Arts & Culture

Goodwill, undiluted Blues, and free entertainment that offers that up close and personal music experience, is what keeps Goulburn’s long running Australian Blues Festival alive – and it’s gearing up to deliver the beats yet again from February 7-10. Region Media spoke with Goulburn based promoter and festival organiser Geoff Bell about what’s coming up this year for the Blues...

If you're in need of a nature getaway to beat the heat this long weekend, the mountains are calling. "The highest temperature ever recorded on the top of Mount Kosciusko is 28 C," laughs Susie Diver, Communications Manager for Thredbo Resort. "And the water in Thredbo River is always refreshingly cool." As part of an overarching push to encourage visitors to the...

Once upon a time, travel in regional Australia meant frequent bad-coffee-stops, reheated pastries and in the end, regret at not packing an esky and thermos. Those days are well behind us. Country New South Wales now boasts coffee and eating houses you can count on, beautifully designed and decked out with feeling, a little hat-tip towards local history and gorgeous...

The lawn in front of Apma Indigenous Gallery in Tilba is covered with people wearing red - red dresses, red shirts, even a woolly red and black footy scarf, despite the warm day.  Red is worn by over a hundred revellers to honour and celebrate the "life, times and escapades" of Glen Atkinson, who has terminal liver cancer, as part of...

The historic Bombala Infants School will be reborn as the Bombala Arts and Innovation Centre, fulfiling a longheld vision of the local community. The 146-year-old building sits high on Wellington Street and has been crying out for a purpose since it's closure as a primary school in the mid-1990s and in more recent years, a TAFE campus. Locals were taken by surprise when...

As school leavers consider their career options in 2019, local TAFE campuses are throwing open their doors this week for 'InfoFest' a showcase of the job pathways offered by TAFE NSW locally. Significant change within TAFE in recent years and the announcement of a new TAFE campus and Connected Learning Centre for Bega has brought the educational offering and recoursing of the...

Braidwood now has an extra shine. The heritage-listed town has long been known as the jewel in the crown of the Kings Highway, but now Braidwood is really sparkling with the arrival of the Thompson family jewellery store in the main street. Having closed their famous Manuka store ‘Briolette’ last year, Diana Thompson, son Travis and his partner Jodie have...

Jindabyne’s neighbours are invited have their say on the town's future later this week with another round of discussion tied to the Go Jindabyne Masterplan. A series of community meetings will be held in Berridale, Dalgety and Adaminaby on Thursday and Friday (January 24/25). The visit is a follow up to what has been described as a highly productive initial round...

The scene on the beach must have been complete mayhem. Gentle waves lapped Kealakekua Bay on St Valentine's Day 1779, but on land, there was bloodshed and chaos as Captain James Cook and four of his men were murdered by a crowd of angry Hawaiians. Sometimes a single object can transport you to the scene. And so it is in the...

Member for Bega, Andrew Constance has raised the idea of moving the Bega Valley Regional Gallery to the 'old old' Bega Hospital site as a way of advancing cultural tourism and his government's position on funding these two significant funding applications. The suggestion comes in the wake of failed attempts to access the NSW Government's Regional Cultural Fund. Bega Valley Shire Council...

Bushfire is such an ever-present fear and risk across Southern NSW and the ACT. The experience of those who have been through such an experience is priceless to those who have not. Do you know what you would do or how you would react? And then comes the recovery and the rebuilding of lives and homes. Learning the lessons from...

As temperatures across New South Wales spiked and turned ugly this week, families in Bega looked on at the town's water feature hoping it would spring to life and afford some relief from those baking days. The Dr McKee Memorial Fountain has been a feature of the Bega CBD since 1967. First erected outside the old Bega Town Hall, and...

Envirohunt activity sheets are a welcome addition to the summer holidays in the Eurobodalla and give parents and carers the bait they might be looking for to lure kids away from screens. These free guides from Eurobodalla Shire Council allow local and visiting families to explore the region's beaches and estuaries at their own pace. The Envirohunt activity sheets are available on Council's website and can...

The Wild Eye Photo Competition has again highlighted the stunning diversity of the local environment and the talent of local photographers. Coordinated by the Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness, each entry gives the viewer a distinctive perspective on the other life forms we share this place with. Twenty-two year old Bega Valley photographer Harrison Warne has again done well...

Carly Farrugia is standing on the third level of scaffolding, scraping loose paint flakes from the 12-foot ceiling of her new kitchen in Bega. "The appeal of the house was how run-down it was," Farrugia laughs. "We wanted a future home but we also wanted a massive project, something with the kind of character that warranted putting a lot of...

Jindabyne's Brad Cox is back at the Tamworth Country Music Festival hoping to repeat last year's success but at the same time happy just to be playing music and hanging with mates. About this time last year, the then 22-year-old won the 39th Toyota Star Maker talent quest launching him into a year he describes as a rollercoaster. "My brain is...