OLD FASHIONED FAMILY FUN AS THE SPOT FESTIVAL FAREWELLS SUMMER

By Madeleine Gray on March 3, 2017 in News

Sydney’s nightlife might continue to be a crumbling mess, but Randwick Council is determined to ensure that our daytime culture does not suffer the same fate.

On Sunday, March 5 from 1pm to 8pm, Perouse Road and St Pauls Street in Randwick will be closed off to car traffic, and pedestrian fun and community activities will reign supreme as the annual Spot Festival does its thing once again.

“The Spot Festival is the ultimate street party, celebrating food, music and the local community,” a spokesperson for Randwick Council, which organises the festival, told The Beast.

“The festival is complete with lots of free kids activities, cultural performances, tarot readings, food, market stalls, shopping and more.”

The Spot is renowned as one of Randwick’s gastronomic hubs, and food stalls serving culinary delights hailing from over 15 countries – including French, Chinese, German, Korean, Thai and Malaysian food – will ensure it lives up to its reputation.

Do you have a parent or grandparent who laments the ‘good old days’ when kids would play games on the street instead of the computer? Bring them along! Maybe you’ll even convince them to try some of that so-called ‘crazy foreign food’.

This is wholesome fun at its most Australian – celebrating our multicultural community, good food, international song and dance, and the hard work of our beloved local businesses. There’s enough on offer to turn even the most determined Scrooge’s frown upside down.

Parents of young children need not fear either. The festival will again feature a ‘Kids Corner’, where there will be a well-equipped baby changing/nursing tent. A pram parking valet service will also be available and will be located behind the Harmony Stage on Perouse Road.

Randwick Mayor Noel D’Souza said he is proud that Randwick City Council is presenting the Spot Festival for the tenth year in a row.

“The Spot Festival is a favourite on the festival circuit, with 20,000 people expected to attend,” he said. “It represents Randwick City’s ‘sense of community’, celebrating our diversity, energy and fantastic international food and culture.

“What better way to celebrate the end of summer than with a vibrant community street party?”

While many local businesses will have stalls, those that don’t still plan to open and are enthusiastic about the sense of communal solidarity that the festival engenders.

“Although we don’t participate in the stalls, the Spot Festival is a great local family day out,” the team from Bat Country, one of the bars at The Spot, told The Beast.

“There should be more events like this around the area. What we will offer on the day is great music, food, drinks and a refuge to those needing some time out of the sun (or rain) on the day.”

Also on offer are activities to tempt even the most reticent of teens – think an Instagram printing booth, pop-up library, beanbag chill-out zone, fortune telling tent, and even a silent disco.

So what are you waiting for? Get out your diary and pencil it in.