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Australia’s largest community-based celebration of jazz in all its forms, from trad to bebop, has been running for 27 years. Manlygives itself over to jazz for the Labour Day long weekend. In addition to travelling bands, there are performances held at outdoor venues such as the ocean beachfront, and indoor venues such as St. Mathews Church on The Corso.

Screens worldwide gay cinema and camp classics.

The Australia-wide National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee Week celebrates the survival, diversity and strength of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal cultures. Themes change annually, but regular events include a prestigious art award and prizes in a variety of categories ranging from sports to community leadership.

Although Australian Rules football is catching on in Sydney, the locals still go nuts when the big fellas from Sydney’s professional league battle it out at Sydney Stadium. If you can’t book a ticket, pull up a pew at your local pub and catch the action on the small screen.

Often very cheeky, always great fun.

Time your visit to coincide with this month-long international extravaganza of music, theatre, visual arts, dance and more. Past performers have included Michael Nyman, the London Sinfonietta, the Kronos Quartet, the Russian National Orchestra, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Vietnamese Water Puppets, Laurie Anderson and Les Ballets Africains.

Watch films all day, everyday, for 2 weeks.

Organized by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, this blue-water classic has been Australia’s best known yacht race for over half a century. Crowds line the harbour to wave off the crews as they pass through The Heads (see North Head, South Head) and head down the coast to Tasmania, almost 628 nautical miles south.

The roll-call at this week-long event includes more than 200 international and local speakers, with the odd Nobel Laureate thrown in for good measure. There are panel discussions, master classes, book launches and readings aplenty. And the festival caters to all tastes, from sci-fi to romance.

The biggest short film festival in the world screens outdoors at the Domain.