Who are we?
They say there are more creatives here than any other region in Australia, outside of major cities. They also say we are the ‘home of festivals’. But who are we really? And how are recent events changing things?
In this talk, Jane Fuller (ANR) and Tandi Palmer Williams (Patternmakers) discuss a two-year research project exploring the Northern Rivers’ creative sector – and what artists and audiences need to thrive in future.
Primary Schools Event:
Join Melaina Faranda for a dynamic storytelling workshop aimed at primary school students. Melaina grew from being a dreamy, barefoot country kid to writing over fifty young adult and children’s books, published nationally and internationally — with many of her books used in schools across Australia. A highly engaging, energetic, and empathic presenter and facilitator, Melaina is passionate about sharing inspiring, practical, and fun creative writing, editing, and storytelling skills with students and helping to foster their talent.
Community Event:
Come along as we wrap up the festival with a couple of drinks, music, some laughs, and trivia with local good sort Odette Nettleton
Trivia Newton-John is already taken, so you’ll have to come up with another witty team name 😉
Community Event:
Join us for a showcase of both written and spoken word poetry. Featuring performances by Sydney poet Alasdair Carter, the current Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup Champion, former winner Sarah Temporal, and renowned poet Rosemary Nissen-Wade. Readings by local poets from their new collections and an Open Mic with a wide range of poetry styles represented.
Panel Event:
Overcoming adversity doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all prescription. Some of us have to look outside the box and into our creative practice and alternative therapies in an effort to better understand our own minds, have some fun, or to treat chronic pain. Join us as acclaimed author Sally Breen guides this unique discussion about what happens when you try and change your mind.
Author Feature:
Mirandi Riwoe’s Sunbirds is a dazzling tapestry of intrigue and resilience set against the lush backdrop of colonial-era Queensland. In this richly woven narrative, Riwoe invites readers into a world where love, betrayal, and the quest for freedom intertwine. With prose as luminous as the tropical landscape it evokes, Sunbirds is a mesmerising tale that illuminates the strength of the human spirit amidst adversity. Mirandi will be joined onstage by Naima Brown.
Headliner:
Beloved host of the ABC’s Gardening Australia and Australia’s favourite hairy man is appearing on our main stage. Come join us for a captivating one-on-one discussion with Costa about all things weedy, buggy, planty and composty. Costa, the author of Costa’s World, Home Gardening for the Soil is a winner of a Silver Logie and an AACTA Award, and this chance to see a bona fide Australian icon shouldn’t be missed. Costa will be joined on stage by the ABC’s Angela Catterns.
Panel Event:
Love local books? Come have a look at what these locals have been up to.
Panel Event:
Australia is at a crossroads. Our current housing disaster coupled with the climate crisis looms heavy in the headlines. It’s clear we need to change how we live, and quick. On the other hand, we are all protective of our own patch of grass, and the histories embodied in both the built and natural landscapes. So how do we transition to a more ethical society without scaring the NIMBYS?
Author Feature:
Award-winning writer Ellen van Neerven played football from a young age, learning early on that sport can be a painful and exclusive world. The more they play, the more they realise about sport’s troubled relationship with race, gender and sexuality, and question what it means to play sport on stolen sovereign land, especially in the midst of multiple environmental crises. Ellen will be joined onstage by Grace Lucas-Pennington for a discussion about their ground-breaking examination of sport’s troubled relationship with race, gender, and sexuality, Personal Score.