When mother of two Salila O’Connor decided to organise a fundraiser to help the peopleof Tibet after the devastating earthquake in May this year, the last thing that occurred to her is that she would end up at Splendour in the Grass with her two young children writes Georgina Bible.
The Ewingsdale resident entered a raffle to win tickets to Splendour in the Grass at the event she helped organise – Mullum Loves Nepal – at the Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall. Salila hit the instant karma jackpot when she won Splendour in the Grass Gold Bar tickets in the raffle for herself and her two children, none of whom had attended the festival before.
Salila O’Connor with her twins, Mattia and Aidan.
“Splendour in the Grass is an amazing festival – to be able to come here with children and feel free to enjoy the event with my family has been fantastic” O’Connor says. “The Little Splendour children’s festival is an absolute sensation. It’s been funny to see people without children actually trying to get in to the Little Splendour area because of the amazing array of events and activities. It’s quite amusing for parents – you can’t get in to Little Splendour unless you’re aged nought to fifteen!”
The Nepal earthquake was the worst to hit Nepal in 80 years and was strong enough to be felt across parts of India, Bangladesh, Tibet and Pakistan. The earthquake was also felt by the people of Byron Shire who raised more than $20,000 towards relief efforts at the event. “It was great to see the people of Byron Bay get behind the Nepal Fundraiser to make it such an extraordinary success,” says O’Connor. “It’s also been amazing to see so many people who were at the Nepal Fundraiser here at the festival. Byron Bay has an amazing sense of community, which becomes so apparent when you attend events like this that bring everyone together.”
Boots with bling, and the eyes have it…
