Byron Bay articles of interest.

Reclaim the Night is a global women’s protest against men’s sexual violence held, on the last Friday in October each year. The date for 2012 is October 26. The philosophy of Reclaim The Night encourages grass roots participation in the organisation of events by as many women as possible. In this way Reclaim The Night is able to draw together women from diverse backgrounds and experiences to work together in addressing issues of men’s sexual violence against women and children. With the tragic death of Jill Meagher in Melbourne recently, the timing for Reclaim The Night has never been more important. This year’s Reclaim the Night will have a special focus on young women. We would encourage all mothers to [...]

Since it started on March 9, the YACROCKCAFE at the Byron Youth Activities Centre, has seen over 100 young musicians and bands take to the stage. For many, it has been their first public appearances. The YACROCKCAFE is a music-based safe-socialising weekly drop-in program for teenagers, that happens on Friday nights from 5-10pm. The YAC stage is set up each Friday with a full PA system, which is managed by sound engineering students from the SAE, on work placement. The idea of these nights is to encourage young bands and musicians to get together and play music to a live audience in a drug and alcohol-free youth-friendly space. There have been a number of special party nights, including workshops from [...]

SLUTWALK IN BYRON BAY TODAY! TODAY… June 23, the streets of Byron Bay will see its first SlutWalk.  The main idea of SlutWalk is that it is a protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman’s appearance. On January 24th, 2011, a representative of the Toronto Police, during a lecture to college students, gave shocking insight into the Police Force’s view of sexual assault by stating: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” The reaction to this statement has since started a world-wide grassroots movement challenging rape culture, victim-blaming and slut-shaming, and working to end sexual and domestic violence. Over the last 16 months, SlutWalks have taken place in [...]

YOUTH WEEK PARTY AT THE YAC!! Tonight’s the night!! Huge line-up of local young talent! Open mic happening throughout the night too, so let all your young folk know that if they wanna come down and play a few songs, they’re welcome to do so! There’s heaps of instruments available to use or they can bring their own! Artists playing tonight include Reilly Fitzalan, Chelsea June, Loki Hough & Elliott Cooper Brain, Vanessa & Arna Rogers and Ben Meek & the Paper Navitators!! MC for the night is Byron’s own Dancin’ Man Thomas Franklin, get out your dancin’s shoes and ROCK ON DOWN TO THE YAC and do some dorking- Tommy style!! They’re starting early, 5-10pm…. It’s a Celebration of [...]

Byron Bay’s YACROCKCAFE @ the YAC are celebrating Youth Week with a massive free party for local youth on the 20th of April. The YACROCKCAFE kicked off back in March with a HUGE party. The Youth Week Party is looking at being even better! MC for the night is Byron’s very own Dancin’ Man Thomas Franklin. Young performers booked to play the party include Gabe & Cecilia Brandolini, Reilly Fitzalan, Vanessa & Arna Rogers, Ben Meek & the Paper Navigators, Chelsea June & Zep Hamilton and Loki Hough & Elliott Cooper Brain. YACROCKCAFE Coordinator Nicqui Yazdi said “All of these young musicians are incredibly talented and most of them have just played at the BluesFest. Gabe Brandolini is now living [...]

Grommet Busking Comp Bonanza – NEW IN 2012 Under 18′s Grommet heats 17th & 18th March @ YAC. – TODAY AND TOMORROW!!! For the first time, the Bluesfest Busking Comp will be including a Grommet Busking Comp where musicians under the age of 18 have an opportunity to reveal their abilities in their own exclusive category. The Grommet division will be set up in a similar fashion to the original Bluesfest Busking Comp offering heats in Byron Bay on a weekend prior to the Bluesfest with the finals to be held at the Beach Hotel prior to the adult finals. This is an exciting change to this year’s comp and is key to the expansion and development of the Bluesfest [...]

GET YOUR ENTRIES IN FOR THE UNDER 18′S BLUESFEST GROMMET BUSKING COMP!! Entry deadline has been extended to Monday… Grommet Busking Comp Bonanza – NEW IN 2012 For the first time, the Bluesfest Busking Comp will be including a Grommet Busking Comp where musicians under the age of 18 have an opportunity to reveal their abilities in their own exclusive category. The Grommet division will be set up in a similar fashion to the original Bluesfest Busking Comp offering heats in Byron Bay on a weekend prior to the Bluesfest with the finals to be held at the Beach Hotel prior to the adult finals. This is an exciting change to this year’s comp and is key to the expansion [...]

YACROCKCAFE Opening on March 9th at the Byron Youth Activities Centre – Music-based Drop-in for Teens Something exciting is about to kick-off for young people in Byron Bay on Friday nights. The YACROCKCAFE is a free weekly music-based drop-in program for high school aged young people on Friday nights at the Byron Youth Activities Centre. The YACROCKCAFE will commence on Friday March 9th with a special opening night party sponsored by Project U-Turn. Guest artists on the night include awarding winning young band Lifeline, Mitchell Smith (X-Factor), Cecilia Brandolini, Loki Hough and Haven Hough. There will be giveaways from surf and skateboard company, Bone Machine, including a custom made skateboard and t-shirt packs and free pizza from the new Byron [...]

Nicqui Yazdi the BUDDI (Byron Underage Team Drinking and Drug Initiative) Team Leader will conduct a Mental Health First Aid course as part of Drug Action Week. WITH the national Drug Action Week due to kick off this Sunday, one local youth worker plans to make it much more than a token effort. Byron Underage Drinking and Drug Initiative (BUDDI) Team Leader Nicqui Yazdi will run a Mental Health First Aid course specifically designed to address the most-pressing issues facing the Byron Shire and the wider region. Already a “Master Trainer” in the Australian-designed course, having run more than 30 courses to assist volunteers at events and festivals like Schoolies Week and Splendour in the Grass, Ms Yazdi said it [...]

The MindRight Institute will be presenting two Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training courses for community members, parents, carers, teachers and community service professionals, at the Byron Youth Activities Centre in March and April. The YMHFA program offers the chance for participants to increase their understanding of mental health issues with our youth. A two-day course in Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches the signs and signals of all the common mental health problems in our youth and gives participants the skills needed to support a young person in a mental health crisis or who is developing a mental health problem. The courses run for two full days, from 9.30am til 5pm over two consecutive Mondays. There are two [...]

The Byron Schoolies Safety Response will be getting a big helping hand from Byron Youth Service (BYS) and BUDDI-CDAT (Byron Underage Drinking & Drug Initiative) for this years school leavers celebrations. BYS and BUDDI received a grant from the NRMA to provide a ‘Summer Safety in the Bay’ campaign and will be launching their program at Schoolies this year. Amongst other things, the NRMA funding has purchased 150 identifiable t-shirts for the volunteers of the Schoolies HUB and also volunteers for other high traffic times over summer, including New Years Eve. In an effort to reduce the amount of disposable cups that were used at last years Schoolies HUB, the NRMA grant will also enable the purchase refillable, biodegradable water [...]

BYRON BAY is Australia’s second-most popular destination for school leavers, according to BookSchoolies.com managing director Matt Lloyd. The leading schoolies accommodation booking service has secured 840 bookings for Bryon Bay, second only to the Gold Coast with 24,000. Byron Schoolies Safety Response founder and co-ordinator Nicqui Yazdi said the school leavers would be made welcome, but more volunteers were needed for Byron’s Schoolies HUB this year. “These young people are our future tourists,” she said. “And while they may not have a lot ofmoney to spend we certainly need (the economic boost) because we’ve had such a slow year with Splendour and the Bluesfestbeing out of town.” Ms Yazdi said last year’s Schoolies HUB was a huge success and previous [...]

Previous SNAP winners Angel Scarf and Koby Hagenfelds with Steffi from BYS THE Byron Youth Service is once again running its popular photo competition. Young photographers aged between 12 and 24 years who live, work or study in the Northern Rivers are invited to participate in the third SNAP competition. The competition is free and will culminate in a public exhibition at the Byron Youth Activity Centre (the YAC) on November 18. SNAP will offer more than $5000 in cash and prizes. The competition will include eight categories reflecting various visions of ‘night or day’. The winner of the People’s Choice Award will receive $1000 in cash and prizes. Young people will also have the opportunity to sell their work [...]

THE first funeral for the three young men killed in the triple fatality near Byron Bay has today brought the tourist town to a standstill. An estimated 1000 people gathered at Byron Bay’s Youth Activities Centre to farewell Jarah Blackett. Mourners paid tribute to the 22-year-old ‘surfer, drummer, comedian, footballer and rapper’ everyone loved. PHOTO GALLERY: We’ll miss you, Jarah TRIBUTE: Have your say below “He was a lovable rogue with a cheeky smile and the charm that would melt the hardest of hearts,” said his ‘aunty’ Odette Nightsky during a moving eulogy. “His great achievements were that he befriended anyone and everyone he possible could.” Mr Blackett’s popularity could be seen in the diverse crowd at his farewell, with [...]

Inspector Owen King signs the agreement with Schoolies HUB Coordinator, Nicqui Yazdi and John Gudgeon from the HLO. Respect, Responsibility and Relax were the key messages unveiled by the Byron Schoolies Safety Working Group recently. Last year around 10,000 young people attended their end-of-Year 12 celebrations in Byron Bay over a period of 16 days. In reponse to the large influx, a group of community and business groups formed last year to address the need for safety strategies. Creating a safe environment Thirteen key stakeholders signing the Statement included Inspector Owen King, Vice President of Byron United Paul Waters and General Manager for Byron Shire Council Graeme Faulkner. Before signing, HLO’s John Gudgeon told the assembled media that ‘We want to reiterate that Schoolies chose Byron Bay – they actually come here because they like the quietness and the environment. What we’ve done is [...]

At 10am yesterday, Tuesday 24th August 2010, The Byron Schoolies Safety Working Group met at the Byron Youth Activities Centre, 1 Gilmore Crescent, to sign a ‘Joint Vision Statement’ for this year’s Byron Schoolies Safety Response in November/December. The Byron Schoolies Safety Response aims to provide a safe and secure environment in Byron Bay during the end of year school leaver celebrations using the key messages of Respect, Responsibility and Relax. In 2009, the Byron Schooies Safety Response was born, in response to the need for safety strategies to cater to this ever-growing School Leavers event. In 2009, around 10,000 young people attended their end of Year 12 Celebrations here in Byron Bay over a period of 16 days. For [...]

Nicqui Yazdi, director of the MindRight Institute, holds a candle in support of the mentally ill at last night’s Mental Health Vigil at the Byron Bay Youth Activity Centre EVERY year one-in-five Australians will suffer a mental illness, a vigil in Byron Bay was told last night. Nicqui Yazdi knows first-hand the tragic consequences if people aren’t properly treated by medical professionals. Less than a month ago, when her uncle realised his son was depressed, he took him to a GP. Recognising the symptoms the GP referred him to a phycologist. However, due to lack of services, Ms Yazdi’s cousin could not make an appointment for a few weeks. The following day, the 30-year-old took his own life. It wasn’t [...]

Working hard preparing for the fashion show, left to right, Rachael Bringvela-Russell, Danni Rowland and Ayla James. North Coast TAFE Wollongbar Fashion Faculty has partnered with Byron Youth Services, Links to Learning Program to offer early school leavers the opportunity to study for Certificate II in Fashion Design & Technology. The students have been working hard all semester and are now preparing for the Stitch& Style Fashion Show to showcase their designs and celebrate their achievements. The fashion show will be on Thursday June 17, 5.30pm-7.30pm at the Byron Youth Activity Centre, 1 Gilmore Crescent, Byron Bay. Cheryl Amor, TAFE Fashion teacher, said, ‘This is a great opportunity to be part of such a positive program with young people who are achieving practical skills in the fashion industry. The Byron Youth Service provides a supportive environment and we have a fantastic group of students who are [...]

Byron Youth Service is pleased to be able to invite you to their inaugural ‘Young People Matter’ Event – AN EVENING WITH JONTI BUSH 2009 YOUNG AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR When: Tuesday 15th June 2010 Where: Byron Youth Activity Centre, 1 Gilmore Crescent Byron Bay Time: 6pm – 8.30 RSVP: Rosalie Bryant on 02 6685 7777; rosalie@bys.org.au by Tuesday 8th June Anti-violence campaigner Jonty Bush shows us how one person can make an incredible difference, and that passion can be powerful in realising our goals and dreams. Using her darkest hours as inspiration, Jonty has developed a remarkable list of achievements, and in her address, Jonty will share her views on overcoming adversity to create the life you want for yourself and others. Jonty joined the Queensland [...]

Rock the YAC is proud to present a massive day of music and performance art, the first in a series of events to be entirely conceptualised, produced and managed by youth for youth. The Tiki Mash Up on Saturday April 24 at the YAC from 3pm to 11pm will showcase a variety of up and coming bands, DJs and roving performance artists from Byron Shire and interstate, including sets from local upcoming rockers Primary Colours, Sexisles and Polaroid Fame, electro funk maestros Red Bantoo as well as interstate bands The Phonies (Sydney), The Rude (Brisbane) and Darky Roots (Brisbane). Tiki Mash Up will feature roving local circus artists, Fire twirling, acrobats, juggling and group stunts. There will also be interactive [...]