Family Fun @ Yarra Ranges 2026

2026 is gearing up to be a fantastic year for family friendly fun in the Yarra Ranges!

Yarra Ranges have organised a lineup of entertaining, creative and thought provoking events/activities that will run across the year - perfect for sparking little imaginations with engaging little minds. From craft sessions at The Yarra Ranges Regional Museum to vibrant performances held across the many arts centres that span the region.

WHATS ON @ YARRA RANGES 2026

Art Cart Activities @ Yarra Ranges Regional Museum (Wednesdays - Sundays from 10am - 4pm)

If the kids are bored at home and climbing up the walls, bring them into Yarra Ranges Regional Museum for the Art Cart.

This is a free, daily drop-in creative activity the whole family can enjoy. The creative activities change with each exhibition from collage to butterfly masks and crazy bugs, kids are guaranteed to make something exciting and fun they can take home.

Inspired by our current exhibitions, children are invited to colour, decorate and cut out their own creations.

No bookings required.

Spike The Echidna @ Montrose Town Centre (6 July 2026)

Permormance (from 10am - 10:50am)
Combining shadow puppetry and slapstick, Spike is an interactive experience for a family audience. Stolen as an egg from his mother’s nest by a sneaky rat, the baby echidna hatches far away from home. A young girl, playing alone in the bush, finds him. She is there on her own because she is being bullied by other children.

Because the baby echidna has no spikes yet, she doesn’t know what kind of creature he is. She tries to work out where he comes from but accidentally puts him in dangerous situations – in the nest of a crocodile, an emu and a turtle. He feels frightened, rejected, alone. As the story unfolds, she helps him to discover where he belongs, and he helps her to find her own “spikes” and stand up to the bullies.

Workshop (from 11am - 11:45am)
Watch as your drawings leap to life, off the page and onto the stage!
Come along and explore the world of shadow puppetry with an experienced puppeteer, Jenny Ellis. This hands-on workshop will give children a range of skills to make their own shows and as well as a puppet they can take home.

Participants will imagine and design their own unique puppet characters, then they’re guided through the process of making their puppets and bringing them to life. Children will work together in small groups to create their own shows. With a few tricks of the trade, they will finish with a performance of their own stories on a real shadow puppet stage.

Ages 4 - 12 (6 years and under need to be accompanied by an adult)

Book Here (Use code SPIKE20 at checkout to receive 20% off.)

- Past Events -

Trash With A Porpoise @ The Memo Healesville (15 April 2026 from 11am - 12pm)

With a whole host of new, original trash puppet characters, including Crabs, Sea Slugs, Penguins, a Sea Horse & a Puffer Fish, who join our Porpoise and starring character “Merf”, children will be mesmerized by the diversity of sea creatures and the stories, song and jokes they share.

Trash with a Porpoise has the format of a sketch comedy show with short, punchy, sometimes hilarious sketches, whilst exploring the themes of marine waste, and how we can take positive steps to help it.

More to come in Yarra Ranges 2026 lineup!