There is nothing healthier than drinking some water – or so I’ve always told my kids. It doesn’t contain sugar or colour additives – as one person used to tell us as children, ‘it’s sky juice’! What could be better?

Eclectic Selection: What’s on this week is a taste of some of the events that can be found in the Byron Shire and beyond this coming week.

The Northern Rivers Conservatorium is thrilled to present the grand finale concert of the Northern Rivers Youth Orchestra (NRYO) 2026, ‘celebrating the extraordinary talent, dedication and musicianship of young performers from across the region.’

While Australia’s parliamentarians were frocking up for the Midwinter Ball last week, representatives of the nation’s authors, musicians and artists were in Canberra pleading for assurances that the government would not water down copyright laws, as part of a deal with giant tech firms to build $50bn worth of new data centres across the country.

Film-maker advocacy group, Screenworks, has revealed the first speaker line-up for Regional to Global Screen Forum 2026, which will be held in Lennox Head on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 September.

Byron Writers Festival opens on Bundjalung Country on August 14 with a Calling to Country led by local Arakwal Bundjalung custodian, Delta Kay, and this year will feature the inaugural Rhoda Roberts Oration, honouring the late, beloved Rhoda Roberts AO.