We’re coming into summer, and there’s going to be lots to do in the Blue Mountains. And even if the days are warm, the nights will still mostly be cool, and we have plenty of vacancies ahead of Christmas.

Plants with Bite and Little Shop of Horrors

December 5 to 13

Image: Royal Botanic Gardens

Less than an hour from Bunjaree Cottages, the wonderful Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens is holding a festival of carnivorous plants from December 5 to December 13.

The festival includes plant sales, information sessions and documentary screenings.

And what better way to close out the festival than with a screening of Little Shop of Horrors on the night of December 12?

More information here.

Exhibition: Arthur Boyd, an Active Witness

Until January

At the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre until 3 January, this exhibition draws together works from the Bundanon collection to show how Arthur Boyd’s art and political life were intertwined.

“The exhibition includes works by Boyd’s contemporaries and is supported by loans from public and private collections, photographs and other documents.” More information here.

Wollemi Artisan Market

Friday, December 4

If you can take a Friday off, why not head up to the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre for the fourth Wollemi Artisan Market. It’s a curated market featuring artists and designers from the Blue Mountains, Sydney, and west of the Divide.

More information here.

Bilpin Markets

December 2015 to April 2016

Bilpin (less than an hour from Bunjaree Cottages) is one of the treats of the Bell’s Line of Road, and is running its community markets through to April 2016.

More information here.

Shakespeare lovers, set aside time in January

In January, don’t forget the Leura Shakespeare Festival. This year’s festival pairs The Bard’s Love’s Labours Lost with a one-act curtain-raiser, Shakespearealism, by Australian actor and film director Josh Lawson, and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

Ticketing will soon commence here.

All things Argentinean are in vogue at present, it seems, and tango is no exception. As part of its acoustic music series, the Hotel Grand View at Wentworh Falls is hosting a contemporary tango concert on Saturday, April 6, featuring the five-piece group Alturas. The band will perform pieces from their debut CD, Cafe con Tango, including works by Astor Piazzolla and Pablo Ziegler. 4pm to 6pm, $25.

If, like we are, you’re a fan of the Scenic Railway, make sure to visit before January 13. The current machinery on the world’s steepest passenger railway has been operating since 1994, and the owners have decided that the tracks, winch and carriages need replacing. The project is going to be accompanied by a redevelopment of the platforms.

The redeveloped Scenic Railway will open in Autumn 2013.

Visitors to Bunjaree Cottages will be pleased to know that there’s a new art gallery in Katoomba, just 15 minutes away. The Blue Mountains City Art Gallery launched last month with its first exhibition, Picturing the Great Divide, which features works from the 19th century through to contemporary times.

The gallery is also wonderfully affordable, with a family of four able to see the 100-painting exhibition for $16 ($5 for each adult, $3 for each child).

Cyclists and athletes: October 20 and 21 is the weekend of the Kanangra Classic – a weekend of outdoor recreation half-an-hour from Oberon. The event includes rides from 24 Km up to 100 Km as well as an ultramarathon. Registrations are still open at the Kanagra Classic Website.

This runs each month, with the next session on 25 March. The Mountain Heritage hosts Theatre of the Mind, presenting 1920s-style live radio plays and throwing in a Devonshire Tea for just $15. Details here.