When? On Saturday 14 May, 2022.

The historic village of Ulmarra is lighting the way with the new river festival, Riverlight Ulmarra. This one-day community cultural festival will showcase the town and the Clarence River through a spectacular display of floating lanterns.

Lights, Music, Action!

For your entertainment, Riverlight Ulmarra offers live music, food stalls, lantern-making, trash and treasure stalls, vintage farm engine displays, fire twirling and a bar. You can join in the lantern-making workshop from 2.00pm, to make your own ray of light for floating down the river.

The festival centres around illuminated river-based art installations, guided by Master Lantern Maker Phill Relf of IKARA Celebratory Events. Mr Relf has over 20 years’ experience in lantern making for festivals.

Riverlight Ulmarra is produced by events specialist, Phil Nicholas of Events Delivered. Mr Nicholas hopes that Riverlight Ulmarra will provide a focal point for Ulmarra, celebrating the beauty of the Clarence River.

“This is a great opportunity to shine a light on the history, stories and characteristics of this charming town. The festival is designed to attract local families as well as visitors from beyond the region,” Mr Nicholas told Coastbeat.

Created by Master Lantern Maker

“With the help of Phill Relf, who has been the creative mind behind many well-known local and interstate lantern festivals, we will be running a series of public workshops in the lead up, to design and build a large, sculptural lantern to head up the parade.

“On the night there will be a procession through the village before the lanterns are released into the Clarence River, providing an awe-inspiring and memorable sight, which we hope to replicate every year.”

A Perfect Day Trip

The festival has been specifically designed to accommodate day trips from nearby regions. Overnight visitors can stay and experience more of the Clarence Valley, with numerous boutique accommodation options.

“We’ve curated a series of itineraries that guide people through half-day, full-day or two-day drives, allowing them to explore the region while here for the festival,” Mr Nicholas said.

“They’re all downloadable from our website and provide suggestions to help people really experience a local’s insight into the Clarence Valley.”

“These include discovering the many small and unknown hamlets that dot the river, the history of Grafton, and the quirky coastal towns that hark back to a 1950s holiday experience.

Awesome Music

Local musicians have been invited to provide upbeat entertainment to compliment the awe-inspiring and memorable sight of the lantern procession.

The line-up consists of the Downriver Grommets under the tutelage of local music teacher Ryan Enns, and The Enns of the Earth playing everything from bluegrass through to Ed Sheeran. Headlining the event will be the Clarence Valley’s own The Ninth Chapter, plying their trademark funky groove and punchy horns.

“Ulmarra is only an hour’s drive from Coffs Harbour, meaning the festival makes for an easy day trip,” Mr Nicholas said.

Get Ready With A Lantern Kit

“Visitors can get prepared to join the parade by purchasing lantern kits via our website and we post them out with full instructions. They’re simple and fun to make, and they look magical illuminated after dark.”

Don’t hide in the dark! Get lit at Riverlight Ulmarra

For more information and to book tickets visit the Riverlight Ulmarra website.

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This June long weekend the Nymboida Camping and Canoing Centre will host the Clarence Valley Camp Oven Festival. Meet ABC star dirtgirl, her best mate scrapboy and Costa the Garden Gnome. While the big folk focus on the art of camp oven cooking, the dirtgirlworld crew will dive into their grubby bucket to offer a day of heart-led recovery for young families.  Join their kid-friendly workshops, growing fire-ready families.

Flourish at the Camp Oven Festival

Flourish! is where games and nature scavenger hunts meet spoken word mashups and a pillowcase fight. Sounds like fun? Flourish! is a great way to explore how families can prepare their hearts, heads and hands for emergency events.

A Family Focussed Festival

Festival Creative Director, Laena Stephenson said this major addition to the festival program will appeal to young families looking for a great day out.

“We’ve noticed over the years that younger families from Grafton and Coffs Harbour tend to come along as day visitors,” she said.

“So this year, we’ve packed as much entertainment into each day as possible. On top of that, we’ve actually reduced the single day ticket price for families,” she said.

The dirtgirlworld crew will appear on Saturday 11th June with music, art and poetry activities beginning at 8.00am. More grubby fun workshops are scheduled for the afternoon, repeating on Sunday 12^th June.

Costa the Garden Gnome is making a special appearance on the Saturday morning – catch him while you can!

Food Tasting + Live Music

The festival also features camp oven cooking demonstrations and competitions, with several opportunities to taste main course dishes and baked goods. There’s live music throughout the weekend, an art and craft area featuring rolling workshops and roaming street theatre acts. Fancy a cuppa? Try your hand at the billy boiling contest.

Nymboida Camping and Canoeing accepts NSW Discover vouchers. Call them on 02 6649 4155 or visit their website.

The post Clarence Valley Camp Oven Festival, June 10-13 2022 appeared first on Coastbeat.

Queen Crowning – Friday December 3, 6pm – FREE

Enjoy a magical evening in Market Square. The 2019 reigning party will be farewelled and the 2021 Jacaranda Queen and Princess as well as Junior Jacaranda Queen and Princess will be crowned. Food vendors and the Coopers Bar will be open on the night. Bring a picnic blanket or purchase a VIP seat for $10.  

Children’s Party – Saturday December 4, 9:30am – FREE 

Children of all ages are invited to a morning of activities, dancing and FUN! Get your costume on for the fancy-dress competition – there are five categories to enter, and everyone gets a prize. 

Retrofest – Sunday December 5, 10am – FREE

Wander into a simpler time of hula hoops, Brylcreem and Rock & Roll. Celebrating all things vintage, from classic cars, Rock & Roll dancing and music of days gone by. Live entertainment throughout the day by the Big River Rockers and Vanessa Lee & The Retro Train, all in the lead up to the announcement of Miss RetroFest 2021.

Jacaranda Thursday – December 9, all day – FREE  

The half day public holiday day begins with a FREE Breakfast BBQ in Market Square from 7am. Then it’s time to hit the streets! Local businesses will be dressed in their finest costumes and ready to show off their best (and worst) talents. Entertainment will continue in Market Square throughout the day and there will be entertainment stages on Prince and Fitzroy Streets too. 

Venetian Carnival – Friday December 10, 7pm – FREE 

The Clarence Valley’s very best performers will shine in this variety showcase. Bring your own folding chair or picnic blanket. Reserved seating is available for pre-purchase prior to the event ($10). 

Jacaranda Ball – Saturday December 11, 6pm – $100 per person

Don your fanciest frock and suit for an evening under the Jacaranda trees. Enjoy gourmet food, wonderful entertainment and dancing in the 900 square metre marquee. Local chefs Mark Hackett and Erin Brown will create delectable canapes, main meals and desserts. A full night of entertainment will keep the celebratory vibes up! Buy tickets here.

The post Grafton’s Jacaranda Festival – There’s More to Celebrate! appeared first on Coastbeat.

Keeping Traditions Alive

Festival Manager Mark Blackadder says the Committee has been working hard to work out what’s possible while the lockdown exit strategy is still evolving.

“We’ve had to straddle the need to continue the Festival and provide arts and entertainment for the community,” he explains. “All while recognising some of the things we want to do just aren’t possible.” 

“I think what we’ve come up with achieves this and keeps the extremely important tradition of the Festival very much alive.”

COVID-Safe Events

Most of the events will be held at a specially designed outdoor facility in Market Square. It has the capacity for up to 2000 people and allows for social distancing. The park will be fully-fenced with designated entry points with QR code scanning.  Sanitiser stands will also be accessible. The Saraton Theatre and See Park will also be used for ticketed festival events.

Chief Inspector Joanne Reid is Officer in Charge of Grafton Police Station – Coffs/Clarence Police District. She’s confident the plans in place will provide for a safe and compliant festival.

“NSW Police has reviewed the festival’s event plan and the designation of Market Square as a major recreation facility within the definition of the Public Health Orders and support the event,” she says.

The Float Procession and the RiverRun won’t be included this year. But many favourites will go ahead and new ones added.

The Grafton Jacaranda Festival is the oldest floral festival in Australia and its broad appeal has cemented it as a must-do calendar event.

Follow the Jacaranda Festival on Instagram and buy tickets here.

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Home by the River

The 21-year-old grew up on a picturesque farm on the Clarence River near Grafton, but it took her some time to appreciate her surroundings. Now, she embraces that beauty and allows it to weave its way through her delicate yet powerful songs. Georgia’s lyrics conjure images of endless road trips, meandering bushwalks and wild swimming. Her playful positivity is tempered with heartfelt yearning and nostalgia for a past yet to unfold. 

The Road to Success

As a young teenager, Georgia bought a cheap guitar from ebay, and taught herself how to play, using YouTube videos as a guide. Friends started to compliment her stirring singing voice and she was invited to perform at the 2015 Jacaranda Festival in Grafton. Georgia teamed up with her cousin, Dan Wall and they started performing as a duo. In her final year of school, Georgia performed in front of an audience of 30,000 at the 2018 Schools Spectacular.

Over the last two years she’s fine-tuned her craft playing live cover gigs at almost every venue between Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour, and she regularly busks on the street for the love of it. At the 2020 Tamworth Country Music Festival, Georgia busked every day for two weeks and placed 3^rd out of 400 entrants in the festival’s busking competition. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Music at Southern Cross University and plays in her church band on Sundays. 

Hard Work and Happy Endings

In early 2021, Georgia spent time in isolation, crafting the songs she’d been quietly nurturing. Teaming up with producer Garrett Kato, she recorded five of those songs for an upcoming EP. The first single Happy Ending has been warmly received and debuted at #2 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart. 

In a world where creatives are desperately competing for the attention of the masses and doing just about anything to stay relevant, Georgia took her time, accepting that growth can’t be rushed. She has fashioned a thing of beauty, reflective of her genuine talent and honest desire to share stories. 

Follow Georgia Grae on Instagram.

The post New Music from Georgia Grae appeared first on Coastbeat.

Scouts Falls, north of Coffs Harbour near Glenreagh, is only about 22km from where I live as the crow flies (thanks to Pythagoras for helping me with that one), either 32km or 44km by road depending on which way you travel, with either route taking about 40 minutes.

Exploring Your Own Backyard

Not too far away, but after nearly two decades living on the Coffs Coast I had never been there. Heck, until about five years ago I hadn’t even heard of it, so with the “holiday at home” message dominating as COVID-19 keeps travel options limited, we decided to make the trek to see for ourselves what has been described as a hidden gem.

Like any well-preserved natural treasure, this one doesn’t give up its location easily, which is why it is not overrun by visitors. The drive is easy enough, with the 5km trip via Glenreagh meaning only a short stretch of unsealed road. Approaching from Corindi, through the rising hills along Sherwood Creek Road means much more gravel to negotiate but it is well maintained and safe.

It is when you park near the new bridge across Middle Creek (a tributary of the Orara River), cross the road and head past the sign for the Sherwood Nature Reserve for the 20-minute trek to the falls that the challenge begins.

A Worthwhile Adventure

The path is a scramble up and down banks and rocks, over (and sometimes under) tree roots, balancing along ledges. It’s not for everyone but that is what makes visiting the falls a worthwhile adventure. The day we went, we ran into a family at the falls that included a toddler who was carried in one arm by mum or dad, and they seemed to have few problems so most people should be able to negotiate their way.

For those who don’t want to do the whole path, there is a pretty plunge pool not far from the start where you can relax and soak in the clear, cool water.

Past that pool, the path criss-crosses the creek bed as you hop across the top of boulders smoothed by the flowing stream over the centuries. Just where the path goes can be confusing in parts – there are no signs – but there is always the sound of the falls ahead to give you a target. The path is the only way in or out so, if you’re lucky, walkers coming the other way will give you a guide of where to head.

Behold, Scout Falls!

Finally, just as your legs start to burn and the humid summer air has you craving cool relief, it’s up and down a few massive rocks before the beauty of Scouts Falls is there before you – water cascading 10 metres into a large pool that allows you to stand in most parts but drops away in the centre. It is surrounded by the cliff face on one side, a large fallen log on a 45-degree angle into the water and plenty of rocks where you can sit and soak in the scenery before splashing in for another swim. There are even rocks directly under the falls where you can stand for a bush shower.

It is a stunning place to spend part of any summer day – there are no facilities so you probably won’t want to stay more than an hour or two – and the challenge of the access means it is unlikely to be ever overcrowded.

The view from the top of the falls is said to be special and three young men who arrived while we were swimming made the climb up and along the cliff ledges look easier than it probably is.

We decided to leave that climb and the view from the top for another day – it certainly won’t be two decades until we return to this special place.

QUICK TIP: If you want to see a waterfall while you are in the Coffs Coast’s northern beaches area but don’t fancy the trek to Scouts Falls, take the short drive west of Woolgoolga to the Woolgoolga Creek picnic area from where you can walk the much easier 3.6km return trip through the Sherwood Nature Reserve to the scenic Woolgoolga Falls.

Need all the gear to explore the great outdoors? Head to Kathmandu at Coffs Central

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When: Saturday, December 5

Where: Stan Payne Oval, Booyong Street, Evans Head

Find out more here

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Chairperson of Clarence Valley Food Inc, Debrah Novak says it’s an opportunity to remind people about the extraordinary efforts and economic value local farming communities contribute to the Clarence Valley.

“The Clarence Valley is the major food bowl on the North Coast with over 60 commodities produced in our region,” Debrah says. “One in four Clarence Valley businesses is a primary producer and a large employer of the local community.”

Everyone is invited to farm and foodie visits at 13 different venues. Lovers of local alcohol, seafood, coffee, ice cream and veggies can book in for meals and samples. Choose from Clarence Gin Distillery in Yamba, Sanctus Brewing Co in Townsend, Clarence Kitchen Collective in South Grafton and more. Beef, dairy, sugar cane and horticulture farms will be open for tours and information sessions. Check out The Peach Farm at Mororo, Clarence Valley Dairy at Southgate or Cardiff Alpaca Farm on Chatsworth Island. 

When: Saturday November 21

Where: Clarence Valley

Find out more on Facebook

The post Clarence Valley Agriculture Day Farm and Food Trail – Grafton, Yamba, Maclean and beyond appeared first on Coastbeat.

Where: Nymboida Camping and Canoeing Centre, Nymboida

When: Saturday November 7

Register now: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/nymboida-bushfire-anniversary-tickets-116690856493

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This workshop at Cowper Art Gallery and Studio introduces students to the elements and principles of art and design. Through a wide range of practical exercises, they will explore line, value, colour, texture, shape and a lot more, and gain an understanding of how each of these influences the composition of a piece of art. Lead by Kerrie Bowles, it is suitable for beginners and those who want to brush up on their skills and knowledge.

The post Essentials of Art & Design with Kerrie Bowles appeared first on Coastbeat.