Wollongong City Council Deputy Mayor Tania Brown and Councillor Linda Campbell are excited to see Wentworth Street Port Kembla become the site of a free street festival in September. Photo: Cr Tania Brown.
A free family day out in Port Kembla this spring? Coming right up.
Wollongong City Council has secured $150,000 in funding under the NSW Government’s Open Streets program, to host a community event in Port Kembla in September.
A section of Wentworth Street will be closed off to create space for markets, outdoor dining, live music and light installations.
Wollongong Deputy Mayor Tania Brown said the rising costs of insurance made it difficult to put on street festivals, but the events came with a multitude of benefits.
“Port Kembla has such a strong art and cultural presence. It’s wonderful to be able to do this; we’re very grateful to the State Government for giving us the funds,” she said.
“Apart from the economic benefit to local operators it grows the understanding of what’s available in Port, from food to shops to cafes, and hopefully they come back.”
While the official launch is yet to come, organisers are using the working title of “Sprung Festival” for the event.
The Port Kembla Chamber of Commerce is leading the charge and expects the festival to run over two days and into the evening in late September.
Event lead, Harrison Hall of Holy Pavlova, said street festivals were a unique way to bring people together and introduce them to new spaces.
“Too often streets are something we drive through and not to,” he said.
“Generally an event of this scale would cost a ticket price, and as cost of living hits that’s not something most people have in the budget, so having the opportunity to provide it for free is really cool.
“Events like this help create strong links within our community; it’s going to be a family-focussed event with live music, markets, light installations and a few other special treats.
“Anything that brings people to an area is positive for local commerce, particularly for places like Port Kembla that might be a little quieter than other areas in the Illawarra.
“There are some incredible businesses and great energy on Wentworth Street and we hope by putting on the festival through the day and into the evening people will come, enjoy themselves and realise there’s a lot in the area to be celebrated.”
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