Otway Ocean Flow Festival
Apollo Bay Foreshore
Otway Ocean Flow is an inaugural two-day arts and wellbeing festival held in Apollo Bay, Gadubanud Country, over the first weekend of May 2027, planned as a biennial event.
The main program held inside a Big Top on the Apollo Bay foreshore, features keynote presenters, movement and meditation sessions, plus a Saturday night live-music concert headlined by national artists along with a local support act.
The festival opens with The Art of Flow, a 30-artist exhibition at the Apollo Bay Arts gallery, plus a dedicated Arts Space on the foreshore hosting hands-on workshops led by regional artists. Some fifty local wellbeing practitioners host workshops across the Surf Club, Mechanics Hall, Community Hall and Catholic Church.
First Nations programming, developed with Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and Gadubanud artist Richard Collopy, includes a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, a Welcome Space, with dance and music, and a cultural-immersive closing ceremony.
A youth zone, children's activities, roving performers, affirmation labyrinth and a curated open village market complete the program.
The festival intertwines an arts program with wellbeing offerings to build community connection and bring visitors to the town during a traditionally quiet month. The long-term aim is to shift Apollo Bay's identity from a seasonal drive-through stopover to a recognised, year-round culturally rich wellness destination.
