Australian_Traveller-May.June.July_2019

EVERYNOWANDTHEN,youjust

havetostockuponthefeelingsthat

remindyouthatlife–andtheworld–is

beautiful.Grafton’sJacarandaseasonisa

waytoplugintothatsenseofwonder,as

Grafton’sstreetsandparksaretransformed

intosomethingoutofapurpledream.

Beginningonthelastweekendin

Octobereachyearandrunningthrough

toearlyNovember,thiswonderful

floralevent–anditscrowningglory,

theGraftonJacarandaFestival,the

oldestinthecountry–hasbeen

likenedinsignificanceandglamourto

Japan’sfamouscherryblossom

celebrations.

Visitorsflockfromnearandfartothe

largestJacarandadisplayinthecountry,

wanderingthetree-linedstreets,posingfor

photographsandenjoyingallthemagicof

thisveryspecialtimeofseasonaltransition.

Butdidyouknowthattheregionis

alsohometomorethan 100 annual

celebrations?There’sApril’splungeArts

&Culturefestival,theGatetoPlateevent

ArtinthePaddockatYugilbarCastle

• yes,it’sanactualcastle!–inJune,the
  multiculturalcelebrationoftheCamp
  OvenFestivalinAugustatNymboida,not
  tomentionbig-tickettouringartistslike
  LeeKernaghan,plusalltheentertainment
  oftheClarenceValleyCountryMuster


• oneofthemust-visiteventsonthe
  Australiancountrymusiccalendar.
  Butifit’stheJacarandaseasonthat
  capturesyourimagination,remember
  it’ssurprisinglybrief,whichonly

Forup-to-dateeventsinfo,check

outmyclarencevalley.com

• orbetteryet,comejoin
  onFacebookvia
  @myclarencevalley

makestheexperiencemorerareand

memorable.Pickupanovel,perhaps

onesetinGraftonitself(TheMintLawn

forexample,writtenbyClarenceValley

AmbassadorGillianMears),stretchout,

startreadingunderthetreesandletthe

blossomsfallasyouwhileawaythehours.

Whynotpickupsomedelicious

producefromacafe,emporium,

farmersmarketordelitohaveapicnic

inyourownpatchofpurple?

Here’sourfavourite:Howabout

doingnothing?Justforamoment.

Whenwasthelasttimeyouputasideyour

device,switchedošfrommodernlife’s

distractions,stoppedthinking,stopped

doing?Beinginthepresenceofthese

remarkableblossomsencouragesstillness

• evenifonlyforjustafewminutes.
  Wecan’twaittoseeyouhere.

Where culture

is always in bloom

TheJacarandasoftheCLARENCEVALLEYdrawthousandsof

visitors–buttheregionošerssomuchmoretoexploreyear-round.

In partnership with Clarence Valley

IMAGE: LAUREN BATH