Wardell community

Neighbourhood Centre

WARDELL RIVER FESTIVAL 2026

RIVER LIFE

Saturday 17 October 2026 | Wardell

Come together on the banks of the Richmond River for a big day of live music, food, art, creativity, river activities and community celebration.

Wardell River Festival returns in 2026 with our theme RIVER LIFE — celebrating the river that connects our communities, shapes our landscape and sits at the heart of life in Wardell.

This year’s festival brings together local artists, musicians, community groups, young people, food, competitions and plenty of ways to join in.

LIVE MUSIC

Headlined by Hussy Hicks, with a full afternoon and evening of live music and entertainment from across the Northern Rivers and beyond.

Music from 12 noon into the evening.

GET CREATIVE

There’s plenty happening beyond the stage.

Take part in the River Life Art Competition, show off your skills in the River Fest Bake Off, dress up for the River Style Fashion Parade, make a lantern, join a creative workshop or simply come along and enjoy what the community has created.

ON THE RIVER

The Richmond River is part of the festival too. Join our morning river activities, explore stories and ideas about the Richmond, and celebrate the people and organisations working to care for this incredible river system.

LANTERN PARADE

As the sun goes down, River Fest will light up. Community-made lanterns will come together for our River Life Lantern Parade, followed by an evening of music, performance and celebration.

A FESTIVAL MADE BY THE COMMUNITY

Wardell River Festival is created with the help of local volunteers, community organisations, artists, businesses and supporters.

There are lots of ways to be part of it — volunteer, enter a competition, make a lantern, donate an item, become a sponsor or simply bring your family and friends along for the day.

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 2026

Wardell | From 12 noon

Free community event

Wardell's Monthly Neighbourhood Pizza Night.

Join us on Richmond Street for another beautiful evening of wood-fired pizza, community connections and sunset by the river.

Come down for a pizza or just come along for the music !

Broadwater Community Social will be bringing tea coffee and their amazing selection of cakes.

Richmond Street, Wardell
5pm – 8pm or sold out.
Come early to beat the queue!
Pizza with Purpose

All proceeds support the ongoing work of the Wardell Neighbourhood Centre.

Keen to get involved !? We are looking for new members to join our team and get involved. Learn to make wood fire pizza and join our community food resilience team.

Thanks to the generous support of the Northern Rivers Community Foundation, we are now able to offer a new pick up location at St Mary’s Anglican Church.

We will be offering the same community subsidised produce, with small boxes starting from $10, medium boxes from $20, and large boxes from $30. We offer opt-in higher pricing if you would like to support our program, and help others less fortunate access fresh produce too.

We believe health should not be a luxury, and are excited to bring our goal of providing fresh food and strengthening communities into Ballina.

Our Ballina expansion will begin on the 20th of July, and run every second Monday (in alternate weeks to Wardell pick-ups).

Order ahead online, over the phone, or in person.

If you are already accessing boxes online and would like to pick up in Ballina instead, select the ‘Ballina Pickup’ option for the box size of your choosing.

We’re also looking for volunteers to support the program in Ballina, so please get in touch if you’d like to get involved. Your help is greatly appreciated.

In 2025 our team packed a lot of boxes and distributed a lot of fresh food around the region! Its amazing what is made possible by local people showing up for each other.

What started as a simple idea—making fresh, healthy food more accessible—has grown into something much bigger. Together we are supporting hundreds of households through a simple system that aims to put nutrition, connection and affordability at the centre.

We’re now working towards expanding this program into Ballina and we’re currently looking for a suitable space to establish a new local collection point—somewhere welcoming, accessible, and community-minded.

If you know of a space, a potential partner, or would like to support the next stage of this work—whether through a small donation or by getting involved—we’d love to hear from you.

One Year On - Wardell 2023 ( images - Lauren Philips, Love Her Wild Photography )

KINDNESS

WELLBEING

DIGNITY

COMMUNITY

RESPECT

KINDNESS WELLBEING DIGNITY COMMUNITY RESPECT

COMMUNITY RISK AND RESPONSE SURVEY

Make a Tax Deductible Donation

The Wardell community resilience facility is operated by Wardell Community Organised Resilience Effort Inc. [ Wardell CORE ]

WardellCORE offers support, resources and positive vibes to the community of Wardell and the surrounding district. Our vision is to help navigate the complexities of flood recovery, provide continuity of care and ongoing support for the social, economical, environmental and cultural development of the Wardell region.

Our volunteer team is comprised of a diverse group of people who have varying experiences and skills. The WardellCORE is built on a foundation of collaboration, respect and inclusion.

We are grateful to live, work and play in and around Bilaarwal (Wardell) on the banks of the Baluun ( Richmond River ). We pay our respect to the traditional owners of the Nyangbul lands in the Bundjalung Nation. We also make special recognition of the impact that the recent natural disaster has had on our near neighbours of the Monggongbin ( Cabbage Tree Island ) community.

thank you Trudy Roberts for support and permission to include Bundjalung language

Join as a member

Find out more

“We couldn’t do this without generous support, contributions and partnerships. Acknowledging that disaster recovery takes a nation - we give thanks to all the amazing individuals, communities and organisations that continue to be a part of this journey.”

— Wardell CORE