13.2 C
Byron Shire
June 5, 2026

Starlight sends the good vibes

Latest News

Temporary home for Queer Family after heated debate

Byron Shire Council has voted to provide struggling local LGBTQIA+ support service Queer Family Inc with temporary access to a Council-owned property at peppercorn rent, following an impassioned plea from the organisation and a lengthy debate over governance and fairness.

Other News

Financial woes

Byron Shire’s financial woes are not the result of a lack of money, but rather the waste of it....

Earth to stars

Is the world we live in, more than what we understand? Theories challenge the known facts, so does any...

The Greens’ 3-way comp: Ballina Councillor vs Byron candidates for state preselection

Byron Greens members could expect to be asked to take the future of the Richmond River further south into account when choosing a candidate for next year’s state election.

Keating quotes

Kinda tripping on former PM Paul Keating for the moment, here are a few historical quotes: On the dismantling...

Love Lennox Festival returns June 13

The all day Love Lennox Festival returns Saturday, 13 June, with organisers saying they expect more than 10,000 attendees to gather across town for one of the region’s most loved community events.

Police chase e-bike thieves in Byron Bay

Two men faced court on last Thursday following an alleged pursuit near Byron Bay on Wednesday morning.

Ilias mans the psychedelic therapy workshop stall at last week’s well-attended Starlight Festival in the Bangalow A&I Hall. Photo Jeff ‘Sound Crystals’ Dawson

Starlight Festival returned to the Bangalow A&I Hall and surrounding areas on January 2 for four days of transformative healing, discovery, and connection.

With the healing vibrations of sound baths, crystal bowls, and guided breathwork sessions, participants joined in with workshops that explored wellbeing practices, self-awareness, and personal growth, along with talks and sessions to deepen understanding of holistic health.

Pause, reflect, and rejuvenate

Organisers said, ‘Starlight Festival is more than just an event — it’s a chance to pause, reflect, and rejuvenate’.

‘Let this be the start of a new year filled with peace, purpose, and connection’.



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.

If you are a local business owner help us and in turn we help you. All The Echo asks for is advertising, not a free ride. It is every advert in The Echo and on www.echo.net.au, which creates the space for all the stories and coverage of community events, happenings and concerns.

If you are a reader you can become a sponsor of The Echo. Your support keeps the us independent.

Even a small one-off or regular donation from you will help keep the echo’s independent voice alive and strong.

Support Us

Become one of the supporters who helps keep independent, local journalism alive in the Byron Shire by contributing anything from as little as the cost of a coffee each month.

You're Wonderful, Thank you for supporting independent journalism in the Byron Shire

You’re supporting The Echo, thank you

Your contribution is keeping independent, local journalism alive in the Northern Rivers.

Because of supporters like you, we can keep every story free for everyone — no paywall, no exceptions. Your money goes directly to funding our newsroom of 40-odd local workers covering the stories that matter to this community.

Tell us what you think, give us your opinion

The Echo loves your letters and comments and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, email us your epistles at editor@echo.net.au.

The letters deadline for The Echo is noon Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. The publication of letters is at the discretion of the letters editor. Please remember to include your full name, address and telephone number.

Online comments are no longer available.

Naturism

For decades, naturism has struggled with a strange communication barrier. Most naturist educational material contains nudity, which means it is often automatically classified as NSFW...

Invisible elderly women

The 2026 Federal Budget has sent a clear, heartbreaking message to the senior women of the Tweed: you are invisible. While the treasurer boasted about...

$42m for ‘a few cyclists’

Fortunately, someone in the federal bureaucracy understands that spending $42m, or $2.8m per kilometre, of public money destroying a multi-billion-dollar rail line between Crabbes...

Protest march

Byron Shire’s infrastructure has become beyond repair. Reports of new overflow of sewage. Reports of decades of no maintenance to our stormwater drains. The...