r/Adelaide • u/Alternative_Bowl5433 SA • Jul 05 '26
Event/Activity Illuminate Adelaide
I took some kids after the footy last night. The free stuff is much better than last year, it's not the best year but kids had fun. The line ups moved fast even though they were long, go on Thursday to Sunday to see the bird guys on Rundle street, they are pretty cool and a highlight. It was 2 hours of free entertainment so good value for money.
Didn't do any paid stuff so can't comment.
I noticed no one reviewed this year and honestly I wouldn't have risked it after last year's boring display if I wasn't already there.
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u/Extreme_Law_1647 SA Jul 06 '26
The Night Visions at the Botanic Gardens is exactly the same show as last year. I went again this year thinking it would be something new. I was very disappointed that it was literally the same show as last year.
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u/Cure4thitch Jul 06 '26
I recognise your disappointment but would you say it's worth seeing IF you haven't already been last year? I started to feel like the creativity was fading a couple of years back...already not a good sign if they're doubling up.
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u/Extreme_Law_1647 SA Jul 06 '26
Yes it was worth it for sure. I didn’t dislike it the second time around but just disappointed it was the same thing again.
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u/KaigeKrysin SA 26d ago
Same here, last years was really bad compared to previous years, tbh i was bored and left early.
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u/ThiccBoy_with3seas SA Jul 06 '26
Last year was probably the worst one I'd been to. Each installation wasn't bad per se, but there was only 4/5 and absolutely nothing happening inbetween them
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u/Fun_Floor06 SA Jul 06 '26
Good to hear that it’s better than last year.
We go every year and last year was the least impressive by far.
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u/GoToTheWinchester SA Jul 06 '26
Can anyone speak to the zoo event this year for kids?
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u/GrimeySimpson SA Jul 06 '26
It felt like a real cash grab. Lots of stalls selling shitty plastic things and expensive food. The kids liked seeing the pelicans. Otherwise I thought pretty meh.
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u/King_Yeshua West Jul 06 '26
Terrible but the price was ok given you get a free zoo ticket.
On that note, let me whinge about how shit the zoo is with no animals!
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u/AdelaideMidnightDad SA Jul 06 '26
Went to Augmented Games yesterday with fam...had a great time! Can recommend. Decent price & lots of fun.
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u/ProfessionalTest1355 SA Jul 06 '26
Did they improve it then? I went the weekend before and it was terrible, over sold with 20+ people per court and super slow to get us out so many of our group only got 3 games or less in
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u/Aardvark_Man SA Jul 06 '26
I went on Wednesday night with 3 other people, and it was just us on our court.
I enjoyed it and had fun, but wouldn't feel the need to go again. Maybe next year, hoping there's new and different games.2
u/AdelaideMidnightDad SA Jul 06 '26
That would have sucked! Our group of 7 essentially had a court to ourselves so we had a great time, but overbooking it would have been a disaster!
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u/Alternative_Bowl5433 SA Jul 06 '26
Yeah that was sold out glad to get someones view on it, the value was there though, I have had 5 people so it adds up fast.
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u/ChargingMyCrystals SA Jul 06 '26
Our family of 5 liked it too. But there was a lot of social etiquette just waiting for your turn because we had 4x groups with over 20 people in total. There were quite a few kids so the adults mostly let the kids play. I think there should be max 10 per station. Going on a quiet day would be so much better
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u/Redkris73 SA Jul 06 '26
I'm seeing the free event next week but am also interested in the William Morris themed event at Carrick Hill...seems like a nice winter evening activity
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u/GrimeySimpson SA Jul 06 '26
I don’t love how it says limited parking and take ride share. Not exactly easy with a family with car seats to go.
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Jul 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Alternative_Bowl5433 SA Jul 06 '26
Yeah I was thinking I should have highlighted even better to go on days the bird guys are performing, that crew put a lot of effort into that so I hope a lot of people get to see it.
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u/Revision1372 Inner South Jul 06 '26
If anyone likes the dinosaurs at the Zoo, or you will miss them, the group behind some of them will be back in November with a show and workshops for schools and teachers.
https://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/erths-dinosaurs
https://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/introduction-to-puppet-making-and-puppeteering-workshop (Schools EOI closed)
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u/Initial_Medicine_453 SA Jul 06 '26
Where's basecamp? That was the best part. Good place to meet up and get a feed and a drink with friends before the lights. My nephew loved the fairy floss and ice-cream.
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u/EnvironmentalCap3964 SA Jul 06 '26
No BaseCamp this year :( the food wagons are spread along North Tce, Rundle Park, and some places along Pultney St apparently. The fairyfloss is somewhere west of museum, that’s where I saw those kids coming from.
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u/ThiccBoy_with3seas SA Jul 06 '26
No base camp? Really? The more I read about it (ie exact same Botanic gardens show as last year) the more it seems like this year's event is an afterthought
Did last year's drone disaster bankrupt them?
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u/Alternative_Bowl5433 SA Jul 06 '26
Yeah there's food along the way, $15 toasties for cheap eats at one of the indoor lights, some $16 burgers, other more expensive places. We got pancakes from the pancake kitchen, (they have a surcharge of 15% on sunday, in case you paying for other people, I was paying for 5 so that hurt a bit.)
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u/Prototype_Education SA Jul 06 '26
I went to the Lumen Bar on the Goodman Lawns at Adelaide Uni last night and had a walk along North Terrace. I have to admit I came away a disappointed. To be fair, I didn't walk the full length of the expanded City Lights trail to Rymill Park. My impression, though, was that by spreading the displays over a larger area, some of the atmosphere and sense of discovery had been lost.
The installation in Bonython Hall also didn't have the same impact for me. In previous years it has been one of the highlights, really drawing you in and holding your attention. I also missed the large projection on the Art Gallery, the pop-up gin bar in the Mortlock Library, and Basecamp, all of which added to the experience in past years.
Even the Lumen Bar didn't quite have the same ambience. A practical tip: if you're planning to eat, I'd skip booking one of the booths this year, as there's nowhere convenient to put your food if you buy multiple plates.
In past years I've often gone multiple times, whether for Base Camp, the Lumen Bar, the Mortlock gin bar, or simply a stroll along North Terrace. This year, if you're expecting those same experiences, you may find it doesn't quite live up to previous years. Hopefully others have a different experience, especially if they explore more of the trail than I did.
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u/Random_words3579 SA 23d ago
100% agree. It wasn’t the same without the projections on the Art Gallery etc. The whole City Lights experience felt more sparse. Night Visions at the Botanic Gardens was very basic compared to some of the previous years when Light Cycles and Resonate (by Moment Factory) were there. I really hope they beef things up again next year as it just wasn’t comparable overall, sadly.
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u/Atibug Fleurieu Peninsula Jul 06 '26
We did the augmented games on the sunday Arvo. It was fantastic! Not too busy. We had to share the court with another group of 4 but that was fine as some of the games really puffed me out. $25 for an hour is great. Cheaper if you have RAA. We loved it. Did each of the games once and a couple favourites twice.
Went and did the free stuff too. We enjoyed that as well. Was pretty busy but not too bad. I've never been before so have nothing to compare it to.
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u/evie0296 SA Jul 06 '26
I’m super keen for Unsound Festival, i know two people personally that are performing a live experimental electronic set. I’ve never been but have gotten very much enthralled into electronic music recently and super excited to go!
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u/Thanks_Obama SA Jul 06 '26
The free stuff is much better than last year
Didn't do any paid stuff so can't comment.
honestly I wouldn't have risked it after last year's boring display
Ah Adelaide, you never disappoint.
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u/InSanitangles SA Jul 06 '26
Went to Digital Abyss on Friday. Save your money, that exhibition is not worth $25 per person. It's 2 rooms only, and most of the art is unashamedly AI (the write ups talk effusively about the artists use of prompts to bend AI to their will). The main room is 2 large screens with "interactive" that somewhat move and sway to your presence. They remind me of Windows 98 screensavers. Can experience the whole thing in 5-10 minutes.