I shrugged at the January 8 letter regarding the ‘boring’ New Year’s Eve in Byron because I thought the writer was so far off the mark it wasn’t worth responding to. But after ‘Joy to Byron Bay,’ in this week’s issue I must comment about Council’s NYE celebration in Byron Bay.
There were two different venue areas. Jonson Street (Soul Street) and Dening Park, just next to the surf club. The first writer seemingly couldn’t find Dening Park and so missed out on all the fun, and this week’s writer found it not a ‘joyful atmosphere’, evidently also not making it to Dening Park. Jonson Street had live music and DJs starting at 4pm and Dening Park started at 6pm. I enjoyed a reggae artist in Soul Street – and later on two DJs – and walked to Dening Park to see families, lots of kids enjoying the brightly lit ‘jellyfish’ or umbrellas on their heads, flowing giant butterflies on stilts, a dancing fairy; the hoola hoop and circus area – all under the colourfully lit trees.
People were strolling, dancing, sitting in groups, eating from the food vans. I saw the Byron Taiko drum performance, Caitlyn Shadbolt belt out some songs, heavy metal duo Wild Rocket doing original songs, Lemonise, Owls of Neptune, Loona Loop and Lucid Safari. The Silent Disco provided varied and great dance music until midnight, disturbing no one.
To describe that as ‘impersonal and rushed,’ means the letter writer was not there. Then to say we need a NYE concert with ‘our talented artistic community,’ belies the fact that that is exactly what we had!
Regarding stand-alone New Year’s Eve concerts: Waverley Council allowed a NYE concert some years ago in fenced-off Bondi Pavilion. Even with security guards monitoring alcohol and punters’ behaviours, there were riots, people rocking cars to drivers’ horror and the usual skirmishes and conflict when there is a large concert and alcohol in a tourist town. Byron Bay is also a tourist town.
The next year, Waverley Council brought in an external company to run the night with Campbell Parade blocked off, a billy-cart race, food vans, bands and entertainers on foot and street stages. The result? Families and locals attended and the partygoers went to the Big Day Out or whatever, wherever, five kilometres from Bondi Beach. The result? A peaceful and ‘joyful atmosphere’ for the locals.
NYE in Byron was safe, peaceful, and a lot of fun. Byron Council is doing NYE right.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
