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Phillipe Blake—7 September 2026·2 min read
The Empire's beloved school holiday festival returns to Toowoomba from 24-27 September with an intergalactic program of circus, planetarium screenings, First Nations dance and free family activities — an easy day trip from Brisbane.
The Empire's hit school holiday event, THRIVE Festival, is back in Toowoomba from 24 to 27 September — a short drive from Brisbane and a genuinely packed four days for families looking to fill the Spring school holidays.
Now in its ninth year, the festival takes an intergalactic turn for 2026, built around the marvels of space. The Empire's CEO, Giuliana Bonel, says last year's event drew a record 5,000-plus people through the gates across four days, with multiple sold-out shows. "Our 2026 program features an interstellar acrobatic spectacular, an immersive planetarium experience that takes the audience into the cosmos, children's circus and magic workshops, a stunning Indigenous contemporary work, and a vibrant lawn filled with hands-on creative activities and entertainment," she said.
On The Program
Gold Coast circus troupe ARC Circus headline as THRIVE's first-ever Resident Artists, presenting acrobatic spectacular Into Space alongside circus workshops for younger kids. First Nations contemporary dance and circus work Living Sculptures: How The Birds Got Their Colours runs free on the festival's opening day, and Cosmodome Planetarium offers an immersive full-dome journey through the solar system, the Apollo Moon missions and humanity's push toward Mars.
Other ticketed highlights include My Two Blankets, Shake & Stir Theatre Co's adaptation of the children's book by Toowoomba author Irena Kobald; School of Magic workshops for ages 8-12; and The Hunt For The Empire, a history-detective adventure tour for ages 6-12. Closing the festival on Sunday, ALONE pairs a theatrical reading of Scott Stuart's book with live accompaniment from the Toowoomba Concert Orchestra, performed inside the Empire Theatre for the first time.
For families keeping things free, there's galaxy painting, face painting, lawn games, a scavenger hunt, storytime under the Magnolia tree, fairy bread and rainbow fruit stations, interactive science displays, and the Thriving Galaxy community art installation built by hundreds of local students. Friday night wraps with free evening stargazing on the lawn, with telescopes trained on the Moon and Saturn, weather permitting.
The Details
Jake Lodder
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