THRIVE Festival Set for Blast Off: The Empire Lauches 2026 Program
The Empire's hit school holiday event, THRIVE Festival returns from September 24-27, this year taking audiences on an out-of-this-world intergalactic adventure celebrating the marvels of space.
Presented by The Empire along with C&K Childcare and Kindergarten, THRIVE Festival's annual four-day event has become a highlight of the Spring school holidays, offering a mixture of free and ticketed events celebrating play, imagination and storytelling in the region's most vibrant time of year.
The Empire CEO, Giuliana Bonel said THRIVE Festival, now in its ninth consecutive year, has continued to expand, with another packed schedule of creative and theatrical experiences for families.
"Last year's festival attracted record-breaking attendance of more than 5,000 people through the gates across four days, with multiple sold-out performances and our highest level of community involvement to date," Ms Bonel said.
"Our 2026 program features an interstellar acrobatic spectacular, an immersive planetarium experience that takes the audience into the cosmos, children's circus and magic workshops, a stunning Indigenous contemporary work, and a vibrant lawn filled with hands-on creative activities and entertainment," she said.
We are so proud to see what THRIVE Festival has become for our city, and we are excited to welcome families back to our precinct for our biggest and best year yet.
The Empire CEO, Giuliana Bonel
Coming on board as the first THRIVE Festival Resident Artists are Gold Coast-based ARC Circus, presenting acrobatic spectacular Into Space, as well as stunning First Nations contemporary dance and circus performance Living Sculptures: How The Birds Got Their Colours, a fun filled introduction to the world of circus with Out of this World Circus Workshops, and roving entertainment on the Lawn.
The packed program also includes Shake & Stir Theatre Co's adaptation of My Two Blankets, based on the children’s book by Toowoomba author, Irena Kobald, as well as Cosmodome Planetarium, an immersive full-dome cinematic journey through space, with screenings exploring the Solar System, humanity's quest to reach Mars and the extraordinary story of the Apollo Moon missions.
Other ticketed highlights are the return of the School of Magic workshops, a rare chance for those aged 8-12 to learn amazing skills and tricks from some of the country’s best illusionists, The Hunt for The Empire – part children’s tour, part ultimate adventure for those aged 6-12, and First Five Forever’s reading of Scott Stuart's heartwarming tale, Alone with accompaniment by Toowoomba Concert Orchestra, which will be performed inside the Empire Theatre for the first time.
THRIVE Festival offerings include food options, coffee and the Friends of The Empire canteen on site as well as free lawn games and activities, face painting, fairy bread, and rainbow fruit stations, galaxy painting and craft projects by local art school Tinker, the Thriving Galaxy Installation supported by People First Bank and created by hundreds of local school and early education students displayed in the Church Theatre, as well as Space Talk with scientists Jonti Horner & Rebecca McElroy.
THRIVE Festival is presented by The Empire and C&K Childcare and Kindergarten, proudly supported by Toowoomba Regional Council, Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), Friends of The Empire, People First Bank, Clifford Gardens, Toowoomba Orthodontists, Stirling and Truffles and First 5 Forever, an initiative of the Queensland Government, coordinated by State Library of Queensland and delivered in partnership with local government.
Bookings are essential for ticketed THRIVE Festival performances. For more information, to join a waitlist or to book tickets to THRIVE Festival performances, visit empiretheatre.com.au/thrive-festival.
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