"It shows what's trendy - the music industry comes to listen to the new bands.
"This year we have a fantastic line up on stage until 6 o'clock, including the Hipstamatics and Unity Pacific, with Tigi Ness."
Mr Heumann said the Waitemata Local Board had made a grant of $25,000, of which $16,000 was to be spent on recycling rubbish.
"It's got to be the cheapest festival in Auckland for the ratepayer's dollar at 50 cents a person attending."
He said organisers had tried to avoid the event becoming captured by commercial interests and sole right sponsorships like so many other city events like Christmas in the Park.
Revenue for the event came from a gold coin donation and renting stall space. However, the limit was 250 stalls and these were hand-picked to give exposure to small-scale traders and artists and a chance for community groups to show themselves and raise funds.
Blacksmith James Vissers can still draw a crowd around him as he fashions a fire poker from a glowing piece of metal at shows and fairs up and down New Zealand.
Mr Vissers has set up his coal-fired forge and sold his pokers, hooks, handles and foundry-cast pewter articles at 25 shows this year.
He has been a blacksmith for 18 years, attending shows and travelling and living in a house truck, with his wife Debra and two children.
"I've always been a collector and fixing and recycling things - when I buy steel, I buy only the damaged stuff."
His son Benjamin, 20, makes hooks and furniture and rustic shelves from wood salvaged from beer crates and stacking pallets.
Grey Lynn Park has always been a welcome stop on their itinerary, said Mr Vissers.
"It's probably for the community aspect. It's a cool group of people running it and a lot of people having a good day out. It's a privilege to be part of it."
Protect yourself for the big events
There won't be any heavy rain in Auckland over the weekend, but anyone heading out to some of the city's big events might still need an umbrella - and a jacket.
Today will be mainly fine except for the odd shower in the morning; with a temperature high of about 17C.
That will be good news for those heading out to the Grey Lynn Park Festival, which kicks off at 9am and runs until 6pm. People attending the Matakana Wine & Food Tour this weekend will also be in for good conditions.
MetService forecaster Sarah Garlick said people attending the Farmers Santa Parade tomorrow would still need to make sure they had extra clothing, because of the wind.
"There'll be some fine spells, but there still could be a few showers mainly in the west and westerly winds," she said. "It's going to remain reasonably cool with little west to southwest flow and with the odd shower around - so jackets [are] still required for the Santa Parade."
Cities and towns including Tauranga, Whakatane, Napier and Gisborne are all in for a sunny weekend, with no rain forecast and temperatures highs of up to 22C.
New Plymouth, however, is expected to get a few showers and windy conditions over a mainly fine weekend.
"For Wellington, it's going to be pretty good, actually. We might have a few early showers but then [it will be] fine," Mrs Garlick said.
Parts of the South Island will see blustery weather, mainly in the deep south.
Christchurch is forecast to get a few showers over the weekend but will be mainly fine.
Mrs Garlick said: "It will be fairly cold in the South Island. We've got snow down to 500m in the very far south."
