Pair your wine with wholesome wanders at the Grenache & Gourmet festival. Image: Journey Home Wines
Each month, sa move brings you our pick of SA events that everyone should have on their calendar.
September 2026
Sunnier days, blossoms blooming on the trees and stepping out at these events will leave you with a spring in your step. Check out what’s on around SA this September.
1. Royal Adelaide Show
When: 5–13 September Where: Adelaide Showground, Wayville
It’s the (second) most wonderful time of the year! The Royal Adelaide Show is back and there’s plenty to get excited about, like the cooking competitions. This year, the Show celebrates 100 years of cookery; what started with 18 competition classes now boasts 188, from scones to baklava, sourdough to puddings and much more.
There are the usual favourites like the woodchopping, sheep dog trials and shiny-coated horses strutting their stuff, plus gravity-defying rides, the latest cars, motorcycles and caravans, and those drool-worthy hot cinnamon doughnuts and dagwood dogs. Not to mention the hardest choice of all – which showbags to take home to relive the (second) greatest day of the year.
Try something new at this year’s Royal Adelaide Show. Image: The Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of SA
2. Octane Underground
When: 12 September Where: Plant 4 Bowden
What a glow up! Taking over the inside and outside of Plant 4 Bowden, Octane Underground is SA’s first neon-lit car show and it’s back bigger and brighter than before. Admire some serious motoring eye-candy as the neon lights catch every curve, contour and gleaming detail.
Grab a drink and wood-fire pizza and enjoy uninterrupted views from the second-storey mezzanine, then hit the dance floor as the live DJ spins all the funkiest tunes. Test your skill with the retro games and peruse wares from vendors set up around many of Adelaide’s finest vehicles.
When: 18–19 September Where: 52 Field Day Drive, Barmera
What do lawn-mower racing, fashion parades and the latest crop cultivation techniques have in common? This bumper crop of activities and more happening at Riverland Field Days in Barmera. For the farmers, enthusiasts and agricultural professionals, see what’s new in farming practices, irrigation, livestock and crop management.
There’s also heaps of inspiration for your home and garden, and plenty to keep the kids entertained, including the race car simulator and reptiles to handle. Add live music and vintage machinery and cars on display. You’ll even see Cobby, the old traction engine in full steam, and the whole family will be happy as pigs in mud.
There’s fun for the whole family at Riverland Field Days. Image: Riverland Field Days
4. Grenache & Gourmet
When: 18 September – 5 October Where: McLaren Vale wine region
Ready for a splash of grenache with panache? Mark your calendars because there’s a whole festival’s worth of events to celebrate grenache. International Grenache Day kicks off McLaren Vale’s Grenache & Gourmet festival, followed by 17 days of celebrating world-class wine from a world-class wine region.
Your RAA membership is the perfect pairing. Get discounts on tickets to a selection of events from the program, from wholesome donkey walks (and grenache) to hearty bowls of linguine – and grenache, of course. Limited discount tickets are available at the below events.
Discover your favourite grenache in McLaren Vale. Image: Grenache & Gourmet
5. City-Bay Fun Run
When: 20 September 2026 Where: Adelaide CBD to Jetty Road, Glenelg
Grab your running shoes and a handful of safety pins as it won’t be long until you’ll be attaching your unique race bib and heading for the City-Bay starting line. Thousands of participants will be challenging themselves to walk, run or roll as this year’s City-Bay Fun Run makes tracks along Anzac Highway.
Choose your distance (half marathon, 12km, 6km or 3km), decide your style (run, walk or roll), and let the excited crowd and spectators’ encouragement propel you towards the finish line. Haven’t registered yet? Better sprint to RAA Rewards. Register before 2 September and you’ll get 20 per cent off the half marathon, 12km and 6km events thanks to your RAA membership.
Image: City-Bay Fun Run
6. Nature Festival
When: 25 September – 11 October Where: Various locations
This spring, plant the seeds of adventure and watch as the whole state bursts into bloom. Nature Festival blends art, music, food and wine, Aboriginal culture and wellbeing at more than 300 experiences celebrating the great outdoors.
This year’s theme is ‘Seed’. Events will invite you to plant seeds of change, seeds of hope, seeds of action and even, literal seeds, as you explore SA’s nature and deepen your connection to it. It’s a few short weeks to dig in and reconnect with nature, and reminds us how a little patience and care can lead to change and renewal.
Immerse yourself in the green therapy of nature with Yarnbala. Image: SATC
