Merimbula is a stunning destination on the Sapphire Coast on the far south coast of NSW. Known for its long stretches of pristine wild beaches and beautiful surf breaks, Merimbula and surrounding towns also boast great local food, distilleries, breweries and wine makers, hatted restaurants, remote walks and a very busy commercial airport, but we thought weneeded a festival to reflect our unique and diverse home.

WinterSun Festival was created in 2021, to fill a space on the June long weekend, due to the cancellation of the long running Merimbula Jazz Festival because of COVID.

The name of the festival is tipping our hat to the iconic local surfboard shaping brand Wintersun Designs, of the 60s-80s in Merimbula and Pambula. Those boards were ridden by world champion surfers locally and around Australia and are now collectors items.

WinterSun Festival, now in its 4th year, is about showing off this magical and wonderfully wild part of the far south coast. Not only did we deliver the first event successfully, WinterSun Festival has captured the imagination of locals and growing numbers of visitors and is now a much anticipated and supported annual event, attracting cold water swimmers, hikers, trail runners, foodies and those who want cool music festival vibes at Streetfest on Market.