Local Bluegrass group The Wilson Pickers.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones that left your run to buy a Byron Bay Writers’ Festival ticket too late, don’t despair – there’s plenty on this weekend – and  a veritable smorgasboard of events during August.

The Bangalow BBQ & Bluegrass Festival only started last year, but it was a crowd-pleaser from the start, and so it’s not surprising to see that it’s already grown, with a great line-up of musos and bands from far and near, including The Wilson Pickers, The Company and Green Mohair Suits. It’s on today, Saturday August 8 at the Bangalow Showgrounds from 10.o0 am, and tickets are available at the gate.  Kids under 18 are free, which makes it a cheap family day out.  Great food, great music, great weather…enjoy.

In the meantime, if the white noise of writers and music gets too much, up at Tweed Heads, there’s the 17th Tweed Antiques and Collectables Fair, which runs all day on August 8 and 9, at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre, Brett Street, Tweed Heads.  You never know, you might just pick up a bargain…and be back in the Shire in time for the next session.

Next weekend – August 14 – 16, the hills are alive with a different sound of music with the Bangalow Music Festival for 2015.  The Festival is celebrating its 14th year, and it’s 20 years since Creative Director Tania Frazer started the highly successful Southern Cross Soloists chamber music ensemble.  This year’s festival explores the connections between past and present – and celebrates the promise of a bright future. Artists appearing include Piers Lane, Karin Schaupp and William Barton, as well as members of Southern Cross Soloists – and international visitor, UK conductor Rainer Hersch.  The Festival kicks off on Thursday night, August 13, with the Festival Prelude at the A&I Hall.

Comic and musician Rainer Hersch brings his one-man show to the Byron at Byron for the Bangalow Music Festival.

Tickets range from the Platinum Subscription of $450pp to single concert tickets for $55 – try your luck at the A&I Hall next weekend call Southern Cross Soloists on 07 3833 7260 or email [email protected] or visit www.southernxsoloists.com

Suvira McDonald’s ‘Lost River’.

If you’re in town for the Music Festival, take a little time out to follow this year’s North Coast Mud Trail, and unearth your local potter – or even perhaps, your inner potter.  Visit 10 studio potters in nine beautiful Northern Rivers locations, catch a workshop, demonstration or artist talk – and buy your first Christmas presents.

Potters include the incredibly talented multi-disciplinary arts practitioner Suvira McDonald who is throwing open his Federal studio; the dynamic duo of ceramcists Karen Jennings and Jenn Johnston at their Tooheys Mill Road studio in leafy Fernleigh; the brilliantly minimalist work of John Stewart at his studio near Clunes and the 2012 winner of the $10,000 Townsville Ceramic Award, Catherine Lane, whose luminous pieces are bsed on a practice grounded in the Japanese ‘mingei’ tradition.

For enquiries call Suvira McDonald on 02 6684 9194 and for a list of Australian Ceramics Open Studios go to: www.australianceramics.com

Karen Jennings and Jenn Johnston at the Tooheys Mill Pottery.

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What many of the punters who turn out in their droves for Lismore’s Lantern Parade don’t know  is that it is all down to one woman – the tireless artistic director, Jyllie Jackson.  “My original vision for the festival was for something that would light the streets with optimism and hope,” she says.  “If I look back at how small we were when we began it’s hard to believe that now we draw 30,000 visitors to Lismore for that one night.”

Jyllie Jackson: Founder and Artistic Director of the Lismore Lantern Parade.

It’s no mean feat to create an ongoing annual event, let alone one that’s run for 21 years.  “We’re actually getting people who came to the first ones as children, coming with their children,” says Jackson.  “It’s a wonderful feeling to have created something which is truly for the community, and which is so completely embraced by everybody.”  A highlight for this year will be the entertainment in the oval prior to the finale which includes a Viking battle.

Growth means changes, and with the changes came a permanent residence for the parade, with its parent body, LighnUp producing shows all-year round.  This year the parade promises to be more spectacular than ever with its theme ‘Love a Parade – Festivals of the World’.  It involves participants from throughout the Northern Rivers as well as visitors to the region who have attended workshops in lantern, mask and costume making, the finale show, carnival dance and ten parade bands.  “It’s a massive celebration of – well – everything that makes this region so eclectic and wonderful,” says Jackson. “It’s community, art and nature, arts and crafts, food, street theatre, music, dance, puppets, fine art…the list goes on and every year it’s different, but its essential element of connecting to community stays the same.”

This year the Lismore Lantern Parade is on Saturday June 20.  There are events on all day, with the main Lantern Parade beginning at 5.30pm on the corner of Market and Molesworth Streets. For more details go to the program: lanternparade.com/program There are family tickets in the grandstands and grass seating.

Photography by Natsky.

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Verandah Magazine is proud to present two don’t miss events – an intimate Sunday lunch with Hollywood actor Victoria Tennant talking about her ballerina mother Irina Baronova, on Sunday March 29, and an evening with Victoria Tennant at the Arts Centre Gold Coast on Tuesday evening March 31.  Victoria, in conversation with Verandah Magazine publisher and editor Candida Baker, has extraordinary stories to tell of her mother’s journey from Russia to the hinterland of Byron Bay, where she spent Baranova spent her final decade. Victoria’s beautiful hard-back book, Irina Baronova and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo is published by the University of Chicago Press and will be available at the event.

Read more here: verandahmagazine.irinas-legacy-lives/

Booking details:
Byron at Byron: Lunch with Victoria Tennant: Sunday March 29, 12.30pm, $85 per head.  Enquiries: [email protected] or phone 02 66392000
Arts Centre, Gold Coast: An Evening with Victoria Tennant : Tuesday, March 31, 6.30pm, $45: Book here: theartscentregc.an-evening-with-victoria-tennant

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Remy Tancred loves food and community. Photo: Suze McLeod.

For Sample food festival director Remy Tancred, life in the Byron Bay region is all about community.  She loves to bring the north coast’s finest producers together – lucky for us!  This year’s Sample Festival is the biggest yet, so rev up your tastebuds…

Q: I know you worked in publishing before your moved to the North Coast – what prompted you to start your magazine, The Lennox Wave?

 A: I moved up here because my husband and I were ready to start a family, and when we had children, I felt I still needed a small project to keep my mind occupied while the children were small. The Lennox Wave was perfect because it was – and still is – a monthly publication, and so it was manageable.

Q: I know the Phat Ducks came from a group of you eating out and reviewing local restaurants, but how did you turn it from that into the book, Ate Phat Ducks?

 A: We actually ran out of restaurants to visit in Lennox so we began to venture out of the area. From there, I always had the vision of turning the light-hearted reviews into a book so visitors and locals could receive a little personality along with our real experience of each restaurant.

Q: You obviously love food – hence Sample Food Festival which you’ve been doing for four years now. What do you love most about it?

 A: I love bringing the regions together, and showing off all the amazing produce we have on in area over one day. I love that the public find new restaurants and produce that didn’t existed. It’s exciting.

Q: What will people find at this year’s Sample to tempt their tastebuds?

A: We’ve got several first timer cafes and restaurants this year. No two dishes are the same – so there’s a lot of choice! Organic Oysters are on the menu and I’m sure they’ll be interesting to customers – and there’s lots of amazing desserts as well.

Organic Oysters will be at this year’s Sample Festival.

Q: Obviously community is very important for you – do you think it’s what makes this area special?

 A: Definitely. I love working with the growers and producers in this region – they’re so passionate about their produce and they genuinely love what they do.

Q: Are there any other creative projects in the works Verandah should know about?

 A: Good question…there always is. I’ll get back to you in a few months.

Sample Food Festival is on at Bangalow Showground on Saturday September 13th. This year there will be celebrity guests, $5 and $10 tasting plates, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, kids activities and the Stone & Wood Beer Garden. Entry is free and the festival is open from 8am to 4pm.

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