Your Complete Guide to the Metung Winter Festival 2026 - Metung Waters | Metung Accommodation

Winter weekends can go one of two ways. You find something worth getting out of bed for, or you don’t. For anyone within driving distance of East Gippsland this June, the Metung Winter Festival makes the decision easy.

The festival returns to the Metung Village Green on Saturday, 27th June 2026, running from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. It falls on the first weekend of the Victorian school holidays, which makes it well-timed for families heading east and couples looking to get out of the city before the crowds catch on.

Here’s what you need to know before you go.

What Kind of Evening Are You After?

There’s a particular feeling that comes with a good winter night out. Wood smoke in the air, something warm in your hand, kids running around in puffer jackets while the adults have an actual conversation. It’s not complicated, but it’s surprisingly hard to find.

The Metung Winter Festival has been building towards that feeling for a few years now. It’s a community event that has quietly become one of East Gippsland’s better winter outings. The setting does a lot of the work. The Village Green sits right on the edge of Bancroft Bay, with the Metung Wharf a short walk down the hill. At dusk, it’s a good place to be.

What’s On at the 2026 Festival

Food is the main event. Local food vendors set up on the Village Green, while street vendors throughout the village serve takeaway favourites including fish and chips and woodfired pizza. There’s a range of international dishes available for those who want to sit down for a proper meal.

The Bancroft Bay Distillery runs a mobile bar serving hot gin toddies, G&Ts and cocktails throughout the evening. For the kids (and anyone not drinking), there’s hot chocolate with marshmallows, sausages, popcorn and fairy floss from stalls on the green.

BK Carving will be holding a live wood-carving demonstration throughout the afternoon and evening, creating a single sculpture from scratch. The finished piece gets auctioned at the end of the night by Richard O’Byrne of First National King & Heath. It’s the kind of festival moment that gets genuinely competitive.

The dumpling eating competition is back for its third year, hosted by Doin’ Dumplings. This year, it runs separate heats for adults and children. Entry is on the day, and trophies, cash prizes and the title of Metung’s Dumpling Eating Champion are up for grabs. Worth entering.

Families will also find giant lawn games, roaming entertainment, face painting, children’s colouring activities, and the Metung CFA fire truck on site for tours and photos.

As the evening winds down, the festival closes with a lakeside lantern parade to the Metung Wharf. You can bring a handmade lantern or buy one made by local primary school students on the night. It’s the kind of ending that makes the drive home quiet, in the best way.

Why Staying the Night Makes Sense

Driving back after dark on a winter evening is the part nobody looks forward to. Staying the night changes the whole shape of the trip.

Metung Waters Motel sits at 9 Kurnai Avenue, about a five-minute walk from the Village Green. There are 10 motel rooms and 4 self-contained apartments, all with spa baths and private courtyards or balconies. The apartments comfortably accommodate families in two bedrooms. View accommodation options at metungwaters.com.au/accommodation.

You won’t need to move the car once you’re checked in. The motel is within walking distance of the festival, the village store, the Metung Hotel and the town beach. Patterson Park is right next door if the kids need somewhere to run in the morning.

A spa bath after a few hours on the Village Green in June is not a small thing.

How to Plan Your Visit

The festival runs from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, so arriving in Metung by early afternoon gives you time to settle in and walk the foreshore before things kick off.

A few things worth sorting in advance:

VIP igloos are available for couples and need to be pre-booked. These private, cosy spaces include food and drinks served directly to you. Numbers are limited, so check com early for details.
Dumpling eating competition takes entries on the day, but if you’re bringing competitive kids, let them know what they’re in for.
Bring or buy a lantern for the parade. Local primary school students make them for sale on the night.
Metung is about two and a half hours from Melbourne via the Princes Highway. The village is compact and easy on foot once you’re there.

What the Evening Feels Like

The lantern parade is the moment that tends to stay with people. Walking down to the wharf as the light drops, Bancroft Bay spreads out below, the smell of food still in the air. It’s a good end to a winter day.

Back at Metung Waters, the spa bath is waiting. The village goes quiet by late evening. That’s the whole point of a place like this.