Brisbane Powerhouse's Night Feast is in full swing until 23 August

Brisbane finally has a proper reason to leave the couch this winter, and it comes with a side of hot chips by the river.

Night Feast is back at Brisbane Powerhouse, running from 29 July to 23 August, and for the first time in its five seasons it's shifted from summer to winter. Cooler nights, hot plates and the New Farm riverside as the backdrop, basically the exact opposite of standing in a hot car park queuing for a snow cone.

Entry is free and open to all ages, which matters when the festival runs across almost a month straight rather than a single weekend. More than 20 of Brisbane's most talked about dining destinations are set up across the precinct, alongside large scale art installations and live DJ sets that turn the whole thing into more of a night out than a market stall stroll.

The move to winter is a smart bit of programming. Brisbane doesn't exactly struggle for outdoor events in summer, but a proper reason to rug up and head out after dark in July and August is rarer, and Night Feast is betting that cold nights and good food are still an easy sell. Early signs suggest they're right, with the precinct already drawing solid crowds since opening night.

Because it runs most days of the week for nearly four weeks, there's no excuse to only make it once. Expect everything from CBD favourites doing pop up stalls to smaller local kitchens getting a rare shot at a Powerhouse sized crowd. Food and drink cost extra on top of the free entry, so budget for that, but you can genuinely treat this as a regular Thursday plan rather than a one off event to squeeze into a single Saturday.

Night Feast runs until 23 August, so there's still time to make a few trips before the lights come down. Grab a friend, bring cash for the good stuff and let Brisbane Powerhouse do the rest.