Frequently Asked Questions

The best time for autumn colours will vary from year to year depending how warm or cool the weather has been. The leaves want cool mornings to start to change colour.  Typically the first signs of leaves changing will occur in early March and there will be some colour around until late May and sometimes even early June. Typically the peak period for autumn colour is around mid-April through to early May but this can vary from year to year. For example some of the best colours in 2018 were in the 2nd and 3rd week of May whereas in other years the leaves have almost totally fallen by that time.

Most years, the Gala Day will be on the first Saturday of May except in those years where this clashes with Mother’s Day. In 2023, the festival begins with a Welcome to Country ceremony on Friday 28th of April and runs until Sunday 7th of May.

The Wandiligong Nut Festival will be held on the weekend before our festival this year.

The 2023 Bright Autumn Festival will commence on Friday 28 April and will run until Sunday 7 May, with Gala Day being held on Saturday 6th of April.  

The 2024 festival will run between April 26th until May 5th, meaning that Gala day will fall on May 4th……..Hmmmmm, that gives me an idea for a theme!

The program will be available on this website. Printed copies of the program will be available at the Visitor Information Centre.

Copies of the program will also be distributed through local papers in North East Victoria (e.g. Alpine Observer, Wangaratta Chronicle etc.) prior to the Festival.

The Bright Autumn Festival co-ordinates the program but are reliant on receiving information from event organisers. As soon as that information is available, this website will be updated.

The theme for the 2023 Parade is “Everyday Heros and First Responders”.

You can find out more about the Parade and complete the Parade Entry Form here.

If you have any suggestions for themes for future parades, we would love to hear your ideas. Please email or message us on Facebook.

There is plenty of autumn colour around Bright and the neighbouring towns that are perfect for taking photos. Some popular spots include:

• Along the Canyon walk;
• Delany Avenue;
• The Great Alpine Road as you come into Bright;
• Feathertop Winery;
• Harris Lane in the Buckland Valley; and
• Coronation Avenue around Pioneer Park.

The Gala Day Market is organised by the Rotary Club of Bright. You will need to contact them for information on applying for a stall.

The Wandi Nut Festival also has a number of stalls. You will need to contact the organisers to have a stall at the event. 

For events that are in public spaces such as the Wandi Nut Festival and the Gala Day Parade, you can bring your dog on a lead. For other events, you will need to check with the event organiser as too whether dogs are welcome or not.