In 1973, the Aquarius Festival, the bi-annual festival of the Australian Union of Students, was held at Nimbin, the Rainbow Region.

The Aquarius 50th Anniversary Festival kicks off today and runs until Sunday, May 21. It will celebrate the anniversary of this remarkable event and its legacy, including the achievements and challenges of the Nimbin township over half a century.

The extensive program covers many aspects of the 1973 Aquarius Festival and its impact on the Rainbow Region, and indeed on Australian culture.

Each of the ten days of the festival in May are themed as:

Friday 12: FIRST NATIONS DAY

Saturday 13: DAY OF THE SPIRIT

Sunday 14: HEALTH AND HEALING DAY

Monday 15: ENVIRONMENT DAY

Tuesday 16: PROTEST DAY

Wednesday 17: ARTS DAY

Thursday 18: HOUSING DAY

Friday 19: DAY OF THE DEAD

Saturday 20: YOUTH DAY

Sunday 21: CLOSING CEREMONY.

The program encompasses a wide range of events in and around Nimbin, including in the Nimbin Hall, the Bush Theatre, the Church of Aquarius, Nimbin Community Centre, Nimbin Showgrounds, Birth and Beyond, the World Rainbow Café Tent, Blue Knob Hall and the Nimbin Bowlo, with open days at the Rainbow Power Company, the Djanbung Gardens Permaculture Centre, and the Tunable Falls Cooperative.

Highlights include:

• An Exhibition of the Aquarius Archives
• The involvement of First Nations People, including in the Opening Ceremony, and a celebration of the first Welcome to Country in modern times which was conducted at the Nimbin Aquarius Festival
• The visit of Philippe Petit, who was at the Aquarius Festival and later went on to achieve international fame with his high wire walks between the Pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Twin Towers in New York
• The Aquarius Elders Dinner, where Graeme Dunstan and Johnny Allen will tell their stories of the vision and challenges of the Aquarius Festival, tributes will be paid to Elders no longer with us, and a range of perspectives will be presented on the festival
• Ellis D Fogg Free Liquid Lightshow Concert with the Healing Voices Choir, Pagan Love Cult, Liquidelic & Others.

Unfortunately, Bruce Pascoe, aboriginal author of Dark Emu, has had to withdraw from the festival program due to illness.

Full program details at: www.aquarius50.com.au.

Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/aquarius50-festival.