This celebration will be facilitated and nourished by local & global teachers, performers, mentors, art visionaries, healersand friends that inspire us all inloving encouragement to live and express our deepest heart offering as a gift to the world.

Book your ticket to a weekend of relaxation, regeneration and indulging your senses at the 2012 Byron Spirit Festival. The inaugural Festival will be held in the charming village of Mullumbimby, west of Byron Bay, from 17th-19th February 2012.

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Visit: www.spiritfestival.com.au

ARC dreaming, an Internationally acclaimed show is a fusion and collaboration between Musical ensemble Visions of a Nomad and the Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal dancers and is coming to Byron Bay, a one off opportunity to experience this truly unique touring show.

ARC dreaming involves Aboriginal traditional and contemporary music and dance combined and has mesmerized audiences around the Globe with their Haunting, exotic and powerful interpretation of traditional and contemporary story telling through the expression of dance and music. ARC dreaming is one of Australia’s highly sought after export show’s, the project started out in the late nineties with a focus on reconciliation. Visions of a Nomad will be playing an eclectic repertoire of original music composed by, Michael Cuming, a fusion of jazz, world, groove and classically influenced music accompanied by the didgeridoo

Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal dancers will bring their Cultural song and dance to the stage with zest, dedication and focus. This exciting extravaganza will give people of all ages the opportunity to experience and be part of Aboriginal Culture in its traditional but also urban Contemporary form. Musically, this will be a cohesion of all the world’s musical genres, ARC dreaming likes to cross boundary’s and has been on the forefront of a pioneering exploration.

This is a rare occasion and a one off performance
There is something for anyone to be found in this extravaganza, which is also a fundraiser towards the future existence of ARC dreaming as they are a non-funded self-motivated successful group of artists with lots of energy

The Paddle is from Watego Beach under the Byron Bay Lighthouse over to the Byron Bay Surf Life Saving Club on Main Beach. It is on Australia Day, Thursday, 26th January 2012.

All Surfers from Up & Down the coast are invited to attend the next Paddle. What-ever you can paddle across the Bay in Byron, from a Short Surfboard to a Long Racing Ski to a Stand Up Paddle Board, everyone on Australia Day will be having a ball in Byron Bay. The last 2 events have been amazing with so many surfers hitting the water, Lets hope the next event will have the same perfect weather.

For further information, visit; www.australiadaypaddle.com.au

The inaugural Byron Spirit Festival presents a diverse program of daytime yoga classes in the myriad beautiful venues of Mullumbimby. Inspired and partially sourced from the wealth of globally recognized talent that resides in our area, we’re proud to offer an affordable taste test of contemporary and ancient streams of yoga for all levels of practitioners. Here’s a mini sample of the 40+ classes that will be running.

From furthest afield comes the USA-based Mark Whitwell. For more than 20 years, his international teachings have been based on the work of T. Krishnamacharya and son TKV Desikachar, and have assisted his students to create an individuated, authentic yoga practice.

Ashtanga yoga will be on offer from Byron’s own Dena Kingsberg, an international teacher and practitioner for over 25 years, she was certified by the late Sri K.Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, South India in 1996. YogaArts founder Louisa Sear will lead one of her renowned classes at the Spirit Festival, a rarity these days, as her international schedule of teaching and yoga teaching trainings keeps her far from our shores much of the time. Louisa’s almost 30 years of experience means her profound approach to the intricacies of yoga is not to be missed! And Jessie Chapman, Asutralia’s best-selling yoga author, will lead a master class in her popular style for all comers.

Amongst the Sydney top teachers comes the inimitable, indefatigable Simon Borg-Olivier. His unique Synergy Yoga workshops are one of the reasons yoga is so popular in Australia today.

Iyengar devotee and master teacher Simon Marrocco will lead classes at Mullum Sari, the studio and gym where he currently runs his yoga school. Across the street at YogaPeace, check out Aesha Kennedy’s gentle, calming, breath-infused class. Ex-ballerina Harjiwan will bring her exciting kundalini yoga experience to the Spirit Festival. The beautifully renovated Yellow Church Yoga studio will offer yoga classes by founder Diana Ewing, a teacher with thirty years of teaching under her mat, as well as the popular Consta Georgoussis. His flowing classes may include his philosophic insights into yoga and Buddhist philosophy.

For a different experience, attendance at Kathryn Riding’s class, with its use of voice, words, breath and free expression, is a must. Jenny Groves, who established the first yoga school in Byron Bay in 1984, will present her Bones for Life workshop, and Nirupa will lead a Somatic Yoga class to introduce you to an inside/out approach to understanding your body.

These are a fraction of the yoga experiences on offer. Please visit the website for the entire schedule. www.spiritfestival.com.au

They are NOT on 1st January, they ARE on Monday 2nd January.

Here’s the details form the organisers;

The next Byron Community Market will be on the Monday 2 January.

The Beachside Market on Wednesday 4 January is a local artisan market full of local artists wares, held along the Main Beach foreshore.

A special mid-January market will be held on Sunday 15 January at Butler Street.

The Artisan Market continues every Saturday in Railway Park from 5pm

The 2012 Arts Classic has attracted 435 entries – exceeding last years by almost 100. Works entered are 200 paintings, 90 sculptures, 35 photographic works and 110 works on paper.

The Classic is an iconic event for the northern rivers region, attracting the interest of collectors from around Australia and overseas.

The local artists’ work will be on display at the Byron Community Centre from January 6-11, where seats in the large Theatre are retracted to dramatically transform the venue into a spacious arts gallery.

As well as show-casing the talents and inspiration of established artists the Arts Classic increasingly acts as a catalyst for new and emerging artists, many of whom sell their work for the first time.

An exciting new dimension has been added for 2012, through an artists-in-residence where two mosaic artists will run participatory workshops in the Centre’s verandah area from 6-10 January. This will allow people to take part in public work-in-progress, and share in the creation of a large 6x1m wall mural to capture the spirit of Byron and called ‘Cavanbah’ – the Bundjalung word for ‘meeting place’.

On the final day the glass and tile mosaic will be mounted an on permanent exhibition at the Community Centre.

For bookings or further information visit the website

Rapskallion shall once again be taking to the eastern road this summer, pedalling their new 5 track E.P “The Cat n’ Fiddle” from Melbourne town to Brisvegas in a blaze of sweat, colour, feathers and accordion powered riffage.

The Skallions have entertained audiences worldwide for over half a decade, with their unique concoction of vaudevillian, cabaret, junkyard gypsy blues. Reminiscent of 20′s Paris Bohemia transported to a Romanian tavern and then set adrift on the high seas. Their original blend of music is strongly influenced by the music of Eastern Europe, Greece, France and Spain as well as hip hop and hobo jazz.

Their new EP Cat and Fiddle is a collection of musical vignettes from a realm inhabited by back alley gangster felines, femme fatales, and silver moon maidens, with a soundtrack somewhere between a Chicago speakeasy, a Hungarian hoedown, and a Halloween party at a south seas pirate haven.

The buccaneers gone electric have extracted these five songs from their upcoming full length release, “Vagabond King”, which will be available on vinyl and CD in March 2012.”The Cat n’ Fiddle” will be released on the 25th November and available through rapsakllion.com.au and Rapskallion shows.

Celebrating it’s 4th year, The Mullum Music Festival returns in 2011 with a killer line up featuring The Bamboos, The Dynamites Feat. Charles Walker (USA), Abbe May, Lanie Lane, Harry James Angus, Tim Freedman & The Idle, Ray Bonneville (USA), Epizo Bangoura (Ivory Coast / West Africa), Tracy Mcneil (Canada), Anna Coddington (NZ), The Congos (Jamaica) & Mista Savona Band (Melb), Little Bushman (NZ), Husky, Mojo Juju, Stranger Cole (Jamaica), Roscoe James Irwin, Lucie Thorne, Sal Kimber & the Rolling Wheel, Youth Mentorship 2011 Winners, Play Mullum Songwriting Comp – Jodie Grinstead, Dubmarine, King Tide, The Yearlings, Yeshe, OKA, Fyah Walk, Declan Kelly, The Hussy Hicks and much much more…

Be sure to check out this week’s Byron Shire Echo for your Full Festival Lift Out including complete Festival Programme, and special Artist Interviews.

All your 2011 ticketing, Line up & events, and updated Transport & Accommodation details can be found at www.mullummusicfestival.com

24-27 November, Mullumbimby NSW

For more information, visit the Facebook page; www.facebook.com/ladiesgoneswishing

The film takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the history and life of Byron bay as its history gradually unfolds through inspiring stories from locals, hippies, surfers, travelers, indigenous folk and people from all walks of life.

Byron Bay The Meeting Place is the newest documentary from the locally based production Company Rest Your Eyes Production.

There will be two screenings of Byron Bay The Meeting Place on Wednesday the 30th November at Byron Bay Community Center at 7pm & 8.30pm – The night will be hosted by Tommy Franklin. There will be live music by the talented local based Garrett Kato and Canadian Vince Vaccaro who together make up for the rich soundtrack of the film.

To purchase tickets, please visit www.byroncentre.com.au or call 02 6685 6807