Dark Mofo Hobart: how to plan a winter festival visit

Dark Mofo Hobart is a midwinter arts festival run by the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), and the 2024 edition runs from 13 to 23 June. It is a smaller festival than in past years, built around the Winter Feast, the Nude Solstice Swim and a short list of ticketed shows. This guide covers what is on, how tickets work and how to plan your stay in Hobart.

The festival falls around the winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the southern hemisphere. Most of the action happens after dark, and most of it is outdoors, so plan for cold weather.

Sources for this section: Dark Mofo, Info page (archived 20 June 2024); The Note, Dark Mofo Makes Surprise 2024 Return (15 April 2024).

A smaller festival this year

In September 2023 its artistic director, Chris Twite, said the festival would go on hiatus because of rising costs and hard conditions. Then, in April 2024, Mona announced a scaled-back return.

Twite said in a statement that Dark Mofo had said it would stay quiet, but that winter would not feel the same without a chance to feast and frolic during the long Tasmanian nights. The 2024 program has fewer international guests and a smaller music line-up than earlier years. Mona's festival site lists the 2024 days as 13 to 23 June.

Sources for this section: The Note, Dark Mofo Makes Surprise 2024 Return; Backseat Mafia, Winter 2024 Dark Mofo unveils a slimmed down Festival (12 April 2024).

What is on

The main events for 2024 are these.

• Winter Feast: a food and drink market held in two blocks, Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 June and Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 June. The Note reports about 80 stallholders and guest chefs including Vaughan Mabee and Mona's executive chef Vince Trim.
• Nude Solstice Swim: the early morning swim at Sandy Bay on Friday 21 June. Capacity is bigger this year, and the swim is free.
• Winter at the Garden: a daily program of DJs and food and drink pop-ups in the Hanging Garden area, from 11 am each day.
• Night Shift and Slow Burn: a multi-storey dance party, plus a new late-night event that opens at midnight in the Odeon Theatre's Mezz Bar.
• Music at the Odeon Theatre: Genesis Owusu on Saturday 15 June and Marlon Williams on Sunday 16 June.
• Namedropping: a new exhibition at Mona about status, culture and brand names, that runs alongside the festival.

Sources for this section: The Note, Dark Mofo Makes Surprise 2024 Return; Backseat Mafia, Winter 2024 Dark Mofo unveils a slimmed down Festival; Dark Mofo, Info page (archived 20 June 2024).

How tickets work

The festival's own info page says all ticketed events were sold out by 20 June, apart from the Winter Feast. So treat this year as a Winter Feast trip unless you already hold tickets, and book early in future years.

• Booking fee: a $6 fee applies to each transaction, unless you only buy a Nude Solstice Swim ticket or buy at the door.
• Digital tickets: you get an email with a link that holds all your tickets. The QR codes appear 12 hours before each event, to stop scalping.
• No refunds: there are no refunds or exchanges, except where Australian Consumer Law applies. Resales are not offered this year, so gift a spare ticket to a friend.
• Cashless: every event is cashless, so bring a card.

Tickets from third parties may not be valid. The festival says it will cancel orders from anyone selling at a premium.

Sources for this section: Dark Mofo, Info page (archived 20 June 2024).

Winter Feast basics

The Winter Feast is the easiest part of Dark Mofo to join, because you can buy nightly tickets at the door from 4 pm. Entry is free after 9 pm each night, and for children under 16 with a parent or guardian. A Season Pass gives entry to every night, lets you skip the queue and allows pass outs.

The Feast is outdoors, and the festival warns that Tasmanian weather is unpredictable, shelter is not guaranteed and entry depends on capacity. Dress for rain, hail or shine, and add layers for the chill. Allow extra time for queues at peak times.

It also aims to be zero waste. Alfresco food comes on reusable metal crockery, and drinks come in a reusable cup with a $6 deposit, of which $5 is returned. There are free water stations, so bring a bottle. Children under 16 must stay with a parent or guardian, and after 9 pm that rule covers 16 and 17 year olds too.

Sources for this section: Dark Mofo, Info page (archived 20 June 2024).

Planning your Hobart stay

Events sit at different venues, so check the festival venue map before you pick where to stay.

• Getting to Mona: ferries run between Brooke Street Pier on the Hobart waterfront and Mona about every half hour. Mona has 99 steps at arrival and an accessible entrance through the tunnel.
• Road closures: Castray Esplanade is closed from 5 to 26 June, 5 am to 5 pm. Morrison Street has evening closures on festival weekends. There is traffic management on Sandy Bay Road, Beach Road and Long Point Road for the swim.
• E-scooters: Beam scooters are in the city, but they are not allowed inside event sites.
• Accessibility: most venues are wheelchair accessible. The festival offers Companion Card tickets, a quiet area at the Feast and accessible seating.

Local businesses also join in each year. In a partnership with Destination Southern Tasmania, they are asked to paint the town red and welcome visitors, and the festival publishes a list of those taking part.

Sources for this section: Dark Mofo, Info page (archived 20 June 2024).

Sources

1. Dark Mofo, Info page (archived 20 June 2024): web.archive.org
2. The Note, Dark Mofo Makes Surprise 2024 Return: thenote.com.au
3. Backseat Mafia, Winter 2024 Dark Mofo unveils a slimmed down Festival: backseatmafia.com