore the Daintree Rainforest

Heading north for the winter holidays? Be sure to visit the Daintree Rainforest: not only is it the world’s oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest (and a UNESCO World Heritage site too) but it has been home to the Kuku Yalanji for over 20,000 years. There are so many ways to discover its beauty through an Indigenous lens, from Dreamtime walks in Mossman Gorge to day-long tours that explore from the forest to the sands of Cape Tribulation.

Check out these Indigenous events and festivals to immerse yourself in the colour, dress and sounds of the oldest continually surviving cultures on earth.