Community streetscapes party amazing

Damn Raucous Brass performing at the Guyton Street community party on Saturday, May 18.

The new streetscapes on Guyton Street and St Hill Street were celebrated with a free community party on Saturday, May 18, featuring an epic lineup of local bands and musicians, delicious kai and fun and games for young and old.

The first section of the event was the Public Transport Hub Celebration on St Hill Street (next to the Trafalgar Square carpark), running from 10.00am-1.00pm. Chilled out in nature, it featured live music with a pop-up baby grand piano on-site and local musicians including Hot Potato, Brass Whanganui and local UCOL music students providing a morning serenade.

Along with the music, there was free face painting for kids, a sausage sizzle raising money for the Whanganui Women’s Network, and special Bee Card giveaways.

Running from 1.00pm-8.00pm, the Block Party saw the section of Guyton Street between St Hill Street and Victoria Avenue closed to traffic, allowing for the street to be transformed into a space for the community to party and play.

One of the key features of the new Guyton Street streetscape, built through the Streets for People programme, is a new green space called Corwen Park (next to Mischief Cafe). The park acted as a dance floor on the day with a stage truck set up in the car park behind it playing host to a bevy of local bands and musos.

“Saturday’s event was an amazing day and night for our Whanganui community,” said Des Warahi, general manager of Mainstreet Whanganui. “I loved to see locals - including lots of whanau - out and about enjoying the kai, entertainment and the hard work the Mainstreet team and other contractors have put into this Streets For People project over the last few months.”