This weekend, learn how to make your garden thrive at the SA Autumn Garden Festival, horse around at the Adelaide Equestrian Festival, or spend the school holidays at Adelaide and Monarto Zoo.

Words Charlie Gilchrist

A garden extravaganza

As the first gardening festival in South Australia, the SA Autumn Garden Festival at Clare Showgrounds has become a fixture on the calendar of the South Australian gardening community. The one-day event will feature gardening stalls and enlightening talks from well-known gardening personalities. This includes a talk by Gardening Australia presenter Costa Georgiadis on the importance of sustainability and one by gardening icon Sophie Thomson on the need for cooler, greener and more liveable cities. The SA Autumn Garden Festival takes place on Sunday, April 21 from 10am to 3pm.

Horsing around

The Adelaide Equestrian Festival returned to the heart of Adelaide on Thursday, delivering a show-stopping five-star equestrian event that will have added meaning given it enables riders from across Australia to compete against each other in the lead-up to July’s Paris Olympics. This prestigious event is the only five-star event of its kind in the southern hemisphere and will bring together more than 70 equestrian athletes and their horses as they look to secure a coveted place on the Australian Olympic team. Taking to Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi and the surrounding parklands, the four-day festival includes the disciplines of dressage, cross country and show jumping. The Adelaide Equestrian Festival will finish on Sunday, April 21.

Down dog

The much-loved children’s book series Dog Man will leap from the pages, having been transformed into Dog Man the Musical this school holidays from April 23 to 28 at the Dunstan Playhouse. Part dog, part man, Dog Man tries his best to be a good boy as he sniffs out criminals and fights the bad guys. But will he be able to save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish or catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat? Dog Man the Musical is directed by Jen Wineman and is adapted from Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, whose creative mind also brought Captain Underpants to the world.

Natural science art

Since 2002, the biennial Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize – named in honour of the South Australian Museum’s first curator, Frederick George Waterhouse – has celebrated established artists who have looked towards the natural world for their artistic spark. Known for recognising the long-running interplay between scientific research and the creative arts, the Waterhouse prize features artworks from illustrators and sculptors who help describe and depict scientific specimens, to contemporary artists who invite us to think about our environment and our impact on the natural world. With entrants vying for more than $40,000 in prize money, the 2024 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize is at the South Australian Museum until June 10.

School holidays at the zoo

April’s school holidays at both Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park are all about cute baby animals. The pitter-patter of paws and hooves has grown recently and visitors will be able to see a black and white colobus infant, cotton-top tamarin twins, a giraffe calf and four lion cubs out and about. There are various events planned, including being able to join an Adelaide Zoo keeper for a special Q&A session and there will also be a giant inflatable echidna – thanks to Evelyn Roth’s Echidna Nylon Zoo – that you can even step inside. At Monarto Safari Park, there will be art activities hosted by Little Picassos on April 22 and 24.