Crisp mornings and rainy days might make it more appealing to stay in bed with a warm cup of tea, but Adelaide hasn’t taken its foot off the gas this winter. On The Record has curated the best in South Australian arts, food, fashion and theatre for August. (Image: Martino Pietropoli)

By Bayley Fitzpatrick | @bayleyfitzpatrick

South Australian Living Arts Festival

The South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival returns this month for its 29th edition, starting August 1.

Showcasing work from over 11,000 local artists, SALA will host more than 700 events and exhibitions across the state this month.

Transforming ordinary spaces like sheds and cafes into community art galleries, the month-long festival is Australia’s largest visual arts festival. 

This year’s featured artist is Troy-Anthony Baylis, a multidisciplinary artist and descendant of the Jawoyn people from the Northern Territory. 

Baylis’ premiere exhibition, Pile-up, is described as a “queering” of Aboriginality through textiles, installation and performance. It is open now at the Adelaide Central School of Art.

More information about SALA and a full program can be found here.

Culture, food & fashion 

Gilles at the Grounds’s beloved Sunday markets return August 16 with over 100 curated stalls of vintage clothing, artisan jewellery, handmade goods and more.

The free event at the showgrounds also features live music and local food pop-ups that will kill those Sunday scaries, find out more here.

The Central Markets are keeping Friday nights cozy with their seasonal Winter Weekends events returning this month. 

Amazing local food, with open-air fire pits and performances from Adelaide musicians packs the very best of our state into the market hall.

Find the full schedule and more information here.  

Gigs

August is packed with gigs across South Australia’s countless incredible live music venues.

Aussie rap trailblazer Chillinit returns to the city for one last show on August 7 for the Adelaide leg of his final headline tour at Hindley Street Music Hall. 

Tickets are now available via moshtix.

Perth’s homegrown indie boyband DICE are bringing their distinctly Australian, summer sounds to The Gov on August 8 to warm you up this winter.

The Melbourne metal-trio Ocean Grove arrive in town on August 14 for the Adelaide leg of their nationwide ‘Oddworld Underground’ tour, also at The Gov.

For more information visit The Gov.

Punjabi pop phenomenon Karan Aujla will play the Adelaide Entertainment Centre arena on August 16.

With more than 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Aujla’s international genre-bending sound has carved a “P-Pop” niche, and the arena is primed to be packed. 

Tickets are available now via Adelaide Entertainment Centre. 

Theatre

Adelaide has a big month ahead for the theatre geeks.

Pelican Productions’s performances of Grease and The Little Mermaid Jr. play at The Arts Theatre on August 7 through to August 16, and tickets are available now for  purchase.

Pomona, the psychological horror and thriller by British playwright Alistair McDowall, runs through the same dates.

Set in a nightmarishly reimagined Manchester, Pomona depicts a woman’s desperate search for her twin sister that unravels a dark and disturbing conspiracy.

Learn more and purchase tickets here.

To round out the month, the award-winning musical Into the Woods opens at Her Majesty’s Theatre on August 22. 

The performance brings fairytales to life with its own original story told through music, mystery, and magic.

Tickets are available here.

Keep yourself warm and stay in the loop with On The Record’s monthly What’s On editions to stay busy this winter.