Byron Bay articles of interest.

The Nimbin Mardi Grass is set for a HUGE year this year, celebrating their 20th anniversary! Entry into Plantem Park and the Nimbin Hall where most MardiGrass events are held costs $50 for a weekend pass including Friday night, or $30 for a one day pass. With three nights camping a full ticket costs $100. Armbands are available at the Nimbin Hall and the Hemp Embassy. Camping sites and tickets can be booked online at www.nimbinmardigrass.com The 21st annual Cannabis law reform rally and gathering begins at midday on Wednesday May 1st when we march from Lismore Court House to the Police Station (Next Door), then to the office of our local Federal MP Janelle Saffin, and on to the [...]

MARDI GRASS… YOU KNOW WHERE… YOU KNOW WHAT FOR… THIS WEEKEND! For more information go to http://www.nimbinmardigrass.com/

The famous Big Joint is carried during the Rally for Cannabis Law Reform and Float Parade. Cops disjoint HEMP party’s plan DESPITE being banned by Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Big Joint will roll into Canberra to greet US President Barack Obama when he visits Australia next week. The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party’s plan to offer President Obama the 10-metre joint has become disjointed, with the AFP forcing the group to gather in an Authorised Assembly Area between new and old parliament houses along with other protest groups next Wednesday and Thursday. But the “10-metre long inflatable structure” was not approved. Michael Balderstone from the Hemp Embassy at Nimbin still plans to deploy the Big Joint, perhaps even [...]

Michael Balderstone (on the ladder) and David Hallett inspect part of a painting by Rolf Harris that was found at the rubbish tip that now hangs outside on a wall at the Nimbin Museum. AN ALMOST-forgotten and deteriorating 1978 Rolf Harris original mural in Nimbin could soon be placed on the market to help fund the village’s struggling Hemp Museum. Museum manager Michael Balderstone rescued the piece from going to the tip in 1990 and installed it in Rainbow Lane where it remains today. Inspired by children’s stream-of-conscious suggestions at the time it was painted, the highly unusual Harris original depicts the artist’s own head being ripped off by a bird and Harry Butler, Australia’s original high-profile naturalist being strangled [...]

Zorbing at sunset in Nimbin. NIMBIN will soon have a new high for adventure thrill-seekers, with Lismore City Council approving the region’s first Zorb ball park. Zorbing is a new craze popular among backpackers that involves rolling and bouncing down a hill while inside a large plastic bubble. The proposed site in Blade Rd drew mixed reactions from locals with 22 of the 26 public submissions opposing the facility. Most councillors backed the facility, subject to key recommendations from staff, with Cr Neil Marks criticising the “not in my backyard” contingent and saying he would have no objections to a Zorb park next to his house – to which one wag in the gallery responded by suggesting it go there [...]

A Nimbin resident strikes a pose in the first hemp coffin produced by the Nimbin Hemp Embassy. HEMP heaven can be yours for as little as $600 thanks to another Nimbin world first. The hemp coffin prototype – made from the finest German hemp particle board – has rolled off the factory floor at the Hemp Embassy. The coffin is the brainchild of hemp activist Michael Balderstone and was designed and constructed by a team of volunteers. Mr Balderstone said the coffin was the most affordable way to go. “I think it’s even cheaper than a cardboard coffin and it’s definitely cheaper than timber,” he said. Constructed from lightweight 19mm board, it comes with hemp-rope handles and can be hand-painted [...]

At the launch are back Nora Vidler Blanksby; middle from left Greg Meek designer, , mayor Jenny Dowell, Mitch Lowe; front from left Joseph Smith, 3 (in car), Ruby Lowe, 5 and Jack Lowe, 7. IT’S time residents of Lismore and Nimbin wore their hearts on their sleeves … or chest, or head, whatever the case may be, Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell said yesterday at the launch of new tourist branding for the two towns. The red heart, made famous by the CBD’s successful Come to the Heart campaign, has been incorporated in the Lismore tourism brand under the slogan Come to the Heart of the Northern Rivers. Lismore Council’s tourism services co-ordinator Mitch Lowe said the Lismore campaign would [...]

EcoMart director Effie Ablett (left) with Elke (13), and Eve (9) Howell and their mum Jenny Stonier enjoying the natural benefits of sustainable home-grown food. CAN’T eat all of the pumpkins growing in your backyard? Neither could Alstonville woman Jenny Stonier, so she decided to get involved with EcoMart Northern Rivers Co-op. “This year we planted a pumpkin patch to stop the (creek) bank eroding, and it has produced a huge number of pumpkins,” she said. “We used to give away all of our excess fruit and vegetables. “But now we can sell it through EcoMart.” Her family grows a huge variety of fresh produce on their property, including potatoes, spring onions and pineapples. “We live in a place where [...]

An example of fashion which will be on show at Nimbin.   photo by Dontatella Parisini NIMBIN may be best known for its Mardi Grass Festival. But a group of artists is hoping that soon the town will also be associated with fashion. Or, as project co-ordinator Philip Hanlon says, “wearable art”. Creations by the association, Nimbin Fashion Australia, include edgy leather, cool street wear, fetish-styled evening wear and clothes made of recycled glomesh. “They are all exceptional fashion, locally designed and made,” said Mr Hanlon, who is helping organise the launch of the association at the School of Arts in Nimbin on May 19. Guests will include Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell and CEO of Arts Northern Rivers Tony Duke, [...]

Michael Balderstone and volunteers prepare a vast number of herbal joints in preparation for MardiGrass over the weekend. photo Marc Stapelberg POLICE were keeping a low profile in Nimbin yesterday afternoon – although perhaps they were only sheltering from the sporadic heavy rains that struck the town leading up to MardiGrass. But the police have made it clear they will be highly visible at the weekend’s “law reform rally and gathering”, with about 100 officers from the Richmond Local Area Command and the Northern Region out in force. Their aim would be to “maintain a safe environment for the public without tolerating any illegal drug activity or anti-social behaviour”, a spokesman said. Despite the weather, revellers were filling up the streets [...]

The Bringabong Babes danced their way through the MardiGrass law reform rally last year ORGANISERS of the annual Nimbin MardiGrass acknowledge the entertainment program is a major drawcard of the event, but say their cannabis law-reform message is as relevant today as it was at the first rally in 1993. “We vowed to rally every year on the first Sunday in May until we are no longer criminals for using cannabis,” MardiGrass spokesman Michael Balderstone said. “Until the laws change, MardiGrass is relevant – as far as we are concerned the law is the crime,” Mr Balderstone said. Now in its 19th year, the rally this weekend will draw thous- ands onto the streets of the usually tranquil town. For [...]

Kronic, which mimics the effect of cannabis (above), is a mix of herbs and chemicals made in New Zealand and now being sold in Australia. A NEW synthetic “drug” that mimics the effect of cannabis is creeping into the Northern Rivers – and it’s perfectly legal. Kronic is a mix of herbs and chemicals made in New Zealand and now being sold in Australia – although you won’t find a shop stocking it in NorthernRivers. Happy High Herbs founder Ray Thorpe said he was refusing to stock the product at his Byron Bay or Uki stores after hearing of cases where people’s lungs had collapsed after using the substance. A sales assistant at Happy High Herbs at Nimbin, which is [...]

Designer and model Jaz Who presents one of her dazzling designs at the Nimbin Fashion Parade. WATCH out, world – the fashionistas of Nimbin have teamed up in their quest for fame and fortune. Fashion designers from the village have founded a new association – Nimbin Fashion Australia Inc. – with the aim of promoting and marketing local creations, according to designer Jaz Who. “We just want to be able to do what we love,” she said. “This is a great opportunity for us and we have a lot of wonderful people working on this project. “I’ve been involved for about a year, but the others have been working on this for longer. We’ve been working really hard. “It’s about [...]

Former champion bong thrower, Garry the plumber, retires from the sport after bowing out in the finals against stronger and younger competition at yesterday’s MardiGrass event. photo by David Nielsen LET’S dispense first with the obvious points about the weekend’s MardiGrass festival. Yes, it is largely attended by those who have opted to drop out of the rat race that most of the rest of us are stuck in. Yes, the festival preached to the converted, with opponents of more relaxed cannabis lawsunlikely to have changed their minds after Nimbin’s busiest weekend. Yes, it is arguable the event does little from a PR point of view to help improve the chances of cannabis law reform, which is likely to come only [...]

Drug laws discussed and debated Bringabong Babes Emerald (left), of England, and Dionne May (right), of Nimbin, dancing during the MardiGrass law reform rally.   photo by David Nielsen AMID the bong tossing and joint rolling, there was actually a serious side to the MardiGrass weekend. And while it lacked the visual appeal of watching contestants hurl a smoking apparatus half the length of a football field, the discussion regarding cannabis users ending up before the courts was arguably of more consequence. With more than 10,800 illegal drug possession charges brought before NSW local courts in 2008, Lismore solicitor Steve Bolt gave two weekend talks at the Nimbin Town Hall on exactly what the law says when it comes to cannabis. [...]

NIMBIN is a hive of industry as the village gears up for its premier annual event – the 18th MardiGrass, which is set to kick off this weekend. Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said the cannabis law reform rally was as relevant as ever due to more than a decade of government prohibition and criminalisation policies. “Eighteen years ago, outraged Nimbin residents led by the legendry Bob Hopkins organised a May Day rally in response to heavy-handed helicopter raids and excessive force on peaceful hippies,” he said. “It attracted 700 people that year and we vowed to do it every year until the laws were changed and we were no longer deemed criminals. “Recent law changes in the United States [...]

Markets in the Northern Rivers Area Ballina Market Entertainment Area Canal Road Ballina Ph/Fax: (02) 6672 2874 Bruce Williams Art and craft stalls, local home grown produce and a variety of activities. Market held on 3rd Sun of month. Bangalow Market Showgrounds Bangalow NSW 2479 Ph: (02) 6687 1911 Stalls, arts & crafts & performances. 4th Sun of month. Brunswick Heads Riverside Markets Memorial Park Brunswick Heads NSW 2483 Ph: (02) 6684 4437 Gordon Wright Riverside Markets at Memorial Park held from 7.30am to 3.00pm on the first Sat each month. Easter Market held on Easter. Annual Twilight Market held from 4pm to 9pm on the last Wed before Christmas. Byron Bay Community Market Byron Bay Community Market, Butler Street [...]