Party in the Paddock

Party in the Paddock is Tasmania's biggest camping festival, held each February at Quercus Park in Carrick, just outside Launceston. What started in 2012 as a birthday party in a White Hills paddock now runs across four days with around 180 acts on six stages, plus comedy, live podcasts, art and yoga alongside the music. The 2026 edition (5–8 February) was its 13th and biggest yet, drawing a record crowd of 14,000, and the festival is locked in to return in 2027.

Launceston's Jesse Higgs founded the festival in 2012 at White Hills, about 15 kilometres south of Launceston, as a celebration for his 22nd birthday. It grew into northern Tasmania's biggest multi-day festival, drawing around 10,000 people with some of the country's most popular acts.

The 2020 edition was announced as the last, with the founding crew saying it was time for the next chapter after eight years.

The festival later returned and relocated to Quercus Park at Carrick, where it has grown into its current four-day format with state government funding announced by Premier Jeremy Rockliff to secure its future.

The 2026 edition was headlined by Ocean Alley, The Veronicas, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Sofi Tukker, alongside The Temper Trap, Peking Duk, Flight Facilities and Ball Park Music. It smashed the festival's attendance record with 14,000 punters, and organisers confirmed the 2027 return off the back of it.