Christmas is arriving early in Hunter Valley Wine Country this year with the Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular, the biggest and brightest Christmas lights display in Australia, flicking the switch on Friday 30 October, giving families even more time to make it part of their festive season.

Spring has well and truly arrived in Pokolbin. The vines are pushing out fresh green leaves, the paddocks are full of life, and there's no better time to gather the family and head to Hunter Valley Resort + Farm. Spread across 100 acres on the corner of Hermitage Road and Mistletoe Lane, this is the kind of place where everyone finds their own way to fall for Wine Country.

The Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley Fiesta is back for its thirteenth year, taking over Pokolbin skies this October Long Weekend, 3-5 October.

From 12 to 27 September, the Wollombi Valley turns into an open-air gallery for the Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival, a biennial event and one of NSW's longest-running and largest-scale regional arts festivals since it began in 2002.

This September the enduring connection to place comes alive once again as the Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival transforms Wollombi and neighbouring Laguna into a living gallery of contemporary sculpture, heritage spaces and natural landscapes.

There are towns you pass through on the way somewhere else. And then there are towns that quietly convince you to stop. Denman, nestled in the heart of the Upper Hunter Valley, has long been one of those places. It’s a welcoming country town where vineyards meet olive groves, where heritage buildings line the main street, and where community remains at the heart of daily life.

If you’re looking for a shopping experience that goes beyond the ordinary, Wally and Eva in the heart of Cessnock deserves a spot on your itinerary.

Strength training is often associated with heavy weights or advanced gym routines, but the reality is that it’s one of the most important forms of exercise for all ages and stages of life.

There’s no need to head to the mountains to find snow this winter. From 27 June to 26 July, Snow Time in the Garden returns to Hunter Valley Gardens, bringing snow play, ice skating, toboggan rides and carnival attractions into the heart of wine country.

The Hunter Valley has long been known for cellar doors, restaurants, and gourmet offerings, but a regular fresh-produce market hasn’t traditionally been part of the Pokolbin experience.