Arts & Culture

The famous waters of the NSW Far South Coast have at times this week been a brilliant red by day and a luminescent blue at night. This natural event is non-toxic and with a bit of luck will hang around for the long weekend so more people can take in the spectacle. "Red tide is the colloquial name for the...

A special occasion this week for 95-year-old, Yallambee Lodge resident Tibor Olgay. On Monday, Mr Olgay played host to Thailand’s Ambassador to Australia and officials from the Royal Thailand Embassy. Thailand Ambassador, Nantana Sivakua made the trip to Cooma to personally thank Mr Olgay who designed the Royal Thailand Embassy in Canberra, 48 years ago. “We are very grateful for the work...

If you think you've seen one Floriade Nightfest, you've seen it all, think again. Floriade lights up tonight until Sunday with an array of cascading colours across Commonwealth Park in a unique show created by design stars Mandylights - which handle the big festivals - concerts and touring productions in Australia and overseas. Director Richard Neville says no one Nightfest...

The Eurobodalla has a "new" Deputy Mayor, Councillor Rob Pollock OAM, takes over from Cr Anthony Mayne, who served in the position for two years. Describing Cr Pollock as "new to the role" should be prefaced with the knowledge that he has been a local councillor for 31 years and has previously served as Deputy Mayor for 11. Over the...

A monumental marble statue of a Roman magistrate, a frieze featuring a rare depiction of female gladiators, and a fragment of a gilded wall painting from Emperor Nero’s Golden House are among the treasures in the British Museum’s Rome: City and Empire exhibition, now open at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra till February. The exhibition, exclusive to the National Museum, draws on...

The possible impact of bushfire on our home and community has become an almost routine contemplation. The long-running Yankees Gap Fire burning at the back of Bemboka, Numbugga, Coopers Gully, and Brogo has so far claimed four homes, its ongoing presence mixed with one bad day puts more at risk. This five-week-old fire comes six months after the flames of the Reedy...

The power and importance of storytelling shown brightly at the Giiyong Festival at Jigamy on Saturday, the many and varied storytelling formats and styles was part of the magic but the real spark came from the people telling the stories. People with real and current connections to the dark chapters of Australian history and people with a real joy for the culture...

Community organisations of the Bega Valley; you have only days left to apply for the 2018 Mumbulla Foundation grants programs. When applications opened in mid-August the deadline was weeks away, well now its hear and screaming at your conscience. Applications close Sunday, September 30! The Foundation welcomes applications from not for profit and charitable organisations including; schools, charities, volunteers and individuals...

Jo Saccomani is the founder of Two Sheds Workshop, she is one of the bright sparks of the Bega community and inspired 300 plus people at the recent Festival of Open Minds. Despite growing up with parents who built, renovated and decorated the family home, it was by chance that Jo became a carpenter. From school, she began an Arts...

Just when you think you know everything about Canberra’s champion athlete, Michael Milton, he goes and opens a Harry Potter-themed store in Fyshwick. What I didn’t realise about this Paralympic skier was his passion for everything Harry Potter. And he has passed this passion on to the next generation of family members. He has just one rule for his two...

The indigenous and non-indigenous community across South East NSW is excited about this weekends Giiyong Festival at Jigamy, just north of Eden - Thaua Country. Giiyong is Australia's newest Aboriginal festival, incorporating music, art, food, film, literature and spoken word performances, and the first of its kind for southern NSW. Pronounced: Guy-Yoong, the word means ‘come to welcome’ in the traditional...

Family and child support workers from across the Snowy Monaro and Bega Valley are now better able to help with childhood trauma thanks to the efforts of Cooma school girls. The unique two-day workshop at the Cooma Youth Hub was funded by the hard work of young women from Project O, who raised $42,000 last November at a 12-hour art marathon...

A week of perfect spring weather has brought out the Floriade blooms in Commonwealth Park for Canberra's 31st festival of flowers. This year, the theme is Pop Culture and your favourite icons such as Marilyn, Dame Edna and the Beatles will emerge from the garden beds across the venue, with the ferris wheel being the perfect place to view the...

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," where were you when Neil Armstrong uttered those words on the surface of the moon in 1969? JoAnn Morgan was in the Firing Room at NASA, the only woman, and she is coming to Batemans Bay to share the experience and much more from her stellar career. Denhams Beach local...

Floriade 2018 opens this Saturday, with hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to flock to the four-hectare site at Commonwealth Park in Canberra to take part in the largest floral festival in the Southern Hemisphere. This year’s 30-day festival runs from September 15 to October 14 and promises to take visitors on a trip down memory lane through the theme...

Dear Catherine, Thanks for being the opening speaker for the Festival of Open Minds held in Bega last Friday on the first day of Spring. You left us feeling a sense of deepest honour and respect for baring your heart and life to us. Ian Campbell nailed it when he said that you opened our hearts as well as our...