Cultural event celebrates diversity

BYRON Bay’s multicultural community will come together for the Global Beats Harmony Week World Music Lantern Parade this Saturday March 29.

The event will include daytime and evening parades, as well as cultural performances, multicultural food stalls and lantern-making workshops at Byron Twilight Market.

Festival organiser Mayu Akiba, from Byron Multicultural Inc., said she hopes the celebration will raise awareness of cultural diversity and help build social connections and cohesion.

“Byron Bay is one of most popular places in regional NSW for people on student visas and working holidaymakers, but there are fewer supporting services compared to other areas,” she said.

“Our event is the only community celebration that brings together and showcases a range of cultural groups in a mainstream public place, fostering a more inclusive, understanding and harmonious society by promoting empathy, combating prejudice and enriching our lives through diverse perspectives and experiences.”

Akiba moved to Byron Bay from Japan in 2012 because of the damage and environmental pollution caused by the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country the previous year.

“Even after moving to Byron Bay, I have remained proud of my culture as a Japanese person and have shared it with the community through music, entertainment and food,” she said.

“I started visiting local schools for sushi, ninja, craft, story, music and martial arts workshops as a parent contribution in 2012, to share a cool side of Japan and raise awareness about cultural diversity for children.”

Along with a few other Japanese mums, Akiba received support from Byron Shire Council to start the Matsuri (Japanese festival) Byron Bay in 2017, and formed the Japanese drumming group Byron Taiko in 2019.

The Harmony Week event began as a theatre showcase at Byron Theatre in 2021 and evolved from there.

It will begin with a mini cultural concert at Main Beach at 3.30pm and culminate with the lantern parade at 7.15pm.