Byron Bay totally brought the vibes on Sunday 5 October as the Byron Community Market rewound the clock for its Born in the 80s celebration.
With sunshine, a sea of colour and a huge crowd filling the Main Beach foreshore, it was a day of music, movement and pure retro joy.
The soundtrack was straight from the cassette deck, with The Versace Boys, Lainie Godiva and Obisun keeping the energy high from morning till afternoon. The Cassettes turned up the volume even further with a dance workshop that had everyone shaking off their Sunday sleepiness, Madonna-style.
“This event was more than a throwback, it was a celebration of our story. Since the Byron Community Centre first took on the markets in the 80s, they’ve always been a place for people to come together, and that hasn’t changed.”
While the crowd went big on 80s spirit, the real stars of the show were the stallholders who embraced the theme with flair.
A special Best Dressed Stallholder Competition saw Dominique Quirke from Henna Goddess take out first place for her leopard print jacket and roller skates combo. Rebecca Rali from The Knicker Parlour claimed second with her unmissable leg warmers and side ponytail, while Brent Wayling from Salty’s landed third, proving the mullet still has serious selling power. Valentina di Blase from Vale Vale Art came in fourth, impressing everyone by dressing up not once but twice, and nailing it both times.
Special mentions also went out to Belinda Lopez (Paperlove Books), Nikita Rast (Nirania Collective) and Alexa Atlagic (Natural Artform), rewarding the creativity and colour that make Byron Markets so loved.
Although the public were a little shy on the dress-up front, the atmosphere was anything but quiet. A huge crowd filled the foreshore from morning to afternoon, browsing more than 200 stalls, enjoying the live music and soaking up the nostalgic energy that pulsed through Main Beach.
“Seeing such a huge crowd celebrating together was really special. It showed that after all these years, the markets still hold a big place in the heart of the Byron community.”
The Born in the 80s Market also formed part of the Byron Community Centre’s 130-year anniversary celebrations, honouring the decade the Centre first began managing the markets in 1987. It was a day filled with sunshine, smiles and community spirit — a perfect nod to the past and a vibrant celebration of the markets’ future.
It was a day filled with sunshine, smiles and community spirit — a reminder that Byron’s original market still knows how to throw one seriously awesome party.
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