Caves Coastal Beer, Food & Wine Festival returns

There is something about a festival by the beach that makes the whole thing easier to say yes to, and that is exactly what the Caves Coastal Beer, Food & Wine Festival leans into. It is back again on Saturday 26 September, running from 11am to 5pm at Caves Coastal Bar & Bungalows, and the best part is that entry is free, so there is no ticket to book or price to weigh up before you commit.

The format is simple: a day out by the water with food, drinks and live entertainment. The line-up pulls together the best from the Hunter and the Central Coast, with a few international favourites thrown in for good measure, so you can work your way through local winemakers, brewers, distillers and creative food producers all in one spot. It is the kind of event that rewards grazing rather than rushing, and the free entry means you can drop in for an hour or settle in for the afternoon without any pressure.

For anyone who has not been before, the setting does a lot of the heavy lifting. Caves Coastal Bar & Bungalows sits right by the beach, and the festival turns the place into a hub of local produce and live music for the day. It is a relaxed, family-friendly affair, and because everyone is welcome, it works as well for a quiet lunch as it does for a full afternoon with a group. The mix of Hunter and Central Coast producers means you get a decent cross-section of what the region is doing, from the vineyards and breweries you know to the smaller, more creative producers you might not have come across otherwise.

It is worth noting how much the festival has grown since its debut. What started as a one-off has turned into a regular fixture on the coast, and the 2026 edition continues that momentum, keeping the same free-to-the-public, all-day format that made the earlier years work. The organisers have been clear about what they want the day to be: a celebration of local producers, artists and businesses, and a way to put the Lake Macquarie region on the map as a destination for food and wine, not just a place to pass through on the way to the vineyards.

If you are planning to head down, the 11am to 5pm window gives you plenty of room to make a day of it. Come early to beat any queues at the busier stalls, or arrive closer to the middle when the live music is in full swing. Either way, it is a low-stakes way to spend a spring Saturday, with the beach right on your doorstep if you need a break from the crowds. Free entry, local produce, live music and a beachfront backdrop are a hard combination to argue with, and it is exactly what makes this one of the easier dates to add to your spring calendar.