Story and photo by Vivienne Pearson
Byron Shire’s next door neighbour is having a party … and you’re invited!
The party is called Tweed Fusion and it runs from this Saturday until 30 October. As at all good parties, there will be food. One easy option for dipping into the neighbour’s local produce is at a twilight tasting-plate- based event to be held at Hastings Point (Sat 22 Oct). Another option is to visit the Murwillumbah Showgrounds’ Farmers Market – you can do this any Wednesday morning, but on 26 October there is the extra incentive of a cooking demonstration by Jonathon Evans, the chef of Murwillumbah’s Juju Cafe.
For the more dedicated party-goers, you can book to join a Taste the Tweed tour, which will take you behind the scenes at a coffee plantation, lunch at the new Potager Restaurant, and a tasting session at Tropical Fruit World.
The fourth annual Tweed Fusion ‘party’ includes many events that fuse food with art. For example, the Tweed Regional Gallery is the venue for a dinner combined with a tour led by Meg Stewart, author of an award-winning biography of Margaret Olley. Or, you can combine an evening of dance with dinner at Tyalgum’s super-cute Flutterbies Cottage Café.
On the cheaper end of the event spectrum is the Tyalgum Village Spring Fair, offering art, music, performance, gourmet street food and artisan market stalls (free entry, Sat 29 Oct). Another kid-friendly event is a performance of Ali Baba by the Murwillumbah Theatre Company (22/23/29/30 Oct, $15/$6).
For those who like a surprise, there is a Country Picnic at a mystery destination after a Tweed River cruise aboard the Spirit of Wollumbin boat (Sun 30 Oct). Or, if you are not keen on formal events but need a prompt to explore the beauty of the neigbouring Tweed region, download guided maps for a self-drive trail exploring Tweed’s cafe and gallery scene.
There is no doubt that our neighbouring Tweed is a beautiful region, and Tweed Fusion is a great excuse to check it out.
Info and bookings for all 11 events can be found at tweedfusion.com.au
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