I had a blast again this year – got a big kick from seeing DEVO. The rest of my family enjoyed The Grates, The Panics, Band of Horses, Operator Please, etc. The weather was warm & dry, the food was great… all up an excellent festival. Read the official Splendour wrap up and we’ll do it all again next year.
An inspired paradise brimming with blissful music Described by legendary Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe as “the most exciting festival, outside a capital city…” the Bangalow Music Festival combines world-class musicians with captivating programming, delicious food and a festive atmosphere all surrounded by the sub-tropical beauty of the heritage township of Bangalow, NSW.
It is possible to fall as passionately in love with a place as with a person.
Both types of love affairs follow the same psychological lines of unfoldment. You set eyes on the intended. Sparks fly. Before you can say "Jack (or Jill) Robinson" or "Belongil Beach", you're smitten by the love object, who appears, initially to fulfill all your wildest dreams.
EXACTLY when I became an addict, I can't say, for the compulsion to green your own ground, like the spur of necessity to write, can creep up on you. But somewhere, somehow, several seasons back I became a compulsive planter.
Back in the 80s when I was still a city slicker, when work was my raison d'etre, and stilettos, silk stockings and shoulder pads my daily dress code, I had more money in the bank, but I also had hunched shoulders, tight hamstrings and very shallow breathing.
The fourth annual Fatherhood Festival, to be held in and around Bangalow and Byron Bay over the weekend of August 31st – Sunday September 2nd (Father’s Day), got a jumpstart last Tuesday when Channel 7′s Sunrise program recorded live to air from Bangalow. Ken Bright ran a tool box workshop for Dads and Kids, Lisa Parkes had dads in wild relay races with their kids, and the Nappywrap founds had babies and dolls safety-pin free while attending to a parents most important task.
The Bangalow markets just west (about 15 minutes) of Byron Bay are held on the 4th Sunday of the month. Pretty much the same stall holders as the Byron Bay markets (on the first Sunday of the month) – with more shade (plenty of big old trees around). Here’s a short clip.
I’m from USA, and I’ve enjoyed watching the Super Bowl for the past few years at the popular Beach Hotel here in Byron Bay… In Australia the Super Bowl is on live on TV Monday morning. With so many international visitors in town, there are always plenty of NFL shirts and American accents to be heard. See you there next year.
My brother & I climbed Mt Warning (1,157m), it is a fairly strenuous ‘walk’. It took us 4 hours round trip (up and down). The last 50-100m is a steep rock climb with a chain for support. Here’s a clip.
