Writer Austin Pick described his initial impressions of the village this way: "It is as if a smoky avenue of Amsterdam has been placed in the middle of the mountains behind frontier-style building facades.

[5] In the 1960s, the local dairy industry collapsed due to recession and Nimbin went into serious economic decline until 1973, when the Aquarius Festival, a large gathering of university students, practitioners of alternative lifestyles, hippies, and party people, was held in the village.

Since the Aquarius Festival, the region has attracted thousands of writers, artists, musicians, actors, environmentalists, and permaculture enthusiasts, as well as tourists and young families escaping city life.

[8] Architect and University of Sydney School of Architecture lecturer Col James, along with many of his students, was involved in a project designing low-cost housing in Nimbin in the 1970s.

[9] James promoted the idea of multiple occupancy (MO) homes, and this guide led to the flourishing of MOs in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

The existence of a drug culture in Nimbin since 1973 has been accompanied by a prevalence of collective and public creativity: colourful and spiritually motivated art (including large paintings above shop awnings), music, poetry, craft, and fashion can all be seen on the main street.

Activities include: a Prohibition Protest Rally and Parade with the Ganja Faeries, the Nimbin Cannabis Cup, the Hemp Olympix, which includes the "Bong", "Throw'n'Yell", Joint Rolling, and the Grower's Iron Person event, where runners must first carry a 20 kg (44 lb) sack of fertiliser, then a bucket of water, and finally "the crop", as a tribute to the difficulties faced by growers in the hills, and to show that cannabis users can be fit and healthy.

The police sent letters to the Nimbin Museum and the Hemp Bar leaseholders indicating an intention to seek closure orders under the Restricted Premises Act of 1943 for the MardiGrass weekend.

Following the raids, Hemp Embassy volunteer Andrew Kavasilas commented: "This is a real slap in the face for people who would like to see other resources in town.

[20][21] Following the operation, Richmond Police local area commander Superintendent Bruce Lyons vowed to "shut down the drug trade.

Local attractions include the town hall, annual MardiGrass, markets, bands, walks to the mountains, and day-to-day activities from buskers to street stalls.

Other nearby attractions:[4] The Nimbin Good Times is a free monthly community newspaper, also distributed in Lismore, Byron Bay, and some suburbs of Brisbane and Sydney.

[citation needed] The community radio station 2NIMFM offers an independent alternative media voice and plays a diverse range of music and programming in Japanese, German, and the Bundjalung language.