Byron Bay is set to be home to another festival this year, but this brand new offering is unlike anything the Northern Rivers have yet hosted.
Announced today, the inaugural REVEL Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival will celebrate food, beverage, music, art and culture of the Northern Rivers from Thursday, 10th November to Sunday, 13th November.
Honouring the local community, the festival will take over the popular restaurants and businesses in the NSW region for four days of events. The festival will include long lunches, twilight soirees, public art installations, performances, health and wellness classes, a produce market, tours, panel discussions, and workshops.
In a move that will have true foodies watering at the mouth, REVEL’s food and beverage component will be led by none other than Festival Food Curator, David Moyle. Formerly of Longsong and Franklin fame, Moyle made the sea change to Byron Bay in 2020, where he joined Harvest Newrybar as Chief of Food.
Known for his down-to-earth style of cooking and his ethical food sourcing practices, David Moyle says REVEL is the perfect platform to celebrate and recognise the importance of Byron’s food culture.
“What this festival stands to achieve is so important for this community that has been rocked by so many challenges in the past few years,” says Moyle. “It is going to be great to bring people back together to enjoy the company of friends and family with good food and good vibes in a beautiful setting.”
Inspired by the hardships that the local Byron Bay community encountered due to COVID-19, REVEL Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival Founder and Director Alex Taylor says: “As we all know the hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic along with tourism, arts and music and these are all industries that Byron Shire support in a large way for a regional place.”
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Co-Festival Director Jonny Ruddy says they had a wealth of talent to choose from when curating the event” “Byron Bay is an incredible hub of creative talent and entrepreneurs and we wanted to create something that would support all these industries as well as the wider community that has struggled to connect over the last couple of years.”
Centred around the REVEL Festival Village, where food, beverage, music and the arts converge, the festival will take over the entire North Byron Hotel in the Byron Arts and Industrial Estate.
It will also feature on-site events from the likes of Harvest, Raes on Wategos, Three Blue Ducks, Belongil Beach Italian Food, Bang Bang Byron Bay, Barrio, Capiche, The Hut, The Roadhouse, Treehouse on Belongil and Mosey on Inn group (Ciao Mate!, The Eltham and You Beauty), and many more.
Festival highlights are set to include what’s been dubbed ‘Beachside REVEL’ (overlooking Byron Bay Main Beach) where an opening event will take place and the ‘Secret REVEL Garden’ in town, where multiple events will take place.
Byron Shire Council has said the REVEL Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival will have a “positive impact” on the local community. Byron Shire Council Mayor, Michael Lyon says:
“The Northern Rivers is home to diverse and vibrant communities and has incredible creative talent, great food and spectacular natural beauty and I am looking forward to how this new festival will showcase this.
“The organisers live here and have expressed their commitment to ensuring the benefits of the event are shared across our community while encouraging longer-stay tourism and highlighting the best of what this region has to offer,” Lyon added.
“I can see the positive impact this will have on our local economy and community after the challenges of the past couple of years with the pandemic and the recent devastating floods – it will be nice to come together again and enjoy the festivities.”
Also offering their support and knowledge for Year One of REVEL are advisers Delta Kay, Arakwal Bundjalung Woman, Cultural Educator and Festival Ambassador and artists Paul McNeil and Karlee Mackie (MLAK). The aforementioned are among many REVEL Byron Bay Art Collaborators and Ambassadors.
REVEL Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival will be held across various venues on Thursday, 10th November to Sunday, 13th November. For further information and ticket sign ups, please visit the official website.
REVEL Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival Program
Thursday 10th November – Sunday 13th November
On-site events across restaurants, breweries, distilleries, cafes, Art Galleries, local businesses and iconic Byron Bay and Northern Rivers locations.
Thursday 10th November – Friday 11th November
Beachside REVEL events including opening event
Saturday, 12th November – Sunday 13th November
REVEL Festival Village and REVEL Secret Garden events
