New streetscapes to be celebrated with epic community party!
Published on 10 May 2024
The new streetscapes on Guyton Street and St Hill Street are set to be celebrated with a free community party on Saturday 18 May featuring an epic line up of local bands and musicians, delicious kai and fun and games for young and old!
Ninety percent-funded by Waka Kotahi, the Streets for People Block Party marks the completion of the Streets for People project on Guyton Street and lower St Hill Street – and the wider work to improve bus shelter facilities across the city through the Transport Choices programme.
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says it’s brilliant that Whanganui will have a chance to come together and celebrate these new community-designed spaces with a party funded by Waka Kotahi.
“In tough times, it’s important to provide the community with opportunities to come together and have some fun. So, it’s a great result that NZTA Waka Kotahi has allocated this event funding to Whanganui. As well as promoting community wellbeing, events like this are also a chance to shine a light on our incredible local artists and musicians!”
The party will feature two distinct event spaces – lower St Hill Street (where a public transport hub has been created) and Guyton Street (between St Hill Street and Victoria Avenue) where a new community park and streetscape has been developed.
The first section of the event will be 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 will feature 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’ll also be free face painting for kids, a sausage sizzle raising money for the Whanganui Women’s Network, and special Bee Card giveaways.
Just before 1.00pm a group of local cycle enthusiasts – including Green Bikes Whanganui – will pedal their way up from the St Hill Street site to Guyton Street (via the town centre) – marking the transition to next event space: the Guyton Street Block Party.
Running from 1.00pm-8.00pm, the Block Party will see 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 Café). The park will act 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.
The line-up on the stage includes veteran Castlecliff reggae band Roots Provider, super-talented 14-year-old country western songstress Sophie Toyne, skiffle legends Hot Potato, iconic brass ensemble Damn Raucous Brass, newly-formed blues band BB and the Bullets, and emerging soul funk outfit Ngati Stank.
Along with the live music, DJ Shady Lady will be dropping eclectic beats between bands, and the much-loved Taikura o te Awa Kapa Haka group will be giving a special performance too.
To ensure the punters don’t get hungry, there’ll be range of kai trucks – alongside the cafés and eateries on Guyton Street itself who’ll be opening late and providing special menus for the big event.
The Block Party will also have a strong focus on fun for rangatahi with a special play zone featuring bubble blowing, puppetry, face painting and traditional Māori games.
For more information about this project, visit our Streets for People webpage.
The Streets for People Block party has been made possible thanks to funding from NZTA Waka Kotahi through the Streets for People and Transport Choices programmes – as well as in-kind support from Whanganui District Council, Horizons Regional Council and Mainstreet Whanganui