What's on: Top events and experiences happening around Australia

Running until February, George Street Food Gallery is The Rocks' brand-new lunch and late-night outdoor dining pop-up, with some exciting venues on the bill.

Chat Thai's Palisa Anderson is opening a new 'Australasian dining experience' called Love Child - think dishes that skirt from Thai and Vietnamese to Japanese, Korean and Chinese. It's a celebration of these much-loved cuisines in an Australian context and delivered, no doubt, with deft execution.

Meanwhile, popular Malaysian joint Ho Jiak is popping up with hawker-style eats such as satay chicken spring rolls, chilli-hot seafood laksa and smoky char koay teow.

Finally, another new venture is cropping up to bring Mexican street food to the storied Sydney street. Called Los Frios, the pop-up restaurant comes by way of Deigo Luna (Tacos Muchachos) and serves traditional dishes such as chilaquiles, flautas and tamales.

The mini pop-up restaurant precinct runs in conjunction with other happenings in The Rocks this December, namely The Rocks Christmas Markets (Saturdays and Sundays until 24 December) and the Homegrown Christmas Concert (15 and 16 December).

Recurring only every three years, the NGV Triennial is back to provoke thought and wonder with more than 100 artistic projects and 120 artists, designers and collectives taking over all four levels of the NGV over the summer months.

Australia's most scenic outdoor cinema, Sydney Harbour's Westpac Openair Cinema is back for another summer of waterfront movie sessions. Catch Barbie, Saltburn, Pretty Woman, Napoleon and more, plus a dazzling line-up of food and drink pop-ups. Tickets go on sale from 11 December and are available via the website.

With pop-up outdoor cinemas around the country, Moonlight Cinema offers flicks for all movie buffs - from family favourites and old classics to box office hits and brand-new flicks. You can either BYO blanket to roll out on the green or opt for the more premium tickets, cheekily called Gold Grass, which get you a prime viewing spot on a bean bag, waiter service straight to your seat and exclusive menu items. At Sydney and Melbourne locations this year, there are pop-up Versa Bars, peddling ready-to-drink Versa Spritz in Martini, Negroni and Limoncello options. BOOK NOW.

Sunset Cinema beckons at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, showing everything from Love Actually and Home Alone in the lead up to Christmas to new flicks such as the Emma Stone-starring Poor Things and Mean Girls (Musical). BOOK NOW.

Over at the Art Gallery of NSW, Kandinsky is in town as 47 works by the abstract master visit from New York's Guggenheim.

Melbourne's floating bar Arbory Afloat returns for its eighth year with its new theme Viva Mexico — a celebration of the Central American country's vibrant culture and stunning coastal regions. For many Melburnians, the return of the pop-up Birrarung (Yarra River) bar signals the return of summery festivities, which you can ring in with punchy tequila cocktails and snack-ready tacos and tortas.

The pop-up has also just announced its new Pool Club is open, featuring an 8-metre-long tiled swimming pool surrounded by palm trees, a Tulum-inspored agave bar, and a taco hut.

As the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race glides in, the waterfront is transformed by Tasmania's Taste of Summer. This year, the event promises to be the biggest and best it's ever been with more food, more drinks and a more stellar live entertainment program.

The Australian Open is the big-hitting highlight of summer, where the action on court will be matched by a chef line-up including Joel Bennetts and Tom Sarafian.

Two award-winning Adelaide venues are joining forces for a neighbourhood sausage sizzle this January and it is not to be missed. Recent winner of Gourmet Traveller's Wine Bar of the Year award Good Gilbert is hosting the affair, bringing former Restaurant of the Year winner Restaurant Botanic on board for an afternoon of nostalgia with a gourmet twist - think kangaroo sausages with green ant mustard and fermented onion paired with drinks from local wineries and distilleries. And just as a barbecue should be, it's keeping it casual with walk-ins only.

Delve deeper into Indigenous Australian culture with Tarnanthi, an exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Local Tasmanian distillers are set to take over Hobart for a weekend of G&Ts, food pop-ups and gin samples at the Gin-uary Hobart Gin Festival.

Set to sizzle this summer, Perth Festival returns with boundary-pushing theatre, unmissable music events, live poetry, arthouse films and more across the city.

Come summer's tailend, Adelaide Fringe kicks off. The annual, month-long arts festival brings thousands of independent artists and performers from across the globe to Adelaide for a jam-packed program of comedy, cabaret discos, circus performance, art shows, theatre and live music.

Fairy Tales is the tentpole exhibition at QAGOMA this summer, running until April next year. Celebrating all things enchanting, the blockbuster exhibition explores centuries of folklore through art, design and film. Expect opulent costumes, immersive installations and a free curated film program in the Galllery's Australian Cinémathèque.

Also showing at QAGOMA this summer is Gone Fishing (until 21 January), a stunning display of Indigenous Australian art to take in.

At Melbourne Museum Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition will thrill fanatics and film die-hards alike.

See some of the photographs that captured pinnacle moments across the nation this year at the Nikon-Walkley Press Photography Exhibition currently showing in Sydney.

Trains, planes, sailboats and more are just some of the madcap sites set to welcome events for Tasting Australia in 2024. A jam-packed program of 150 events will descend upon the festival state of Adelaide across 10 days in May. As Australia's longest-running food festival, homegrown talent heroes much of the festival, with chefs including Mark Best, Matt Moran, Thi Le, Jake Kellie and Justin James all cooking. Newly appointed food curator Kane Pollard has worked to devise a program that puts South Australian produce front and centre, with pop-up restaurant experiences, hands-on cooking classes and bold one-off dining opportunities.