Clare Valley Festival of the Lamb header logo

Expressions of Interest Open for the 2025 festival of the lamb

welcome to The Clare Valley Festival of the Lamb

The annual spring festival

The Mintaro Progress Association (MPA) is staging the 6th Clare Valley Festival of the Lamb 17-21 September 2025 which is now an annual spring equinox festival combining the first buds of the vines and the premier time for new-season lamb that is lean, tender and ideal for a wide range of recipes.

A focus is on lamb and to be as ethical as possible in its preparation by having the restaurant / venue take a full lamb/s from the farmer which the chef will then utilising in consultation with a butcher and the farmer.

Key events

Wed September 18 | 6 pm | Mintaro Institute

Festival Launch and Dinner with keynote speaker Katherine (Kaito) Maitland Marketing Manager Pangkarra Pasta. Dinner will featuring local produce with lamb from Martindale Farm and Pangkarra Pasta. Guest Chefs will prepare a dinner to be matched with hand crafted, estate grown wines Reilly’s Italian varieties of wines.

Thu 19 September | 6.30pm | Mintaro Institute

The Mintaro Institute has been the centre of the town's social and cultural activity ever since the foundation stone was laid on 4 February 1878. The Mintaro and Poetry, Music and Community Dinner has been an annual feature of the Festival and this year Greg Cooley from Greg Cooley Wines is curating a wine list of some of Clare favourite Italian varieties.

THUR 19th 1PM AUBURN INSTITUTE - Free Entry

Auburn - Institute – 1pm Fashion Design and Student Art Awards and Exhibition Launch and afternoon tea. This year’s festival includes the inaugural Clare Valley Festival of the Lamb Wool Fashion Design Awards and Exhibition features TAFE SA 2nd year Advanced Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology students and the Clare High School Student Art Awards and Exhibition.

SAT 21 Sept 6.30PM

Clare – Ragu & Co – Dinner 6.30pm Ragu & Co and Wendouree Wines Italian Long table Feast. Set in the Clare Valleys Italian Restaurant Rag & Co this meticulously crafted four course dinner will feature traditional Italian lamb inspired dishes matched with Wendouree Wines.

Sun 22 September | 11am-3pm | Penwortham

The UPPside Restaurant & Wine Bar once off speciality European Lamb Event featuring live music performed by Lilli Maeve.

SUNDAY 22ND

Knappstein and Nyowee Poll Merino invite you to a Fire and Feast long lunch, a celebration of fine food, wine, and tradition set in the atmospheric shearing shed.

18-22 September 2024

Viva Italia!

This includes the inaugural Clare Valley Festival of the Lamb Wool Fashion Design Awards and Exhibition to feature woollen fashion designs by TAFE SA 2nd year Advanced Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology students. The judging panel will include the Consul of Italy in South Australia Ernesto Pianelli.

The Arts Collective Clare Valley will be hosting Art of the Lamb at the Clare Art House which will include work by local artists and a travelling display from the Australian Tapestry Group.

Thursday night’s Community Dinner has been an annual feature of the festival and this year Greg Cooley is curating a wine list from some of the Clare Valley Italian varieties. The night will take on further an Italian theme with Tenor Andrew Pryor a former long-standing member of the Ten Tenors performing.

The festival will bring various forms of arts, creativity and culture to help showcase and tell the story of the importance that the sheep industry has for the Valley.

Check out the program and book early so you don’t miss out on enjoying the Clare Valley when it’s at its finest.

Ciao