The award-winning Murbah Youth Fest is set to return to Murwillumbah this April, bringing a vibrant celebration of creativity, music and community spirit to Knox Park. Now in its fourth year, the festival, named 2025 Community Event of the Year in the Tweed Shire, continues to grow in both scale and impact, with more young people involved in shaping the event than ever before.
Murwillumbah Community Services Coordinator Eva Sanz Orio said the festival’s evolution has been both organic and inspiring.
“Every year obviously, these things, when they stick, and they continue, then more people are interested, and they grow,” she said.
Held as part of National Youth Week on Sunday 19 April from 10 am to 4 pm, the festival promises a packed program featuring a Battle of the Bands, Talent Quest, Creative Market and the return of the popular Cosplay Contest.
This year’s entertainment lineup is one of the most diverse yet, reflecting the festival’s commitment to showcasing a wide range of young talent.
“We’ve got six Battle of the Bands entries registered, we’ve got and about 12 talent quest shows this year,” Ms Sanz Orio said.
“In the past, it was more around circus skills, but this year I we’ve got some acting, we’ve got a theatre company doing a short play, stand-up comedy… so it’s much more varied and diverse.”
The festival has also expanded its reach beyond the immediate Tweed area, with performers travelling from across the Northern Rivers.
“We’ve got one band from Lismore this year, which is really good,” she said.
At the heart of the event is its strong youth-led focus, driven by the Youth Action Group, a collective formed to ensure young people have a genuine voice in the planning and delivery of the festival.
“This group was formed in a very flexible, informal way as a platform for young people to be able to contribute their ideas and their skills, and we do consultation with them all the time,” Ms Sanz Orio said.
That approach has helped the festival better reflect the interests of local young people, while also broadening its appeal across age groups.
“Last year we achieved something that we really wanted, which was attracting more older young people,” she said.
“Previous years were more children and younger young people, last year we had a good bunch of 17, 18, 19-year-olds too.”
While Murbah Youth Fest is a highlight on the calendar, it also represents just one part of the broader youth engagement work being carried out year-round by the Murwillumbah Community Centre.
At its core is a regular after-school drop-in program, which provides a safe and welcoming space for young people to connect in an informal setting.
“We’ve got an after-school group that is the basis for the youth action group as well,” Ms Sanz Orio said.
“So Mondays and Thursdays, young people, can come after school and hang out, they can come and hang out, sometimes we do activities, they play cards.”
These sessions are intentionally low-pressure, designed to build trust, connection and a sense of belonging, something Ms Sanz Orio says is increasingly important.
From that foundation, the Centre delivers a range of targeted programs aimed at building confidence and practical skills, including peer education and outreach initiatives.
“We help them make connections through projects like Stay Safe Peer project – where we co-design the manuals to train young people to become peer educators,” she said.
“And then we hire young people to go and do outreach to events, discuss healthy relationships and services that are available.”
This layered approach, starting with social connection and building toward leadership and employment pathways, helps young people engage at their own pace.
“Having these opportunities to be out and being actively engaged in contributing to social participation and learning skills in a fun way helps give them the confidence to then look for a job,” Ms Sanz Orio said.
The need for these kinds of programs has only grown in recent years, particularly as communities navigate the ongoing impacts of natural disasters, cost-of-living pressures and social change.
“We are very aware that the two biggest groups in our communities that are suffering more isolation are young people and elders,” she said.
“Sometimes with young people, it’s very difficult to engage them in counselling, so having these opportunities improves their overall wellbeing.”
Murbah Youth Fest brings all of those elements together in a highly visible, community-wide, drug and alcohol-free celebration, creating a space where young people can showcase their talents while also feeling supported and included.
“It’s a healthy alternative for recreation and leisure for young people,” Ms Sanz Orio said.
“It also helps regain the public space for young people, changing that general stigma as well.”
While the event is youth-focused, the entire community is encouraged to attend and celebrate the achievements of local young people.
“It’s obviously a youth-led festival for young people, but it is really open to the entire community to celebrate the skills and the talent of our youth,” she said.
Behind the scenes, the event is a major collaborative effort, supported by Tweed Shire Council, local sponsors and a network of community organisations.
That collaboration will be on display at this year’s festival, with interactive stalls, a youth-run chill-out space and a range of activities designed to engage and support young people.
New to the program in 2026 is a skateboarding activation delivered by Totem Skateboarding, alongside returning favourites like bubble soccer and the cosplay competition.
“We’re going to have a bigger stage, we have more young people genuinely interested in participating,” Ms Sanz Orio said.
“We’ll have a group of young people from Murwillumbah High School doing volunteering on the day to set up and run the event.”
For Ms Sanz Orio, the continued growth of the festival is not just about attendance, though crowds have reached as high as 900 in previous years, but about what it represents for the community.
“Murwillumbah is a community that has suffered a lot, so it’s so incredible to be able to run this,” she said.
“It is very satisfying to see that we can continue doing it, and that the local community is also excited.”
Murbah Youth Fest will take place at Knox Park, Murwillumbah, on Sunday, 19 April from 10 am to 4 pm. Entry is free, and all are welcome.
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