METUNG WINTER FESTIVAL 2026

The Metung Winter Festival is a month of fire, ice, food and music on the Gippsland Lakes. It runs from Friday 19 June to Sunday 19 July 2026 and it is the sixth time the festival has taken over the village. The local name everyone uses is "Metung Winter Festival." The official name is the East Gippsland Winter Festival, because the program spreads across the whole region, but Metung is the heart of it and always has been.

I live in this part of the world. This guide is for anyone planning a winter weekend or a full week in Metung and wanting to know what is actually on, where to eat, where to drink, and where to stay. Exact dates and tickets for each event are on the official program. Everything below is what you need to plan around it.

When

Friday 19 June to Sunday 19 July 2026. Four weeks of programming across Metung and the broader East Gippsland region.

Where

Metung village on the Gippsland Lakes, plus events in Nicholson, Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Swan Reach, Bairnsdale and Orbost.

Who runs it

The festival was founded in Metung in 2021 by Adam Bloem. 2026 is the sixth annual program. The official 2026 program was launched at the Metung Country Club on 9 May 2026.

Headline events to plan around

• Opening night: Nicholson River Trestle Bridge Long Lunch, Friday 19 June (150 guests)
• Fire & Ice @ Metung on the Village Green by Bancroft Bay
• Metung Winter Market and Metung 'Oodie In
• Metung's Igloo Dining Experience (new for 2026)
• The Riversleigh Masquerade Ball
• Wrap Party at the Paynesville Hotel, Saturday 18 July

Full dates, times and tickets are at egwinterfest.com.au/program.

Fire & Ice @ Metung
Village Green by Bancroft Bay | Family-friendly

This is the one people travel for. The Village Green is right on the water and it gets a full festival treatment. Glenn Smith from Down Under Ice Designs does live ice carving in front of the crowd. Ben Cawood plays live music. Wacky Wombat Entertainment handles the fire breathing and juggling. As the sun drops, there is a paper lantern parade. There is a dumpling eating contest, face painting, giant lawn games, and the CFA Fire Truck on site for the kids to climb through.

To wash it down, Bancroft Bay Distillery runs a gin bar with hot toddys and G&Ts, and Sailors Grave Brewing rolls in a tap shack. Bring layers, bring cash, bring kids. The event is put on by the Metung Business and Tourism Association.

Fire & Ice is free entry. If you are working out which events to budget for and which to just walk straight into, our free and ticketed events guide covers the whole festival.

Metung Winter Market
Saturday 11 July 2026 | Bancroft Bay

Lakeside winter market with fresh local produce, homemade treats and handmade goods. Smaller and warmer than a summer market, which is the whole point. Worth a slow lap with a coffee.

Metung 'Oodie In
Village Green | After the Winter Market

Exactly what it sounds like. Pull on your Oodie, head down to the Village Green after the market wraps, and join in for games, prizes and treats. The Oodie In supports Variety - the Children's Charity, so the gold coin in your pocket actually does something.

Metung's Igloo Dining Experience
NEW for 2026 | VIP

New on the program this year. Private igloos, a long menu and a small number of seats. If this is the kind of thing that sells out fast in other parts of the country, expect the same here. Book through the official program. For a wider look at which ticketed events are worth the spend, see what's free and what's worth paying for.

The Riversleigh Masquerade Ball
The Riversleigh, Metung

Candlelit, live music, roaming canapés, dancing. The Riversleigh is one of Metung's grand old buildings, which makes it the right room for a masquerade. Black tie energy without being uptight about it.

Metung Bloodhounds' Op Shop Ball
Saturday 18 July | Swan Reach Pub | 7:30pm | Music: Xtra Cover

The other ball on the calendar, and the polar opposite. Op shop dress code, pub setting, Xtra Cover on stage, locals out in force. This one runs the same night as the official festival wrap at the Paynesville Hotel, so the whole region is out for it.

Opening and closing

The festival opens with the Nicholson River Trestle Bridge Long Lunch on Friday 19 June for 150 guests, and closes with the Wrap Party at the Paynesville Hotel on Saturday 18 July. Both are ticketed and both tend to sell out early.

A few of these are running festival events as well as their normal menus. All of them are worth a visit any winter weekend.

Albert & Co - Metung. Local, seasonal, the kind of place you walk into for a coffee and end up staying for lunch.

The Local Metung - Metung. Solid local kitchen, good for a relaxed dinner before or after a festival event.

Sodafish - Lakes Entrance. This is where Guy Grossi is doing Inverno Part III as part of the festival. If you are a Grossi fan, this is the food event of the festival.

New Leaf Café - Bairnsdale. Worth the 20 minute drive if you are coming or going via Bairnsdale. Good coffee, proper plates.

Beyond the festival partners, Metung Country Club and Metung Hot Springs both keep their kitchens running through winter. If you are booked into the Country Club for the program launch crowd or a meal, you are in good hands.

The drink list for this festival is the part I would not skip. East Gippsland has quietly built a serious lineup of distillers, brewers and winemakers, and they all turn up for this one.

Bancroft Bay Distillery - Metung. The local gin distillery and the gin bar at Fire & Ice. Hot toddys are the move on a cold night by the water.

Lightfoot Wines - Festival partner. Gippsland cool-climate wines, worth tasting if they are pouring at an event you are at.

East Gippsland Distillery - Festival partner. Local spirits to round out the gin and beer lineup.

Sailors Grave Brewing - Orbost. Sailors Grave runs the tap shack at Fire & Ice. If you like a beer with a bit of character to it, this is your stop.

Nicholson River Winery - The opening night Trestle Bridge Long Lunch is hosted on Nicholson River turf, and the winery also runs sunset yoga during the festival. Bottle, a stretch, a view.

Metung itself has a small but solid mix of waterfront stays, holiday rentals and the Metung Hot Springs accommodation up on the hill. If Metung is full, both Lakes Entrance (15 minutes east) and Paynesville and Bairnsdale (20 minutes west) put you inside easy festival range.

If you are coming with a group, holiday house rentals are usually the right call. Hammond Properties manage some of the best holiday homes in the region. They are a YMA client and their site ranks page one on Google for the searches that matter. Have a look at how we built that out if you are curious about the work.

Planning a budget weekend? Our budget guide for the festival shows what to book ahead and what to just turn up to.

Run a Metung accommodation business and want to be featured here? Flick me a line at matt@yourmateagency.com.au. No catch, no fee. If your business helps visitors have a better festival, I'll happily add it to the guide.

From Melbourne: About 4 hours via the Princes Highway. Plan for a Friday-night arrival if you are coming for the opening weekend, traffic east of Sale eases up after 6pm.
From Bairnsdale: 20 minutes. Bairnsdale has the regional airport (East Gippsland Airport) if you are flying in.
From Lakes Entrance: 15 minutes via the Princes Highway.
From Sydney or Canberra: Plan on a full day's drive via the Princes Highway through Eden and Cann River.

Getting around during the festival

Most Metung events are walkable within the village. For events at Nicholson, Paynesville, Swan Reach, Orbost or Lakes Entrance, you will need a car or a designated driver. If you are booked into a ball or the Wrap Party, sort accommodation in that town so you can walk home.

What to pack

Layers, a beanie, a proper jacket, and waterproof shoes if you are heading to Fire & Ice on the green. East Gippsland winters are crisp, not brutal, but evenings near the water need a coat. Cash for market stalls is handy but most vendors take card.

When is the Metung Winter Festival 2026?

Friday 19 June 2026 to Sunday 19 July 2026. The opening event is the Nicholson River Trestle Bridge Long Lunch on 19 June and the wrap party is at the Paynesville Hotel on 18 July.

What is the Metung Winter Festival?

It is a month-long winter celebration on the Gippsland Lakes. The official name is the East Gippsland Winter Festival, founded in Metung in 2021 by Adam Bloem, and 2026 is the sixth year. The program includes food, music, fire and ice events, lakeside markets, long lunches and balls across Metung and the broader East Gippsland region.

What is Fire and Ice in Metung?

Fire & Ice @ Metung is a free-flowing festival day on the Village Green by Bancroft Bay. It features live ice carving by Glenn Smith (Down Under Ice Designs), live music by Ben Cawood, fire breathing and juggling by Wacky Wombat Entertainment, a paper lantern parade at sunset, a dumpling eating contest, CFA fire truck tours, face painting and giant lawn games. There is a Bancroft Bay Distillery gin bar and a Sailors Grave Brewing tap shack on site.

Is the festival family-friendly?

Yes. Fire & Ice, the Winter Market and the 'Oodie In are all family-friendly events. The Riversleigh Masquerade Ball, the Op Shop Ball and the Wrap Party are adult evening events.

What is the Metung Igloo Dining Experience?

A new VIP dining experience for 2026. Diners sit inside private igloos on a winter night in Metung. Seats are limited and tickets sell through the official festival program.

Where can I see the official program?

At egwinterfest.com.au/program. The 2026 program was officially launched at the Metung Country Club on 9 May 2026, so it is live now.

How do I get to Metung?

Metung is in East Gippsland, Victoria, on the Gippsland Lakes. About 4 hours from Melbourne via the Princes Highway, 20 minutes from Bairnsdale (and the regional airport), and 15 minutes from Lakes Entrance.

Where should I stay for the festival?

Stay in Metung if you can. If Metung is booked out, Lakes Entrance, Paynesville and Bairnsdale are all within a 15-20 minute drive. Holiday house rentals are a good option for groups.

What other events are on near Metung in June and July 2026?

The whole East Gippsland Winter Festival program runs in parallel. Beyond the Metung-based events listed here, you will find programming in Nicholson, Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Swan Reach, Bairnsdale and Orbost. Guy Grossi's Inverno Part III at Sodafish in Lakes Entrance is a stand-out food event for 2026.

For a wider look at what is on across the whole 2026 festival, see the Free vs Paid Events Guide. Every free event, every ticketed highlight worth booking.

If you are planning a year of East Gippsland trips, the other one worth bookmarking is the Easter in Mallacoota 2026 guide. Same region, very different vibe.

For more about what we do, the about page has the short version.

G'day. I wrote this guide partly to help visitors and partly to show what happens when a regional business has a proper online presence during peak event traffic.

Right now, thousands of people are searching for "metung winter festival" and most of what they find is a stale 2023 accommodation blog or a sponsor's logo page. There is no proper visitor guide on page one of Google. So I wrote one.

If you run a business in Metung, Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale or anywhere across East Gippsland and you want to be findable when the next big search wave hits, flick me a message. I build websites that rank for the searches that matter to your business, and I work mostly with local operators across Gippsland and the Sapphire Coast. No big retainers, no jargon, no hot air.

Email matt@yourmateagency.com.au, call or text 0478 101 521, or grab a 15 minute slot in my calendar and we'll have a chat.

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