West End Archives - West End Today

West End Winter Solstice Twilight Market Brings A Winter Night Out To Davies Park

As the afternoon light fades over West End, Davies Park is set to take on a different rhythm — one shaped by warm food, open-air stalls, live music, bonfires and the glow of a winter market after dark.

The West End Winter Solstice Twilight Market will return in 2026, turning the familiar market setting into a night-time gathering built around food, craft, entertainment and seasonal warmth. The event will be held on Friday, 19 June from 4:00pm to 10:00pm at Davies Park, 277 Montague Road, with free entry.

The setting will be familiar for regular visitors. West End Markets are normally held every Saturday morning at Davies Park along the Brisbane River, drawing people to the suburb for fresh produce, food, handmade goods and the area’s relaxed market atmosphere. The winter solstice event shifts that experience into the evening, giving the market a cooler-season mood and a more festival-like pace.

More than 150 specialty stalls are expected, with a mix of gourmet street food, global flavours, artisan products, handcrafted goods, local finds and gift items. The event is designed around browsing as much as eating, with visitors able to move through rows of stalls while entertainment unfolds throughout the night.

Brisbane events — Photo Credit: Supplied

Winter Warmth At The Centre Of The Market

Bonfires will be one of the event’s key winter features, giving the twilight market a seasonal focus beyond its food and retail offering. Pop-up bars will also serve craft beer and traditional Glühwein, adding a warm drink element suited to the colder evening setting.

The Glühwein has been highlighted as one of the market’s signature winter offerings, pairing the spiced drink with the event’s twilight hours and open-air layout. Together with the bonfires, it gives the night a distinct seasonal identity while keeping the event tied to West End’s casual market style.

Food will also remain central to the experience. The market will feature street food and gourmet options from across global flavours, giving visitors a broad mix of choices for dinner, snacks or a longer evening of grazing through the stalls.

West End Markets — Photo Credit: Supplied

Music, Performers And Family Activities

The market program will include live music, roving performers and children’s activities, creating a wider event experience for families, food lovers and market visitors.

The entertainment is expected to run alongside the stalls rather than sit separately from them, adding movement and atmosphere across the night. Children’s activities will give families another reason to stay, while live performances and roaming entertainment will carry the energy of the market through the evening.

This mix of food, stalls and entertainment gives the West End Winter Solstice Twilight Market a broader purpose than a standard shopping event. It is positioned as a winter night out, built around the suburb’s existing market identity but shaped for a different time of day.

West End’s Market Scene After Dark

The event also shows how the West End Markets can shift from their usual Saturday morning pace into a night-time format. Davies Park remains the anchor, but the mood changes with the later hours, the winter setting and the focus on warm drinks, lights and live entertainment.

Free ticket registration is available, with registered attendees able to enter a draw for a gourmet market hamper. Entry to the market remains free.

The Winter Solstice Twilight Market brings the area’s familiar market culture into the evening — not as a replacement for the regular Saturday market, but as a seasonal version built around food, music, bonfires and a winter night under the open sky.

Published 15-May-2026

Function Well Has Arrived in West End, and It’s Unlike Anything Else on Brisbane’s Southside

Function Well has opened its West End flagship, bringing a $15 million, four-level wellness hub to Brisbane’s southside that combines 24/7 training, five boutique studios, a full recovery zone and an on-site Turkish café under one roof for the first time in the brand’s history.

The West End location, which opened its doors on Monday 27 April, is the most ambitious project yet from founders Darren and Natasha Bain, who have spent more than 16 years shaping Brisbane’s fitness and wellness landscape. Their original Function Well opened in Newstead, where it still operates across three levels in the Breakfast Creek Lifestyle Precinct.

A second location at Toombul was lost to the 2022 floods. West End is the fresh chapter, and at 3,000 square metres it is built to be the definitive expression of everything the brand has been working toward.

“Function Well West End is our most elevated offering,” Darren Bain said. “We set out to design a premium, high-performance environment that brings together our four pillars, mindset, movement, nutrition and restoration, to support total wellbeing for our members.”

Four Levels Built Around Yin and Yang

The philosophy running through Function Well has always balanced intensity with stillness, effort with recovery. That yin and yang approach shapes how the West End space is designed, with high-performance training zones on one side of the member experience and a genuinely luxurious restoration offering on the other.

The training side covers a 24/7 gym floor alongside five custom-built boutique studios offering reformer Pilates, a heated immersive yoga room and functional training sessions. The space is also an official HYROX training club, making it one of Brisbane’s primary destinations for the global fitness racing movement, which combines eight kilometres of running with eight functional workout stations.

The recovery side is equally considered. Members move between a sauna, hot and cold plunge pools, compression boots, massage therapy, red light therapy, a Recovery Cave and private recovery suites. It is the kind of restoration offering that previously required a dedicated day spa visit, now built directly into a gym membership.

A premium business and social lounge gives members a third mode entirely: a space to linger, connect, or catch up on work after training.

A Turkish Café Completes the Picture

The nutrition pillar at West End takes the form of Sureyya Kahve, a nutrient-led Turkish café from the team behind KAILO Wellness Medispa. The café reinforces what Function Well has always argued: that food is not a footnote to a fitness routine but an integral part of it. The presence of a full café operator of this calibre on-site signals that West End is designed as a destination, not just a gym you pass through.

“We’ve always believed in a holistic approach, where community and results sit at the core of everything we do,” Bain said. “What excites us now is bringing that philosophy to a new level within a true all-in-one lifestyle destination. Our team is incredibly proud and excited to officially open the doors and welcome the West End community into something truly unique.”

Visit Function Well West End

Function Well West End is at West Village, 97 Boundary Street, West End. Membership options are available at here. Follow Function Well on Instagram for class schedules, studio bookings and member updates.

Published 30-April-2026

Metro Arts Secures Grant to Bring Touch to Contemporary Art in West End

Metro Arts

Metro Arts has secured a grant through Brisbane Airport‘s record 2026 Community Giving Fund, using the funding to install and deliver an eight-week tactile exhibition and events programme designed specifically for the blind and visually impaired community.

The grant is one of sixteen awarded across the city as Brisbane Airport distributed its largest-ever Community Giving Fund, sharing $125,000 among grassroots organisations working across education, health, environment and community inclusion. For Metro Arts, the funding arrives at a meaningful moment.

The West End arts centre is rebuilding its programme through a “rewiring” process after losing federal Creative Australia funding for the 2025 to 2028 period. The Brisbane Airport grant gives the organisation a concrete new project and a new community to reach.

This tactile exhibition addresses a significant gap in accessible arts programming that many venues overlook. Brisbane Airport Community Engagement Manager Portia Allison said each recipient in this year’s fund plays an important role in building a stronger, more connected community.

“Our Community Giving Fund is about giving back where it counts,” Allison said. “From youth programs to grassroots sport, there are organisations and groups across every corner of Brisbane delivering important work to support their local communities.”

An Arts Centre That Has Always Backed New Ideas

Metro Arts has occupied a distinctive position in Brisbane’s cultural life since its founding more than 40 years ago. Its theatre, two galleries, rehearsal rooms and the Factory Lane outdoor precinct sit inside the West Village development at 97 Boundary Street, offering a purpose-built home for contemporary work across theatre, dance, cabaret, circus, music and visual art.

The organisation champions artists who take creative risks and develop new works, and over its history has served as a launchpad for some of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists. Its current “rewiring” programme, announced earlier in 2026, is focused on building new partnerships, rethinking how it presents art, and strengthening the infrastructure that supports both artists and audiences for the long term.

The tactile exhibition programme fits that forward-looking ambition directly. Tactile art experiences, which use raised surfaces, textures, soundscapes and physical interaction rather than visual contemplation, represent one of the most significant frontiers in accessible arts programming internationally. For a venue built around experimentation, it is a natural fit.

A Step Forward for Inclusive Arts in West End

Since 2016 the Brisbane Airport Community Giving Fund has poured more than $655,000 into local community organisations. This year’s round was expanded by $25,000 over 2025, when $100,000 was distributed to coincide with 100 years of Brisbane Airport.

For Metro Arts and the West End community, the tactile exhibition and events programme represents something the suburb’s arts scene has rarely seen: a dedicated, extended programme designed from the ground up for audiences who are blind or have low vision. West End has long been one of Brisbane’s most culturally diverse and community-minded neighbourhoods, and Metro Arts sits at the centre of that identity.

Metro Arts is at 97 Boundary Street, West End, inside the West Village precinct, accessible via Factory Lane. The venue’s window gallery is open 24 hours a day, and its office operates Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. For programme updates, event details and to subscribe to the Metro Arts newsletter, visit metroarts.com.au or follow the organisation on Instagram at @metroarts.

Published 20-April-2026

Upstate Has Opened Its First Brisbane Studio in West End

Upstate

Upstate, the Melbourne-born reformer pilates and hot yoga brand that has built a devoted following across Victoria and expanded into Queensland and New South Wales over the past year, has opened its first Brisbane studio at 391 Montague Road in West End.

The studio marks another significant step in one of Australian fitness’s more compelling growth stories. Upstate launched in Victoria and spent more than a decade becoming a genuine institution, before opening its first interstate location at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast in July 2025, then landing in Sydney’s Five Dock in September 2025. West End now brings the brand to Brisbane proper, and according to co-founder and co-CEO Gail Asbell, the neighbourhood was the obvious choice.

“Brisbane has such an incredible energy and community spirit, and West End in particular has a character that feels perfectly aligned with Upstate,” Asbell said. “It’s creative, vibrant and social — exactly the kind of neighbourhood where people want to move, connect and feel good.”

What the Studio Actually Looks Like

True to Upstate’s identity, the West End studio is not subtle. Bold and neon interiors in the brand’s signature sunshine yellow run throughout, designed specifically to lift mood on arrival before a single class has begun. Studios are designed to boost members’ mood and motivation, with bright interiors decked in positive hues and energising neon as defining features of every Upstate location.

Upstate's sttudio — Photo Credit: Upstate

The space at Studio 7 on Montague Road splits across two workout rooms. The first is a 24-bed reformer studio for the pilates crowd, and the second is a 35-person hot mat studio for those who prefer a sweatier experience. Three unisex toilets and showers mean members can freshen up and flow straight back into their day without interruption.

The class timetable spans reformer pilates, hot mat pilates, hot power yoga, yin and sound baths, giving members plenty of range depending on whether they want to push hard or wind down.

The Brand Behind the Neon

Upstate was founded by Gail Asbell and her sister Charelle Cuolahan, and started as 100 per cent yoga before evolving over the years to add hot mat pilates, reformer pilates and boxing as the brand grew. As a female-led powerhouse, Upstate prioritises community and real career paths for women over growth for growth’s sake.

The co-founder has been deliberate about keeping classes approachable, describing the ideal room as “full of diversity, from people doing their first classes ever, to someone who’s gone for a long time.” That philosophy carries through to West End, where the studio welcomes everyone from complete beginners to seasoned practitioners.

With locations now spanning Victoria, the Gold Coast and Sydney alongside the new Brisbane opening, Upstate has moved from a Melbourne institution to a genuine national presence in the space of less than twelve months.

Getting Started at Upstate West End

A launch offer gives new members 14 days of unlimited access for $29, covering reformer, hot mat and hot yoga classes. Upstate West End is at Studio 7, 391 Montague Road, West End. Bookings and membership are available here.

Published 13-April-2026

West End Diners Hit In Masked Handbag Snatch At Browning Street Restaurant

Photo Credit: QPS/Facebook

Masked offenders allegedly stole handbags from elderly diners during an evening gathering at a West End restaurant, with police investigating whether the incident is linked to other nearby activity.

A Fast-Moving Theft In West End

The alleged theft happened at Little Greek Taverna on Browning Street, where an elderly book club group had gathered for dinner. Police believe two masked offenders approached the restaurant at about 8.25 p.m. on Friday night and stole three bags from diners in a brief incident that left the group distressed. The items taken reportedly included two handbags and a wine bag.

West End Crime — Photo Credit: QPS/Facebook

The group was understood to include six women meeting for their regular gathering when the offenders moved in quickly and then left the area. The incident centred on diners at the restaurant, turning an ordinary social catch-up into a sudden and confronting encounter. A second business was also reportedly targeted during the same sequence of events.

Police Examine Possible Links To Nearby Incidents

The offenders fled in a vehicle believed to be a grey Volvo station wagon, and investigators are continuing to examine whether the West End incident is connected to other activity on Vulture Street. The latest alleged theft also comes amid previously reported concerns about anti-social behaviour along the nearby Boundary Street retail strip, adding further local context to the investigation.

Brisbane Restaurant Theft — Photo Credit: QPS/Facebook

Police are calling for anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward as inquiries continue. The focus remains on identifying the offenders and determining whether the alleged West End restaurant theft forms part of a broader pattern of offending in the area.

Published 31-Mar-2026

West End Brewpub Landscape Shifts as Catchment Brewing Co Departs Boundary Street

Photo Credit: Catchment Brewing Co/ Instagram

The iconic West End craft beer scene has lost a major fixture following the sudden permanent departure of Catchment Brewing Co from its long-term home.

A Quiet Exit for a Local Favourite

The shutters came down on the Boundary Street venue in early 2026, marking the end of an 11-year run for the popular brewpub. While the windows are currently covered in dust, the interior of the building remains fully equipped with its original beer taps and decorative lighting, left in a state that would allow a new operator to move in.

The decision to leave was described by company representatives as a mutual agreement between the business and the property owners, though they acknowledged that the high costs of running the large space had become a significant financial burden.

Economic Pressures Hitting the Taps

The closure highlights a difficult period for the independent brewing industry across Australia. Over the past two years, more than a dozen highly-regarded breweries have been forced to stop trading due to a “perfect storm” of rising expenses. For Catchment, the struggle involved more than just local competition.

The rising cost of ingredients, increased electricity bills, and higher rents have made it harder to stay profitable. Additionally, federal alcohol taxes that increase alongside inflation have squeezed margins further, while major national retailers have introduced their own budget-friendly craft beer brands to compete with independent labels.

A Pattern of Change in the Suburb

This departure is not an isolated event for the local community, as West End has seen several high-profile venues struggle recently. The neighborhood said goodbye to the famous music venue The Bearded Lady in May 2025, and other major craft beer names like Newstead Brewing Co and Stone & Wood’s Fortitude Valley site also closed their doors in March and August of the previous year.

These shifts reflect a changing hospitality environment where even established brands are finding it difficult to balance community expectations with the high price of doing business in a popular inner-city suburb.

The Future of the Brand

Despite leaving its original flagship location, the company behind the beer is not disappearing from the Brisbane market. The business expanded its reach in 2022 by taking over Fortitude Valley Brewing Co and its associated brands, followed by a move to save Ballistic Beer Co from closing in early 2023.

Management has indicated that they intend to continue their involvement with the Brisbane brewing community and expect to share new plans for the brand’s next steps later this year. For now, the focus remains on their other existing venues and partnerships outside of the West End strip.

Published Date 04-March-2026

Brisbane Comedy Cellar Opens Beneath Raven Hotel in West End

Brisbane Comedy Cellar / Instagram

A new intimate comedy venue has opened beneath The Raven Hotel in West End, bringing New York Comedy Cellar-inspired entertainment to Brisbane’s inner-city entertainment precinct.

Brisbane Comedy Cellar launched soft programming in January 2026 before its official opening celebration scheduled for 22-28 February. The venue operates Wednesday through Friday nights plus every second Saturday, offering experimental sessions, themed comedy nights, and premium weekend showcases.

Promoter and club curator Tony Lathouras designed the space to elevate Brisbane’s comedy culture beyond traditional club formats. The basement venue creates intimate proximity between performers and audiences, replicating the atmosphere that made Manhattan’s original Comedy Cellar famous for launching careers whilst maintaining accessible neighbourhood appeal.

Venue Format and Programming

Brisbane Comedy Cellar operates a tiered programming structure across different nights. Wednesday Cellar Sessions focus on professional comedians developing new material, providing testing ground for established performers refining their craft rather than open mic format.

Thursday nights feature themed shows including The Dating Game, The Big Game Show Show, and Crowd Control. These concept-driven events depart from standard stand-up format, incorporating audience participation and game show elements alongside comedy performances.

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Friday and Saturday showcases represent the venue’s premium offerings, enhanced by live band accompaniment. Musical integration distinguishes these sessions from comedy-only formats, creating cabaret-style atmosphere that positions comedy within broader entertainment framework.

Monthly jazz nights interrupt the comedy calendar, demonstrating the venue’s flexible approach to programming. This variety reflects Lathouras’s vision of comedy and music venues coexisting rather than operating as single-purpose spaces.

Lathouras said he wanted to change the culture of what a comedy club can be in Brisbane, creating a space where comedy and live music sit side by side and the experience feels exciting and premium without being pretentious.

The venue’s basement location beneath The Raven Hotel creates natural acoustic intimacy. Low ceilings and confined space amplify performer-audience connection, contrasting with larger theatre environments where distance dilutes immediacy.

Launch Week Programming

Official launch week runs 22-28 February, culminating in a Comedy Gala on 28 February featuring Matt Okine, Harley Breen, Dusty Rich, and Ting Lim. The gala format brings together multiple performers in single evening, introducing audiences to Brisbane Comedy Cellar’s programming diversity.

Matt Okine brings radio presenter credentials alongside stand-up experience, having hosted Triple J breakfast show before transitioning to comedy and acting. His hosting duties for the launch gala position him as face of the venue’s opening celebrations.

Harley Breen’s comedy career spans television appearances including Have You Been Paying Attention? and The Project alongside international touring. His inclusion on the launch bill adds established name recognition to the opening lineup.

Dusty Rich represents Brisbane’s local comedy scene, contributing hometown perspective to the gala’s performer mix. Ting Lim rounds out the featured comedians, completing the four-person headline roster.

Launch gala proceeds support Grow The Music, a social enterprise delivering music workshops and events for Indigenous and migrant communities. The charitable component connects Brisbane Comedy Cellar’s opening with community development objectives beyond entertainment provision.

Lathouras said comedy and music both have a strong ability to build confidence, connection and joy, and that supporting Grow The Music reflects the venue’s aim to foster community and bring people together through shared experiences.

West End Entertainment Context

West End’s entertainment landscape combines heritage venues with contemporary additions. The Rialto Theatre on Hardgrave Road, built in 1926, represents the suburb’s historical entertainment infrastructure. The West End Electric opened in August 2024 on Boundary Street, adding a 400-seat venue hosting circus cabaret productions.

Brisbane Comedy Cellar operates at smaller scale, positioning itself as neighbourhood comedy club with intimate capacity. Boundary Street’s concentration of bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues creates foot traffic supporting multiple performance spaces.

The suburb’s proximity to South Bank and the University of Queensland St Lucia campus draws in the student and young professional demographics that typically form core comedy audiences.

Comedy Scene Development

Brisbane’s comedy infrastructure developed incrementally across various venues before Comedy Cellar’s establishment. Big Fork Theatre in Fortitude Valley specialises in improvisation classes and sketch comedy, offering weekly jam sessions and ensemble-based instruction.

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Fortitude Music Hall hosts touring stand-up comedians in ballroom setting, accommodating larger-scale productions by nationally recognised performers. The venue’s capacity supports ticketed shows by established acts touring theatre circuits.

Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm programmes comedy amongst broader performing arts schedule, integrating stand-up within multidisciplinary offerings. The converted power station venue maintains alternative credentials whilst operating as professional performance space.

Brisbane Comedy Cellar fills different niche by focusing exclusively on comedy in intimate setting with regular weekly programming. The consistency of Wednesday-through-Saturday operations creates destination venue rather than occasional programming slot within multi-purpose facility.

New York’s Comedy Cellar achieved fame by providing proving ground where established comedians test material whilst emerging performers develop alongside headliners. Brisbane iteration aims to replicate this developmental function, creating space where professional comics refine work before larger audiences.

The venue’s Wednesday sessions specifically target this developmental purpose, restricting participation to experienced performers working on new material rather than beginners attempting comedy. This curation maintains quality standards whilst allowing creative experimentation.

Raven Hotel Integration

The Raven Hotel’s existing food and beverage operations complement Brisbane Comedy Cellar’s entertainment programming. Audiences can dine upstairs before descending to basement shows, creating dinner-and-comedy package similar to established cabaret models.

Specialty cocktails and bar service in the basement venue enable direct beverage sales during performances, generating revenue streams beyond ticket prices. The integration of hospitality and entertainment creates economic model supporting venue sustainability.

Limited seating capacity necessitates advance booking, with shows regularly selling out according to venue promotional materials. The scarcity creates demand whilst maintaining intimate atmosphere that distinguishes the venue from larger comedy rooms.

Free parking behind adjacent Dan Murphy’s liquor store addresses accessibility concerns in inner-city location where street parking proves unreliable. The parking arrangement removes common barrier to attendance in suburbs where public transport coverage may not accommodate all potential patrons.

Birthday week complimentary tickets incentivise repeat visitation whilst creating celebratory atmosphere. The policy positions Brisbane Comedy Cellar as venue for special occasions beyond general entertainment consumption.

West End Suburb Profile

West End developed as working-class inner suburb characterised by diverse migrant communities, particularly Greek and Italian populations settling from 1950s onward. Gentrification from 1990s transformed the suburb into bohemian enclave attracting artists, students, and young professionals.

The suburb sits approximately 3 kilometres southwest of Brisbane CBD, connected by multiple bus routes along Boundary Street. University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus borders West End, influencing the suburb’s demographics and supporting affordable dining and entertainment venues.

West End Markets operate Saturday mornings on Davies Park, drawing visitors from across Brisbane. The Boundary Hotel presents live music alongside The Raven Hotel’s new comedy programming, reinforcing West End’s cultural identity built on diverse entertainment offerings.

Brisbane Comedy Cellar operates within this established cultural context, adding dedicated comedy space to the entertainment precinct. Official launch programming runs 22-28 February 2026, with the Comedy Cellar Gala scheduled for 28 February at The Raven Hotel, 334 Montague Road, West End.

Tickets are available here.

Published 07-February-2026.

West End Mechanic Takes Legal Action After Vehicle Abandoned for Two Years

Photo Credit: Google Maps

A West End automotive workshop owner has been forced to take legal action after a customer failed to collect a heavily modified luxury vehicle for more than two years.

Aaron Cremona, owner of West End Service Centre on Bailey Street, says he has exhausted all options trying to reunite the owner with his modified Audi S4, valued at approximately $180,000.

The saga began in late 2023 when Mr Cremona notified the customer that modifications to the vehicle had been completed in November of that year. The European marque had undergone extensive work, including turbo upgrades and performance modifications that cost around $90,000 on top of the car’s base value of approximately $90,000.

Since then, Mr Cremona has attempted multiple means of contact with the vehicle’s owner, with minimal response.

“Every six months or so he would make contact and give another promise, but he never followed through,” Mr Cremona said.

The workshop owner said the situation had created significant challenges for his business, which specialises in high-end European vehicles.

“Every time there was a flood or cyclone we had to move it—and we’ve had a few of them in that time,” he said. “It’s become a logistic nightmare and I’ve held it for as long as I can.”

The presence of the abandoned vehicle in the workshop has also created misperceptions among customers.

“It’s a bad look for us because our customers keep seeing it in the workshop and must be thinking we can’t fix it,” Mr Cremona said.

According to Mr Cremona, the Audi had been serviced at the workshop several times previously before the latest round of modifications.

To comply with Queensland law, Mr Cremona said he has contacted the owner in writing every six months as required. He also placed classified newspaper advertisements and contacted police to ensure the vehicle was not stolen.

On 15 January 2026, Mr Cremona advertised his intention to sell the Audi at auction under the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1967.

Under this Queensland legislation, businesses that accept goods for repair, storage or treatment may sell uncollected items if specific legal procedures are followed, according to legal information provided by Queensland law firms. The Act requires businesses to provide written notices to customers and place advertisements in newspapers before goods can be auctioned. Any surplus funds from such sales must be forwarded to the Public Trustee if unclaimed by the owner.

Mr Cremona acknowledged that the auction proceeds may not cover all costs owed to the business, but said any surplus would be directed to the Public Trustee as required by law.

“I’ve attempted everything I can to get rid of it but the owner never follows up. I’ve had it,” he said.

The workshop owner declined to speculate on why the customer had not retrieved such a valuable asset.

West End Service Centre has operated in the West End area for more than 30 years, according to the business’s website, and specialises in European vehicle servicing and repairs.

Published 23-January-2026

West End Hosts BrisAsia Festival Performances And Exhibitions

Photo Credit: Thomas Dixon Centre

The BrisAsia Festival will deliver a series of scheduled performances, exhibitions and ticketed events in West End, with the Thomas Dixon Centre confirmed as a key festival venue.

Festival Context And Return

BrisAsia Festival will return in February 2026 as Brisbane’s annual Lunar New Year celebration focused on Asian culture, cuisine, art and music. The 2026 edition marks the festival’s 14th year and aligns with the Year of the Horse.

The festival program spans multiple suburbs, with West End identified as one of the core locations hosting programmed events.

West End Programming At Thomas Dixon Centre

All confirmed BrisAsia Festival activity in West End will take place at the Thomas Dixon Centre, positioning the venue as a dedicated performance and exhibition hub.

Events at the centre range from free, all-ages exhibitions to ticketed evening performances, reinforcing a venue-based model rather than suburb-wide activations.

Exhibitions And Daytime Access

The exhibition Thresholds & Memories: Lois Kim & Hannah Seong will run from Friday 23 January to Monday 23 February 2026. The exhibition is free to attend and open daily, with extended weekday hours.

The exhibition features photography, installation and painting and is presented as part of the BrisAsia Festival program.

K-Pop Dance And Showcase

The ON:STAGE KPOP Showcase is scheduled for Saturday 14 February 2026 and brings together Brisbane and Queensland-based K-pop dance crews for two sessions at the Thomas Dixon Centre in West End.

The showcase features high-energy dance covers, original choreography and staged performances, highlighting the growing influence of Korean pop culture in Australia. The event is open to all ages, with tickets priced from $20.

Thomas Dixon Centre — *Photo Credit: BCC*

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Lunar Soul Party At Kite Terrace

A separate ticketed event, Lunar Soul Party, will take place on Tuesday 17 February 2026 at the Kite Terrace. The event is restricted to guests aged 18 years and over and is priced at $130.

The event combines live music and DJ-led performances, featuring neo-soul, hip hop and Chinese opera vocals supported by live instrumentalists. The event pairs the music program with pan-Asian food and drinks as part of the BrisAsia Festival’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

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West End’s Role In The Broader Festival

Compared with other festival locations, West End’s contribution is concentrated within a single venue. Programming at the Thomas Dixon Centre focuses on indoor performances, exhibitions and curated night events.

This approach distinguishes West End from outdoor and street-based festival locations elsewhere in the city.

Looking Ahead

BrisAsia Festival events in West End will run alongside programming in other Brisbane suburbs between 13 and 22 February 2026, with selected events extending beyond those dates. Bookings are required for most West End performances.

Published 21-Jan-2026

West End Set to Welcome Korean-Western Fusion Deli on Boundary Street

Photo Credit: Janus Deli

West End is set to gain a unique culinary addition as a Gold Coast-born sandwich shop brings its famous Korean-Western fusion menu to the heart of Boundary Street.

The new venue, Janus Deli, is targeting an opening date in mid-February 2026. This launch will mark the fourth location for the brand, which has already established popular spots in Slacks Creek, Molendinar, and Surfers Paradise. The owners are currently finalising preparations at the 120 Boundary Street site, where they plan to join the suburb’s creative and community-driven atmosphere.

Comfort Food with a Twist

The deli is known for combining traditional American deli staples with distinct Korean flavours. The menu at the new West End location will feature signature items that show off this blend. One highlight is “The Seoul Sub,” which is filled with Korean galbi meatballs, a poached egg, and jalapeno. For those who prefer a different take on the classics, the “Janus Deli Delight” pairs standard deli meats with a sweet kiwi yoghurt dressing.

Sweets and Specialty Drinks

Beyond the savoury options, the shop aims to attract locals with its range of baked goods and beverages. The location will serve fried chicken, cinnamon scrolls, and a variety of doughnuts in flavours such as Nutella, Creme Brulee, and Golden Gaytime. To drink, customers can order specialty items like Iced Strawberry Matcha and Tiramisu Lattes. Coffee service will feature beans from Paradox Coffee Roasters.

A New Space for the Community

The team behind Janus Deli intends for the new shop to be more than just a place to grab lunch. They want to create a welcoming space where residents feel comfortable visiting at any time of day. By setting up shop on Boundary Street, the business hopes to fit right into the existing neighbourhood culture.

Published Date 15-January-2026