Dragon Dreaming Festival: lakeside festival near Wee Jasper, NSW

Dragon Dreaming is the kind of festival I'm glad still exists: not-for-profit, no commercial advertising, four days of camping by a lake in rural New South Wales. It runs on biodiesel, composts food waste on site for its revegetation area and holds tree-planting workshops every year. With three stages it stays small; if Ozora is a city, this is a village. The 2026 edition, on 25–28 September, sold out, which tells me the formula works.

The festival camps on the shore of Lake Burrinjuck near Wee Jasper, in hilly country about 1.5 to 2 hours' drive from Canberra. Lifeguards are on duty for daytime swims, a detail I find more reassuring than any wellness brochure. Dates fall in late September or early October, which is spring in Australia, not summer. If you only know European summer festivals, pack for a different season.

There's a dedicated psytrance stage with a progressive focus, and techno and house fill the rest of the bill. Darker styles aren't among the listed genres, so if you're hunting night-time darkpsy, look elsewhere. If progressive by a lake sounds right, this fits, and the music does the work if you let it. What I like most is the "hatchling" program, which gives stage slots to newly discovered artists. Line-ups change yearly; check the official site.

The crowd is mostly local: campers, families and plenty of artists, and kids are welcome. Beyond the music there are workshops, a healing area, art installations, a cinema and a market. One detail I love: if your birthday falls on the festival weekend, your ticket is half price. That says more about a festival's character than any mission statement.

The nearest city is Canberra, 1.5 to 2 hours away, with Canberra Airport (CBR) for flights. The organizers run a shuttle (details on the official site), but a car is recommended, and for a lakeside campsite in rural NSW I'd want one too. Camping is included, and glamping is available if you'd rather not pitch a tent.

The 2026 edition sold out. For 2027, themed "Year of Air", tickets are reportedly already on sale, but dates haven't been published and current prices aren't confirmed. Watch the official website and Instagram. Given the 2026 sell-out, I wouldn't wait long once dates are out. And if your birthday lands on the festival weekend, you pay half.