Australia is a melting pot of cultures and nationalities – about half of our citizens were born overseas or have a parent from overseas and we all know someone who wasn’t born here.
People have travelled to Australia from more than 200 countries bringing about 300 languages with them.
A day to celebrate cultural harmony and diversity, the annual Byron Harmony Festival, will host a stellar line-up of music, dance, rhythms and exotic food and market stalls, at Mullumbimby Civic Hall and Park.
Now in its 13th year, the day-long event offers a fantastic line-up of traditional and contemporary performance from Aboriginal Australian, African, Japanese, Latin American, Indian, Easter Islander (Rapa Nui), Solomon Islander, Thai, Indonesian, Middle Eastern, Hawaiian, Eastern European and French origins.
A traditional Bundjalung opening will feature young Aboriginal dancers, mentored by the renowned Uncle Magpie. Indigenous artists Dan and Scott Ratumah will share culture through their art. And a highlight of this year’s stage line up will be Juz, a young Bundjalung man making waves in the contemporary music world.
The day’s program will journey through music, songs and stories from all over the world and there will be children’s craft activities and outdoor performances with food and market stalls and attractive market stalls – from 11am till 7.30 pm.
Extending Byron Harmony Festival into the evening, Soul Sangeet is a special World Music Collective concert featuring international guest of eight musical generations, Sangeet Mishra from India on Sarangi with Shivam Rath on Crystal Slide and Shai Shriki on Oud from 8.30pm and is a fundraising event for Byron Harmony Festival.
The event will be held on April 27. For more information visit: www.byronharmony.com.