WHEN I attended the Headland Writers Festival at Tathra a couple of months ago, there was a strong temptation to say, “let’s keep this little secret to ourselves”.

For so enticing is the mixture of serious art-making with the wild places of our far south coast that one dreads the day when it will be overrun by commerce.

But, if South East Arts and Bega Valley Shire Council’s tourism arm have anything to do with it, the Art Month Sapphire Coast, running until August 31 from Bermagui in the north to Eden in the south, via Cobargo, Candelo and Brown Mountain, won’t remain a secret for long.

It’s already up and running, kicking off with the eccentric Motel Art Fair, where 19 artists each took over a kitsch room in the Norfolk Pine Motel to create a personal space to hang their works – it was a sell-out.

There’s plenty more to come, with live music, open studios, film nights, dance classes, cabaret, theatre, poetry and comedy.

ON the trip down, for instance, there’s “Cobargo! Live in the Courtyard” at Via Luna Tiny Kitchen and Valiant Vintage Coffee Caravan, 56 Princes Highway, on Saturdays in August, with Stitch Duo on August 14, Sam the Wise and Anactoria on August 21 and Martin Lambert on August 28.

GIN and art seem like an obvious mix, and so it will be when painter Connie McCarthy leads participants in painting their own acrylic landscapes inspired by Biamanga (Mumbulla Mountain) and the scenery at North of Eden Gin Distillery, where the drinks will be flowing. All materials are provided and no experience is necessary. 13594 Princes Highway, Stony Creek, 12.30pm-3.30pm, Thursday, August 19. Book here.

EASILY the most eccentric item is the free Burlesque Chair Dance workshop, where patrons over the age of 16 will be introduced to a bit of bump and grind, then learn a chair-dance routine with an opportunity to incorporate some of their own moves into the choreography. The workshop is run by cabaret artist Delia Silvan. Bermagui Country Club, from 2pm, August 27.

A WHIFF of scandal hangs about “The Will to Be”, performed by Mark Salvestro. The play, laced with the words of Shakespeare, explores forbidden love in 1962 Australia, when homosexuality was illegal as uni lecturer, William O’Halloran, is dismissed from his probationary position when he’s outed. The student union production of “Romeo and Juliet” gives Will cause for reflection. Bega Uniting Church, 125 Gipps St, Bega, 7.30pm-8.30pm, August 27, book here.

BUT without doubt, the crowning glory will be the Far South Film Festival, focusing on stories told by regional filmmakers from around Australia.

A huge success when it kicked off last year, it’s run by an association of filmmakers and digital whizz kids living in south east regional NSW, who invited filmmakers from regional and remote areas of Australia to submit short films under 40 minutes in length that reflected the people, environment and issues that mattered.

Among the 15 films that made this year’s selection is “The Girl on the Moon”, directed by Canberra filmmaker Georgina Jenkins. The year is 2069. Aboriginal Australian girl Luna, the only child ever born on the moon, yearns to travel to Earth but her mum has told her she would never survive there.

Merimbula director John Martin’s documentary, “Invisible”, shows six seniors from the Bega Valley sharing their thoughts on ageing, asking the question, do you get invisible as you get older?

From Belbora-Bulahdelah in NSW comes “Nanna Power”, directed by Anne Keen and Pete White about the famous Gloucester “Knitting Nannas”, formed during the town’s fight against AGL, which made national headlines.

“Yuwinj Dhari-Bulwal” (Yuin Stand Strong) directed by Warren Ngarrae Foster and Hiromi Matsuoka, is the result of a collaboration between the National Museum of Australia and Eurobodalla Council which looks at the impact of James Cook’s voyage up the east coast of Australia 250 years ago.

The Far South Film Festival, complete with screenings, Q&A sessions and awards, runs live in-cinema from August 20-22 in Merimbula and online from August 21-31. Book here.

Art Month Sapphire Coast, until August 31, all details here.