All the Junction action will centre around Prince's Square, which will transform into a continual kaleidoscope of colour, music and activity from this Wednesday, September 4, to Sunday, September 8.

Junction has its own bar and performance space - the Fountain Bar - which is erected in the square each festival. There's also a separate, giant, tent, called the Little Devil, for even more shows, which will pop up in the square to entice passersby inside.

Art walk Nightlight occupies Prince's Square, with a few tendrils extending into the surrounding streets.

And the square is where you'll find Crossfire: hearty, campfire-style meals cooked over charcoal, prepared by celebrated Tasmanian chefs - plus other food and coffee vans.

Basically, if you want to approach the festival with an open mind and without a plan, head down to Prince's Square on Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday night. You'll find something to entertain you.

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The Fountain Bar, in Prince's Square, is ground zero for shakin' it over the festival weekend.

On Wednesday night, catch the Bad Dad Orchestra. On Thursday night, prepare for AMOKO, Medhanit, Halfway to Forth, and Bad Beef. On Friday night, Je Bahl, Sundaze, Sumner, and Hayley Couper will be leading the festivities. And the final party, on Saturday night, is headlined by Christopher Coleman and the Great Escape, supported by A Boy named Sue, The Stayns, and Kat Edwards.

Don't worry, you aren't supposed to know all of these acts. In a nutshell, it's an eclectic mix of fairly accessible Tasmanian musicians, playing tunes designed to guide people into having a good time.

If you're still full of beans by the time the Fountain Bar wraps up then there's Club Barbezat: on until 3am on Friday and Saturday at the Workers Club. This is Melbourne-style club vibes: DJs, "experimental performances", and an unexpected space where the pop-up cool-kids party is being held. There's an entry cost for this one: $15.

Anyone with even a passing interest in architecture and design needs to clear their schedules on Saturday, August 7. The city is opening its doors to the general public for informative, behind-the-scenes tours, everywhere from industrial warehouse-cum-bakery Bread + Butter, to the Launceston Supreme Court, where you will be taken into the underground tunnels and prisoner cells.

The tour guides draw from an eclectic mix of people; all experts in their subject matter. Visitors on the tour of Town Hall will be accompanied by a City of Launceston councillor as well as a staff member. A walking tour of Launceston's CBD will be lead by 'The Gents' - Dale Campisi and Brady Michaels - who travelled more than 40,000kms around Australia in search of the country's best vintage signs. And it's not all heritage: you could be one of the first to see inside brand-new block Milledge Lane, on Cimitiere Street, and even The Examiner building.

There are two children's show at Junction: The Listies, and the Amazing Drumming Monkeys. The first is a Melbourne-based children's comedy duo, who will be performing their show R.O.F.L.S.H.A.L.B.O.W.C.O (rolling on the floor laughing so hard a little bit of wee comes out). It's on at 12.30pm and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday inside the Little Devil tent at Prince's Square, $15. And then there's drumming show the Amazing Drumming Monkeys, also on Saturday and Sunday but at 10am and 11.30am, at the Fountain Bar in Prince's Square, $15.

But one of the most fun and sense-of-wonder-inducing activities of the weekend is homegrown: Remade Parade. Children can dress up in gloriously crazy costumes and strut around the square in similarly crazily-dressed company. It's messy, it's over-the-top, it's a Launceston institution.

The wearable art is made using items that would otherwise be thrown away, and the team will have plenty of materials available for anyone who shows up. The parade is on Saturday at 2pm - get to the Fountain Bar by 1.30pm to have plenty of time to make a costume - and then there will be another show at 8pm, both at Prince's Square.

Junction festival director Greg Clarke's number one recommendation is Guts, Grit & Lipstick, by Ange Boxall. The show is a celebration of the country queens of the 1970s; groundbreaking women like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.

"These were women singing songs about their own lives - writing about their own lives - as women in the '70s," he said.

"There's such great songs: there's one called Divorce, there's another one called The Pill. They're these early songs about women taking control of their lives."

Guts, Grit & Lipstick is in the Little Devil, Prince's Square, at 8.30pm Thursday to Saturday, $30 adult, $25 concession.

Wander around Prince's Square at your own pace, from 6.30pm - 9.30pm Thursday to Saturday, and sample these artistic treats as you go.

Complimentary caravan: Rose Turtle Ertler has been busy: she's been recording people from around Launceston sharing compliments about the people they admire. Hear the result and bathe in the warm glow of praise and appreciation at her 'Complimentary Caravan'. Yes, that's a literal caravan.

Tassie pub karaoke: Get behind the microphone and sing your lungs out to music heard in Tasmanian pubs since the advent of rock n roll. Liam James' Black Mould karaoke, set up in a float somewhere in Prince's Square, is a celebration of dagginess, island creativity, and having a go. It will only feature Tasmanian songs, usually those debuted at the Royal Oak or the Brisbane Hotel.

Shipping container poetry: Launceston poet, playwright, and general wordsmith extraordinaire Cameron Hindrum is behind this project, which will reverse the lessons of childhood and ask the public to draw on the walls. A question - a 'provocation' - about Tasmania will will be posed each night. You are then invited to scrawl your corresponding thoughts, and Hindrum will record the responses, and turn them into operatic 'art songs' with the help of harpist Emily Sanzaro and vocalist Ryan Beeton-Binns. 'I'm hoping the result will be something really special and unique,' Hindrum says.

Campfire sessions: music, film and storytelling: The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre courtyard will be transformed into a warm and welcoming hang-out space from 6 - 9pm Thursday and Friday, and the site of an open mic night on Saturday night. Come along to see a screening of film the Moonbird Story, and live music from Aboriginal artists including Uncle Dougie Mansell, Warren Mason and Shua Langford.

Fall With Me: An immersive environment created by Harry Holcombe-James with sound by Jack McLaine, this work encourages explorations into unknown landscapes within the mind.

Distinctly Luminous: Youth dance group Stompin' will be popping up around Prince's Square, at 6:30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 8pm Thursday and Friday, and 8.30pm Saturday, to wow the crowd.

Salon Sew-Sew: Visit Mae Finlayson in her Salon Sew-Sew and play with fabric, rope, colour and sewing machines to feed into an ever-growing immersive soft sculpture.

Chalmers Church digital projections: See this historic building lit up with digital projections on the outside facade. The five-minute projections, together titled Soliloquy, were created by eight young Tasmanian artists.

A map of the different art installations is available from the Junction Box Office, in Prince's Square.

Heaps! There's a musical comedy show by Jude Pearl, an intimate night of storytelling by ordinary people presented by Rachel Berger, and a virtuosic concert in St John's Church.

There's theatre shows, MOFO sessions, and an innovative Tasdance performance.

And a lot more.

See junctionartsfestival.com.au/program for a full schedule and tickets.