By TANIA PHILLIPS
THE newly refurbished Budd Park at Murwillumbah will be officially opened in a spectuclar way this weekend thanks to the annual Tweed River Festival.
The Valley-wide event, will start at 3.30pm, and will include the official opening by Tweed Mayor Councillor Barry Longland at 6.45pm (NSW).
“Now in its 12th year, the Tweed River Festival is run by Council as a way to encourage our residents and visitors to be more aware about the importance of our waterways to our lives and lifestyles,” Council’s Natural Resource Management Coordinator and Festival head, Jane Lofthouse said.
“We’ll have a variety of fabulous free entertainment and food stalls offering delicious food throughout the afternoon and early evening,” she said.
“There’s an opportunity to decorate your own lantern with birds and sea life to keep and carry in the parade.”
The workshop starts at 3.30pm, with limited places available. The cost is $12.
“Then from 7.30pm (NSW), a giant Platypus sculpture will lead the Lights on the River Lantern Parade, which will light up the river with hundreds of luminous lanterns on and around the water,” Ms Lofthouse said.
Other highlights of the event include interactive circus workshops, weaving workshops using natural materials commonly found in the Tweed to make your own bird or bat, or you can join in a bird call competition, judged by local ‘twitchers’.
Ecologists, ‘birdos’ and Council’s environmental experts and those from BirdLife Northern Rivers will be on hand in the information tent to talk to festival-goers about topics from weeds to pests, to protecting koala habitat and bird watching.
The headline act on the stage will be vocalist Deya Dova, who draws on indigenous influences from across the globe to form an exotic mix of world, dance, electro and spine-tingling vocals. Other performers include Guriguru, the PCYC Concert Band and local choir the Voice Weavers.
Who will you vote for in the Miss Tweed Bird Beauty Show?
Roving performers will play with this year’s theme ‘Celebrating Birds of the Tweed’ dressed as three stunning birds of the Tweed who will be vying for audience votes – The ever-present Ibis, the elusive Regent Bower Bird and the infamous Scrub Turkey.
For more information, visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/riverfestival.
