Anzac Day is celebrated in Australia and New Zealand on 25 April every year. This annual day of commemoration focuses on the contribution and sacrifice of veterans and serving personnel. Celebrations are often themed with symbols of patriotism and national pride.

Anzac Day community celebration ideas

There are loads of Anzac Day celebration ideas, so we’ve curated a listicle of them for you. As an event creator, you can bring the community together and host an event honouring the Anzacs.

1. Hold your own Dawn Service

Many local councils hold Dawn Service events, but there is no reason why event creators can’t hold their own. During COVID restrictions, Australians were encouraged to stand in their driveways and light a candle or use a torch to join together as a community and to commemorate the Anzacs. You could think ultra-local and plan an intimate neighbourhood event.

2. Host a breakfast

After the traditional dawn services, you could host a breakfast or brunch event for your guests, decorating your venue with flags and red poppies. Event catering for Anzac Day often includes traditional foods like lamingtons, Anzac biscuits, and damper.

The traditional ‘gunfire’ breakfast that was served on the battlefields of WWI included a swig of whiskey in a hot beverage, apparently to provide courage. Some people continue this tradition today with a ‘gunfire’ shot alongside breakfast on Anzac Day.

3. Fundraise for veterans

Anzac Day is an opportunity for fundraising activities with the aim of donating to veteran causes. Anzac Day event ideas that can also raise funds include:

Get some tips from the Anzac Day Golf Challenge hosted by This Story Australia, a Brisbane charity dedicated to the production of high-quality personal-interview documentaries of the men and women who have served Australia during times of conflict. Golf days are a fun way to bring communities together. And you’ve got additional opportunities to raise money through raffles or extra challenges throughout the event, plus the sale of refreshments.

4. Trace some ancestry

You could host an event that helps your attendees search for information about their ancestors who may have served in a war. Genealogy sites have official war records available, and discovering information about your ancestors is an exciting activity to do at a gathering of like-minded people. Organise this as an in-person event or take it online by using a streaming platform.

Anzac Day activities for kids

Educating children about the Anzacs and our Anzac Day traditions is an important part of Australian culture. Below we’ve gathered some activity and workshop ideas for children and teens.

5. Anzac biscuit baking

The original Anzac biscuits were a field ration for WWI troops, made of flour and powdered milk. The troops would sometimes grind them down to make porridge. There were also hard-baked biscuits sent by civilians in support packages. These were made to have a long shelf life and survive travelling over the distances required.

Now on Anzac Day and throughout the year, we enjoy a sweet oat biscuit that symbolises the traditions above. You could host a workshop teaching children how to make and bake them. Supply the ingredients and equipment for your expected number of attendees, or include a list of requirements in your event listing for guests to supply themselves.

6. Create a poppy field

Although red poppies have long been associated with Remembrance Day (which is in November), they are also used as part of Anzac Day observances. You could get creative and host a workshop for attendees to make poppies out of paper, felt, recycled or up-cycled materials, or anything you fancy. These could then be put on display as an impressive field of poppies for your community.

Ensure you have all the craft supplies needed for the attendees you expect for your crafty get-together. Or provide a list of suggested materials on your event page and get people to personalise their creations with their own supplies.

7. Rosemary planting

Rosemary is one of the symbols of remembrance for Anzac Day. It grows wild in the area around Gallipoli, Turkey, the site of a significant military defeat for the allied forces in WWI. Pine trees, also present at Gallipoli, are also symbols of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. Consider hosting a planting workshop where attendees cultivate rosemary or pine cuttings and plant them anew. Event creators will need to ensure that they have all the potting supplies and equipment needed for the number of expected attendees.

8. Make a wreath

Before Anzac Day, you could host a workshop for attendees to make wreaths that can then be laid at memorials or a personal commemoration at home. Wreaths can be made from local plants, paper, recycled items, or other materials. Ask attendees to bring their own materials or provide everything needed as part of your ticket price.

Anzac Day cultural celebration ideas

When planning how to commemorate the day, you might consider hosting a cultural event that educates and entertains your attendees.

9. Put on a production

If you are theatrically inclined, you could increase awareness about the Anzacs within your community by creating a theatre production. There are also several plays that you could stage.

10. Host a screening

Screen an Anzac-themed movie or TV series such as Gallipoli, The Water Diviner, or Anzac Girls. You could also cater food and beverages and look at offering different ticketing types for attendees wanting premium add-ons such as beanbags to relax in or better-placed seating.

11. Organise a trivia night

Host a themed trivia night with a focus on conflict history and trivia – or just a special Anzac Day round of the board game Trivial Pursuit for teams to compete in. Like the screening above, you could cater food and drinks and offer those as extras included in the tickets. Perhaps ask local businesses to donate some prizes.

12. Host an Anzac Stories event

Reach out to your community and invite individuals to share the stories of their ancestors who were involved in the wars. Look for prominent community members who might be interested in giving your event a starting point and then open the entries to all.

13. Host a poetry reading

Bring together performers who would like to read their Anzac-related poetry or that of others. For original poetry works, you could offer a prize for the best piece of performance art.

As an example, the Nungarin Heritage, Machinery and Army Museum in Western Australia puts on a campfire dinner experience where they aim to take you back to WWI. The dinner is an evocative experience where you hear the voice of a young digger, Frank, come alive as his letter home to a mate is read aloud.

Take a tour

If you need more ideas on how to celebrate Anzac Day, the answer might be outdoors. Just about every town, and certainly every city in Australia, has public memorials for those who have fallen in war. You could find out more about the Anzacs by visiting and setting up tours of these public memorials.

14. Host a memorial walk

You could host a walk that either begins or ends at a local war memorial – bringing the community together to get some exercise and commemorate Anzac Day at the same time. Research facts about Anzac Day and the contribution of people in the local area during wartime to share with attendees.

Anzac Square Group Visits is an event creator which offers an experience around Queensland’s pre-eminent war memorial in Brisbane, at Anzac Square. The refreshed Anzac Square Memorial Galleries, curated by the State Library of Queensland, allow you to delve into Queensland’s war history – embarking on an interactive journey from WWI to today.

15. Be a virtual tour guide

Event creators can use Google Street View to visit the cemeteries and memorials of Gallipoli in Turkey. Set up a virtual tour of this important landmark with commentary that leads a discussion around the sacrifices made by Anzacs there and commemorating those who died. You could also take a virtual look at other significant war memorials around the world.

Create your Anzac Day event today

You now have lots of options to create your own event to commemorate Anzac Day. Visit Eventbrite to create an impressive Anzac Day experience for your community.