The festival has developed as one of the premier cultural events in Tasmania's arts calendar. Every year on the second weekend in January, the small village of Cygnet, situated in the
Huon Valley in the bay of
Port Cygnet, presents a variety of music, dance, and related arts, over three days. Performances take place in the pubs, halls, cafes, churches, parks and streets of Cygnet. The festival allows for a range of concerts, workshops, master classes, poetry reading, youth awards, children's events, gourmet food stalls featuring local produce, sessions, arts and crafts market and dances. The program features an eclectic mix of artists including local Tasmanians, mainland Australians and international guests. Some of the well-known festival headline acts over the years include
Riley Lee,
Afenginn,
Stiff Gins,
Zulya Kamalova,
Rory McLeod and
Frank Yamma. The 2021 Festival was cancelled in May 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The 2022 Festival was scheduled for 14–16 January. It was to be the Festival's 40th anniversary, but after the spread of the
Omicron variant of COVID-19, the festival was cancelled on 21 December 2021. ==References==